My New Song of Praise

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

He Cares for You

Lay your burdens at the feet of Jesus,
Let Him bear your heavy load.
He will lead you through the lonesome valley,
As you travel down life's road.

Do you ever feel weighed down with the cares of life?

All of us at one time or another reach a point of feeling overwhelmed.

Life gets crazy.

But you were never intended to do life alone.

No matter how strong you are, you are not strong enough on your own.

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7

This is such a sweet Scripture! How good it is to know we can give all our cares to a God who cares.

Leave it there,
Leave it there.
Take your burden to the Lord,
And leave it there.
If you trust and never doubt,
He will surely bring you out.
Take your burden to the Lord,
And leave it there.

You do not even have to wait until you reach the point of being overwhelmed with your burdens before giving them to the Lord. He wants to have a thriving relationship with you, because He loves you deeply. He wants to share your every trial and triumph.

Peter tells you to cast all your cares upon him, not just the big problems. ALL of your cares. God wants to be involved in every little details of your life, not used like a vending machine only in desperate emergency situations.

A regular, healthy prayer life is absolutely vital to the Christian life. Keeping yourself in constant contact with the Lord is what will bring you victory, freedom, and peace.

Bringing your burdens, and requests to God does not trouble or anger Him. He wants you to bring them!

What a friend we have in Jesus,
ALL our sins and griefs to bear.
What a privilege to carry,
Everything to God in prayer.
Oh what peace we often forfeit,
Oh what needless pain we bear.
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer.

Just a gentle reminder for you today:

He cares for YOU!

Dear Lord,

Thank you for caring so much about your children that you want to share in our every struggle. Help me to lean on You and embrace the priceless privilege of prayer.

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

God Knows Me

O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.

Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

Psalm 139:1-5 (KJV)

Scripture memorization is a wonderful way to absorb God's Word into your mind and heart. I have been so blessed the past few weeks as I have been working on memorizing and meditating on Psalm 139.

God Knows Me

It's one thing to know about God: to have Bible knowledge or to believe He exists.

It's another matter to know God: to have a relationship with Him.

Anyone can pick up a Bible or hear a sermon and know about God, and through salvation by grace through faith in Jesus anyone can come to actually know Him.

But to realize that God knows ME?

That, my friend, is nothing short of amazing.

Or as David goes on to put it in verse 6:

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

The very thought that the God Who created the universe by His Words and holds it all in place, the God Who designed all the intricate wonders of nature and gives the very breath of life: that same God takes the time to know me in the deepest possible way.

Jesus Himself tells is in Matthew 10:30 that God has the very hairs of our heads all numbered!

Imagine!

Think about your best friend, your spouse, or your children.

You care about these people in your life. You take the time to know them very well.

Because you love them you probably have made an effort to know all their likes and dislikes, to understand their unique personalities, and to know some intimate details about them.

But do you take the time to count the hairs on their heads??

No, of course you don't! You couldn't if you tried. Only God can truly do this...and He does.

And amazingly though He knows me at the most intimate level, the deepest part of my heart that no one else can see; though He knows all the faults and failures that I may able to keep hidden from others; though my sin sent His Son to the cross...

He still loves me.

And in spite of all that He knows, He still seeks to have a deep, loving relationship with me.

Wow!

Dear Lord,

What a comfort and blessing it is to know that You know. You know everything about me: the good, the bad, and the ugly. You know my thoughts and my intentions. You know my talents, and You know exactly where I am weak. You created my body fearfully and wonderfully, and You take good care of what you have made. And somehow, despite knowing how desperately human I am, You still choose over and over to love me anyway. You still gave the very Best You had so that I could come to know You in return. May I never take this beautiful relationship we have for granted. Amen

Please join me here regularly for devotions, Scripture, and practical encouragement as you seek to live out your own new song of praise!

God bless!

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Many Shall See It

And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

I chose Psalm 40:3 as my life verse when I was a young teenager. I am a Christian singer and musician, and I liked the verse simply because it was about singing a song of praise and leading others to God through song.

But now that I am a grown woman, I realize the message of this verse is so much deeper...and as I will now share with you, it truly is a wonderful verse to live by!

...many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.]

In my youth, it always puzzled me as to why this part of the verse used the word see instead of the word hear. In my mind, it seemed strange to say people would see a song. A song is something people hear, isn't it?

Let's take a moment and look at some of the context for this verse and find out the beautiful message the Pslamist was conveying.

I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:1-3

These verses seem to refer to the blessing of a brand new life that is received when a person is saved from sin. In the New Testament, Paul says it this way:

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

When the Lord comes into someone's life, everything changes! We go from despair to joy, from darkness to light, from confusion to purpose, from death to life!

This total transformation in the life of the believer, the life that is now lived to the praise and glory of God, is what "many shall see...and fear, and shall trust in the LORD."

Maybe it is because I am a musician that I have come to appreciate this verse so much, but even if you do not know the first thing about playing an instrument and couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, this verse is still speaking something very meaningful to you:

My life is a song!

What a richly beautiful thought this is to me! My speech, my actions, my choices big and small, these things that make up who I am: all put together they make up the song of my life. If I am living my life fully surrendered to God, then that song is one of praise that points others to Him. It reminds me of what Jesus commanded in Matthew 5:16

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

No matter how simple it may seem, if it is sung for Him, God can take your melody and add His own rich harmony to make your life a beautiful song of praise that can bless others!

What kind of song is your life singing today?

Dear Lord,

Thank you for my salvation. Thank you for the new abundant life that You give. Please take my life and make it a song of praise that will lead others to You! Amen.

Please join me here regularly for devotions, Scripture, and encouragement as you live out your own new song of praise! God bless!