2024-11-05
Luke 12:7 NKJV
If you want to know how incomprehensively big God is, read this: “My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand has stretched out the heavens” (Isaiah 48:13 NKJV). Could such a God care about your daily troubles and woes? Yes. “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6-7 NKJV).
God values sparrows – more than you know. He feeds them, and supplies them with trees and twigs for nests and other sparrows to mate with. He cares so much about them that He keeps a running inventory. How about you? “The very hairs of your head are all numbered.” When you care about someone, you observe details.
When a baby is born, what do parents do when they see the tiny fingers and toes for the first time? They count them. For years later, every time that child comes home, if they are missing one of those ten fingers or toes, the parents notice. Even inadequate parents do this. Jesus was saying, “God doesn’t only number your fingers and toes. He loves you so much He numbers the hairs on your head. He notices their quantity. He notices their color. Proverbs 16:31 tells us, “Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness” (NIV). The cross proves how much God loves you and how much you mean to Him, including the details of your life.
Soul food: Isa 42-44; John 8:1-20; Ps 96; Prov 28:17-20
2024-11-04
Psalm 100:2 NKJV
The psalmist wrote, “Come before His presence with singing… Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name” (vv. 2, 4 NKJV). When you approach a king, a certain protocol is required. And David gives us the protocol for coming into the presence of the King of Kings: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.” Question: Is that your personal experience in church? Or do you stand like a spectator while the musicians, the worship team, or the choir do the singing and you do the listening?
We are all called to “enter into” praise! Worship is not something you merely hear with your ears; you express it with your lips – and your heart. When you fail to do so, there is a connection with God that is not made. You, personally, must worship God! And regardless of how gifted and talented they may be, no one else can do that for you.
You say, “But sometimes I don’t feel like praising God.” The Bible says, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15 NKJV). God wants sacrificial praise. What’s that? Praise when you don’t feel like it. Praise when you are going through seasons of hardship. Praise when humanly speaking, you can’t think of a single thing to praise God for. With God, the praise that costs is the praise that counts. “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1 NKJV).
Soul food: Isa 38-41; John 7:45-53; Ps 9; Prov 28:13-16
2024-11-03
Psalm 22:3 KJV
The original King James Bible says, “O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” The New King James Bible says, “You are… enthroned in the praises of Israel.” You say, “Which translation is accurate?” Both are accurate. The word “inhabit” pictures a dweller who feels right at home. And the word “enthroned” pictures someone in a position of power and authority, someone who can give orders and make things happen. So God is at home in our praise; His power is released through our praise.
When God created the world, He did it with words – sound. So, God’s power can travel through sound. And certain sounds move His heart. Certain sounds invoke His presence. Certain sounds move Him to action. The key to deliverance, which means to be set free, is in having an encounter with God. And songs of deliverance can set the stage for such an encounter with God.
Read these three Scriptures carefully: “Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still” (Psalm 4:4 NKJV). “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7 NKJV). “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1 NKJV). Note the words “meditate,” and “be still,” and “rest,” and “wait patiently,” and “he who dwells in the secret place.” Now picture yourself “soaking” in the presence of God. Your emotions are quiet, your spirit is attuned to God’s presence, you can hear what He has to say and receive from Him what you need. That’s what happens when you surround yourself with “songs of deliverance.”
Soul food: Acts 9:1-19; 2 Cor 11:21-33; 2 Cor 12:7-10; Acts 16:16-40
2024-11-02
Acts 16:25 NKJV
Even science agrees that music has healing power. Today we have music therapists who play sounds that set captives free in hospitals, special needs classrooms, nursing homes, and other environments. Harvard University researchers, among others, are reporting that music is a healing balm for stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and the physical stress of premature birth. They have also learned that music can improve surgical outcomes, help to restore lost speech, reduce side effects of cancer therapy, relieve pain, improve mood, and battle depression.
Dr. Gottfried Schlaug, a Harvard University neurologist, told the Los Angeles Times, “Music might provide an alternative entry point to the brain because it can unlock so many different doors into an injured or ill brain.” His research shows that pitch, harmony, melody, rhythm, and emotion, which are all components of music, engage different parts of the brain – parts of the brain that are also important for speech, movement, and social interaction. “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions” (Psalm 107:20 NKJV).
So, when music is the medium used to praise God and express His creative and life-changing Word, you begin to see its potential to bring deliverance. That was certainly so for Paul and Silas: “At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed” (Acts 16:25-26 NKJV). Change your attitude. Change your environment. Change your outlook. Start surrounding yourself with songs of deliverance!
Soul food: Isa 34-37; John 7:25-44; Ps 104:24-35; Prov 28:9-12
2024-11-01
Psalm 32:7 NKJV
The psalmist wrote, “You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.” When trouble comes, you can turn to God and hide in Him. How? By surrounding yourself with songs of deliverance. Ruth Ward Heflin gives us the road map into God’s presence: “You praise until the spirit of worship comes, you worship until the glory comes, then you stand in the glory.” And that is where “all things are possible.” God told Jeremiah, “I am ready to perform My word” (Jeremiah 1:12 NKJV). That includes His Word when it’s set to music. The harp David used to worship God on the hillsides while he tended his flocks was the same harp God used to deliver King Saul from the spirits that held him in the grip of depression.
That wasn’t the only time God used a musician to bring about a miracle. When the people of Judah faced extinction because of drought, Elijah, the prophet, said, “‘Now bring me a musician.’ Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Make this valley full of ditches'” (2 Kings 3:15-16 NKJV). God filled every one of those ditches with water and gave them a spectacular victory over their enemies. Singer Julie True says: “On a spiritual level, music bypasses our mind and goes straight to our heart, soul, and spirit. It touches places that nothing else can reach… Worship opens the heavens and moves God’s heart.”
Soul food: Isa 30-33; John 7:14-24; Ps 104:1-23; Prov 28:5-8
2024-10-31
Mark 12:30 NKJV
What does it mean to love God with all your strength? A pastor defines it: “It means expending tremendous amounts of energy for kingdom causes. It means blood, sweat, and tears. It means servanthood and sacrifice. It means good old-fashioned hard work. Energy may be the least appreciated dimension of love because it’s the least sentimental. And how we invest our energy reveals our true priorities.” It reveals how much we love someone; in this case, God.
The pastor continues: “Christianity was never intended to be a noun. And when we turn it into a noun, it becomes a turnoff. Christianity was always intended to be a verb. We’ve got to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We’ve got to seize opportunities to serve… At the end of the day, God isn’t going to say, ‘Well said, good and faithful servant’… [but] ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ Nothing is more fulfilling than burning calories for a kingdom cause. Anything less than leveraging all our strength for God’s purposes is boring at best and hypocritical at worst.
So many Christians are so bored… so frustrated by the gap between their theology and reality. The way to close the gap, and the way to experience that holy rush of adrenaline again, is to break a sweat serving others. It can be as simple as babysitting for a single mom who needs a night out, serving in a ministry in your local church, or volunteering at a local nursing home. It doesn’t matter how big or how small, every calorie burned for a kingdom cause earns compound interest for eternity. And it’ll fill the emptiness in your soul with pure joy.”
Soul food: Deut 18:9-14; Dan 2; Isa 47:5-15; Acts 16:16-34
