Tag: singing

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Better is one day.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

”How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.“ ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭84‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I remember when Matt Redman came out with this song in 1997. And the reason it was such a favorite in the “Passion Worship,” era of Christian music is that it also took me back to the early “Maranatha Worship” era. This song, like most of the old 70’s tunes were right out of scripture. I was learning scripture through song when I was young believer in Christ.

Learning scripture through song and melody is what the book of Psalms (songs and poems) is all about. The quickest and most durable way to teach something to a child is to sing a song with them! When I read this Psalm, I quickly remember every word and the accompanied melody in a snap!

Why is that important? Because when I am stressed, overwhelmed, fearful or raging with frustration, the absolute fastest way to lift my eyes to heaven and center my soul is to SING! Sing to the LORD a new song! Several Psalms say this: Psalms 33, 96, 98 all have a beautiful admonition to SING. Most of my favorite Bible verses are quickly accessible via song memory. They become an easy way to get my ruminating fixations or brain-racing doom off myself and onto God and His goodness.

The choir director Korah, scribes this psalm as a celebration to be in God’s presence, which at the time, was in God’s courts surrounding the temple. Psalm 100 – another song, gave instructions on how to do so, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful to him, and bless his name.” The gates, the courts were the gathering place for all to come and worship. Only the priests were allowed to go deep into the temple, and only the high priest was allowed into the holy of holies. But now, since Jesus, the giant curtain, blocking access to the holy of holiness, physically and metaphorically has been torn and removed so there is no longer a barrier to enter into God’s presence without permission. You and I are free to go directly to God and tell him what is going on in our lives. And as we begin to think about approaching God, like the OT gates and courts, our heart gets excited just to be with him! I sing this Matt Redman version of this Psalm and it puts me right there where God is!

Verse:
How lovely is Your dwelling place, Oh Lord Almighty
My soul longs and even faints for You
For here my heart is satisfied, within Your presence
I sing beneath the shadow of Your wings

Chorus:
Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere

Prayer

Dad,
I am soooo thankful that many Bible verses and truths have been put to words and melodies! I am grateful to sing them out loud, so my ears can hear what my soul is feeling! I am glad to daily enter into your presence with singing. It makes my heart so happy. Amen.

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Backing away from the mental edge of a cliff.

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“Rescue me from my enemies, O God. Protect me from those who have come to destroy me. Rescue me from these criminals; save me from these murderers.” Psalms‬ ‭59:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

How to pray when you’re attacked! David knew how to bring his honest, earnest thoughts, fears and prayers to God. Again, how many of us talk with God with such specificity? David lists their methods of stalking and trash talking. “They come out at night, snarling like vicious dogs as they prowl the streets. Listen to the filth that comes from their mouths; their words cut like swords. “After all, who can hear us?” they sneer.” Isn’t it interesting that David KNOWS that God hears his prayer, but also hears the profane disregard for decency of the thugs that work for King Saul.

David also asks God to NOT kill them, but to throw them off balance, “Don’t kill them, for my people soon forget such lessons; stagger them with your power, and bring them to their knees, O Lord our shield.”

But while all of this is going on, even amidst the prayer for protection, David decides to behave in a very specific way. He decides, “But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.” He sings about God’s power, not the thugs. He starts his day by singing with joy about God’s unfailing (secure) love! David owns his attitude and sets his behavior everyday that he is going through this incredible pressure of being hunted down by the King. This is a lesson for me, for us when we feel that we are under the threat and pressure of attacks – real or perceived!

Prayer

​Dad,
You know that when I am feeling out of control or certainly under any kind of attack, that my mind obsesses, for days, over the possible negative endings. And if it feels like an unjustified correction or complaint against me – it just sends me spiraling.

I’ve have tried and tried to shorten the amount of time it takes me to gain my mental footing and talk myself back into anything healthy. David met his enemies both external (the thugs) and internal (his own fears) with a very practical action – he prayed, he sang. He reminded himself of who YOU are and then sang about how trustworthy you are until joy and a sense of peace brought him back from the brink of that mental cliff.

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Singing is an extraordinary gift

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.” Psalms‬ ‭105:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​Sing to him. Yes, sing his praises. Have you ever thought about it? Singing, making a melody and giving that to song to God. Does everyone feel comfortable singing? CAN everyone sing?

Humans are not the only species to make melodies. Birds sing all the time, but mostly when they feel they are safe. Dogs sing, cats sing, whales, dolphins and donkeys sing. We had a dog that, in certain moods, sounded like she was singing the blues!

I have a strange habit that I’ve developed over the years. I hum without being aware of it. Oftentimes, I’ll be with a group of people praying and someone will nudge me and say, “you know you’re humming, right?” I didn’t know. I seem to do it unconsciously.

Do you sing in the car? The shower? In a group? At church? It’s not at all like talking to yourself! Even though some feel self conscious about singing, it’s perfectly acceptable and often welcomed – even in a crowd of people. You’ve seen the videos of someone on a subway just singing away, sometimes others just join in!

Here’s the thing, as people we get the privilege of putting words to our songs and melodies. Many of the Psalms we read were songs to be sung. In times of joy and in times of fear, my mind has reached into my memories and sang a psalm to express what I’m feeling at that time.

What song comes to mind when you think about how good God is to you? 🎶🎶🎶 “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.”

Jesus even made a very stark musical remark when he told the Pharisees if his disciples had kept silent, the rocks themselves would cry out. Luke used the word “krázō – an onomatopoetic term for a raven’s piercing cry.” Because all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God! In perfect Jesus style he was saying, “We should be embarrassed if we DON’T sing about God!” For us humans, singing is and should be as normal and natural as breathing!

An old song put it this way, you can sing it if you know it: “I sing because I’m happy; I sing because I’m free; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me.”

PRAYER:

Dad,
I’m pretty sure I didn’t sing much or not at all before I knew you. I thought songs were interesting, but I don’t remember singing them. And, thankfully I married a singer who loves to sing and express her love and thankfulness to you constantly. Remember, the first time I saw her, she was singing a solo in big church and I was smitten! David’s Psalm reminds and challenges me to sing more, express more about your greatness and your goodness. I think I’ll sing my way to the office today, no radio, no yelling at traffic – just singing. What a privilege we have to sing, make melodies and songs expressing deep feelings towards about you and even towards you.