Tag Archives: song

JOYOUS PRAISE IN THE MORNING

Devotion, ,

JOYOUS PRAISE IN THE MORNING


When I open my curtains in the early morning, I catch a glimpse of the first rays of the sun peeping through the tree at the bottom of our garden. Then my mind turns to Matt Redman’s beautiful song, “Ten thousand reasons,” and I begin to sing as I make my bed.

“The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing His song again.
Whatever may pass and whatever may befall me
Let me be singing when the evening comes.”

My heart leaps with joy as I burst into the chorus…

“Bless the Lord, O my soul,
O my soul,
Worship His holy name.
Sing like never before, O my soul
I’ll worship your holy name.”

The first verse sets the tone for my day – a declaration of trust in the one I worship, that He is God and will order all the circumstances of my day as He pleases.

The second verse directs my thoughts to this God whom I bless and praise in my song.

“You’re rich in love and you’re slow to anger
Your name is great and your heart is kind.
For all your goodness I will keep on singing,
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find.”

I have every reason to trust Him for today and tomorrow since my yesterdays are all a testimony to His goodness.

And what of my future? God has written my days in His book and He alone knows when my final day will come. However, like Matt’s song, I have confidence that the song I sang this morning will be my song in eternity…

“And on that day when my strength is failing,
The end is near and my time has come,
Still my soul will sing your praise unending.
Ten thousand years and then forevermore.”

My faith is strong; I have declared my trust in God for another day. I am equipped with a praising heart to face whatever comes with expectation that He is working for my good in all things.

Will you also sing His song in the morning and let its lyrics and melody resound in your mind throughout the day?

PRAYER
Father God, I can give you no greater honour than to sing your song, and to live today in the atmosphere of worship. As Jesus’ disciples confessed, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…” so, I, too, confess that there is no one greater than you in whom to believe.

With all my heart I thank you for your great salvation, for your love that surrounds and sustains me in every test and trial, and for your grace that helps me to endure.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and everything that is within me, bless His holy name.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – MARY’S SONG

Bible Study, ,

MARY’S SONG

“And Mary said,                                                                                                                                        “‘I’m bursting with God-news;                                                                                                              I’m dancing the song of my Saviour God.                                                                                        God took one look at me, and look what happened –                                                                      I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!                                                                                          What God has done for me will never be forgotten,                                                                        the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.                                                      His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before Him.                              He bared His arm and showed His strength,                                                                                    scattered the bluffing braggarts.                                                                                                        He knocked them off their high horses,                                                                                              pulled victims out of the mud.                                                                                                              The starving poor sat down to a banquet;                                                                                        the callous rich were left out in the cold.                                                                                            He embraced His chosen child, Israel;                                                                                                He remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.                                                          It’s exactly what He promised,                                                                                                            beginning with Abraham and right up to now.’

“Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her home.” Luke 1:46-56.

Mary was so ecstatic about the great things God had done for her that, at this stage, she was not concerned about the practical realities of having a child out of wedlock. I don’t think she was unaware of the consequences, but she was not troubled by them because she knew that her pregnancy was a miracle of God, whatever people thought of her.

Had she told Joseph of the angel’s visit and her subsequent pregnancy yet, or did she only tell him on her return to Nazareth? The Bible does not tell us when she told him. We only know that when he found out he was deeply troubled. It took an angelic dream to reassure him that Mary had not been unfaithful to him during their betrothal period. He married her as planned but did not consummate the marriage until after Jesus’ birth.

If Mary was highly favoured of God, so also was Joseph. He was an honourable man, not wanting to disgrace his fiancée publicly when he thought that she was guilty of fornication, and refraining from demanding his conjugal rights until after the birth of the child conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Mary was blessed and favoured of God in many ways. Unlike ordinary people who never make it into the history books, her name would never be forgotten. She would always be associated with Jesus the Messiah as the young village girl who was privileged to bring Him into the world.

Never for one moment was she intended to be worshipped as the “Mother of God”, nor did she ever see herself as anything but an ordinary mother. How ridiculous to think that a human being can ever “mother” God. She was the vessel who bore His human form, but Jesus was more than just human. He was Emmanuel, God with us, as Charles Wesley so aptly put it, “Our God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man.”

Mary recognised that, in the Son she was going to bear, the promise God made to Abraham was finally about to be fulfilled. And He was bringing it about, not in the palace of a great king or as the offspring of a noble family, but through the womb and in the home of a “nobody”. That’s just who God is and how He works!

Mary’s Song

Bible Study, , , ,

MARY’S SONG

“And Mary said, “‘I’m bursting with God-news; I’m dancing the song of my Saviour God.
God took one look at me, and look what happened — I’m the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten, the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before Him. He bared His arm and showed His strength, scattered the bluffing braggarts. He knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled victims out of the mud. The starving poor sat down to a banquet; the callous rich were left out in the cold. He embraced His chosen child, Israel; He remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high. It’s exactly what He promised, beginning with Abraham and right up to now.’

“Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her home.” Luke 1:46-56 (The Message).

Mary was so ecstatic about the great things God had done for her that, at this stage, she was not concerned about the practical realities of having a child out of wedlock. I don’t think she was unaware of the consequences, but she was not troubled by them because she knew that her pregnancy was a miracle of God, whatever people thought of her.

Had she told Joseph of the angel’s visit and her subsequent pregnancy yet, or did she only tell him on her return to Nazareth? The Bible does not tell us when she told him. We only know that when he found out he was deeply troubled. It took an angelic dream to reassure him that Mary had not been unfaithful to him during their betrothal period. He married her as planned but did not consummate the marriage until after Jesus’ birth.

If Mary was highly favoured of God, so also was Joseph. He was an honourable man, not wanting to disgrace his fiancée’ publicly when he thought that she was guilty of fornication, and refraining from demanding his conjugal rights until after the birth of the child conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Mary was blessed and favoured of God in many ways. Unlike ordinary people who never make it into the history books, her name would never be forgotten. She would always be associated with Jesus the Messiah as the young village girl who was privileged to bring Him into the world.

Never for one moment was she intended to be worshipped as the “Mother of God”, nor did she ever see herself as anything but an ordinary mother. How ridiculous to think that a human being can ever “mother” God. She was the vessel who bore His human form, but Jesus was more than just human. He was Emmanuel, God with us, as Charles Wesley so aptly put it, “Our God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man.”

Mary recognised that, in the Son she was going to bear, the promise God made to Abraham was finally about to be fulfilled. And He was bringing it about, not in the palace of a great king or as the offspring of a noble family, but through the womb and in the home of a nobody. That’s just who God is and how He works!