“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? - Micah 6:6-8
If it's one thing that saddens me, it's that I sometimes don't walk humbly with God; I end up trying to leave Him in the dust! He is, after all, a holy and righteous God and I'm a sinner (saved only by His grace). I sometimes am foolish with my time (Spending it on a game rather than studying the Word!) and my patience (Losing it with Bee instead of keeping calm and remaining patient.), so a reminder to walk humbly with my Lord is always a blessing for me.
Even when you do fall down (Sin.), you can still stand up (repent) and keep walking (becoming sanctified) because we are clothed in Christ's righteousness.
Do pray for me for the next couple of weeks: I'll be preparing some music (vocal solo) to sing during the church's offertory; pray that my voice doesn't give out and, most importantly, that God is glorified.
May you walk humbly with your God this week!
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
1/2/12
This Week in Scripture; my God I will trust.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." - Psalm 91:1-2
(Even though the Scripture memorizing challenge is over, I'll keep going on; honestly, I could use to learn more Scripture!)
I guess I have the idea of God being a refuge and fortress stuck in my head; the only Constant in this life (and the next) is an unshakeable, unmovable, holy God that serves as a refuge and fortress! We all can use a little more stability in our lives (I know I do; it certainly eases the stress and pain of moving constantly.) and God provides that in spades.
While it may not appear that our lives are stable (In fact, life could look more chaotic and haphazard.), our souls are at rest.
A hymn that I love to sing is "It is Well With My Soul"; it was written by Horatio Spafford, after the loss of his children (They were on a ship that had sunk; out of his family, his wife survived.). The following verse in particular stirs my heart:
With the various trials that come our way, we have the assurance that Christ shed His blood on our behalf and that we're able to abide in His shadow.
(Even though the Scripture memorizing challenge is over, I'll keep going on; honestly, I could use to learn more Scripture!)
I guess I have the idea of God being a refuge and fortress stuck in my head; the only Constant in this life (and the next) is an unshakeable, unmovable, holy God that serves as a refuge and fortress! We all can use a little more stability in our lives (I know I do; it certainly eases the stress and pain of moving constantly.) and God provides that in spades.
While it may not appear that our lives are stable (In fact, life could look more chaotic and haphazard.), our souls are at rest.
A hymn that I love to sing is "It is Well With My Soul"; it was written by Horatio Spafford, after the loss of his children (They were on a ship that had sunk; out of his family, his wife survived.). The following verse in particular stirs my heart:
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
With the various trials that come our way, we have the assurance that Christ shed His blood on our behalf and that we're able to abide in His shadow.
12/25/11
A Blessed Advent to all!
Today happens to be two things:
1) The Lord's Day (Sunday) and
2) Christmas
I don't celebrate Christmas in the usual way (I happily celebrate the fact that my Savior was born; praise God!), but I desired to celebrate the Lord's Day.
Unfortunately, illness got in the way of joining my brothers and sisters in Christ today. Both my husband and I managed to come down with some stomach virus (Thankfully, Bee didn't get sick; she managed to hit a growth spurt instead.).
I wish everyone a blessed Lord's Day, a happy Advent and a merry Christmas (I'm covering all of the bases here...)!
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” - Isaiah 9:6
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen and amen.
1) The Lord's Day (Sunday) and
2) Christmas
I don't celebrate Christmas in the usual way (I happily celebrate the fact that my Savior was born; praise God!), but I desired to celebrate the Lord's Day.
Unfortunately, illness got in the way of joining my brothers and sisters in Christ today. Both my husband and I managed to come down with some stomach virus (Thankfully, Bee didn't get sick; she managed to hit a growth spurt instead.).
I wish everyone a blessed Lord's Day, a happy Advent and a merry Christmas (I'm covering all of the bases here...)!
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” - Isaiah 9:6
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen and amen.
12/14/11
This Week in Scripture; take refuge in God!
This God - His way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him. - 2 Samuel 22:31
A friend of mine recently introduced me to a hip-hop artist named Shai Linne, who is more than versed in Reformed theology (I believe he calls it "lyrical theology"; it fits.) and is quite talented in stringing words together. Mind y'all, I do not care for rap, hip-hop or R&B (Mainly because it's mostly vile.), but I really like this (Mainly because it's theologically sound.).
like Mr. Linne, we are to take refuge in God (It's more than evident in his lyrics that he does this.); it refreshes our souls like water to a parched throat and it puts us as ease with the Creator of the universe who we call our Father (Likewise, He calls us His children.). What beautiful imagery this is! We're to run to our Father and cling to Him!
In return, the LORD is our shield; Luther called Him a Mighty Fortress. What strength this shows us! Forget asking if God can make a stone too heavy for Him to lift (Such questions are foolish.); ask if God is strong enough to protect YOU and to act as your Shield.
Chances are, He is more than strong enough; rely on Him as your Shield and Mighty Fortress (We don't have to be "strong enough"; that's why we run to Him.).
Speaking of being strong enough, one of my favorite songs is by Matthew West; he sings about this very thing (The link takes you directly to the official music video.): Matthew West's Strong Enough
A friend of mine recently introduced me to a hip-hop artist named Shai Linne, who is more than versed in Reformed theology (I believe he calls it "lyrical theology"; it fits.) and is quite talented in stringing words together. Mind y'all, I do not care for rap, hip-hop or R&B (Mainly because it's mostly vile.), but I really like this (Mainly because it's theologically sound.).
like Mr. Linne, we are to take refuge in God (It's more than evident in his lyrics that he does this.); it refreshes our souls like water to a parched throat and it puts us as ease with the Creator of the universe who we call our Father (Likewise, He calls us His children.). What beautiful imagery this is! We're to run to our Father and cling to Him!
In return, the LORD is our shield; Luther called Him a Mighty Fortress. What strength this shows us! Forget asking if God can make a stone too heavy for Him to lift (Such questions are foolish.); ask if God is strong enough to protect YOU and to act as your Shield.
Chances are, He is more than strong enough; rely on Him as your Shield and Mighty Fortress (We don't have to be "strong enough"; that's why we run to Him.).
Speaking of being strong enough, one of my favorite songs is by Matthew West; he sings about this very thing (The link takes you directly to the official music video.): Matthew West's Strong Enough
10/10/11
This Week in Scripture; secrets and regrets
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. - Psalm 139:15
This verse is the third in a series of verses related to one another that I wanted to memorize (I had memorized verses 13 and 14.); all three speak on how personal and how creative God is (Who else would have thought of knitting a person together, for example? Who else would be wonderfully and fearfully made?).
That said, the things that we tried to keep secret are known to God; don't even bother hiding anything from the Creator of the universe because He already knows! It's better to repent and to strive toward being more Christ-like.
Something that came to mind as of late is a song (Are you surprised? I hope not.) called "Secrets and Regrets" from Pillar; the chorus goes like this:
Why should we be surprised that, when our darkest and deepest secrets are finally let out of the bag and sprung into the open? Shouldn't we be more aware that our sinful natures, while earnestly trying to keep things hidden, often fail us? Even when the motives are considered altruistic or "good", there is still something underneath that seeks to puff the self up instead of God.
No matter how good it looks on the outside, the ulterior motive always has a way in revealing itself. Make sure that the real reason you're doing something glorifies God instead of yourself.
This verse is the third in a series of verses related to one another that I wanted to memorize (I had memorized verses 13 and 14.); all three speak on how personal and how creative God is (Who else would have thought of knitting a person together, for example? Who else would be wonderfully and fearfully made?).
That said, the things that we tried to keep secret are known to God; don't even bother hiding anything from the Creator of the universe because He already knows! It's better to repent and to strive toward being more Christ-like.
Something that came to mind as of late is a song (Are you surprised? I hope not.) called "Secrets and Regrets" from Pillar; the chorus goes like this:
Your secrets and regrets are keeping you from going very far
And you can't let all this get you down and keep you living in the dark
Cause all you're looking for is love
You're living in the dark; you just can't get enough
Why should we be surprised that, when our darkest and deepest secrets are finally let out of the bag and sprung into the open? Shouldn't we be more aware that our sinful natures, while earnestly trying to keep things hidden, often fail us? Even when the motives are considered altruistic or "good", there is still something underneath that seeks to puff the self up instead of God.
No matter how good it looks on the outside, the ulterior motive always has a way in revealing itself. Make sure that the real reason you're doing something glorifies God instead of yourself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)