Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from the group Hillsong leading in worship and singing … Sing To The Lord … poignantly singing of the need of all Christians to sing our praises to our God.
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Highlight Verse[s]: 2 Chronicles 20:21 [NKJV} …
21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.” [singing Ps. 106:1-2]
… King Jehoshaphat has the choir lead the people into battle singing praises from Ps. 106.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 2 Chronicles 20:14-22 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… King Jehoshaphat chooses a choir of God’s people to lead the Israelites into battle against their enemies singing praises to God; and the result was victory for God’s glory.
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : … Psalms 47:6, 68:4, 104:33-34 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Three of many psalms written and dedicated to praising our God.
Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : … Colossians 3:16 [NLT] …
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
… God, thru Paul, exhorted His people to live out our worship of God, singing His praises with hymns and songs.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Amy Peterson, reports a scientific study which documents the effect which singing has on the brain. The ODB author wrote: Singing changes the brain! Some studies show that when we sing, our bodies release hormones that relieve anxiety and stress. Other research indicates that when a group of people sings together, their heartbeats actually synchronize with each other.
I was in the Dept. of Neurology for a major medical school for 35 years before retiring from my medical career to go into ministry; and I can absolutely confirm author Peterson’s observation about the effect singing has on our brain. And so, it’s no wonder that God called on His children so often to use music with powerful lyrics (i.e, singing praises) to even lead them into battle (see highlight passage).
And we know that a major book in the OT is a collection of songs (i.e., Psalms), many of which were written to praise God for His majesty, greatness, and glory [see references to the psalms above]. And even the Apostle Paul on several occasions in his teachings to Christians exhorted them (and us) to sing God’s praises [see the Col. 3 passage above as one example].
And so, I hope readers here can see why I seek out a song EVERY DAY which enhances my (and prayerfully your) worship and devotional time [one such linked above]. And I would encourage others reading, i.e, those who seek a deeper way to worship our God, to use praise music to do so.
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … Lord, … I sing Your praises daily and it brings me closer to You. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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