Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from the group Selah singing, His Eye Is On the Sparrow … poignantly singing of how our God watches over us, allowing us to sing for joy. … And THEN ON TO THIS LINK to close your eyes and listen to Marty Goetz singing his rendition of Psalm 23.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 42:5-6a [NLT] ... 5 Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again — my Savior and 6 my God!
… We choose the joy of the Lord to replace the sorrow in our lives.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 42:1-6 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… The psalmist used this song to lift God’s people up from heart-broken agony.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 28:6-7 [NLT] … 6 Praise the Lord! For He has heard my cry for mercy. 7 The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
… God hears the cry and songs of His children.
Reference Passage : … Psalm 100:2 [NLT] … 2 Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before Him, singing with joy.
… God desires that we come to Him, singing of our gladness and joy.
Reference Passage : … Ephesians 5:15-19 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… When we live by following God’s Spirit, we will find ourselves singing for joy.
Reference Passage : … Colossians 3:16 [NLT] … 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
… Paul so wanted fellow Christians to feel and sing of the joy we have when we walk in the Spirit of Christ.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Bill Crowder, uses an historical illustration of the power that meaningful music can have to shape our attitudes and hearts. … The ODB author wrote: What does it take to ignite a revolution? Guns? Bombs? Guerrilla warfare? In late-1980s Estonia, it took songs. After the people had lived under the burden of Soviet occupation for decades, a movement began with the singing of a series of patriotic songs. These songs birthed the “Singing Revolution,” which played a key role in restoring Estonian independence in 1991.
“This was a non-violent revolution that overthrew a very violent occupation,” says a website describing the movement. “But singing had always been a major unifying force for Estonians while they endured fifty years of Soviet rule.”
If you’ve read along with me as I’ve published my daily blogs here for the past decade or so, you’ve likely noticed that I start each entry with a link to at least one song to illustrate the essence of what I’m writing about. Why a song you might ask? Well, having been a teaching professor in the Dept. of Neurology in a major medical school for 35+ years, I learned long ago that meaningful melody and lyrics, when sung or heard together, activate certain chemicals in the brain which produce feelings of joy, peace, and well-being. In fact, one can change one’s entire attitude by just hearing or singing a melodious/meaningful song.
That’s why Christian counselors often refer people to the lyrics of joy-filled songs found in the biblical psalms. And perhaps you, as do I, go to music to lift our attitudes when we’re feeling down. In fact, … I don’t know how you’re feeling right now; but let me challenge you to first read thru and meditate on the scriptures above. Then, … close your eyes and listen to both songs linked above, especially the latter one with Marty Goetz singing his rendition of Psalm 23. And after you’ve done this, note your feelings; and if you’ve been lifted up, as I always am when I hear or sing such meaningful melodies and God-inspired lyrics, I pray that you email me [ billb13@bellsouth.net ], or comment on this website, and let me know if music means as much to you as it does to me in bringing joy into our lives.
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for wonderful Christian music to lift my soul when I’m feeling down or discouraged.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to let strong and joyous music, honoring God, to lift us up to find joy in times of sorrow. 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.</ span>
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