God Feels Your Pain

 

Celebrating God Godly Love Among Believers Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)  Praise for God's Eternal Reign   Psalm 10:12-18 New International Version 12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.     Do not forget the helpless. 13 Why does the wicked man revile God?     Why does he say to himself,     "He won't call me to account"? 14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;     you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you;     you are the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break the arm of the wicked man;     call the evildoer to account for his wickedness     that would not otherwise be found out. 16 The Lord is King forever and ever;     the nations will perish from his land. 17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;     you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, 18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,     so that mere earthly mortals     will never again strike terror. For Reflection I know that the theme for this week is praise. But I had a conversation with someone who has always been kind and considerate to me. He spoke to me about how helpless he felt and how deep his anger was. Yes, it was a right-wing raving of blame. At mid-life, he seemed to be helplessly betrayed by life and hopeless for a better future. His words were filled with hate. It seemed as if all of creation was set against him. What could I possibly say to him at that moment when he trusted me enough to reveal how deeply disappointed he is in the outcomes of his life? How could I comfort him? What could I say that would ease the pain he experiences in his dark place? Could I say I'll pray for him? What an insult! All I could do was listen, really listen, to the point that I began to share his pain. At that moment, I began to understand how God must feel when we cry out in agonizing suffering. What can God do when one is imprisoned in their deepest darkest thoughts and does not turn to God? Is it possible that not even God can save one who does not trust in God? I will pray for him. I will pray because I know God will not give up on him. Somehow, God will continue to set a path for him to find peace. I will pray that he will see God's path and find rest. Judgment belongs to God. Compassion is ours to give, even if it is just listening silently.   Pray Pray for all those whose lives are restrained in darkness and hopelessness. Pray that they will find rest in the hollow of God's hand. Pray for the wisdom to listen and hear the suffering of others. Praise God for his stead fast love and God's gift of our capacity to love each other. Forward to a friend

Making Melody to God

 

Celebrating God

Called to Praise God
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

 

Praise God With Music

Psalm 149 The Message

149 ^1-4 Hallelujah!

Sing to God a brand-new song,
    praise him in the company of all who love him.
Let all Israel celebrate their Sovereign Creator,
    Zion’s children exult in their King.
Let them praise his name in dance;
    strike up the band and make great music!
And why? Because God delights in his people,
    adorns plain folk with salvation garlands!

^5-9 Let true lovers break out in praise,
    sing out from wherever they’re sitting,
Shout the high praises of God,
    brandish their swords in the wild sword-dance—
A portent of vengeance on the God-defying nations,
    a signal that punishment’s coming,
Their kings chained and hauled off to jail,
    their leaders behind bars for good,
The judgment on them carried out to the letter
    —and all who love God in the seat of honor!
Hallelujah!

For Reflection

Because one cannot say with words what can be said with music, On this last day of praise through music, I offer the following:

A children's song of thanks and the goodness of God. It is sung by members of the One Voice Children's Choir (directed by Masa Fukuda), and friends.

(You might have to copy and paste this link in your browser. Or just highlight it, right-click, and open the link.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTHDKxOL9cg

Pray

Pray and revel in the joy of these children of God.

Forward to a friend

Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs

Celebrating God

Called to Praise God
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

 

Praise God With Music

Colossians 3:12-17 The Message

^12-14 So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

^15-17 Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

For Reflection

Because one cannot say with words what can be said with music, I offer the following. David sang with a harp. This piece is a Celtic hymn.

(You might have to copy and paste this link in your browser. Or just highlight it, right-click, and open the link.)

https://youtu.be/8JB7R2RokaY

Pray

Pray and let your mind soar. Meditate on the Lord's transformation of your life as a child of God.

Forward to a friend

 

Paul and Silas Sing in Prison

Celebrating God

Called to Praise God
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

 

Praise God With Music

Acts 16:23-26The Message

^19-22 When her owners saw that their lucrative little business was suddenly bankrupt, they went after Paul and Silas, roughed them up and dragged them into the market square. Then the police arrested them and pulled them into a court with the accusation, “These men are disturbing the peace—dangerous Jewish agitators subverting our Roman law and order.” By this time the crowd had turned into a restless mob out for blood.

^22-24 The judges went along with the mob, had Paul and Silas’s clothes ripped off and ordered a public beating. After beating them black-and-blue, they threw them into jail, telling the jailkeeper to put them under heavy guard so there would be no chance of escape. He did just that—threw them into the maximum security cell in the jail and clamped leg irons on them.

^25-26 Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose.

For Reflection

Because one cannot say with words what can be told with music, Today I offer a young Jewish boy singing a Hebrew Hymn. Try to imagine Paul and Saul beaten bloody singing a song to God.

(You might have to copy and paste this link in your browser. Or just highlight it, right-click, and open the link.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_TBMtzeK08

Pray

Pray And imagine the pain and suffering that the song expresses to God.

Forward to a friend

David's Music Soothes Saul

 

Celebrating God

Called to Praise God
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

 

Praise God With Music

1 Samuel 16:14-23 The Message

David—An Excellent Musician

¹⁴ At that very moment the Spirit of God left Saul and in its place a black mood sent by God settled on him. He was terrified.

^15-16 Saul’s advisors said, “This awful tormenting depression from God is making your life miserable. O Master, let us help. Let us look for someone who can play the harp. When the black mood from God moves in, he’ll play his music and you’ll feel better.”

¹⁷ Saul told his servants, “Go ahead. Find me someone who can play well and bring him to me.”

¹⁸ One of the young men spoke up, “I know someone. I’ve seen him myself: the son of Jesse of Bethlehem, an excellent musician. He’s also courageous, of age, well-spoken, and good-looking. And God is with him.”

¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse requesting, “Send your son David to me, the one who tends the sheep.”

^20-21 Jesse took a donkey, loaded it with a couple of loaves of bread, a flask of wine, and a young goat, and sent his son David with it to Saul. David came to Saul and stood before him. Saul liked him immediately and made him his right-hand man.

²² Saul sent word back to Jesse: “Thank you. David will stay here. He’s just the one I was looking for. I’m very impressed by him.”

²³ After that, whenever the bad depression from God tormented Saul, David got out his harp and played. That would calm Saul down, and he would feel better as the moodiness lifted.

 

For Reflection

Because one cannot say with words what can be said with music, I offer the following. David sang with a harp. Many today sing with piano, organ, or orchestral arrangements. This piece is suitable for meditation and prayer.

(You might have to copy and paste this link in your browser. Or just highlight it, right-click, and open the link.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQPVkQclsdE

Pray

Pray and let your mind soar. Meditate on the Lord's transformation of your life as a child of God.

Forward to a friend

A Song of Praise Is Fitting

 

Celebrating God Called to Praise God Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)    Praise God With Music Psalm 147:1-7 New International Version 1 Praise the Lord.[a] How good it is to sing praises to our God,     how pleasant and fitting to praise him! 2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;     he gathers the exiles of Israel. 3 He heals the brokenhearted     and binds up their wounds. 4 He determines the number of the stars     and calls them each by name. 5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;     his understanding has no limit. 6 The Lord sustains the humble     but casts the wicked to the ground. 7 Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;     make music to our God on the harp. For Reflection Because one cannot say with words what can be said with music, I offer the following hymn. David sang with a harp. Many today sing with piano, organ, or orchestral arrangements. This hymn is contemporary Christian music. (You might have to copy and paste this link in your browser. Or just highlight it, right-click, and open the link.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0HVp1JZ1fs Pray Pray and let your heart sing. Pray and know the joy of being in the household of God. Forward to a friend

Stick with God

 

Celebrating God Called to Praise God Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)    The Joy of Worship Psalm 16 The Message 16 1-2 Keep me safe, O God,     I’ve run for dear life to you. I say to God, “Be my Lord!”     Without you, nothing makes sense. 3 And these God-chosen lives all around—     what splendid friends they make! 4 Don’t just go shopping for a god.     Gods are not for sale. I swear I’ll never treat god-names     like brand-names. 5-6 My choice is you, God, first and only.     And now I find I’m your choice! You set me up with a house and yard.     And then you made me your heir! 7-8 The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake     is confirmed by my sleeping heart. Day and night I’ll stick with God;     I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go. 9-10 I’m happy from the inside out,     and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed. You canceled my ticket to hell—     that’s not my destination! 11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,     all radiant from the shining of your face. Ever since you took my hand,     I’m on the right way. For Reflection What is it that makes the psalmist happy from the inside out? Perhaps it is that he quit worrying about what he should or should not believe about God. Maybe he has decided, instead, to love unabashedly and now understands how to love as God loves, to be obedient to the will of God and choose to live a life patterned after Jesus. Pray Pray and rest in the knowledge that you are one of God's humble, kind, compassionate stewards of God's universe, God's shepherd. Forward to a friend

Rejoice in the Lord

 

Celebrating God Called to Praise God Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)    The Joy of Worship Philippians 4:4-9 The Message 4-5 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! 6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. 8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. For Reflection Rejoice in the Lord and trust God with unreasonable fervor. Put your mind at ease and meditate on those things which are noble, gracious, and beautiful.   Pray Pray and be patient. Pray and trust in the Lord. Forward to a friend

Be as Jesus

 

Celebrating God Called to Praise God Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)    The Joy of Worship Philippians 2:1-11 The Message He Took on the Status of a Slave 2 1-4 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. 5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion. 9-11 Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father. For Reflection Think of yourselves the way Jesus thought of himself; divine but humble, selfless, obedient, in short, human. Pray Pray so that you will be able to put yourself aside and serve each other humbly. Forward to a friend