Oh yeah!!! It’s Finally Friday!
I can’t believe it’s been 4 years since I pulled that old song out. May I need some new material. Of course, I do spend a lot of time in an old book! An old book that provides tons of new insight like this part of Psalm 116. Later down than the part shared earlier in the week.
Truly I am your servant, Lord;
I serve you just as my mother did;
you have freed me from my chains. Ps 116:16
See, just like George Jones says, we are free again!
Sometimes it’s good to remember where you come from, and how you arrived at this place. It keeps you connected with the big picture.
7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 (NASB)
A few weeks ago I shared a link to Hillsong’s Ocean. Well, check out this version:
It’s a pretty nice cover! It is also a great opportunity to continue to unpack the profound lyrics that construct this song. In May, I wrote about developing a trust in Him. Today, I remind you of another part of this song. The idea of calling on Him when things are not as peaceful as maybe we think they should be.
So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Most of the time I have a hard time actually believing, let along remembering, that the Creator of the world is inclined to listen, but yet he does.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live. Psalm 116:2
I love that Psalm!
WOW!
He’s never failed, and He won’t start now.
Sometimes I just love the paraphrasing in the Message. It’s so refreshing and full of excitement. I mean look at the Bible Gateway Verse of the Day today. I had my settings in my browser set to a Spanish version when I hit the site this morning. (long story why I was reading the Spanish Bible). The verse of the day looked like this:
La exposición de Tus palabras imparte luz; Da entendimiento a los sencillos.
But in the Message! WOW!
Every word you give me is a miracle word— how could I help but obey? Break open your words, let the light shine out, let ordinary people see the meaning. Mouth open and panting, I wanted your commands more than anything. Turn my way, look kindly on me, as you always do to those who personally love you. Steady my steps with your Word of promise so nothing malign gets the better of me. Rescue me from the grip of bad men and women so I can live life your way. Smile on me, your servant; teach me the right way to live. I cry rivers of tears because nobody’s living by your book!
Let us always be ready to learn the right way to live.
I got the ‘your phones storage is full’ message last night, so I started to find stuff I could delete. Obviously I could not remove any of the hundreds of apps. I mean I use all of them all the time, right? Or I might someday. So, reluctantly, I went for the old podcasts and the image gallery. Of course there was plenty of space to find between podcasts that I will never listen to and the ‘temporary images’ captured in fleeting moments of importance. While reviewing the screenshots, food pictures and shopping notes, I found this image.
I took this screen capture sometime last fall. And I was glad I did. Seeing this promise again was very affirming and motivating for me. I think you may find similar satisfaction from reminding yourself of the hope we have in our Lord.
It also was affirmed by the closing message at my church’s morning gathering. We closed the day with a video message from a small group of believers from China. The last speaker in the video said something to the effect of ‘in total Jesus fills my life with hope!’
Yes, and it will never put us to shame.