My soul will sing...

"I will bless the Lord at all time; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.  My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.  

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together! 

 I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.  Those who look to the Lord are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.  

This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.  The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.  

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!  Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!  

Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack."  - Psalm 34:1-9

Gifts

I think we all have that "inner child" when it comes to gifts.  Like at Christmas time, we all remember how it felt to be waiting with such anticipation for the presents from Mom and Dad.  We would wait all December, seeing the pile slowly accumulate with brightly wrapped packages.  Then Christmas morning finally comes, and us kids would wake up at the break of dawn!  Our parents are sleepy-eyed, but they still smile with just as much joy as they watch us open the presents.

What makes this process so much fun!  Is it the surprise?  The whole point of a gift is that it is something you didn't choose, but it was given to you.  Is is the anticipation?  Or the expectation of something wonderful?

So, what is it about gifts?

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, 

coming down from the Father of lights 

with whom there is no variation 

or shadow due to change."  

James 1:17

Our heavenly Father is the Giver of good gifts.  All His gifts are good, because He is good!  

Think of this in relation to what it is like to get presents at Christmas time.  We are so excited for this "thing/present".  We don't know what is in the package.  We may have suggested some items that we wanted, but in the end our parents made the final decision for what would be good and best for us.  It might be that toy we always wanted, or the socks that we really needed!  We don't approach the tree with fear or worry, but we are excited to find out what is there.  

Our heavenly Father is the Giver of good gifts.  All His gifts are good, because He is good!  

"I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord; 

I have no good apart from You'"  

Psalm 16:2

Think of all the gifts we have from God.  

Everything is from God!   

And everything from God is a good gift.  

My life is a gift from God, every part of it, even what I don't see.  In His grace, He has given me so many blessings--so many good things.  He has allowed me to learn things and go through trials--so many good things.  He is working out His plan for my life, which is a gift from His good hand. 

I can go through life waiting expectantly for the next gift from God.  I can be like that child on Christmas day, holding their breath for the nod from Mom and Dad to dive into the pile of good things.  I don't need to fear or worry, the gift will be good!!!  

"You open Your hand; 

You satisfy the desire of every living thing.  

The Lord is righteous in all His ways, 

and kind in all His works."  

Psalm 145:16-17

God gives good gifts. 

a new year is here...2013

So, I know that I am a little late for the whole...beginning of the year blog posts about New Year Resolutions and reflections from the past year...but I figured something was better than nothing!

Here is something to start the year off right!
This is the song "Dear Refuge of my Weary Soul".

And another personal favorite...

See, this is something...:)  

(don't worry, in true blogger fashion, I'll have a post soon about my thoughts on the new year and so forth!!!)

My Ebenezer's 100th post - thoughts from Valley of Vision

I have slowly been working my way through "The Valley of Vision", a compilation book of Puritan prayers.  I am always blessed and challenged as I read the thoughts that came from the hearts of these godly men.  Today has been no different.

Regeneration

O God of the highest heaven,

Occupy the throne of my heart,

take full possession and reign supreme,

lay low every rebel lust,

let no vile passion resist Thy holy war,

manifest Thy mighty power,

and make me Thine for ever.

Thou art worthy to be 

praised with my every breath,

loved with my every faculty of soul,

served with my every act of life.

Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me,

purchased, washed, favored, clothed, adorned me,

when I was worthless, vile, soiled, polluted.

I was dead in iniquities,

having no eyes to see Thee,

no ears to hear Thee,

no taste to relish Thy joys,

no intelligence to know Thee;

But Thy Spirit has quickened me,

has brought me into a new world as a new creature,

has given me spiritual perception,

has opened to me Thy Word as light, guide, solace, joy. 

Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace; 

no provocation can part me from Thy sympathy,

for Thou hast drawn me with cords of love,

and dost forgive me daily, hourly.

O help me then to walk worthy of Thy love,

of my hopes, and my vocation.

Keep me, for I cannot keep myself;

protect me that no evil befall me;

let me lay aside every sin admired of many;

help me to walk by Thy side, lean on Thy arm, 

holy converse with Thee,

that henceforth I may be salt of the earth and a blessing to all. 

Here is a video of the Sovereign Grace rendition of this prayer.  The title is "O Great God".  May the music cement the great truths of the scriptural prayer into your heart, so that you may be filled with "...psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord." (Eph. 5:19)

February 24th: the power of music

For those who know me, you are all aware of the fact that MOST of the time I have some sort of song/melody in my head.  Usually, I can be heard humming, whistling, and singing a song (not at the same time though!) 

I have a fascination with music.  I love to sing.  I love to listen to music.  I love to play the piano and violin.  I love music.  At times, I play the piano to relax.  Or go for a walk and listen to music. 

But music is powerful.  Too often, believers take for granted the amount of power that music can have on a person's mind.  Like anything else, music can either be used to glorify God or glorify ourselves. 
In the Scripture, there are examples of singing.  King David wrote many of the psalms (which are actually songs) in the book of Psalms.  These songs talk about God's character and His grace and mercy that is show to men.  In Acts 2, the early church gathered together to praise God.  Though this doesn't say that they sang, yet they still ascribed honor to the Lord.  Which practice we often do by singing. 

I don't know why it hit me today, but I realized afresh of the encouragement that comes from singing songs of praise and worship to God.  This encouragement doesn't come from a 15 min. "worship team" singing songs, but from an attitude of worship to God and a mouth willing to extol the Lord. 

These are some of the lyrics that I had in my head today. 

O wondrous Love, that will not let me go.  I cling to You with all my strength and soul. 

Yet if my hold should ever fail.  This wondrous Love will never let me go.

You hold my life, You take my joys and sorrows.  And cause them all to bring glory to You. 

Your ways are high, too deep for man to fathom.  But You are good,

and this will be my theme. 

I have a shelter in the storm, when troubles pour upon me.  When fears are rising like a

flood, my soul can rest securely.  O, Jesus, I will hide in You.  The one who

bears my burdens, with faithful hands that never fail,

You'll bring me home to heaven. 

Hallelujah, all I have is Christ.  Hallelujah!  Jesus is my Life!

You held out Your arms, I see them still.  You never left You never will.  Running to embrace me now I know, Your cords of love will always hold. 

Mercies robe, a ring of grace, such favor undeserved. 

You sing over me and celebrate, a rebel now Your child. 

Come weary saints, though tired and weak.  Hide away in the love of Jesus. 

He offers the rest that you yearn to know.  Hide away in the love of Jesus. 

It is not death to die, to leave this weary road.  And join with saints who dwell on high

who have their with God.  It is not death to close, the eyes long dimmed by tears, and

rest in peace before Your throne, delivered from our fears. 

Oh, Jesus, conquering the grave.  Your precious blood has power to save! 

Those who trust in You, will in Your mercy find; that it is not death to die. 

May the peace of God our heavenly Father, and the grace of Christ the risen Son, and the fellowship of God the Spirit keep our hearts and minds within Your love. 

And to Him be praised for His glorious grace, from the depths of earth,

to the heights of heaven, we declare the name of the Lamb once slain,

Christ eternal, the King of Kings!

Music is powerful, because it has the power to speak words that glorify God, and combine melodies that are pleasing and enjoyable to the ear.  God created us with the ability to enjoy beautiful things.  And music can be one of those beautiful things.  Yet, our music should never cause us to focus on things that are not honoring to God.  Our music should be a reflection of the gospel, and an effective way of telling others of the grace of God in our lives. 

This is happy! 



February 18th: glorious!

How great You are,

Your greatness none can fathom.

Upholding all,

By Your almighty Word.

The universe,

Fulfills Your every purpose.

And all You’ve made

Will bring You praise, O God

You are glorious, glorious

And we will lift our voices to worship You

You are glorious, glorious

And we will always be in awe of You

You move the stars

The planets in their courses

The clouds and wind

And everything that moves

You hold my life

You take my joys and sorrows

And cause them all

To bring glory to You

Your ways are high

Too deep for man to fathom

But You are good

And this will be my theme

You sent Your Son

To live and die for sinners

So I will trust

And hope in You, my King

This song has been an encouragement to me the last couple of days.

Praise God for songs that exalt Him and exhort the saints.

God is good!!!

This is happy!

February 17th: Friday!!!

There are few things better for students than the prospect of Friday. It is the end of another week, and the beginning of the weekend.

To begin my Friday, I sang with Evidence at Grandview Christian School. We have been doing some concerts at local Christian schools to recruit for Calvary. It was a great morning of ministry.

There is something special about proclaiming the goodness of God to kids. No matter their age,

the word of God can still impact their lives.

It was encouraging to see some of them truly understanding and praising God through the words of the songs. One of the songs that we sing is called "Raise your Hands", which talks about praising God through every situation in life whether it is good or bad.

Music is so powerful.

Music can be used to praise God.