Personal Songs of Thanks to God

Ever felt intimidated to pray aloud before others? Record your prayers in a journal? Afraid you need to use special language made up of fancy words or have knowledge of some arcane phraseology?

Don't believe the lie! God wants to hear your voice. Your thanks. Your praise. It's not just the words, it's the person He listens for.

The LORD is my strength and my shield;

in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

my heart exults,

and with my song
I give thanks to him.

[Ps 28:7 ESV; emph added]

Your song. No one else has one like it. It is as unique as you are. As unique as your circumstance. As unique as your relationship with Him, for He has acted as personally to you - in your life - as the next person.

You don't need some esoteric code...especially to impress others. It's your heart He sees, not just your words He hears.

Yes, there are times of sorrow when our heart is hurting and the song weighs heavy. Never so heavy that it can't drift heavenward. Note that these beautiful words of worship are encased in a Psalm of Lament. Your personal song of praise zooms God into focus, makes the bitter sweet, and exults the heart...yours and His. It transforms lament into worship.

Bless the Lord with your song of thanks -- it's sweet music to His ears.


Heavenly Father; Composer, singer, eloquent poet, I'm not. Merely a child that loves You and turns face and voice Home with a song of thanks in my heart. Don't let timidity silence these lips in praise of You. Let nothing steal away what is rightfully Yours. Amen.

Prime Choice

Have you noticed how many blend varieties there are of ground beef lately? The time spent making my meat selection at the market the other day was not only delayed but complicated. There were rows of various fat-to-meat formulas to choose from, it made my head spin. Of course, I wanted to make an informed and wise decision -- wanting the best for the sake of my family's health and a tasty meal.

Brain input requires even greater consideration. The best standard of measure is Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.



It's the equivalent of choice meat for your mind. Use it to weigh Top Choice, Grade A1 quality content. I highly recommend memorizing this morsel. You can learn to discipline your mind by applying it when determining what you feed your mind. It will help you to choose between good, better, and best. World vs. Heavenly content.


Dear Lord; Train us to discipline our minds by Your holy "whatever" standard -- desiring only the absolute best input for our minds.

Ancient Alarm

Words storm, blaring off the page - an ancient alarm to rouse and startle a sleepy soul. God's recorded voice -- warning signals reverberating through time.

History testifies to God's faithfulness to His Word. History, the seen for a faith in matters unseen. History, the visible that girds belief of the invisible.

History, when aligned with His prophetic Word, tells of God's dealings in response to man's actions. History should serve as our warning from past judgments delivered.

God gave prophetic warnings. Left unheeded, the forecast came to be. That same forecast, come and gone, now a matter of factual record, stands for us today. And the devastating resulting events sounded an alarm. Do they fall upon deaf ears? Hardened hearts?

A particular chapter of God's judgment I read over and over this week was Isaiah 5. Judah failed - mainly in their relationship with God. He spoke through His servant, Isaiah.

"Now I will tell you

what I am going to do to my vineyard:

I will take away its hedge,

and it will be destroyed;

I will break down its wall,

and it will be trampled.

I will make it a wasteland,

neither pruned nor cultivated,

and briers and thorns will grow there.

I will command the clouds

not to rain on it."

[Is 5:5-6]

God had gone to great lengths to restore the relationship He cherished. He did so with Judah then. He has done even more so in the coming, dying, and raising of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. He reasonably expects sweet fruit from His vineyard -- not "sour grapes."

"So man will be brought low

and mankind humbled,

the eyes of the arrogant humbled.

But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice,

and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness."

[Is 5:15-16]

We extol the grace and love of God, and rightfully so. We tend to neglect His holiness and justice of equal and infinite measure. The Lord Almighty, Jesus, will be exalted by His justice. He has told us when He judges His decisions are right for He stands with the Father.

It can't be rightly denied that God has acted justly. Continues to act justly. Will forever act justly. It is of great comfort to our peace to know, also, that God responds to injustice.

"Woe to those who call evil good

and good evil,

who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter."

[Is 5:20]

Judah was guilty of corruption, of perverting truth. Our nation is in just such a woeful state. Would you agree? I am of the opinion that we are of similar guilt, of making the Great Exchange. World-view over Biblical-view. Man's reasoning over God's wisdom. Lie for Truth.

I read further in Baker's Commentary that Isaiah spotlighted six woes: social and economic elitism; drunkenness; corruption of justice; corrupt religious values; they exchanged godly wisdom for the folly of man; further drunkenness. Two guilty charges that stood prominently above the rest before my eyes:

"Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes

and clever in their own sight.

....for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty

and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel."

[Is 5:21, 24b]

Sound all too familiar? Does it resemble the reflection of your neighborhood? Personally, I am guilty of being just such a sinful creature.

Empires have risen, empires have fallen. Look closely into history in the Biblical record. Hear those sirens yet? Sirens to blaze a fear of God? God never acts outside of His character. He can't. And it is well within His pronounced will to reveal His glory to bring people to Himself to exalt and revere Him. To see His justice, His holiness, His righteousness, in perfect balance with His mercy, grace, and love.

He gave fair and repeated warning that bore no fruit. Doesn't a warning once given still stand? Shouldn't the result carry even more weight? Is what happened in ancient history alarming enough to wake from a long slumber?



Holy God of Glory; Jesus is the Hedge around Your Vineyard, the Church, and I give thanks. Forgive us for rejecting You, Your Word, Your Beloved Son. I offer praise for Your grace and Your mercy. Help me to remember there will be a judgment by the Perfect Judge of All Righteousness, Jesus Christ. Help us to have a humble and proper fear of You, at the same time being confident of our salvation in Christ and Your faithfulness to Your Word of Promise. In the Name of Jesus, may more hear daily; take heed; then turn to warn and perpetually share the Good News. Amen. 

Punctuate Your Day

They will celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

[Ps 145:7]

Celebrations - they're the exclamation points of life! They punctuate what's important to us. Namely, relationships.

My weekend contained a family celebration. I never tire of them. Graduations, weddings, birthdays; they might be the excuse, but isn't it the person we celebrate? Occasions provide the avenue to accentuate the person. And because of the relationship we celebrate them and share in their special life-moments, accomplishments, victories, and gladness.

As a child of God, don't we have something to celebrate? Rather, Someone? To celebrate Who He Is and what He has done? And not only to celebrate our Father but celebrate with our Father? Celebrate the reconciliation of a once broken relationship.

He celebrates over us.

The father portrays God in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He calls for celebration at the lost son's return home. And God does the same over each child's repentance.

And as Christians? We have opportunity to celebrate Christ every Sunday with the practice of the Lord's Supper. We celebrate the Person, the relationship we enjoy, His sacrifice, His victory, His resurrection, His gift. Our celebration of the Trinity is worship and adds an exclamation point to each and every day.

We have a standing invitation in Christ to continually add celebratory moments to our lives. Accentuate your relationship with your Heavenly Father: add an exclamation point to your day by celebrating God.



Our Gracious Father; Let the joy of the Spirit spill over, bringing celebration of Christ into my heart today.

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;

let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

[Ps 95:1]

The Shell Game

As I spun through the lot, headed for home after a quick-stop at the grocery, it caught the corner of my eye and I smirked. "You're not foolin' me," I thought to myself.

I noticed the renovation was complete. A local fast-food joint that had been under reconstruction for weeks was finally done. I wasn't impressed.

I had gotten a closer look (quite by accident) at the method to their over-haul as the work was underway. I took particular notice of their short-cuts. The construction of this face-lift was no more than a hollow shell. It was made to look good on the outside without changing anything on the inside. It reminded me of the Disney movie set I once visited. Impressive on the exterior. No more than propped up beams on the unseen-side.

They wanted to give the impression that the place had changed. All it really got was an external refreshing. The outer appearance - the shell - got buffed and polished and renewed, while all remained quite unchanged on the inside.

Let that not be our method, ladies. To the crowds and Disciples, of the Scribes and Pharisees, Jesus strongly rebuked otherwise. He emphatically expressed His great displeasure in seven harsh woes directed toward those that "preach and do not practice" so that their "deeds are seen by others."

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.


"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." [Mt 23:25-28]

We can easily become consumed with our outer shell. Not so with God! God expressed His character and His dealings with man up-front and early-on. Into the first few chapters of the Bible we learn that He views the inside of man. (This could be both a curse and a blessing. Merciful and shameful. A word for and against.)

The world is filled with every imaginable service to change the appearance of our every extremity. We are confronted with continual temptations, to the point of distraction and unhealthy esteem, to enhance and improve; buff and polish. It's "Shell Game for Dollars"....multi-billion dollars.

But does it drape us in a superficial cloak of pretentiousness? Or worse yet, guise an empty shell?

To those around us, possibly. But not to God. You see, we only fool ourselves -- and the mirror.

They are His eyes we want to please. And the Unseen looks upon the things not visible to the human eye.

God wants to renovate from the inside out. And now -- He will deal with our outer appearance later.

No facade. No outer guise. The real thing. Deeper than skin.

When He changes us, it is visible on the outside, too. In a different way. But noticeable by others, nonetheless!

That's the beauty!

And just what do people see:

• Our fruitful-ness (the Blessed Fruit of the Holy Spirit)
• Our hopeful-ness (our hope in God and the truth of His Word)
• Our other-ness (our love for each other)
• Our separate-ness (that we are set apart, living holy lives unto God)
• Our different-ness (as worldly non-conformists)

When God changes us on the inside, it is noticeable on the outside, too. Oh, it may not be in the endless ways we can alter everything from our toenails to our profiles, but it is far more significant! It doesn't happen all at once either. It's the slow process of sanctification. Others might not see the lasting transformation immediately but we'll sight sporatic glimpses of it here and there. This is where we trust the eyes of our Maker.

Don't buy into the delusional shell game.

Man might be in the business of revamping the looks of the outer shell. Only God can reconstruct us internally and make it truly, substantially -- eternally -- new.

Vollied Thoughts

With daughter away on adventure, son has unrivaled Mom-time. I asked of him what we could do together in these span of days and he chose tennis. He usually does. It’s one of the special things we do together.

It started in our driveway when he was young. A few years ago, he graduated to the courts. Over the past couple years; we steal a date here, a half-hour there -- whenever the two of us can have some one-on-one time.

Well, we made it three times this week. The heat kept most wise players away, so we had choice pick of a shady court to ourselves the first two times out. We could just play with reckless abandon without concern of infringing on a more serious neighboring match.

Then there was Thursday. The hottest day all week. I expected the same deserted courts. We pulled into the lot and I soon realized we would have to share a court. We strolled past the other polished players with all the right moves, the latest gear….the spotless game. Our selected court buddied-up to two men. I was instantly intimidated. I started to cower, thinking of excuses or a way out. Beg son for a “rain-date.”

While insecurity in skill did play a small part, it wasn’t embarrassment I mainly feared. I’m quite use to that. Why, you might even go so far as to say I live there. I paused in fear of judgment. Here we came with our casual street attire, old equipment, worn balls, lax attitudes in pursuit of entertainment. My thoughts and nerves rattled over our unconventional appearance. What would they think?

A mental siren brought these errant thoughts to a screeching halt. “Hold up! There’s more to you than this game. Remember who you are. Whose you are. Gain strength and stand secure in your identity, not what others will gather at a shallow, outward glance.”

How often do I cower at the risk of the opinions of others? How often do I become uncomfortable by allowing perceived assumptions rob me of the abundant life I’ve been given in Christ? I was ready to forego a blast tossing lobs at my son because I didn’t look the part or measure up to an imagined standard.

I don’t have to fit the mold to enjoy a particular activity. I don’t have to model perfection before others. Before God, even.

The truth in God’s Word of who I am is teaching me that I can always overcome negative thoughts and feelings when I remember my Creator, the image I bear, and the value He has assigned to my life.

I might be unconventional, but feeling secure in my relationship with Jesus Christ makes me a winner with an advantage.



Lord Jesus; Thank You for the confidence I have in You.

When Your Heart Aches

What do you do when your heart aches? Breaks? And your mind screams from the nonsensical?

A dear one’s pain so great, the intensity ripples a blow so hard as to make it seem like your heart is a constricting, cramping muscle experiencing the likes of a charley-horse.

Does the Holy Spirit in those of the Body connect us in such a way that when He grieves, we all do? When one heart takes a beating, the Connect reverberates a throbbing echo?

The loss is not my own directly, but another’s. But my heart aches so for this precious family. The pain must provoke faith-action. Pain without action is merely emotion, dead faith. One must move from emotion to compassion.

Compassion does. Compassion comes alongside and suffers with the afflicted in active kindness. Compassion reaches out and touches the hurting.

Jesus taught us compassion. Showed us compassion. Demonstrated it most profoundly on the Cross. God showed it is not sorrow that sits idly by, feeling only. It enters into and shares in the mess.

My heart pounds hard and heavy upon heaven’s door. A heart beating hard for the compassion of Christ. It is His heart that is breaking. Him dwelling within that aches and knows the needed response. It is His love coursing through these veins to be poured out on those He mourns with.

And what of my mind demanding rational explanations? Racing for reasons of practicality, simplicity. But life is messy – to say the least. The answered "Why?!" the one missing puzzle piece. Mike Sparks made a comment relating to a Bible lesson he was teaching, but applies here; “I’m ok with life being complicated.” We don’t always have simple answers, simple solutions.

I reach for whatever truth I can get my hands on. I remember an economics process learned in a college class; “First In – First Out”. A verse I read fresh just that day readily available. With it comes a string of pearls illuminating what my head knows but my heart doesn’t yet feel. With them the fact Jesus is the only Truth I need know.

Our hearts ache. Our Body aches. Time will come for us to act. To minister. To share the beautiful compassion of the Lord that loves them so. Until then, our prayers weigh heavy.

Heaven’s door open,

Divine Ears listening,

God's Hand strong enough

To lift,

To hold,

To carry.

The compassion of Christ complete,

Replete with active love

To soothe the aching heart.

A U. S. Birthday Plea

Today, let’s look up beyond our flag

To the God of our fair land

And bow in humble prayer.

Sons and daughters of our Founding Father, God

Unite in heartfelt prayer for America to

Keep us independent of the world

Ever-dependent upon God.

May we rise once again

To be a world leader

In morality, character, and ethics.

May we cease our wandering in relativism

Buried in materialism

Lost in self-service.

As our nation grows older

Pray we’ll grow wiser

In the ways of Christ.

Remember to give thanks

For the abundance of God’s steadfast love

And blessings of His faithfulness and grace.

Celebrate His favor this far

His truth freely spoken here

And the glory of His Wonderful Name.

Consider:

Join in the beautiful and powerful

Prayer-song of Casting Crowns:

“If We’ve Ever Needed You”

from their “Until the Whole World Hears” CD

Previous 4th of July Post:
Praying A Psalm For America

A Deadly Sting

The summer sojourners sing out from the trees. By the sound of it, the species of insects seem limitless. I settle down on the back deck for an evening read and quickly get lost in the Text.

For sin is the sting that results in death,

and the law gives sin its power.

[1 Cor 15:56 NLT]

I subconsciously rub my calf to ease phantom pain as I turn this verse over and over and over again in my head.

Beneath my fingertips, a tell-tale scar -- all that remains of an old wound. The mark a result of a bee sting. The left-behind stinger festered beneath layers of flesh, gradually turning into a full-blown staff infection. The poison spread down my leg, eventually making my entire body quite ill.

The doctors fought the infection with powerful antibiotics for weeks. It was still limited in what it could cure, however.

And while the bacteria was fierce and had deadly potential, there is another far more deadly...sin.  Illness of the soul no antibiotic can touch.

But thank God!

He gives us victory over sin and death

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[1 Cor 15:57 NLT]

Jesus Christ brought healing to the sin in my life. Yours, as well. He weakened its power in fulfilling the law and removed its sting by conquering death. Yet another aspect of the Good News for thanksgiving!

God, through Christ Jesus, has given us victory over something far more destructive and far more deadly than an infected bee sting. He fights -- and conquers -- what no antibiotic can master. He is victorious over our physical and spiritual enemies of sin and death where there is no other cure. He is the answer for whatever ails you.


Thanks be to God for the forgiveness of our sin in Christ.  Thanks be that the wage of death for my sin has been paid by Christ on the Cross.  Thanks be for the power to overcome sin in my life.  Thanks be for the promise of eternal life, promise of victory.  Thanks be that by His wounds I am healed.  Thanks be....