God Speaks Hope

Photo by Adam Nieścioruk on Unsplash

 Unprecedented!  New normal!  Are you as sick as I of hearing these phrases? Maybe "different" or "non-traditional" are better phrases. As we enter the 2020 holiday season, it seems that once again it will be a different type of celebration this year. It seems that 2020 will never end and doesn't leave us much room for Hope. Traditionally during Advent, churches will theme their services around four specific traits/characteristics of God as we approach the celebration of the coming of baby Jesus. This past Sunday, our church focused on Hope. It is appropriate that the first week of Advent the focus is on Hope since this year seems to be a bit unhopeful. Many of us have spent a different year of birthday celebrations and even Thanksgiving get togethers. Looking towards Christmas celebrations, it seems likely that it will not be a traditional year for that either. The One steadfast and never-changing Hope that we have in all of these unusual times is our Heavenly Father. Even though everything around us may be different or change, God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 

Malachi 3:6--"Because I am the Eternal One, I never change; as a result, you children of Jacob have not been destroyed though your blessing may have been delayed."

Because God does not change, we have the hope that we will not be destroyed and that a blessing is yet to come. God does not want His children to suffer and be without Hope. He promises that we have a blessing in the future. Right now we can't see the blessing(s) in this "new normal", but one day we will see and understand.

Photo by 卡晨 on Unsplash

Jeremiah 29:11--"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

Here is Hope--God thinks about us! That is an awesome way to have Hope. The Creator of the world thinks about us.  What's more, He not only thinks about us, but sings over us as well.

Zephaniah 3:17--"The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing."

This is one of my favorite verses and now combined with the previous, it gives me hope to know that God thinks about me and rejoices over me with singing. 

Photo by Joseph Barrientos on Unsplash

Let us not lose hope in this crazy year! Maybe it's a year to start new traditions, to focus on our blessings without as much busyness, and to focus on the Hope that God gives us.

Heaven--"And know that in heaven, you have a great reward."  Matt. 5:12

Overcome--"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Power--"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."  Isaiah 40:29

Eternal life--"Those who believe in the Son will bask in eternal life, but those who disobey the Son will never experience life."  John 3:36

God SpeaksThrough a Bouquet

I must admit, I'm not a bouquet kind of gal. Don't get me wrong! I love flowers, especially in my flower garden right outside my window, but I've never been one to be disappointed if my husband didn't shower me with flowers all the time. I have received the occasional bouquet from him and it's been very nice; however, I don't feel like I'm missing out if I don't receive flowers from him for every special occasion. We have been married for 32 years and it works just fine for us. I'm not sure where that tradition started or why it started with men giving flowers to women. Wouldn't men appreciated receiving flowers too? Well, either way, today's post is about a bouquet. This is a bouquet for anyone and everyone. One of the definitions of bouquet is "an expression of approval; a compliment". So that is the bouquet for today and this bouquet comes from God. I thought it would be neat to have a bouquet of God's love for us, so enjoy the "flowers".

1.  Psalm 139:13 (The Message)--"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!  Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day."

The first flower in the bouquet describes God's knowledge and love. He knew each of us before we were born. He supervised the development of each of us in our mother's uterus and knew exactly how what we would be like. God made each of us the way we were meant to be and because of that, He loves each of us the way we are.

2.  Jeremiah 29:11 (The Message)--"I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for."

The second flower in the bouquet describes how God has plans all laid out for His followers. God's plans for our lives are beneficial to us. Often our plans for ourselves are not.

3.  Ephesians 2:7-10 (The Message)--"Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing." 

God's third flower is the bouquet is about His love for us. He created the way for us to "saved"; to be with Him after we die. He loved His creations, US, so much that He wanted to spend eternity with us. Not much better a compliment than that!

4.  Romans 8:28 (The Voice)--"We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan."

The bouquet's fourth flower relates God's desire for all good things for us. This doesn't mean that things will always go right for us, that we won't have hard times or sorrow, but it DOES mean that even those "bad" times will work out good in the end even if we can't see it. 

5.  Psalm 37:4 (The Voice)--"Take great joy in the Eternal! His gifts are coming, and they are all your heart desires!"

The fifth flower again demonstrates God's love. Don't we like to shower those we love with gifts. Gifts are complimentary on their own. It means we are special to the giver. God's gifts are coming and they are everything you could imagine.

6.  Psalm 147:11 The Voice)--"But the Eternal does take pleasure in those who worship Him, those who invest hope in His unfailing love."

Flower number six indicates that God takes pleasure in us. God is happy around those who worship Him and hope in Him. It's amazing to think that we can give happiness to God.

7. Genesis 1:31a (The Voice)--"Then God surveyed everything He had made, savoring its beauty and appreciating its goodness."

Biblically, the number seven is a special number to God, so it makes sense that the seventh flower would be descriptive of God complimenting His creation and creations. God is calling us good and as having beauty!

8.  Psalm 149:4a (Living Bible)--"For Jehovah enjoys his people; he will save the humble."

The eighth flower of the bouquet states it quite directly. Jehovah enjoys His people!

9.  Zephaniah 3:17 (Living Bible)--"For the Lord your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will give you victory. He will rejoice over you with great gladness; he will love you and not accuse you.” Is that a joyous choir I hear? No, it is the Lord himself exulting over you in happy song."

Flower nine is one of my favorites. It gives the picture of God as a caring parent. How many parents have spent time singing over their children whether it is as a bed-time routine or in fun? The ninth flower shows that God is singing over us. He is acting as a loving parent singing words of life to our soul; singing words of comfort to our hearts; singing words of hope to our minds. 

Libreshot

I hope God's little bouquet has brought you some joy today. Know that God loves you, cares for you, and has a plan for you!

God Loves to Sing

Kari Farnell

The local Christian radio station touts “the right song at the right time”. Often that is true; they just happen to be playing “just the right song” to meet whatever need I have at the time.  Music, as the saying goes, hath charms to soothe the savage beast.  Even David used music to soothe King Saul in his bouts of depression. 

Have you ever been sad or in a bad mood and turned on the radio just in time to hear music that touches your soul? That touches your very being? Sometimes it’s the actual music; sometimes it’s the lyrics that appeal to us. Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to learn something if you put it to music and how quickly you can learn the words?  If I mention the following brands, you will likely start singing the song in your head.  Empire flooring, Liberty Mutual, Mattress Warehouse, Farmer’s Insurance; there are many others.

via Unsplash

Deuteronomy 31:19 (The Voice)--”So I want you to write down this song and teach it to the children of Israel. Teach them to sing it, so it can be a witness for Me against them.”

Music and singing are an important to God and a big part of the Bible.  As is seen in the verse above, God instructs the Israelites to teach songs to the children and these songs are ones that will be a witness for God.  It was a convenient way to remember some of the laws and teachings of God. The entire book of Psalms is songs written mostly by David. Some ask for help, some give praise to God and still others are reflections. 

Throughout time, songs have been used to memorize things, and to rouse soldiers and villagers to arms and bravery, among other things. God has often been the architect of the music and musical occasions.  Remember Joshua and the Battle of Jericho?  God instructed the Israelites to march around the city for seven days with the first six days being led by the trumpeters sounding their horns.

via Dreamstime.com

An article I read recently entitled, “The Godly Purpose for Music” by David F. Maas, concludes with these thoughts:

God's Word has shown us the following things about music:

1. Music is a gift and blessing from God.

2. Music is a powerful, mood-altering agent.

3. Music is used to praise God and to create an atmosphere to receive God's Spirit.

4. Music involves sacrifice.

I’ve gone down this long, winding path and now get to the point of this “episode” of the blog.  One of my very favorite verses in the Bible is Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)--”The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with SINGING. 

Knowing how God has used music throughout the Bible and how He feels about music adds so much more excitement to this verse.  God takes delight in us and He rejoices over us with singing.  He sings to proclaim His love for His own creations. 

Pexels

Let’s examine how the four points mentioned by David Mass, above, fit into this verse. 

Point 1—“Music is a gift and blessing from God”.  When God is singing over us, He is blessing us; giving us a gift.  We may not always be aware of the gift at first, but it is there!

Point 2—“Music is a powerful, mood-altering agent”.  God is singing over us to help us find peace; to calm our spirits and if needed, alter our moods.

Point 3—“Music is used to praise God and to create an atmosphere to receive God’s Spirit”. By singing over us, God is proclaiming His love for His creation and is creating in us an atmosphere to receive God’s Spirit, if we but ask for it.

Point 4—“Music involves sacrifice”. God made the ultimate sacrifice when He sent Jesus, His son, to bear the burden of our sins. God is singing over us to prepare us to receive this sacrificial gift of His Son’s death. It wasn’t our physical death (because we each will go through that), but it was our spiritual death that He took on and all of the darkness, sadness, and grief for which we are destined without acceptance of His sacrifice.

So I leave you with a mental image. When your days are rough and the road is weary, think of Zephaniah 3:17 and imagine God, sitting on His golden throne, singing YOUR name in His song!