BFFs share their secrets with each other, right?
John 15:15 (NIV)
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
Jesus calls you friend. And he has shared the secrets of eternity with you. Friendship doesn’t get any better than that.
What makes someone your best friend?
Jesus is the bestest of Best Friends and, like no other, forever.
What a friend we have in Jesus. Absolutely!
What kind of friend does Jesus have in you?
If you were a song, what type would you be?
Uniquely you, making melody to the Lord with your heart (Eph 5:19 ESV).
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee.
Reginald Heber, 1826
I have an hour commute to work every morning. I use that time to pray. And most mornings I sing all four verses of Holy, Holy, Holy.
I imagine a throne room (it looks a bit like the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC). I see two thrones–the Father’s and the Son’s at the right hand of the Father. The Holy Spirit travels around them, fireworks on a breeze. I’m surrounded by the saints and angels. My song rises to God.
What is your morning song?
Images from some old hymns make my heart soar:
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
(Charles Wesley)
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small.
(Isaac Watts)
Could we with ink the ocean fill . . .
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry.
Frederick M. Lehman
How about you? Do you have a favorite?
Are you stuck in life’s rut? Is life a little too routine? Need a new song?
Psalm 144:9 (NIV)
I will sing a new song to you, my God;
on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you.
David’s new song was played on the same old instrument. Same old, same old, new song.
The only thing standing in the way of your new song is you. Send a new tune, some fresh thoughts, God-ward.
What is your favorite worship music?
Music touches our souls, no question about it. God knows the staying power of song. He gave his message to his people in song so they would remember:
Deuteronomy 31:19, 21 (TLB)
Now write down the words of this song, and teach it to the people of Israel . . . For this song will live from generation to generation.
You are created to sing!
Thank you, Lord God, for lengthening daylight.
Thank you, Lord God, for bright stars and clear cold nights.
Thank you, Lord God, for snow that illuminates dark nights and magnifies sunny days.
Genesis 8:22 (NLT)
“As long as the earth remains,
there will be planting and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night.”
In 1886, Charles Spurgeon preached a sermon on this passage. His message is timeless:
“When winter has chilled us a while, we look for the spring and the summer; and when summer has browned our faces, we expect the falling of the leaf and the descent of the snow. I want you to ask yourselves—Why do we not believe God’s other promises?“
The Sermon of the Seasons
Why indeed?
