Devotional 12-24-16

Psalm 98 (From The Message)

¹  Sing to God a brand-new song.  He’s made a world of wonders!  He rolled up his sleeves,  He set things right.  ² God made history with salvation, He showed the world what he could do.  ³ He remembered to love us, a bonus to his dear family, Israel—indefatigable love.  The whole earth comes to attention. Look—God’s work of salvation!  ⁴ Shout your praises to God, everybody!  Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!  ⁵ Round up an orchestra to play for God, Add on a hundred-voice choir.  ⁶ Feature trumpets and big trombones, Fill the air with praises to King God.  ⁷ Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause, with everything living on earth joining in.  Let ocean breakers call out, “Encore!”  And mountains harmonize the finale—  ⁹ A tribute to God when he comes, when he comes to set the earth right.  He’ll straighten out the whole world, He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it.

One of my favorite forms of worship has been through music.  Music is one way that we all communicate with God, and with each other.  There are times when an artist finds words when set to music remind us to thank God for providing for our lives.

There are times when these words reminds us to care for our neighbors, using acts of kindness to praise God for the blessings in our lives.  Some artists simply use melodies and harmonies to pull our emotions and feelings to the surface and make us understand that we are not alone in this world.

Looking back, I was encouraged to participate in activities involving music.  Each of the different activities exposed me to different forms of music.  Children’s choir taught stories of God and Jesus.  The music wasn’t always perfect, but it was most definitely a Joyful Noise.  In school, joining the band, I learned to play the trombone and was taught many different forms of music, classical, popular, and jazz.  Each of these types of music would stir different emotions for me while playing, and would cause similar and many times other emotions to be stirred by the audience.

The psalm calls for us to sing a New song.  Singing a new song to thank God for his salvation, and a new song to help others know the love and salvation of Christ! As much as I enjoy singing and playing an instrument, it is difficult to convey a message to a large group on my own.  But, if we come together as an orchestra or choir to sing for God we are given the chance to reach out to our congregation and to our neighbors as well.  Some of these neighbors may know God, but others may not, and the music we provide can help them experience the love, strength and salvation of Christ!

Dear God, Thank you for your love and salvation!  We are grateful for your strength and love.  As we sing through song and voice help us to reach out to those that need your love.  Use our music to share your story, let us sing from the mountains so that all may share in your glory!  Amen

Hulse Budd