Sing for Real!

Psalm 1-41

“If you bury yourself in Psalms, you emerge knowing God and understanding life….We learn from the psalms how to think and act in reference to God….They show us who God is, and that expands and lifts and directs our minds and hearts” (Willard, ch. 3).  That was enough to inspire me; I’m studying Psalms!  As I read, I plan to ask myself, “What does this psalm tell me about God and my relationship to Him?”

Psalms is actually divided into five smaller books.  I want to study Book 1, which is Psalm 1-41.  It is a good number of Psalms to study in 6-8 weeks.  I decided to experiment and find out what the key words are.  Key words are often repeated, so I pasted the whole section into an online word counter.  I found out that “Lord” is the most frequent word, followed by “O” (that was funny) and then “God”.  This supports Dr. Willard’s statement.  If I bury myself in Psalms, I will read about God. 

 I began my study by reading Book 1 straight through without stopping.  It was wonderful, like listening to a beautiful choir concert!  As I read, I could hear many of the psalms being said or sung together in a beautiful worship service.  And there are songs that I imagined being penned by candlelight…one single head tearfully bent over the words, the voice of one heart crying out to God.  At times I stopped reading and thought, “Oh!  There it is!”  It was so exciting to come upon a well-known, well-loved verse in context!  The Psalms are beautiful! (I know, that is four exclamation marks in a row, but it really was a wonderful experience...!)

David wrote almost all of the songs in Book 1.  Now, I knew he was “The Psalmist.”  Really, I did.  But I didn't realize how many he wrote until I got in there and began reading for myself.   I guess I thought that since he was so busy, he had less time to write.  Well, I looked it up in my Study Bible and found that David wrote about half of the entire book of Psalms!  In Book 1, his voice is clear, and his songs come from every circumstance.  In them there is pain, frustration, grief, loneliness, anger, awe, thanksgiving, triumph, joy, confidence and love.

 

What does this tell me about God and my relationship to Him?  First, I can be honest with God. I can tell him everything...my whole messy life, just as it is.  I don’t have to clean up my feelings or leave out ugly details.  You see, David left it all in.  Many of the psalms start out terribly!  Then there is this moment when David says “But God…” and the psalm ends beautifully. That's the second thing.  David shows me that when I speak to God, I must speak to Him as He is.  He does not change along with my circumstances or feelings.  He is always Mighty.  He is always Good.  He is always King.  He is always God.  So, as I speak about how I am and what is really going on with me, it will help me to remember who God is and what is Really going on with Him. 

There is a line in a song, “I will sing like David sang.” After reading Psalm 1-41, I am encouraged to do just that.  I’m going to sing for real.  I’m going to sing more often, not just on good days.  I can sing all my songs to Him, no matter what.  God will make any song beautiful!  

What is my Bible open to now?  Psalm 1-41.  I will read it all again, straight through in a different translation.  I hope your Bible will be open, too.

---
Willard, Dallas.  The Divine Conspiracy, Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. 1997. HarperCollins e-books, EPub 
         Edition. 2009. Kindle file.

To Begin With

Who do you really admire?  Do you wish you were more like her?  Have you hung on his every word?  Maybe you would do whatever it takes to spend more time with him. Have you ever wished that someone you admire and love would know you by name and even call you friend? What would it be like to go to lunch together?  What it would be like to be in that person’s family?  It must be wonderful.  Can you imagine the conversations around the dinner table?  We never seem to get enough of those we greatly admire.

I adore and admire Jesus Christ.  He is God Almighty, and He is wonderful! When I want more of Him, He is always available.  He is always ready to unfold light and understanding, guidance and love to me.  I just need to prayerfully open the Bible, God’s perfect and complete Word, and study.  What a delightful way to grow in my faith!  It is better than having coffee with a dear friend.  When I open the Bible, I know I will find something wonderful, or convicting, or totally exciting to ponder.  The Word of God truly is a book of treasures.  It is a Book to be treasured, not on the shelf, but in the heart.

I do not study the Bible because it is a good way to start my day, or because it is the magic key to having a good day.  I study it because I want to grow spiritually.  The Bible is essential to spiritual growth and maturity.  It shows me who God is, who I am, and how to serve in God’s Kingdom.  Have you wondered, “Is there more to this life?  Is this all there is?”  The Bible answers those questions.  “Yes!  There is more to this life…. There is Abundant Life!” and, “No, this is NOT all there is…there is Heaven!  There is an eternal, personal relationship with God, who is with us, even now and forever more.”  Hope is found in Jesus Christ, and  Jesus Christ is revealed in His Word.  I cannot get enough of Jesus.  He is the Word, the Living Water, The Light of the World, the I AM, the One and Only Son, my Savior and my Lord.  So, I keep reading.

Sadly, many people want to study their Bibles, but they don't know where to start.  Many wish their quiet time with God was more meaningful, more consistent, less mundane.  There was a time when my devotional life was like a bowl of shredded wheat without milk...good for me, but oh, so dry.  After I learned a little bit about how to go about studying the Bible, and after I came up with a plan, it was easier for me to determine to spend time in prayer and study.  And then I began not just determing to have devotions, but delighting in them as well.

I am writing this blog with my Bible open.  And I am so excited about it!  However, you will not be as excited as I am, unless you read this with your Bible open.  My hope is that in reading my blog, you will want to study your Bible more yourself.  You see, personally reading and discovering Biblical truth is more exciting than reading about what someone else discovered in the Bible.  When I find something new in scripture that I haven’t seen or understood before, I am over-the-top happy.  I imagine the same will be true for you.  Many people find Bible study a little boring.  I have to admit, some days are more interesting than others.  But I know for sure that personally studying the Bible is more interesting and challenging than relying solely on someone else’s study.  That is not to say that other books, resources and studies are not helpful or needed in Bible study.  They are.  But the Bible is the only living and active Book around.  It is the complete, inspired Word of God.  So, it should be read and studied above all others.

 What is my Bible open to right now?  Psalms.  I am excited about  Psalm 119:130.  I have read Psalm 119 many, many times.  I never really noticed verse 130 before.  I love it!  So I’m memorizing it. 

“The unfolding of your words brings light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”

   Psalm 119:130 ESV

Read Psalm 119.  What do you see?