If you happen to have read past posts (and thank you if you do!), you know singing and gratitude are two of my favorite things! Many of my posts have these as key ingredients...I just am a happier person when I do both of them...they are related in my mind...when I sing, I'm grateful; when I'm grateful, I sing! They propel me to be a better person.
The book of Psalms is essentially a hymnbook of the ancient Israelites and for hundreds of years these songs have been used in worship to celebrate God's goodness to a people who are His. Almost half of them are written by David (today's was not) and every range of emotion is covered. It is a means of focusing on God. Max Lucado wrote today in his devotion about worship being the act of magnifying God. "As we drawer nearer, he seems larger...our perception changes...like a magnifying glass." That's what, I believe, singing does...it draws us near to Him. It's not that He gets larger - He never changes - but our view of Him does. Are you singing today?
It pleased me so on Easter Sunday to see Keith and Kristyn Getty showcased on a network news program with a program "In Praise of Hymns". They are a very gifted couple who recently wrote the fabulous hymn "In Christ Alone". One of my absolute favorites.
Keith wrote an article that gave 5 reasons "Why You Need to Sing Loudly in Church". In a nutshell those 5 reasons are:
1. We are commanded to sing. (Scriptures cite more than 250 places "to sing")
2. Singing together completes our joy
3. Singing is an expression of brotherhood and unites generations.
4. We are what we sing.
5. Singing bears testimony to our faith.
Hope you might find and read the whole article.
It saddens me to watch people in church not sing...it is a terrible loss to the participant and a terrible witness to someone (young or old) standing next them looking for someone with joy. I find myself singing along with the choir many times because I can't help but sing. You don't have to have a gifted voice (I do not!) to sing with joy. If your heart has joy in it, your mouth will sing it! Our worship, with singing a very important part, is known to the Lord. He knows what we worship and how we worship.
Are you singing today?
For further study: Deuteronomy 32:3, 2 Sam. 22:50, Psalm 30:4, Psalm 59:16, Psalm 101:1, Acts 16:25, Ephesians 5:18-20, Colossians 3:16-17, Hebrews 13:15, James 5:13.
May you be blessed in your understanding of God's word.
Love,
Holly
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