Sing To The Lord A New Song

There is just something about singing song to the Lord.  We can sing an old Hymn, a worship song, a song of praise, or we can sing a new song that lifts up the name of the Lord.  When we sing a song to the Lord something happens deep within our very hearts.  Certain verses will touch us right where we need it.  They can speak to us like nothing else can.  It is important that we do sing to the Lord.  We aren't out to become some well known singer, but we are to sing out to the One who loves us with an everlasting love.

When we think about all that God has done for us.  When we consider that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ into this world to save us sinners, isn't that worth singing about.  Our Lord has done so much good for us and He is still at work in our lives.  It should make us just want to shout out to Him words of praise.

When we think of all the good things the Lord blesses us with we should sing and shout out songs of praise and worship Him.  What an Awesome God we serve.  He is worthy of all of our praise. 

Psalm 98 says,

"1 Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

References for Psalms 98:1

• Cross References

• 1 98:1 - Ps 30:4
• 2 98:1 - S Ps 96:1
• 3 98:1 - Ex 15:1 ; Ps 96:3 ; Isa 12:5 ; Lk 1:51
• 4 98:1 - S Ex 15:6
• 5 98:1 - S Jos 4:24 ; Job 40:9 ; Isa 51:9 ; 52:10 ; 53:1 ; 63:5
• 6 98:1 - S Ps 44:3 ; Isa 59:16

2 The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.

References for Psalms 98:2

• Cross References

• 7 98:2 - Isa 52:10 ; Lk 3:6
• 8 98:2 - S Ps 97:6
• 9 98:2 - S Ps 67:2

3 He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

References for Psalms 98:3

• Cross References

• 10 98:3 - S 1Ch 16:15 ; Lk 1:54
• 11 98:3 - S Ge 49:10 ; S Ps 48:10
• 12 98:3 - S Ps 50:23

4 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;

References for Psalms 98:4

• Cross References

• 13 98:4 - Ps 20:5 ; Isa 12:6 ; 44:23 ; 52:9 ; 54:1 ; 55:12

5 make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing,

References for Psalms 98:5

• Cross References

• 14 98:5 - Ps 33:2 ; 92:3 ; 147:7
• 15 98:5 - Isa 51:3

6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn— shout for joy before the LORD, the King.

References for Psalms 98:6

• Cross References

• 16 98:6 - S Nu 10:2 ; S 2Sa 6:15 ; Nu 10:10
• 17 98:6 - S Ex 19:13
• 18 98:6 - Ps 20:5 ; 100:1 ; Isa 12:6
• 19 98:6 - Ps 2:6 ; 47:7

7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

References for Psalms 98:7

• Cross References

• 20 98:7 - S Ps 93:3
• 21 98:7 - S Ps 24:1

8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;

References for Psalms 98:8

• Cross References

• 22 98:8 - S 2Ki 11:12
• 23 98:8 - Ps 148:9 ; Isa 44:23 ; 55:12

9 let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity"

Let us remember how great the Lord is and how much He has done for us.  Let us remember all that He is still doing in our lives. 

May we continue seeking Him in prayer and read His Word.

Let us come to the Lord and sing to Him a new song that will bring Him glory, honor, and praise.

We should think upon the Lord and His goodness.

We can trust Him for He is faithful to us.

We can say with confidence, "It is well with my soul".

(Here is a link to the song, "It is well".)

https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/341

Lord,

Thank You that we can come to You and sing of Your goodness toward us.

We sing to You, lifting up our voices in praise.

May You receive all the glory and praise.

In Jesus name,

Amen.

Coming Into The Lord's Presence

We know that the Lord is always present.  He is always with us in each and every situation that we encounter in life.  We are trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior also know that He gave us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us.  There are times when we can actually sense His presence in a sweet embracing way.  There are many Christians today that have unfortunately haven't had that experience and some may not be seeking it I don't know. 

I remember one time several years ago I got up on one Sunday morning and I read a devotional as I always do after I wake up in the morning.  The devotional was based on Isaiah 6:1-8.  It was talking about experiencing God's presence.  It said God shows up in a powerful and lovely way at times when we least expect Him to show up.  His Holy Spirit embraces us in a way that is life changing and the feeling we get when we do experience this movement of the Spirit makes us not want to see it end. 

After reading that devotional I went to Church like I usually do on Sunday.  I was sitting in the pew near the front of the Church.  There was something special in the air that Sunday morning.  I couldn't really tell what was going on at first, but I felt really at ease and I felt  warm embrace.  My mind was clear of worry.  Tears of joy flowed from my eyes.  There was a peace in my heart and my mind like I never felt before.  I never wanted to leave that experience.  I remember thinking, "Wow,  If this is just a taste of what Heaven will be like it will be really great."  Heaven will indeed be great.  We will get to be with Jesus and with all of our loved ones who have trusted Him for salvation.  We will be in His loving presence forever.

Sometimes He allows us to sense His presence to encourage us and to help us to keep going on.  We all know that the road we are on can be a rough one indeed.  There are many pot holes in life (I live in Maine, I know all about pot holes).  Life can get tough and it can get ugly really fast.  The Lord wants us to know that He is truly with us and we know that He is for He tells us over and over again in His Holy Word that He is always with us even until the very end of the age.

I would like to experience more of those times of closeness with the Lord, but I think the Lord only allows us to experience His presence only in short burst so that we will continue to hunger and long for Him.  He is not being cruel or mean or anything life that.  Remember we walk by faith and not by sight or feelings or experiences.  We walk in the truth of who Jesus Christ is as the Scriptures teach us. 

So, what should our response be to the Lord our God when we do sense His presence and His call on our lives?  He does call each of us who believe and trust in Him to do something.  We are not all called to do that same things.  We all have certain talents and skills He has blessed us with to bring glory, honor, and praise to our Lord Jesus Christ.

We can find the answer to the above question in Isaiah 6:1-8 which says,

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

References for Isaiah 6:1

• Cross References

• 1 6:1 - S 2Ch 26:22,23
• 2 6:1 - S 2Ki 15:7
• 3 6:1 - S Ex 24:10 ; S Nu 12:8 ; Jn 12:41
• 4 6:1 - S 1Ki 22:19 ; S Ps 9:4 ; S 123:1 ; S Rev 4:2
• 5 6:1 - Isa 52:13 ; 53:12
• 6 6:1 - Rev 1:13

2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

References for Isaiah 6:2

• Cross References

• 7 6:2 - Eze 1:5 ; 10:15 ; Rev 4:8
• 8 6:2 - Eze 1:11

3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

References for Isaiah 6:3

• Cross References

• 9 6:3 - S Ex 15:11
• 10 6:3 - Ps 89:8
• 11 6:3 - Isa 11:9 ; 54:5 ; Mal 1:11
• 12 6:3 - S Ex 16:7 ; Nu 14:21 ; Ps 72:19 ; Rev 4:8

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

References for Isaiah 6:4

• Cross References

• 13 6:4 - S Ex 19:18 ; S 40:34 ; Eze 43:5 ; 44:4 ; Rev 15:8

5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

References for Isaiah 6:5

• Cross References

• 14 6:5 - S Isa 5:8
• 15 6:5 - S Nu 17:12 ; S Dt 5:26
• 16 6:5 - Lk 5:8
• 17 6:5 - Ex 6:12
• 18 6:5 - Isa 59:3 ; Jer 9:3-8
• 19 6:5 - S Ex 24:10
• 20 6:5 - Ps 45:3 ; Isa 24:23 ; 32:1 ; 33:17 ; Jer 51:57
• 21 6:5 - S Job 42:5

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

References for Isaiah 6:6

• Cross References

• 22 6:6 - S Lev 10:1 ; Eze 10:2

7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

References for Isaiah 6:7

• Cross References

• 23 6:7 - Jer 1:9 ; Da 10:16
• 24 6:7 - S Lev 26:41 ; Isa 45:25 ; Da 12:3 ; 1Jn 1:7

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 

Isaiah had a up close and personal encounter with the living God.  He was ushered into the Lord's presence and when we encounter the Lord we realize our unworthiness to be there.  That is because we are unworthy of the Lord's love and His mercy, but He extends to us grace.  We must realize, if we haven't done so already, that we are sinners and we need a Savior.  The good news is God has given us a way to come into His presence without fear.  He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to shed His blood on the cross for our sins and whoever trust in the finished work of Christ will be saved. 

When we know that the Lord saved us from eternal separation and He forgives us for all of our sin we can enter into His presence without guilt and without fear of punishment for it is through Christ that you and I have been bought. 

So, back to my question that I proposed earlier.  What should our response be to the Lord?

Our response needs to be and must be the same response that Isaiah the prophet said to the Lord as He stood in His presence.

"Here am I. Send me."

These are two small sentences, but they say so very much.

They tell us of our willingness to serve our Lord.

They tell of how strong our faith truly is.

I can't answer the question for you, but as for me I am willing to say to the Lord Jesus Christ,

"Here I am Lord.  Send me!"

Lord,

We thank You for Your love and Your presence in our lives.

Draw us nearer to You.

In Jesus name,

Amen.

Isn't It About Time?

I really like Sundays because that is when I can gather with my brothers and sisters in Christ and worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth.  It is a great thing to get together with other believers in Jesus Christ.  We sing hymns together.  We fellowship.  We like praising the Lord.  Sure we can do those things at home by ourselves, but something special happens when believers filled with the Spirit of God get together. 

Sometimes if we are not careful we can see these meeting as just another routine thing that we do.  It can seem like a habit and maybe for some it has become just that.  We must prepare our hearts before hand and ask the Lord to speak to us during these times when we get together.  We shouldn't wait until Sunday to get together either with some Christ centered friends. 

Today we had a very good worship service this morning and we had our church picnic.  The Lord blessed us with a great day so we could worship Him.  He is indeed an Awesome God.  The journey of a Christian is not an easy one.  There are many times of testing and there are many trials that we all must face.  The Lord Jesus told His disciples and us that we will have trouble in this world, but we should take heart and know that He has overcome the world.

Isn't a great comfort that we can trust Jesus not only for salvation, but also with our very lives.  He is always there for us.  There is nothing that comes our way that catches Jesus by surprise.  We will never hear the Lord say, "Huh, I didn't see that coming."

The Lord knows the very beginning to the very end.  There is nowhere we can go in life where He isn't already there.  He knows what our future holds and He is already there.  One day, we who are trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, will see our Lord in Heaven.  His arms will be opened wide welcoming us into His Eternal Kingdom. 

What a great and blessed day that will be for we who believe on Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the Live and no one can come to the Father except through Jesus Christ.  He is worthy of our love.  He is worthy of all our praise.

We should lift up our voices in song to Him whether we sound good or not to others.  It is not to others that we sing.  We are to sing to the Lord.  We need to sing to Jesus, the One who died for our sins.  He is worthy of our adoration. 

I had another opportunity to sing with other Christians and to hear a couple of wonderful singers this afternoon at another church in the area where I live.  It was a great time of fellowship.  I could sense the Lord's presence in that place.  It is great time to worship the Lord.  It also a great time to fellowship and to call out to Him in prayer as well.  We should do these things more, shouldn't we?

I know we get busy with stuff in our lives.  We have jobs, families, and other stuff that takes up our time and our attention.  How much attention are we giving to the Lord and trying to encourage other believers in Christ?  How much time are we giving to hugging the broken hearted and telling them that Jesus is with them in their pain?  How much time are we getting together as the body of Christ to cry out to the Lord in prayer and begging Him to send us a fresh faith and a fresh power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the lives of every church congregation?

What are we doing with the time that the Lord has given us?  The Lord Jesus tells us plainly that we are to take the gospel message to all of the world and make disciples for Him.  We who have trusted in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior are the body of Christ.  If we are indeed the body, why aren't our hands reaching out with the love of Christ to help the hurting, the addicted, and the afflicted. 

Isn't about time for we believers in Christ to come together and trust Jesus to work in us and through us to draw more people to Himself for salvation and eternal life?  We need to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow our Lord Jesus.  We are strangers in this world.  This world is not our home.  We are to be in this world, but we are not to be of this world.

We are to be the Lord's servants.  We are to serve Him.  We are not to be people pleasers.  We need to be pleasing the Lord our God.

Isn't time for you and I to awake from our spiritual slumber and be revived by the Holy Spirit.  He wants to flow through us in a fresh way.  He wants control over our lives.  He won't take it by force.  He wants us to surrender our wills to His.  Oh, but we struggle with that so much, don't we?

We want control.  We want what we want and we want it now.  The Lord has His own timing.  He is patient.  He is still at work all around us.  Isn't it time for us to join in to what He is doing all around us?   Things do indeed need to change and guess what?  We can't look at someone else and say, "He or She really needs to change."  No, that is not what we need to do.  We need to look within our very selves and ask ourselves, "what needs to change in me?"

The Lord will help us with that answer.  He will give us the strength and courage to step out of our comfort zone.  The Lord will do great things through us even if we see ourselves as weak.  He uses, we who are weak and not very good speakers or writers, so we can't take any credit for what He has done through us.  All the credit.  All the glory.  All the praise goes directly to the Lord our God.

Jesus needs to get all the glory, praise, and honor.

Isn't it about time we allowed Him to use us for His glory.

Let us surrender ourselves to His call on our lives and seek His will to be done.

Lord,
We praise Your name.  We want to honor You with our very lives.
Help us to see the areas where we need to change.
You are an Awesome loving God.
Lead us and direct our steps.
And if we do anything for You no matter what it is may You receive all the glory.
In Jesus name,
Amen

His Love Endures Forever

The world seems to be getting darker and it would seem that people's hearts are becoming hard.  There seems to be a lot of anger, name calling, rudeness, and hatred in our world today.  There seems to a lack of love.  There is the lack of love for fellow human beings and also a lack of love for the Lord our God.  The Lord created the heavens and the earth and everything in them.  He created everything seen and unseen.  God made us as well.  He knew what we would be like and where we would live long before we were even born into this world. 

The most important thing we must remember, even as we see the world growing darker and darker, is that God loves us.  God loves you.  God loves me.  God loves those all around us even the ones that seem so very unlovable.  The Lord even loves those who seem so hard hearted and angry.  The Lord wants each and everyone of us to receive His love,  but unfortunately we know that many people will not receive His love for them.  They are condemned by their unbelief.  They are blinded by the god of this world system, the devil.

It is not God's will that anyone should perish, but He wants all to come to Him in repentance.  God demonstrated His great love for us by sending His One and only Son Jesus Christ to live a perfect sinless life on the earth and Jesus went obediently to the cross shedding His own blood for our sins.  God raised Him up the third day and He lives at the right hand of God in Heaven.  The Lord gives the Holy Spirit to all of those who have repented of their sins and trusted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  He also gives us the promise of eternal life in Heaven with Him when we leave this world in death or when Jesus returns and takes us home to be with Him forever.

The Lord is very patient with us.  He is giving everyone a chance to receive his gift of salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  We need to be more thankful to the Lord for all He has done for us and all that He is doing for us in our daily lives.  He is Holy and worthy of all our praise. 

The Lord loves us and His love does indeed endure forever. 

Psalm 136 says it this way,

"1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:1

• Cross References

• 1 136:1 - Ps 105:1
• 2 136:1 - Ps 100:5 ; 106:1 ; 145:9 ; Jer 33:11 ; Na 1:7
• 3 136:1 - ver 2-26; S 2Ch 5:13 ; S Ezr 3:11 ; Ps 118:1-4 ; 1Ch 16:34 ; 2Ch 20:21

2 Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:2

• Cross References

• 4 136:2 - Ps 105:1
• 5 136:2 - S Dt 10:17

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:3

• Cross References

• 6 136:3 - Ps 105:1
• 7 136:3 - S Dt 10:17 ; S 1Ti 6:15

4 to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:4

• Cross References

• 8 136:4 - S Ex 3:20 ; S Job 9:10 ; Ps 72:18

5 who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:5

• Cross References

• 9 136:5 - Pr 3:19 ; Jer 51:15
• 10 136:5 - S Ge 1:1

6 who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:6

• Cross References

• 11 136:6 - Ge 1:9 ; S Ge 1:1 ; Isa 42:5 ; Jer 10:12 ; 33:2
• 12 136:6 - S Ge 1:6 ; Ps 24:2

7 who made the great lights— His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:7

• Cross References

• 13 136:7 - Ge 1:14,16 ; Ps 74:16 ; Jas 1:17

8 the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:8

• Cross References

• 14 136:8 - S Ge 1:16

9 the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever.

10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:10

• Cross References

• 15 136:10 - S Ex 4:23 ; S 12:12 ; Ex 12:29 ; Ps 135:8

11 and brought Israel out from among them His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:11

• Cross References

• 16 136:11 - S Ex 6:6 ; 12:51 ; 13:3 ; Ps 105:43

12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:12

• Cross References

• 17 136:12 - S Ex 3:20 ; S Dt 5:15
• 18 136:12 - S Dt 9:29 ; Dt 4:34 ; Ps 44:3

13 to him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:13

• Cross References
• Footnotes

• 19 136:13 - Ex 14:21 ; S Ps 78:13

• Ƃ 136:13 - Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verse 15

14 and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:14

• Cross References

• 20 136:14 - Ex 14:22 ; Ps 106:9

15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:15

• Cross References

• 21 136:15 - S Ex 14:27 ; Ps 135:9

16 to him who led his people through the wilderness; His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:16

• Cross References

• 22 136:16 - S Ex 13:18 ; Ps 78:52

17 to him who struck down great kings, His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:17

• Cross References

• 23 136:17 - Nu 21:23-25 ; Jos 24:8-11 ; Ps 78:55 ; 135:9-12

18 and killed mighty kings— His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:18

• Cross References

• 24 136:18 - Dt 29:7 ; S Jos 12:7-24

19 Sihon king of the Amorites His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:19

• Cross References

• 25 136:19 - Nu 21:21-25

20 and Og king of Bashan— His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:20

• Cross References

• 26 136:20 - Nu 21:33-35

21 and gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:21

• Cross References

• 27 136:21 - Jos 12:1
• 28 136:21 - S Dt 1:38 ; S Jos 14:1

22 an inheritance to his servant Israel. His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:22

• Cross References

• 29 136:22 - S Dt 29:8 ; Ps 78:55
• 30 136:22 - Isa 20:3 ; 41:8 ; 42:19 ; 43:10 ; 44:1,21 ; 45:4 ; 49:5-7

23 He remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:23

• Cross References

• 31 136:23 - Ps 78:39 ; 103:14 ; 115:12 ; Ps 113:7

24 and freed us from our enemies. His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:24

• Cross References

• 32 136:24 - S Jos 10:14 ; S Ne 9:28
• 33 136:24 - S Dt 6:19 ; Ps 107:2

25 He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.

References for Psalms 136:25

• Cross References

• 34 136:25 - S Ge 1:30 ; S Mt 6:26 ; Ps 104:27 ; 145:15

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

When life gets us down and it most likely will at times.  We must remember that our God is a Mighty God.  He is all powerful and all knowing.  He is a present help in our times of need.  He is always ready to help us.  He always ready to answer our calling our to Him in prayer.  He is Holy.  He is the just Judge.  He alone is Righteous.  He is the true living God.  There is no other God.  There is only the Lord. We must also remember that  God is love. 

He loves us so very deeply.  It is hard for us to imagine how much God truly loves us.  He doesn't stop loving us when we mess things up, thank the Lord.  He loves us more than any parent ever could.  He sticks closer to us than a brother. 

The Lord wants us to come to Him and receive His love.  He wants to have a relationship with you and with me.  That relationship is available for everyone and we enter into that relationship by trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  We must trust that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  That how must God loves us.  He sent His Son Jesus to die for us. 

He indeed is worthy of all of our praise and adoration. 

Let us give thanks to the Lord for all that He has done for us. 

His love does indeed endure forever.

Are you allowing Him to love you?

Lord,

Thank You for Your great love for us.

I praise Your Holy name.

I pray that You will draw people to Jesus for salvation.

Thank You Lord for all that You provide us with.

Come soon Lord

In Jesus name

Amen