May God put a new song in your heart

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”

Our Bible verse for today: “I waited patiently for the Lord, and he turned to me and heard my cry for help. He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” Psalm 40:1-3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “May God put a new song in your heart”

Yesterday we thought about dancing. This morning let’s think about singing. Do you love music? I love music. All kinds of music. I suppose my tastes would be described as eclectic. I listen to lots of contemporary Christian music but I also like old-time gospel, jazz, blues, bluegrass, reggae, pop, some country, and even classical. I also like Jimmy Buffet beach music. I love the beach and I love the music of the beach. Songs about sun, sand, sea, swimming, and seafood – and being on vacation. Jimmy’s music reminds me of all that.

One wall of my office at home is covered with flying things. Mostly it is covered with butterfly displays that I brought home from my mission trips to the Amazon Jungle. It also has a framed crocheted University of Kansas Jayhawk (my alma mater) that Linda made for me more than forty years ago. It also has a picture of me skydiving. But in the center of the wall there’s a large round plaque with a big parrot with a guitar in its claws. The inscription reads “Live life like a song” (a Jimmy Buffet saying).

I like the idea of living life like a song. Or, more precisely, living life with a song in my heart. Music can lift our spirits. That’s what King David was writing about in Psalm 40:1-3. He had been despondent but he sought the Lord and when he did, the Lord lifted him up out of the pit of despondency and put a new song in his heart – in this case, a hymn of praise.

One of the best things we can do when we are feeling down is to listen to inspiring music. It will lift you up. In his book, “You Gotta Keep Dancin” author Tim Hansel shares a poem by an unknown author that speaks of the value of both singing and dancing when it comes to lifting our spirits:

“Giver of life, creator all that is lovely, teach me to sing the words of your song;
I want to feel the music of living, and not fear the sad songs,
but from them make new songs, composed of both laughter and tears.
Teach me to dance to the sounds of your world and your people,
I want to move in rhythm with your plan.
Help me to try to follow your leading, to risk even falling,
to rise and keep trying, because you are leading the dance.”

May God put a new song in your heart today.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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