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Scripture songs

I've been reading Isaiah 52 and 53 this week. Apart from the obvious sadness I felt for what Jesus went through for us sinners, it made me think about how so many praise songs are pulled straight from Scripture. Our God Reigns is a pretty good paraphrase of Isaiah 52 - 53!

A while back I made a list of some of my favorite songs and their supporting Bible verses:

You are my Hiding Place    - Psalm 32:7
Crucified with Christ - Galatians 2:20
Sacrifice of Praise - Hebrews 13:15
Create in me a Clean Heart - Psalm 51
As the Deer Panteth for the Water - Psalm 42:1
Glorify Thy Name - Psalm 86:12
His Name is Wonderful - Isaiah 9:6
Be Exalted, O God - Psalm 57
Our God Reigns - Isaiah 52-53

This has been a good way for me to learn Scripture. Does this help you identify Scripture too? Are there other songs out there that you know of?

So that

We heard another good Andy Stanley sermon last night, this one on Pivotal Circumstances. The theme was all about the circumstances in life that hit us pretty hard but are there "so that" we are drawn closer to God by them.

To make the point, Andy referred to the death of Lazarus (John 11), which obviously devastated Mary and Martha. On top of that, Jesus didn't come immediately to help their brother. The sisters were most certainly crushed. But, Jesus knew what he was doing! He knew that if he came immediately to heal Lazarus, the impact wouldn't be as great. Instead, Jesus held back a few days... and here's the good part: "so that you may believe." (verse 15) Isn't that powerful? Jesus used a dire circumstance to make a point. Of course, we all know that by the end of the chapter, Jesus has raised Lazarus, but he certainly used this pivotal circumstance to remove all doubt that he is the resurrection and the life.

I got to thinking about pivotal circumstances in my life. I've had a fairly calm life (no cancer, no tragic deaths of loved ones, no divorce, and no financial devastation.) The most pivotal circumstance probably has been my sister moving to Atlanta and me being her unofficial guardian here. It has taken a lot of faith, hope and love! I have to count on God, because otherwise, it would be overwhelming!

What about you: do you have a pivotal circumstance that God allowed so that you'd be drawn closer to him?

The ultimate trump card

I ran across this Bible verse today that sums up God's supremity in a rather clever way:

"For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything." - Hebrews 3:4

You can't top that!

Acts

In my quest to read the Bible front to back this year, I've reached the book of Acts. I have never read all of Acts. It has always seems a bit busy and confusing to me: there are a lot of people and places!

Does anyone have any tips for reading Acts?

At last

It took me 4 1/2 months... but I finally finished reading the Old Testament from start to finish. After Daniel, it was the minor prophets and felt like a downhill ride! The overriding message for me is that God is patient and will put up with our sins to a point, but there comes a time when he has to take drastic measures! Even so, the drastic measures are for our own good. God is forgiving, but there are consequences!

It makes me wonder if there are prophets around us these days that I'm missing? If not prophets... there are probably signs from God that totally pass me by. I should pay more attention! For example, has God ever given me an assignment like he gave to Jonah, and I didn't even realize it? How much have I missed?

The one verse that really hit me in these last few books of the OT was "Return to me, and I will return to you" in Zechariah 1. It really does boil down to that! God is ready whenever we are!

Ok, now, on to the New Testament!

Hosea

I guess before God let Assyria invade Israel, He was thinking of various ways to get the Israelites' attention so that they would turn their ways. One of the most unusual was having Hosea marry a prostitute to illustrate the unfaithfulness of Israel. It didn't work, though, because Israel did not get the message!

The rest of the book of Hosea is all about God pleading to the Israelites through Hosea that they should return to the time of the wilderness when Israel totally depended on God. God mixes in hope, throughout however. It really shows us that God can at the same time be so exasperated with us, yet so full of love. How does he do it?

My favorite verse of Hosea has always been Hosea 6:6 - "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings."

I'm looking forward to the rest of the Old Testament: lots of short books, the only one of which I've read is Jonah.

Daniel

Daniel was a lot easier to read this time, than it was several years ago when I tried to get through it. I remember giving up when Daniel started having all the visions. For some reason, this time around, the visions were pretty easy to understand.

Even so, the best part of the book is the first few chapters when Daniel and his friends are so bold! What I would give to be so bold! I love what Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego say to King Nebuchadnezzar when he threatens to throw them into the burning furnace for not worshiping the graven image: "If the God we serve is able to deliver us, then he will deliver us from the blazing furnace and from Your Majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." God is still God, no matter what!

How about the admission of King Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4, when he realizes that God is Supreme? Sure enough God "does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth."

Ezekiel

Ezekiel was bold! He'd do anything for God. Were we all that bold! God told Ezekiel to lie on one side for 390 days, and then God told him to lie on the other side for 40 days... during both times Ezekiel was to bear the sins of Israel. I wonder if I would have done that if God had asked me.

God gives Ezekiel a lot more commands.. mostly to tell the Israelites about why they are in exile (It's punishment for their wicked ways in Judah) and then later in the book, Ezekiel tells the Israelites to have hope because the Lord is going to bring them back to the land of Israel. So, the message for me was that God punishes us for sinning, but he also gives us tremendous hope if we repent!

God says, "You will know that I am Lord" (through the prophet Ezekiel) dozens of times in the book of Ezekiel. The message is that God is sovereign!

The most famous passage from Ezekiel is "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36: 26) God is saying this to the Israelites who will be restored to Jerusalem. For me, it's comforting that God can take my hardened heart and make it new again!

Besides the living creatures and the wheel that Ezekiel saw at the beginning of his call to prophecy, the most vivid imagery in Ezekiel is God bringing the dry bones to life. Imagine seeing that!

Jeremiah

Jeremiah much easier to understand than Isaiah! In spite of the gloominess of God having to punish the people of Judah for their disobedience, there is still so much hope in Jeremiah! Even while God is exiling the Israelites, he promises to redeem them in 70 years. God gives the Israelites advice to obey the Babylonians... another example of God getting us "through" troubled times, yes, even the troubling times that we bring on ourselves!

Isaiah

Isaiah was a hard book for me to read. It made me realize how many kings there were in the history of Israel, and how few of them I could recall. I will definitely have to re-read both Kings and Isaiah!

My favorite parts of Isaiah, probably typical of many, are the ones that foretell the coming of Jesus, especially Isaiah 9. (Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace!) Isaiah 53 is pretty powerful too, foretelling in stunning detail the death of Christ. "Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer." That makes my heart pound because it's so terrible what Jesus had to go through just to save us.

Isaiah 61, where Isaiah tells us that this is the year of the Lord's favor. I read that at least once a year. And, every year it's true!  Every year, faithfully, God does give us beauty for ashes, the oil gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

Maybe I'll pick up more understanding the next time through Isaiah!