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Psalm 79-82<\/strong><\/span> Psalm 79 verse 13 stood out to me today \u2013 \u201cThen we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever and ever, praising your greatness from generation to generation.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 I like that imagery of being sheep in God\u2019s pasture.\u00a0 And Jesus, of course, is our Good Shepherd.\u00a0 Are you content with the idea of being a sheep in God\u2019s pasture?<\/span><\/p>\n Psalm 80 verse 19 today is powerful \u2013 \u201cTurn us again to yourself, O LORD God Almighty. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.\u201d<\/em> I like that opening \u2013 \u201cturn us again to you God.\u201d\u00a0 I don\u2019t believe that God turns himself away from us \u2013 but that we do indeed turn ourselves away from God.\u00a0 And like the Psalmist, maybe sometimes we literally need to pray that God will turn us back toward him.\u00a0 \u00a0I kind of come up with the imagery of us maybe sometimes being like pouty kids with our arms folded and our backs toward God \u2013 and God is looking at us lovingly \u2013 all we simply need to do is turn our face toward God and his grace will heal that pout and whatever is troubling us immediately\u2026\u00a0 \u00a0If you need to, will you turn yourself again toward God?\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n I always like reading verses like 1 & 2 in Psalm 81 today \u2013 verses that speak of music & God \u2013 \u201cSing praises to God, our strength. Sing to the God of Israel. Sing! Beat the tambourine. Play the sweet lyre and the harp.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Do you sing praises to God?\u00a0 Is God your strength?\u00a0 I\u2019ll go off on a tangent here, which is always a risky thing to do\u2026\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 I\u2019ll admit that I am a music junkie.\u00a0 Really.\u00a0 I have loved music immensely ever since I was a pre-teen and heard K-TEL\u2019s Hit Explosion with such songs as Survivor\u2019s \u201cEye of the Tiger.\u201d\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42 Well, ever since then music has played an interesting role in my life \u2013 both positive and negative.\u00a0 Bottom line is that I think God used music to bring me to Him.\u00a0 Seven years ago I ended up at a rock & roll postmodern evangelical church where I really first heard songs about Jesus in a rock song!\u00a0 It was a paradigm shifter for me\u2026\u00a0 I ended up accepting Jesus as my Lord & Savior at that church two months later \u2013 thanks in large part to an amazing pastor there at the time and thanks in large part to the rock & roll worship.\u00a0 I have to confess that I do love any opportunity I can get to flat out worship God in a rock & roll worship way!\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 I do realize the risks of high energy rock music\u2026\u00a0 it can propel people to do very dumb things.\u00a0 But I think it can also propel people toward Jesus.\u00a0 Maybe music is like anything else \u2013 it\u2019s a double edged sword.\u00a0 I will share with you that a buddy of mine shared with me how he threw out every single one of his worldly \/ secular rock & rap CD\u2019s after becoming a Christian.\u00a0 He said he didn\u2019t want to be fed by that garbage anymore.\u00a0 I tried following his lead on this \u2013 and actually threw a few CD\u2019s in the trash\u2026\u00a0 but I pulled them out before taking them to the dumpster.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 I\u2019m starting to think though that I have a few CD\u2019s that need to get to that dumpster here sooner rather than later\u2026 I don\u2019t listen to them.\u00a0 But why keep them around at all?\u00a0 Hope you don\u2019t mind this long tangent.\u00a0 Does anyone else have any music \/ God experiences that you would be up for sharing with us all?\u00a0 Please post up in the Comments section below!\u00a0 (And please forgive me for this image below\u2026\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t resist\u2026 \ud83d\ude42 <\/span><\/p>\n I love Psalm 82 verses 3 & 4 \u2013 \u201cGive fair judgment to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.\u00a0 Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 I realize these verses were spoken to Israel\u2019s judges.\u00a0 But, I think they can speak to you and I today as well.\u00a0 Particularly, \u201crescue the poor and helpless\u201d stands out to me today.\u00a0 What are some ways you are rescuing the poor and helpless in your life today?\u00a0 How are you delivering them from the grasp of evil people?\u00a0 \u00a0This actually reminds me of a couple of friends of mine who are so passionate about rescuing young girls from the sex slave industry in some Asian countries \u2013 I think Thailand is where they do most of their work.\u00a0 Clearly, young girls that have to sell their bodies in this type of situation are under the grasp of evil people.\u00a0 And I am so humbled by my friends\u2019 work toward delivering girls from this grasp.\u00a0 My friends are only able to do this really well because of their relationship with Jesus.\u00a0 Jesus is the true rescuer \u2013 first of my friends and now through my friends to these young girls.\u00a0 But, wow, it makes me wonder if I am truly allowing Jesus to rescue the poor and helpless through me?\u00a0 How about you?<\/span><\/p>\n Worship Video:<\/strong>\u00a0 Psalm 79:13\u2019s discussion of praising God from generation to generation reminded me of the importance of loving our children well and modeling for them life in Christ.\u00a0 This reminded me of the great song by Steven Curtis Chapman about his daughter called \u201cCinderella:\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \n
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