*Originally Published on GGmandy dot com July 1, 2017
What image first comes to your mind at the word “blessings”?
Do you think of these blessings…
family
financial gain
health?
But let me ask you, where does that leave the one with no husband or children, no bank account or bad health?
This thought became real to me …
when I lost my health, and then my husband lost his job, and subsequently our home.
Are we no longer blessed?
Or is this when the true blessings became a realization?
Early on in my journey with chronic pain, my son introduced me to Laura Story and her song, Blessings. She proposed through song that the blessings were not tangible things but divine things. I venture to believe that she is right.
In our pain and loss, we actually found the TRUE BLESSINGS of God.
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We found His PEACE that passes all understanding,
His PROVIDENCE for our every need,
we found His GRACE to walk through the valley, and so much more.
The greatest thing…
… I found was a deep, DEEP RELATIONSHIP with the God of the Ages.
I found His LOVE for me so sweet.
His tender FORGIVENESS for leaving Him behind in the dust as I “ministered to others in His Name”. You see, I really wasn’t doing it all in His Name.
I wasn’t leaning on Him FOR GUIDANCE and DIRECTION. I had taken hold of the reigns and was running the show myself.
But, oh the JOY, I found in being still before Him.
(In my case, literally still. I couldn’t move without excruciating pain.)
‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops What if Your healing comes through tears What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
Magnificat is a general term meaning canticle or song, especially in praise. Specific to this passage, Mary’s Magnificat is given this title because it is her “song of praise to God.” The poem praises Him for His blessing to Mary and His faithfulness to Israel.
The Holman Bible Dictionary tells us that Magnificat (mag-nif’-i-kat) means “to magnify”, which gives us greater insight into why church historians have affixed the label “Magnificat” to this passage. The Greek word is used in the first line of Mary’s song, “My soul magnifies the Lord”.
This hymn is much like the song of another young woman in Israel’s history, Hannah, (1 Samuel 2) where we find her praising God for blessing her with a child. She continues pouring out her song of worship to God for His faithfulness to the people, Israel. Hannah’s poem of praise also begins, “My heart exults in the Lord…” [Study Light]
Both women begin by magnifying the Lord and then listing the wonderful deeds of our God; not just the blessings on themselves but for all blessings God has given since the beginning of time.
King David also does the same thing in the Psalms. One of my favorites is Psalm 136. The famous Magnificat was Mary’s response to her amazing situation
Carl Boburg’s Magnificat
As we study the great hymn of faith, How Great Thou Art, we learn this poem-turned-hymn was Mr. Carl Boburg’s “Magnificat”. Likewise, the psalmist implores us to “magnify the Lord with me. Let us exult His name together.” (Psalm 34:3, KJV). The Scriptures implore us many times to magnify the Lord.
I love it when we begin our corporate worship time together at church by reciting a psalm or singing hymns that praise God for Who He is. These types of calls to worship cause us to come together with singing and adoration for our great God.
Indeed, our worship services could be called a Magnificat, of sorts, where we come exulting the Lord together. However, this type of praise isn’t intended just as a Sunday kind of thing. I hope I find myself praising God aloud whenever He blesses my life with good things; indeed, even bursting into song over how much He does for this undeserving woman.
Yet, even if He never did another thing for me, I want to still choose to magnify His Name for what He did at Calvary by taking my shame and punishment for my sin upon Himself for me!
Mr. Carl Boberg, the writer of the hymn How Great Thou Art, had a back story to his profound Magnificat. According to the website, All About God, Boberg was a Swedish pastor, editor, and member of the Swedish parliament.
“Mr. Boberg was enjoying a nice walk when a thunderstorm suddenly appeared out of nowhere. After the storm was over, Mr. Boberg looked out over the clear bay and heard a church bell in the distance. And the words to How Great Thou Art began to form in his heart –
‘O Lord, my God, when I, in awesome wonder. . .’”
www.allaboutgod.com
Think of the peace he must have felt after that fierce storm to pen these beautiful words that still show us the glory of God today.
Our Own Magnificat
We, too, have a backstory to our own “Magnificat”. Let’s take the challenge and write our own Magnificat. Magnify the Lord with me! Place your praises in the comments section below. Try using Psalm 136 as a template for your song of praise.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.
As I began thinking on verses about confidence in the Lord. I was reminded of a dear hymn that speaks of my confidence in my salvation through Jesus Christ. I wanted to share a bit about this hymn today.
The Story Behind the Hymn
Here, in Major Whittle’s own words, is what took place that night: “I dropped on my knees and held the boy’s hand in mine. In a few broken words I confessed my sins and asked Christ to forgive me. I believed right there that He did forgive me. I then prayed earnestly for the boy. He became quiet and pressed my hand as I prayed and pleaded God’s promises. When I arose from my knees, he was dead. A look of peace had come over his troubled face, and I cannot but believe that God who used him to bring me to the Savior, used me to lead him to trust Christ’s precious blood and find pardon. I hope to meet him in heaven.”
Years later, James McGranahan put music to many of Major Whittle’s hymns, including I Know Whom I Have Believed. The chorus of the hymn is based on 2 Timothy 1:12…
Thoughts on 2 Timothy.. I Believe!
Paul wrote this letter from his second Roman imprisonment, and soon after he wrote this letter he was condemned and executed in Rome at the command of Nero. Paul sensed this; therefore 2 Timothy is not only the last letter we have from Paul, there is also a note of urgency and passion we might expect from a man who knew he would soon be executed.
David Guzik, Enduring Word
Last Words of Confidence
Last words are always important. Knowing that this was Paul’s last letter encourages even me that he was first concerned about encouraging his mentorees. He talk about how he was certain of the faith of not only Timothy but also Timothy’s mother and grandmother. It’s something to remember that we too should encourage the faith of those around us and those we are mentoring.
Have No Fear
Then he reminds Timothy to not let fear take hold in his life because God has given us so much more to remain confident.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 TImothy 1:7
When we lose a loved one, at times, we wonder how can we go on? How can we even continue without the prayers of the Saints to whom we look to for guidance? I’ll tell you that I believe, the prayers of the saints continue on much longer beyond their death. I have seen it. My grandmother was a prayer warrior. Her prayers still go up and down between heaven and earth. A former pastor shared that he wondered who would pray for him after the death of his mother. Low and behold, his sister stepped in as an amazing prayer warrior. So don’t lose faith. The prayers of the faithful will continue to surround the throne of Grace.
Don’t Be Ashamed
Paul encouraged Timothy also to be strong in His faith and in sharing God’s Word with unbelievers. Oh, in these last days we must remain bold to win as many as possible before His Return. Recall that it is only through the blood of the Lamb that we even have faith and through the Holy Spirit that men are called to righteousness.
We must remain unashamed. Don’t water down the gospel to make it easier. There isn’t time. We must shed the light in the darkness that only God can make things right and remove sin in our lives.
This post was prompted by the gang at Five Minute Friday Each Friday we take five minutes to write on the same prompt. It’s a lot of fun to see what others are inspired to write from the same prompt. Give it a try or click and do a bit of fun reading.
So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Music is my life.
There was a day when you would always find me singing. But lately, I find it hard to sing. It’s like there is a lump in my throat. And I feel kind of sad. So what’s a girl to do?
Always a Reason to Sing
2 Corinthians reminds me that our Christian life is not about being happy but about serving Christ. We are indeed jars of clay, cracked and broken but shining out the love of Christ. It’s those cracks and breaks that show the world we are His and that life can be fulfilling even in the valleys.
We are not promised a good life. We are not promised a bed of roses. Though if we were, I remind you the roses have thorns.
These scriptures remind us that even when we feel we cannot sing, we should look back at what God as done for us. If nothing else, He has saved us from our sin and promised us life eternal! This should be enough to give us His joy.
I’m reminded of the beautiful hymn, His Eye is on the Sparrow.
Why should I feel discouraged, Why should the shadows come, Why should my heart be lonely, And long for heaven, heaven and home, When, when Jesus is my portion, My constant Friend is He; Oh, oh-oh, his eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watched, watched it over me.
I sing because I’m happy (happy) I sing because I’m free (free free free) For His eye, his eye is on the sparrow, And I know, I know He watches over me.
He is my Constant Friend
God is watching over us. He cares about every detail of our lives. God sees us as His treasured possession! We can sing in this reality.
So don’t give up. Keep Singing.
Keep your eyes looking up. Be faithful to Him.
Allow His light to shine through you so that when you arrive at heaven’s gates, you will be bringing along a whole host of believers that found Christ because of your perseverance.
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath!
Then I remembered how King Hezekiah faced a great army. He wondered how he could defeat them.
But God said “I’ve got this. You won’t even have to fight.”
So Hezekiah, sent the choir out in front of the army singing praise to God. The enemy turned on themselves killing each other.
MY CHALLENGE FOR US
Let’s fill social media with praises to God. Fill it with lyrics or YouTube videos of praise to God. Do it all day long, all week long, and see what God will do. I’ll be doing it. If you want you can go to my social media and share from there.
This post was prompted by the gang at Five Minute Friday Each Friday we take five minutes to write on the same prompt. It’s a lot of fun to see what others are inspired to write from the same prompt. Give it a try or click and do a bit of fun reading.
This hymn, One Day was introduced to me in my teen years. We had moved from Ohio to Wisconsin and being in the middle school Sunday School class, I was required to take part in the Easter program. This hymn was the theme of the program.
At the time, I didn’t particularly like the song mainly because it was a bit slow for my tastes. But over the years the song stuck in my heart and mind because it tells the story of Jesus from beginning to end; from the virgin birth to the cross and resurrection and on to the day still coming… His return… Oh, Glorious Day!
Hymn Writer ~ J. Wilbur Chapman
Full Name: John Wilber Chapman, 1859-1918 Birth Year: 1859 Death Year: 1918
A Presbyterian evangelist. He served in several local churches before becoming an evangelist, preaching with the infamous D.L. Moody, as well as preaching many evangelistic events on his own. He had many preachers who were trained under him including Rev. Billy Sunday.
He wrote this hymn as well as two others
“Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners” (another favorite of mine) “‘Tis Jesus”
We are being featured at Faith and Worship Link-up!
Hymn Studies at Gracefully Truthful
The writers at Gracefully Truthful are doing a series of hymn studies this month. Click on over to read my contribution to the study on One Day.
1 One day when Heaven was filled with His praises, One day when sin was As black as could be, Jesus came forth To be born of a virgin, Dwelt among men, my example is He!
Chorus: Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me; Buried, He carried My sins far away; Rising He justified freely forever: One day He’s coming– O glorious day!
2 One day they led Him Up Calvary’s mountain, One day they nailed Him To die on the tree; Suffering anguish, despised and rejected: Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He![Chorus]
3 One day they left Him Alone in the garden, One day He rested, from suffering free; Angels came down o’er His tomb to keep vigil; Hope of the hopeless, my Savior is He![Chorus]
4 One day the grave Could conceal Him no longer, One day the stone rolled away from the door; Then He arose, over death He had conquered; Now is ascended, my Lord evermore![Chorus]
5 One day the trumpet Will sound for His coming, One day the skies With His glory will shine; Wonderful day, my beloved One bringing; Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine![Chorus]
I was thrilled when I heard that Casting Crowns had placed the lyrics into a new contemporary song, Oh! Glorious Day. What a beautiful rendition.
This worship song is new to me but what a message. The Apostle John wrote about the King of Kings in his gospel. Read the prequel devotion at Gracefully Truthful about the prophecy and coming of the Messiah.
I had the privilege of writing the digging deeper portion of this study on John 1. Have you ever wondered why John chose to use “The Word” when speaking of Jesus? I wrote about it at Gracefully Truthful. Here’s a taste of the study.
John’s depiction of Jesus’ Second Coming.
Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice, he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. A sharp sword came from his mouth so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Revelation 19:11-20)
The True King of Kings
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David Guzik explains that in Bible times, most soldiers were foot soldiers. To own “a horse spoke of honor, of power, and of speed. The color of the horse depicted victory.” The title, “Faithful and True”, shows Jesus as the Keeper of Promises, including His promise to judge the nations. Jesus will arrive in glory and sit for the final judgment of man. The many crowns on his head indicate He is the ultimate in power and authority.
It is a visible manifestation of what we mean when we say Kings of Kings, an expression of unlimited authority. (Guzik) As King of Kings, he is not just leveling all world governments; but rather, He will totally displace all this world’s sovereigns and governments, taking all dominion and authority out of their hands and putting it in the hands of Christ, as the true and only King of the world.” (Seiss)
There’s so much more to unpack here, but in just these few sentences we can discern that when John spoke of “The Word”, he was speaking of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who will one day return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords to set up His eternal Kingdom.
One day, however, even those who have rejected Christ will be forced to kneel and confess that He is Lord. There will be no other option. The Apostle Paul continues to write to the Christians in Philippi…
“Therefore, my dear friends, (…) work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked world and perverted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, by holding firm to the Word of Life.” (Philippians 2:12-16)
God and His Holy Spirit work within us to do good works that reflect His character, these works make us “shine as lights” as He created believers to do. As we live and serve our Lord here on Earth, we are in awe of God, wanting to bring glory to Him in everything we do. We strive to live our lives as a reflection of Christ to glorify Him. We thank Him continually for all He did for us and praise Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Prayer
My Jesus, You came in humility to redeem me. You did it all for me. I worship You as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Help me to shine as a light, reflecting Your image, and drawing others to You. I give You my highest praise and my heartfelt worship. Amen.
Click for more on this study of King of Kings at Gracefully Truthful.
I thought I would share another hymn with you. Maybe you have never heard this one. It’s a beautiful prayer for us to meditate upon, asking God to open our eyes, ears, mouth, and heart to His ways.
It is easy to get blinded from the Truth. Barbara Harper recently wrote about this blindness and shared it on our Legacy Linkup. It had the highest number of clicks in August so I wanted to feature here today, in case you missed it before.
Written by Clara Scott; UMC Discipleship Ministries, https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-open-my-eyes-that-i-may-see
Opening Eyes for a View of God’s Plan
I thought to write a short devotion but when I found a beautiful one through the United Methodist Church Discipleship Ministries, I thought it best to share theirs. Here is a short snippet to draw you in.
Closed ears become a metaphor for a lack of understanding: “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (Matthew 13:15).
Dr Haun, director of the sacred music program at Perkins School of Theology.
This week is the Jewish Feast of Shelters (Sukkot)
For thousands of years Jews have observed the Torah commandment to leave the comfort and security of our homes and eat in a specially constructed hut we call a sukkah.
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All who ascend to Jerusalem on Sukkot after the Redemption, to bow before God and to celebrate together with the Jewish people, will merit great blessing – and be spared the horror of plague.
It’s somewhat ironic in this year of Coronavirus that to observe the Feast of Tabernacles is to guarantee blessing from God in part to avoid plague. And no so strange to be eating out of doors.
Feast of Shelters Reminds me of our American Thanksgiving
However, I see that we privileged Americans take this day very lightly. The Jews observe this feast for 8 days. The first and last days are specifically for praise God. We barely give it a day. And most of us squawk at going around the table sharing what we are thankful for. We have pretty much forgotten the holiday other than a day off from work to watch football games and start getting ready for Christmas.
The Point is Thankfulness
The Air we Breathe
As Americans I would say that even the poorest among us have much to be thankful for; however, we have become so privileged that we take nearly everything for granted. We need to stop and remember that God is our Source of Shelter (and everything else)
The Home we Live in
The tradition of Feast of Shelters is to go out of your home, into the country, and set up tents for the week. It’s about getting out of our comfort zone and remembering all the blessings of God. Now some people enjoy camping, but not this girl. At one point I would have been willing to experience this time of worship. Now with my health issues, I’m not so willing to get out of my comfort zone. I am pricked in the heart when I consider what am I willing to give to God in return for His providence.
As we can see in this year 2020, MIllion Dollar HOmes can be turned into nothing as we see millions of acres burned up in California or homes washed away by a hurricane. We can also lose house and home just as quickly due to job loss or ruined crops. Indeed, we depend solely on God
What We Really Need
Sukkot asks us to temporarily go outside, look around at God’s creations, “dine out doors” with your family, your children and perhaps even your grandchildren, in a sukkah from which you can gaze up, see heaven above and be reminded of God as well as your blessings.
I wonder, if we decided to stop and take the time to get out of our comfort zone and be still long enough to look into the heavens, would we realize how blessed we truly are.
This Bible study is exciting and moving, even for a seasoned Christian as myself. I get so blessed connecting the traditions set forth by God in the Old Testament to the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Like the A-Team said at the end of each episode, “I love it when a plan comes together!”
Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full in His wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace
After a prompt from Five Minute Friday, my thoughts went directly to an old hymn favorite, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. I haven’t written on a hymn in a while so…
Let’s do a quick hymn study.
O soul are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior And life more abundant and free
I know that I am weary and tired of the struggles we have been facing for the past several years. At times, you wonder, “When will it all stop?” But I know that my Jesus is working, even when I can’t see it, He is there through it all. He promises a life abundant and free. If we will just turn our eyes to Him. Get our focus away from the storm around us. Then the waves will calm and our hearts will relax.
Secondly, We are More Than Conquerors
Through death into life everlasting He passed, and we follow Him there Over us sin no more hath dominion For more than conquerors we are
Jesus said that we will have trouble in this life. And when you look at the lives of people in the Bible, you see that it is true. But don’t forget to keep reading that same verse in John 16. He also said that He has overcome the world.
Praise the Lord!
Third, His Word Shall Not Fail You!
His Word shall not fail you, He promised Believe Him and all will be well Then go to a world that is dying His perfect salvation to tell
Hymn,Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
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Are you into the Word every day? Are you telling others about Him?
His Word is dependable. It does not fail! Trust it! Memorize it. These words will come to you when trials arise and you will be able to resist and lean on Jesus!
