Musings

As I settle in my seat on the balcony of this historical German church, I can hardly contain my excitement. A feeling of jubilant anticipation pervades the air as people find their seats and the orchestra warms up. The  Thomanerchor  (St. Thomas Choir) *  files into lines at the front of the church and a reverent hush finally settles over the audience. The timpani drums roll, the notes from the flutes and oboes flutter delicately to the church rafters, and the trumpets sound joyfully: Jauchzet, frohlocket! Auf, preiset die Tage …   (Shout for joy, exult, rise up, praise the day) resounds the choir. Transported by the heavenly tones, I close my eyes. In my mind, it is the 25th of December, 1734. Cantor Johann Sebastian Bach is leading the elite male choir on this chilly, Christmas morning. For the first time, the magnificent tones of the  Christmas Oratorio  are reverberating in St. Thomas Church, Leipzig. Und sie gebar ihren ersten Sohn ...

Why You ever chose me Has always been a mystery All my life, I've been told I belong At the end of a line With all the other Not-Quites With all the Never-Get-It-Rights But it turns out they are the ones You were looking for All this time 'Cause I'm just a nobody trying to tell everybody All about Somebody who saved my soul Ever since You rescued me, You gave my heart a song to sing I'm living for the world to see nobody but Jesus I'm living for the world to see nobody but Jesus... One of the most wonderful aspects of the life of faith for me is the expression of joy through worship and song. It's a great time to be alive with unprecedented access to whatever type of music our hearts desire. Starting the day with joyful song is a must! Martin Luther expressed a truth which has embedded itself in my mind since I first read it: The devil, the originator of sorrowful anxieties and restless troubles flees before the sound of music almost as much as before...

Psalm 67 May God be gracious to us and bless us  and make his face shine upon us,  Selah  that your ways may be known on earth,  your salvation  among all nations.   May the peoples praise you, O God;  may all the peoples praise you.   May the nations be glad and sing for joy,   for you rule the peoples justly   and guide the nations of the earth.  Selah May the peoples praise you, O God;  may all the peoples praise you.  Then the land will yield its harvest,   and God, our God, will bless us.   God will bless us,  and all the ends of the earth  will fear him. The prayer of my heart this morning. We need God's mercy more than ever as we increasingly ignore His word, standards and sovereignty.  May the nations return to God ( יהוה  YHWH) and call on His name to be saved. One thing is for certain, God will not be mocked. All that He has decreed will surely come to pass.  ...