Day: May 25, 2020

Constant Walk With God (May 25)

Backgrounder on Genesis 3-5:
The perfect environment into
which man was placed is now
shattered by the entrance of sin.
Disobedience follows as the first
family eats from the forbidden
tree and is expelled from the
garden. The results of their sin
spread quickly as humankind
and the whole creation fall
under the penalty of death.
Cain becomes the first murderer,
and the downward spiral continues
from Adam to Noah, paving the
way for God’s sweeping judgment
upon the wickedness of the world.

Lord, we purpose to Walk with You:
Enoch lived 65 years and begot
Methuselah. After he begot
Methuselah, Enoch walked with
God 300 years and had sons
and daughters. So all the days of
Enoch were 365 years. And Enoch
walked with God; and he was not,
for God took him (Gen 5:21-25).
By faith Enoch was taken away
so that he did not see death,
and was not found because God
had taken him; for before he was
taken he had this testimony, that
he pleased God. But without faith
it is impossible to please Him, for
he who comes to God must believe
that… He is a rewarder of those
who diligently seek Him(Heb 11:5-6)

Lord, thanks for the lesson from
Gen 5 that You walked With Enoch.
Noted You almighty creator God
calibrated Your stride for Enoch’s
sake to take into account his frailty.
So intimate was Your relationship
with Enoch that when the time came
for Enoch to leave earth and enter
eternity, his walk just continued. And
Enoch received the promise early
to the followers of Christ: He who
believes in Me shall never die. Amen

Lord, we thank You for the gift of
Your Presence. I am grateful and
filled with wonder and amazed
that You love me so much You
actually desire my presence.
Teach me more each day what
it really means to walk with You.
Help my thoughts not to be
wholly occupied with the world’s
passing show. But grant each day
may strengthen my hold on the
reality of the unseen world. Amen.

Lord, we are challenged by the long
term faithfulness of Enoch that
he walked with You for 300 years.
Help us also to please You like
Enoch who not only believe in You
but also earnestly seek after You.
Help us also to seek after Your
holiness for we learn in Jude that
Enoch warns people that God is to
be worshiped and obeyed. Amen.

Launch of New Series (May 25)

We have been utilising Scripture          to form prayers so that we learn
         to think as God thinks; and pray
   within His will thus pleasing Him.
For weekday meditation, the plan
is to cover through the scripture on
two discipleship themes each year.
Thus far, we had meditated on
Imploring, Seeking, Thanking
Hearing and Praising God. For
the rest of this year we will be
meditating on Experiencing God.

All of us long for God’s presence,
and we do sense it occasionally.
God is everywhere; but there is a
difference between His Presence
and our actual experience of it.
In this series, we will learn from
scripture to become more aware
of God’s presence & experiencing
Him when He comes closer to us.
We’ll learn to practice the presence
of God and position ourselves to
encounter His presence. We will
also learn to recognise His voice
and deepen our trust that He is
ready to help in our situation of life.

For the past week, I had spent
several days scanning through
Experiencing God Study Bible,
which will be the key material
source of inspiration besides the
the Holy Spirit for rest of the year.
Friends, God is working more
mightily these days than ever.
He is breaking down barriers to
the gospel message and is calling
people to join Him in His work. And
I pray that you will be responsive
to Him in this season of last days.
May the grace, joy & peace of God
be yours thro Christ our Lord. Amen

A Theological Reflection

From the earliest days of the church
the singing of hymns had been an
integral part of Christian worship.
In the book of Acts, we find Paul
and Silas “praying and singing
hymns to God” (Acts 16:25)
while chained in the Philippian jail.
It was also apostle Paul who charged
believers to Be filled with the Spirit,
singing psalms, hymns and spiritual
songs… to the Lord (Eph 5:18-20).

But the tradition of hymn singing in
worship is far older than Paul and
the early church. Centuries earlier,
King David, Israel’s beloved singer,
who composed numerous psalms
expressing both personal and
corporate praise. And centuries
later, translations of the psalms
would provide the nurturing cradle
for the composition of English
and then American hymns.

I write daily meditation on the theme
of “Praising God thro Hymns” being
convicted by Rom 1:18-21 that
after knowing the attributes of God,
Praising and Thanking Him is the
only appropriate response, lest we
fall to uncleanness, vile passions
and debased mind (v24, 26, 28).
To help recall a day’s meditation,
it has been my practise to mark in
the Bible a spiritual song or hymn
that best reflects the day’s theme.
And I find singing a hymn helps
me to meditate on God’s Word.

After five months of meditation
on the theme of Praising God,
PrayerThots presents the Top 100
hymns that fit its three criteria of
being melodious classic hymns,
significant scriptural passage and
meaningful hymn story or lyrics.
Listed just below are the broad
categories; and at rear full listing
with Bible text that inspired them.

Content by Books:
1) Laws & History: 5
2) Psalms: 20
3) Isaiah: 5
4) Prophets: 5
5) Matthew: 5
6) John: 10
7) Romans: 5
8) Ephesians: 5
9) Philippians: 5
10) 1&2 Timothy: 5
11) Hebrews: 5
12) 1 John: 5
13) Selection: 20
Total Count: 100

Although there are 66 books in the
Bible, we find hymn writers (of hymns
fitting its three criteria of significant
scripture, melodious & meaningful
lyrics) find inspiration from only 10
or just one-sixth of Biblical books.
This observation is rather intriguing
that warrants a closer look as
hymns help us to worship God.

Hymn writers find most inspiration
from Psalms, which is to be expected
being mostly a collection of lament
prayers as well as praise & worship.
The other Old Testament book being
featured goes to the prophetic book
of Isaiah, with its message of calling
the nation of Judah back to God and
to share salvation thro the Messiah.

On NT, the top gospel is John proving
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and
believing Him, we have eternal life.
This is followed by Matthew Gospel,
which proves Jesus is the Messiah,
fulfilling prophecies as Eternal King.
There are six epistles featured:
Rom on Doctrine of Faith In Christ;
Eph on Church as Body of Christ;
Phil on Joy of Suffering for Christ;
2Tim on Endurance for Christ;
Heb on Sufficiency of Christ; and
1John on Living in Light of Christ.
Overall, three quarters of hymns
were inspired by New Testament,
which reinstates our faith is much
about Christ, who is our All In All.

Whilst hymns may be traditional, it
is important to carry on the tradition
of hymn singing as hymns are valued
more for its lyrics than its melody.
The singing of hymns is a means for
believers young and old to express
praise to their Creator and Savior.
It’s also a way for us to communicate
with God using more than just words.
For they enable us to express fully
the grateful feelings of our hearts;
the experience of forgiveness and
the gracious work of the Holy Spirit.

Join the chorus of believers through
-out history to express commitment
and praise to God thro their words.
As the great hymn writer Isaac What
said: “The singing of God’s praise
is the part of worship most closely
related to heaven.” And we can look
forward to the day when all believers
past, present & future will join in one
great chorus around God’s throne,
singing the hymn: Holy Holy Holy,
Lord God Almighty!! Amen & Amen.

Praising God thro Hymns (Series 5)
20 Weeks (6 Jan to 22 May 2020)
———————————–
Week 1: Laws & History (Jan 6-10)
Jehovah Jireh My Provider (Gen 22)
Nearer My God to Thee (Gen 28)
Leaning On Everlasting Arms(Deu33)
God of Grace & God of Glory (Josh 1)
Come Thou Font of Blessing(1Sam 7)

Week 2: Psalms Book 1 (Jan 13-17)
Be Thou My Vision (Psalm 16)
The Lord’s My Shepherd (Ps 23)
Abide With Me (Psalm 27)
He Leadeth Me (Psalm 31)
This is My Father’s World (Ps 33)

Week 3: Psalms Book 2 (Jan 20-24)
As the Deer Panteth (Ps 42)
Be Still My Soul (Psalm 46)
All the Way My Saviour Leads (Ps 48)
Rock of Ages We Rely On (Ps 62)
Jesus Shall Reign (Psalm 72)

Week 4: Psalms Book 3/4 (Jan 27-31)
Precious Lord Take My Hand (Ps 73)
I Need Thee Every Hour (Ps 86)
Just A Closer Walk (Psalm 86)
God Will Take Care of You (Ps 91)
Praise to the Lord Almighty (Ps 103)

Week 5: Psalms Book 5 (Feb 3-7)
Open My Eyes That I May See(Ps119)
Thy Word: Light to My Path (Ps 119)
Bringing In the Sheaves (Ps 126)
Search Me O God (Psalm 139)
To God be the Glory (Ps 145)

Week 6: Isaiah (Feb 10-14)
Jesus Paid It All (Isaiah 1)
Here I Am Lord (Isaiah 6)
How Great Thou Art (Isa 40)
At the Cross Saviour Bleed (Isa 53)
Guide Me O Thou Great Jeh (Isa 58)

Week 7: Prophets (Feb 17-21)
Have Thine Own Way (Jer 18)
Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Lam 3)
There’s A Fountain (Zech 13)
Our God:Ancient of Days (Dan 7)
Our God: Refiner’s Fire (Mal 3)

Week 8: Matthew (Feb 24-28)
Jesus Calls Us (Matthew 4)
Seek Ye First (Matthew 6)
Softly & Tenderly (Matthew 11)
Love Lifted Me (Matthew 14)
I’d Rather Have Jesus (Matt 16)

Week 9: John (Mar 2-6)
Lamb of God (John 1)
Jesus Loves Me (John 3)
Just As I Am (John 6)
Wonderful Words of Life (John 6)
Saviour Like Shepherd Lead us(Jn10)

Week 10: John (Mar 9-13)
In the Sweet By and By (John 14)
Tis So Sweet to Trust In Jesus(Jn14)
I’ve Found a Friend (John 15)
Grace & Mercy At Calvary (John 19)
In the Garden With Jesus (John 20)

Week 11: Romans (Mar 16-20)
Christ for the World We Sing (Rom 1)
It Is Well With My Soul (Rom 5)
And Can It Be (Romans 8)
I Stand Amazed (Romans 11)
Take My Life & Let It Be (Rom 12)

Week 12: Ephesians (Mar 23-27)
Amazing Grace (Eph 2)
Blest Be the Tie That Binds (Eph 4)
O Master Let Me Walk (Eph 5)
Stand Up Stand Up for Jesus (Eph6)
Sweet Hour of Prayer (Eph 6:18)

Week 13: Philippians (Mar 30-Apr 3)
I Surrender All (Phil 3)
When I Survey the W Cross (Phil 3)
Love Divine All Love Excelling (Phil 3)
What A Friend We Have In Jesus (P4)
Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee (Phil 4)

Week 14: Second Timothy (Apt 6-10)
God of Grace & God of Glory (2Tim1)
I Know Whom I Have Believed (2Tim1)
We Want to Pass It On (2Tim 2:1-3)
Onward Xian Soldiers (2Tim 2:3-5)
Channels Only (2Tim 2:20-21)

Week 15: Hebrews (Apr 13-17)
O Jesus I Have Promised (Heb 6)
Standing on the Promises (Heb 6)
Blessed Assurance (Heb 10)
Faith of Our Fathers (Heb 12)
Yesterday Today Forever (Heb 13)

Week 16: 1st John (Apt 20-24)
My Hope Is Built (IJn 1)
My Jesus I Love Thee (1Jn 4)
We’ll Love, Trust & Obey (1Jn 5:1-2)
We Shall Overcome (1Jn 5:2-5)
Victory in Jesus (1Jn 5:4-5, 14-15)

Week 17: Selection (Apr 27-May 1)
Jesus Lover of My Soul (Psa 17)
Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Ps 46)
Wideness In God’s Mercy (Ps 100)
Thank God for My Redeemer(Ps 105)
Publish Glad Tidings of Peace(Isa40)

Week 18: Selection (May 4-8)
Cross Crowded Way of Life (Mt 25)
I Have Decided To Follow Jesus (Lk9)
Acc to Thy Gracious Word (Lk 22)
I Love to Tell the Story (Acts 1)
God of the Earth, Sky & Sea (Acts 17)

Week 19: Selection (May 11-15)
Grace Greater than Our Sin (Rom 5)
Day by Day God With Us (2Cor 4)
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (Col 3)
Take Time to be Holy (1Thess 5)
Fight the Good Fight (I Tim 6)

Week 20: Selection (May 18-22)
I am Thine O Lord (James 5)
The Old Rugged Cross (1Pet 2)
Know More About Jesus (2Pet 1)
Holy Holy Holy LGA (Revelation 4)
All Hail Power of Jesus’ Name(Rev19)

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