GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 8

We are reading from a daily devotional  called “Running To Win” written by Erwin Lutzer  and the late, great D.L. Moody.   Erwin Lutzer is a light in our day as D.L. Moody was in his.  Besides his many ministries, and many books, Pastor Lutzer was Senior Pastor at Moody Church in Chicago for 36 years and now serves as Pastor Emeritus there.  He is  Chancelor and a former professor at Moody Bible Institute, where he taught Theology and Ministry, and now has numerous radio teachings.

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THE SOUND OF HYMNS

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:13–14

D.L. MOODY

I have read that on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, the wives of fishermen whose husbands have gone far out upon the deep are in the habit of going down to the seashore at night and singing the first verse of some beautiful hymn. After they have sung it, they listen until they hear, brought on the wind across the sea, the second verse sung by their brave husbands—and both are happy. Perhaps, if we would listen, we too might hear on this storm-tossed world of ours some sound, some whisper, born from afar to tell us there is a heaven which is our home; and when we sing our hymns upon the shores of the Earth, perhaps we may hear their sweet echoes breaking in music upon the sands of time and cheering the hearts of those who are pilgrims and strangers along the way.

ERWIN LUTZER

Interestingly, Moody saw the need for singing in the midst of the storms of life. This is excellent advice because singing hymns does lift our souls to God, and there is no time when we need such faith as when we are in a storm. Storms come in many different forms, and almost always in the most inopportune of times.

I’ve noticed this: As older believers struggle with dementia, they are often still able to quietly sing hymns they learned earlier in life. If we want to prepare for eternity, today would be an excellent time to either review the lyrics of hymns we know or learn those classic hymns so often neglected today.

Let us learn to sing amid the storms of life.

PRAYER

Father, may the song of my heart be focused on you on this daily pilgrimage. May I find peace in the incarnate Christ, bringing you much glory.

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Hebrews 12:2

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…”

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Philippians 3:13-15

Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

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Colossians 3:2

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

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Isaiah 26:3

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. 

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Matthew 5:3

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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Matthew 5:10&12

“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.    Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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Matthew 5:16

Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

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Matthew 6:20

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;

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Matthew 6:26

Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they?

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