MY THEME SONG

Posted on January 20, 2021 by randscallawayffm

Empty hands held high

Such small sacrifice

If not joined with my life

I sing in vain tonight

May the words I say

And the things I do

Make my lifesong sing

Bring a smile to You…

This song by Casting Crowns is the background of our psalm today.

As leaders we are fed much instruction about ways to lead better, be stronger and more influential, set measurable goals, be disciplined and be accountable to the numbers that tell the story of a productive person.  This is the world’s theme song of success. 

People say I am a leader without trying to be.  My desire is to help ultimately.  It seems God puts me in places to lead for “such a time as this” for various reasons and seasons of life.  I’m not always sure why but I know my desire is to obey God and go where He sends.  My theme song of leadership doesn’t always match what the world says because my song of songs is built on God’s love. 

No matter what is happening, whatever situation needs a solution or strategy, the bottom line and foundation of problem solving must be God’s love and His justice.  “Justice”—just as if it never happened, is the meaning given to me years ago by a wise sage.  We must set things right with God and others in such a way just as if it never happened.  God provides His justice to those who are repentant of their sins and cleanses us with His justification—”just as if” we had never sinned in the first place.  This is complete forgiveness of all sin.  This is God’s justice.  It is up to each person to decide to receive His justice, clean the slate of our sins and move forward with Him, leaving the old life behind. 

Our first thought, when we lead must be love, God’s love in us that leads to humility, justice and mercy for others.  (See Micah 6:8)  Because God’s love is richer, deeper, unconditional, limitless, unchanging and relentless, we ask for wisdom from God by asking what He wants us to be and do for this day.  We have learned much from pandemic living as leaders.  We can make plans but God decides.  So, we look to God and find Him as promised ready to show us the right way that is just and fair in His thinking.  We protect our intimate relationship with Him first and then with others at all costs to our own interests and wants.  (See Phil 2, Jesus’ example)  This is love and justice.  This is a theme song I will sing and learn all the verses! 

Let my lifesong sing to You

Let my lifesong sing to You

I want to sign Your name to the end of this day

Knowing that my heart was true

Let my lifesong sing to You  (Casting Crowns-“Life Song”)

Our Psalmist writes the verses to a theme song that we all learn, sing and live.  He is talking about David, the apple of God’s eye, as His leader.  When David became king, first in Hebron and then at Jerusalem, he inherited a divided land and a discouraged people whose spiritual life was at low ebb.  David was named as God’s answer to Israel’s problems.

Everything rises and falls with leadership, but many of King Saul’s officers were fawning, flattering “toadies” who were unable to work with a man like David. God’s spirit left Saul to his own devices because Saul left God.  David is outlining what kind of integrity and characteristics he will expect from his team to lead God’s people with him.  We could accurately call this psalm “Leadership 101” because in it David spells out the essentials for successful leadership in the work of God.

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 101, The Message


1-8 My theme song is God’s love and justice,
    and I’m singing it right to you, God.
I’m finding my way down the road of right living,
    but how long before you show up?
I’m doing the very best I can,
    and I’m doing it at home, where it counts.
I refuse to take a second look
    at corrupting people and degrading things.
I reject made-in-Canaan gods,
    stay clear of contamination.
The crooked in heart keep their distance;
    I refuse to shake hands with those who plan evil.
I put a gag on the gossip
    who bad-mouths his neighbor;
I can’t stand
    arrogance.
But I have my eye on salt-of-the-earth people—
    they’re the ones I want working with me;
Men and women on the straight and narrow—
    these are the ones I want at my side.
But no one who traffics in lies
    gets a job with me; I have no patience with liars.
I’ve rounded up all the wicked like cattle
    and herded them right out of the country.
I purged God’s city
    of all who make a business of evil.

TRUTH:  My theme song is God’s love and justice, and I’m singing it right to you, God.

Lord I give my life

A living sacrifice

To reach a world in need

To be Your hands and feet

So may the words I say

And the things I do

Make my lifesong sing

Bring a smile to You

CHORUS:
Let my lifesong sing to You

Let my lifesong sing to You

I want to sign Your name to the end of this day

Knowing that my heart was true

Let my lifesong sing to You

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Let my lifesong sing to You

Proverb 29:2,4,8,12,14,23,26,27, The Message

LEADERSHIP 102 WISDOM: 

“When good people run things, everyone is glad, but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans.”

“A leader of good judgment gives stability; an exploiting leader leaves a trail of waste.”

“A gang of cynics can upset a whole city; a group of sages can calm everyone down.”

“When a leader listens to malicious gossip, all the workers get infected with evil.”

“Leadership gains authority and respect when the voiceless poor are treated fairly.”

“Pride lands you flat on your face; humility prepares you for honors.”

“Everyone tries to get help from the leader, but only God will give us justice.”

“Good people can’t stand the sight of deliberate evil; the wicked can’t stand the sight of well-chosen goodness.”

Abba Father,

I give my life to you, all that I am, all that I have.  May my theme song be delightful to your ears.  I love you with all my heart, mind and soul.  Your grace and mercy is overwhelming.  Your unconditional love is amazing me each day.  I don’t deserve what you do in and through me and for me.  And what you do for me, you do for others finding and following you, too.  Keep us all abiding in you as you abide in us.  Cleanse every part that is offensive to you and keep us moving closer and closer to You.  Give us wisdom in all that we are and do, whether it is in following or leading, let my life-song sing to You and Your glory!

In Jesus Name, Amen

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ON YOUR FEET!

Posted on January 19, 2021 by randscallawayffm

Let’s forget about ourselves,
And magnify the Lord and worship Him
Let’s forget about ourselves
And magnify the Lord and worship Him
Let’s forget about ourselves
And magnify the Lord and worship Him
Oh, worship Him, Jesus Christ, our Lord

This old chorus I grew up with says it all!  Take five!  On your feet!  Or on your knees!  No matter what posture you take, applaud God and thank Him.  Come into His Presence right where you are with thanksgiving to Him.  Let me get you started.  We are alive this morning!  We are breathing!  We have been given another day to be a difference in this world by asking God what HE wants from us and for us.  With that prayer, God will guide us.  Pray expectantly and He will answer this prayer.  Be ready to do what He will do in us and all around us.  May Your Kingdom come!  May Your will be done!

The psalm is a fitting climax to the collection of “royal psalms” (93, 95–100) and sums up their emphasis on God’s sovereign rule, His goodness to His people, the responsibility of all nations to acknowledge Him, and the importance of God’s people exalting and worshipping Him.

We are urged in Ephesians 5:18 to be filled with the Spirit of God, and the evidence of this fullness is that we are joyful (5:19), thankful (5:20), and submissive (5:21–6:9). In Colossians 3:16-25, we are instructed to be filled with the Word of God, and when we are, we will be joyful (3:16), thankful (3:17), and submissive (3:20-25). These three characteristics of the believer controlled by God’s Spirit and God’s Word–and they go together–are presented in this wonderful psalm of thanksgiving.

SO…Forget about ALL that is going on around you for it is distracting us to the point of insanity.  We are tense and fearful.  We are throwing around our opinions in order to hurt someone, not find resolution or unity of thought.  We are fighting against ourselves.  We are duped into thinking the worst not the best.  And most of all we are assuming what others are thinking and only come up with more deception of thought.  STOP this train of thought and derail it!  Praise and thank God as the new train to ride!

Let’s forget about ourselves
And magnify the Lord and worship Him
Oh, worship Him, Jesus Christ, our Lord

tuscany sunset, Italy

Do we think God doesn’t know what is going on in this world?  Do we think He doesn’t care?  Do we think we know what God is thinking about it all?  Do we think we can solve all the world’s problems of selfishness and sinful ways without Him?  Look to God the One and Only who can bring peace in trouble with His extreme, unconditional love.

Better question:  Do we really believe that what we believe about God is really real?  Our behavior will always reflect our true belief.

So, we pray.  We turn our worldly worries into worship.  We center our whole being on who God is and who we are not.  We are not God, we are the sheep of HIS pasture, His domain.  He shepherds us, not the other way around.  Believe me, we don’t really want God’s job. 

Let’s forget about ourselves
And magnify the Lord and worship Him
Oh, worship Him, Jesus Christ, our Lord

Turn off all the noise and magnify the Lord.  That means to shrink ourselves before Him and realize how great and magnificent our God is.  Forget the world.  Think God.  Thank God.  Be joyful, submissive and thankful.  That’s what God wants from us.  Let’s do this!

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 100, The Message

1-2 On your feet now—applaud God!
    Bring a gift of laughter,
    sing yourselves into his presence.

3 Know this: God is God, and God, God.
    He made us; we didn’t make him.
    We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.

4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
    Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
    Thank him. Worship him.

5 For God is sheer beauty,
    all-generous in love,
    loyal always and ever.

TRUTH:  “Know this:  God is God…”  Enter His courts with “thank you”!  Make yourselves at home with worship, thanksgiving and praise to God and God alone!

Let’s forget about ourselves,
And magnify the Lord and praise His name;
Let’s forget about ourselves,
And magnify the Lord and praise His name;
Let’s forget about ourselves,
And magnify the Lord and praise His name;
Oh, praise His name, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Proverb 29:8, The Message

“A gang of cynics can upset a whole city; a group of sages can calm everyone down.”

WISDOM:  Remain calm.  Abide in God.

Abba Father,

I thank you for all you have done, are doing and will do in our lives.  I thank you for saving my soul and making me whole.  I thank you for growing my character to be more and more like you.  I’m not there yet, but I know you are growing me.  Thank you for protecting me from things that would destroy me.  Thank you for helping me through troubles that might have disabled me but it didn’t because of you.  Thank you for giving me more chances to come back than I deserve.  Thank you for provisions enough to share.  Thank you for family and friends that love you, too.  Thank you for bringing lost loved ones back to you.  Thank you for working still on the ones who have not yet found you.  Thank you for fighting all my battles and delivering me from the evil one.  Thank you for life everlasting.  Only You, God.  Only You.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS OUR GOD!

Posted on January 18, 2021 by randscallawayffm

Holy, holy, holy!
Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning
Our song shall rise to Thee

This ancient hymn is playing in the background of my mind as I worship God this morning while reading and meditating on this psalm written for pure praise.  Join me in praise to God!

Holy, holy, holy!
Merciful and mighty
God in three persons
Blessed Trinity!

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 99, The Message

1-3 God rules. On your toes, everybody!
He rules from his angel throne—take notice!
God looms majestic in Zion,
He towers in splendor over all the big names.
Great and terrible your beauty: let everyone praise you!
    Holy. Yes, holy.

4-5 Strong King, lover of justice,
You laid things out fair and square;
You set down the foundations in Jacob,
Foundation stones of just and right ways.
Honor God, our God; worship his rule!
    Holy. Yes, holy.

6-9 Moses and Aaron were his priests,
Samuel among those who prayed to him.
They prayed to God and he answered them;
He spoke from the pillar of cloud.
And they did what he said; they kept the law he gave them.
And then God, our God, answered them
(But you were never soft on their sins).
Lift high God, our God; worship at his holy mountain.
    Holy. Yes, holy is God our God.

Holy, holy, holy!
Though the darkness hide thee
Though the eye of sinful man
Thy glory may not see

Only Thou art holy
There is none beside Thee
Perfect in power, in love and purity

TRUTH:  He is God and we are not.  Holy and great are your Lord, God of heaven and earth.  You rule!  You always have and you always will!  There is NO ONE like YOU!

Proverb 29:18, The Message

WISDOM: “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves;
But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.”

Holy, holy, holy!
Lord God Almighty
Oh thy works shall praise Thy name
In earth and sky and sea

Holy, holy, holy!
Merciful and mighty
God in three persons
Blessed Trinity
Oh God in three persons
Blessed Trinity!

Abba Father,

Indeed, you are God and we are not.  You alone are holy and you alone can make us holy.  You are God in three persons.  Thank you, Jesus for saving our souls.  Thank you, Holy Spirit, for guiding, leading us out of trouble, convicting our hearts when we stray, comforting us when we mourn, challenging us to grow in Godly character by teaching us what is right, and for what we should be thinking and doing.  Yes, Holy and Great are You, God.  I praise you with all that is in me.  Help me to love like you love.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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EXTREME WORSHIP TO GOD WHO PUTS THE WORLD RIGHT

Posted on January 17, 2021 by randscallawayffm

Joy to the world! The Lord is come
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing…

Did you know…

From this psalm Isaac Watts found the inspiration for his popular hymn “Joy to the World,” often classified as a Christmas carol but more accurately identified as a “kingdom hymn.” Watts described Christ’s second advent and not His first, the messianic kingdom and not the manger. 

Jesus, Son of God, was sent down to earth the first time with the mission to seek and to save the lost.  He began with God’s chosen then extended salvation for sins to the whole world.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) 

“In the beginning God” …Words from God’s lips created the world in which we live.  All came into being merely by the spoken words from God’s lips.  “And it was good.” This was God’s own affirmation of the work well done.  His first created humans, however, turned their eyes from God, easily distracted, to evil’s attention and intention to destroy their relationship with their Creator.  Because God wants our undivided love, Adam and Eve were separated from God.  Mankind was then separated from God.  But God never left his people.  God gave humanity a sacrificial system to atone for their sins.  But that system became corrupt by humans.  God’s extreme love brought His ultimate Plan to set the world right.  That Plan was Jesus, His Son.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let all their songs employ
while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat the sounding joy…

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”, begins John the gospel writer about Jesus.  Jesus, who stood with God at the beginning of Creation, was sent down to earth to be the perfect sacrifice for our sin.  No one but Jesus, God’s Son, could do this.  Jesus came to earth, said and did only what His Father in heaven told him to say and do and completed the mission perfectly.  We are saved and redeemed from all our sins because of Jesus’s work on the cross of dying and rising from defeated death to life.  Jesus went back to heaven after appearing to His beloved to prepare a place for all who believe and follow Him forevermore. 

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
nor thorns infest the ground.
He comes to make his blessings flow
far as the curse is found,
far as the curse is found,
far as, far as the curse is found…

Ah, Jesus is coming back a second and final time to complete God’s Plan to set things right. Jesus, alpha and omega, beginning and end, will come to claim His own and take all who believe to the kingdom home He has prepared for us!  There Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords will rule forever and ever, Amen!

“He’ll straighten out the whole world,
He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it.”

He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness,
and wonders of his love,
and wonders of his love,
and wonders, wonders of his love.

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 98, The Message

Sing to God a brand-new song.
He’s made a world of wonders!

He rolled up his sleeves,
He set things right.

2 God made history with salvation,
He showed the world what he could do.

3 He remembered to love us, a bonus
To his dear family, Israel—indefatigable love.

The whole earth comes to attention.
Look—God’s work of salvation!

4 Shout your praises to God, everybody!
Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!

5 Round up an orchestra to play for God,
Add on a hundred-voice choir.

6 Feature trumpets and big trombones,
Fill the air with praises to King God.

7 Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause,
With everything living on earth joining in.

8 Let ocean breakers call out, “Encore!”
And mountains harmonize the finale—

9 A tribute to God when he comes,
When he comes to set the earth right.

He’ll straighten out the whole world,
He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it.

TRUTH:  He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it.

Proverb 28:13-14, The Message

You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it;
    you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.

14 A tenderhearted person lives a blessed life;
    a hardhearted person lives a hard life.

WISDOM:  Repent and be saved.  Jesus did all the heavy lifting for you.

Abba Father,

Thank you for saving my soul and making things right between you and me.  Thank you for paying the debts of my sins in full, never to be remembered or visited again!  Thank you for laying down your life for mine!  Thank you for loving me the way you do.  Thank you for loving the world they way you do.  Help me to love like you love each day of my life.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Joy to the world, the Lord has come!  And He’s coming back again!  Be ready!

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GOD HAS DONE IT!

Posted on January 16, 2021 by randscallawayffm

We are constantly begging God to set everything right, to fix our problems and bring peace to our world.  We ask for His glory to be seen then get distracted by everything but God.  We sing to God for our needs to be met, our sad little souls to be fed and our hearts to be filled with happiness.  We pray for emotional well-being, financial security and more stuff while living our own way in a world that only wants to take it all away.  We are a mess.  But God still loves us.  In fact,

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16

God has already done it!  He has already set things right!  Jesus, His One and Only, came down from heaven to seek and to save the lost who were living their lives without Him.  Jesus came and moved into the neighborhood of mankind to show us God, His ways and His love.  Jesus, the ultimate, perfect sacrifice, came to pay the debt of the sins of the world.  God set things right in this world by sending Jesus.

“God rules”, the Psalmist shouts in praise to the One and Only!  Everyone who worship gods, handcrafted by human hands, the “ragamuffin” material, political, and social things of this earth will be sorry when they see the King of kings and Lord of lords come back for his own! 

What or Who has all our attention?  That’s what or who we worship!

“For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” Romans 14:11 ESV

“So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and        under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the          glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10-11

“By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’”  Isaiah 45:23

Yes, and Amen!  God planned Jesus’ arrival from the beginning of creation, knowing we would need a Savior and Redeemer.  God set people right with Him to all who believe in Jesus.  Jesus, the foretold and fulfilled promise of God, came to set the world right!  Look, see, trust, believe and be saved!  Then, Celebrate!  Jesus IS coming back, you know…

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 97, The Message

God rules: there’s something to shout over!
On the double, mainlands and islands—celebrate!

2 Bright clouds and storm clouds circle ’round him;
Right and justice anchor his rule.

3 Fire blazes out before him,
Flaming high up the craggy mountains.

4 His lightnings light up the world;
Earth, wide-eyed, trembles in fear.

5 The mountains take one look at God
And melt, melt like wax before earth’s Lord.

6 The heavens announce that he’ll set everything right,
And everyone will see it happen—glorious!

7-8 All who serve handcrafted gods will be sorry—
And they were so proud of their ragamuffin gods!

On your knees, all you gods—worship him!
And Zion, you listen and take heart!

Daughters of Zion, sing your hearts out:
God has done it all, has set everything right.

9 You, God, are High God of the cosmos,
Far, far higher than any of the gods.

10 God loves all who hate evil,
And those who love him he keeps safe,
Snatches them from the grip of the wicked.

11 Light-seeds are planted in the souls of God’s people,
Joy-seeds are planted in good heart-soil.

12 So, God’s people, shout praise to God,
Give thanks to our Holy God!

TRUTH:  God has set everything under heaven right!  “The heavens announce that he’ll set everything right, And everyone will see it happen—glorious!”  Jesus is His Name.

Proverbs 28:1-5, The Message

The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off
    even when no one’s after them;
Honest people are relaxed and confident,
    bold as lions.

2 When the country is in chaos,
    everybody has a plan to fix it—
But it takes a leader of real understanding
    to straighten things out.

3 The wicked who oppress the poor
    are like a hailstorm that beats down the harvest.

4 If you desert God’s law, you’re free to embrace depravity;
    if you love God’s law, you fight for it tooth and nail.

5 Justice makes no sense to the evilminded;
    those who seek God know it inside and out.

WISDOM:  Seek God.  Read His instructions.  Ask for understanding.  Then follow God, no matter what, follow God and no one else. 

Abba Father,

Oh Lord, how our attentions are easily drawn to mindless idols of destructive thoughts and behaviors!  Pull all our attention to back to You.  You have already set the world right by sending Jesus.  Help us to realize that again.  Thank you, Jesus for offering your life for ours and following through with God’s Plan of redeeming my soul.  Thank you, Father for our intimate relationship because of the completion of your plan of setting things right with You. 

Thank you for Your Holy Presence in the lives of all who believe and are committed to You.  Thank you for protection and provisions enough to share, but most of all thank you for saving my soul and teaching me your law.  I worship you alone, for you alone are worthy of all my attention.  Keep us focused on you so we will see your glory at work daily.  You are my One and Only God, my hope.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen

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RAISE A HALLELUJAH!

Posted on January 15, 2021 by randscallawayffm

I raise a hallelujah, in the presence of my enemies
I raise a hallelujah, louder than the unbelief
I raise a hallelujah, my weapon is a melody
I raise a hallelujah, heaven comes to fight for me

Pause to pray.  Rise to worship God!  Let us jump into this psalm with abandon, leaving the world and worldly philosophies in the dust.  Let us be cleansed in the pool of pure, living waters that wash over our hearts, minds and souls!  Everyone sing God’s praises like never before.  Forget for a moment what is going in our world and just step back to raise a hallelujah to our God who knows all, created all and is in all!   For it is in our praise and worship of God alone that He turns what we give to Him back to us with extreme love and encouragement! 

But first, God.

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 96, The Message

1-2 Sing God a brand-new song!
Earth and everyone in it, sing!
Sing to God—worship God!

2-3 Shout the news of his victory from sea to sea,
Take the news of his glory to the lost,
News of his wonders to one and all!

4-5 For God is great, and worth a thousand Hallelujahs.
His furious beauty puts the other gods to shame;
Pagan gods are mere tatters and rags.

5-6 God made the heavens—
Royal splendor radiates from him,
A powerful beauty sets him apart.

7 Bravo, God, Bravo!
Everyone join in the great shout: Encore!
In awe before the beauty, in awe before the might.

8-9 Bring gifts and celebrate,
Bow before the beauty of God,
Then to your knees—everyone worship!

10 Get out the message—God Rules!
He put the world on a firm foundation;
He treats everyone fair and square.

11 Let’s hear it from Sky,
With Earth joining in,
And a huge round of applause from Sea.

12 Let Wilderness turn cartwheels,
Animals, come dance,
Put every tree of the forest in the choir—

13 An extravaganza before God as he comes,
As he comes to set everything right on earth,
Set everything right, treat everyone fair.

TRUTH:  God sets and resets everything right on earth.  God resets our hearts, minds and souls in the process.

Proverb 28:18, The Message

WISDOM:  “Walk straight—live well and be saved;
    a devious life is a doomed life.”  God first in all of life.  God always.  Be still and know God.

Abba Father,

We raise a hallelujah to you alone this morning!  We thank you for all you have done, are doing and will do in each of our lives who believe, trust and obey You.  We thank you for saving our souls.  We thank you for loving us they way you do.  We thank you for listening to our prayers of concern.  We praise you for accepting us where we are and then growing us to be all you created us to be and do.  Thank you, Lord.  Come, Lord Jesus, come.  Set everything right.  Begin with me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

I raise a hallelujah, in the presence of my enemies
I raise a hallelujah, louder than the unbelief
I raise a hallelujah, my weapon is a melody
I raise a hallelujah, heaven comes to fight for me

I’m gonna sing, in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes, hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive!

I raise a hallelujah, with everything inside of me
I raise a hallelujah, I will watch the darkness flee
I raise a hallelujah, in the middle of the mystery
I raise a hallelujah, fear you lost your hold on me!

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GOD OWNS IT!

Posted on January 14, 2021 by randscallawayffm

Look all around you.  Seriously, look around you.  What do you see?  Look at what you have acquired.  Look at what you cherish most.  Look at your family who was given to you to share life with for a while on earth. 

Now, imagine being outside.  What do you see in your own backyard?  What do you see on your way to work each day?  Close your eyes.  Imagine standing on a tall mountain peak.  What do you see?  Close your eyes again.  Imagine being on an island with the beautiful ocean lapping at your toes as the waves push your feet deeper into the warm sand.

Does any of this really belong to us?  The answer is no.  God owns it all. 

The Psalmist reminds us that God owns all we see around us.  We are merely managers (good or bad) of what He has provided for us.  So, do not provoke God!  It will not go well for us.  Trust God, LISTEN to hear His voice above the noisy din of evil provoked crowds who want their own way.  Walk in God’s way.  How do we know God’s way?  His Word tells us all we need to know.  His Holy Spirit helps us to understand and stay focused on His Road to follow.  It’s up to us.  We get to choose.  We must choose wisely.

Come, let us worship the One who owns it all!

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 95, The Message

1-2 Come, let’s shout praises to God,
    raise the roof for the Rock who saved us!
Let’s march into his presence singing praises,
    lifting the rafters with our hymns!

3-5 And why? Because God is the best,
    High King over all the gods.
In one hand he holds deep caves and caverns,
    in the other hand grasps the high mountains.
He made Ocean—he owns it!
    His hands sculpted Earth!

6-7 So come, let us worship: bow before him,
    on your knees before God, who made us!
Oh yes, he’s our God,
    and we’re the people he pastures, the flock he feeds.

7-11 Drop everything and listen, listen as he speaks:
    “Don’t turn a deaf ear as in the Bitter Uprising,
As on the day of the Wilderness Test,
    when your ancestors turned and put me to the test.
For forty years they watched me at work among them,
    as over and over they tried my patience.
And I was provoked—oh, was I provoked!
    ‘Can’t they keep their minds on God for five minutes?
    Do they simply refuse to walk down my road?’
Exasperated, I exploded,
    ‘They’ll never get where they’re headed,
    never be able to sit down and rest.’”

TRUTH:  God owns it all because He created all and is in all.  Remember this truth.  Worship the One and Only who owns it all.

Proverb 28:9-10, The Message

God has no use for the prayers
    of the people who won’t listen to him.

10 Lead good people down a wrong path
    and you’ll come to a bad end;
    do good and you’ll be rewarded for it.

WISDOM:  Listen to God.  Follow His Path.  God will not disappoint.

Abba Father,

We cry out today for your wisdom, insight and understanding.  Leaning only to what the crowds shout is not working for anyone. Leaning into what is said by leaders of all kinds is not reliable.  Only what you say, Lord is truth and be counted on for life.  So, open our eyes to Truth.  Open our ears to hear Your Voice above all others.  I am humbly repentant and wholly committed to what you want.  Show us The Way down Your Road.  Teach us as we walk together today and forever.

In Jesus Name, Amen

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  2 Chronicles 7:14

We must repent.  I repent.

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GOD—THE CIRCLE OF QUIET WITHIN THE CLAMOR OF EVIL

Posted on January 13, 2021 by randscallawayffm

Lord, help us to gain a more righteous perspective, your way of thinking, so that we might not sin in our unknowingness, arrogance and pride caused by only thinking and leaning to our own understanding of life.  In Jesus Name, Amen

Few problems in this world cause God’s people to question His rule more than, “Why do the helpless and the godly suffer and the wicked get away with their crimes?” When it comes to dealing with the injustices in society, this psalm teaches us that the righteous have four responsibilities.

PRAY FOR JUSTICE

God’s requirement for His people is that we “act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8) for the Lord loves justice and hears the prayers of those who have been treated unjustly.  Did you get that?  God hears!  God cares! 

The word vengeance is often misinterpreted to mean “revenge” or “being vindictive,” as though God were having a temper tantrum, but “to avenge” means to uphold the law and give justice to those who have been wronged. Since the Lord is omniscient, He is able to judge motives as well as actions and deal with situations and people justly.  God is the only judge, the perfect and right judge who will bring justice.

We want the Lord to act immediately, but He is gracious and longsuffering and we must walk by faith (Luke 18:1-8). The wicked convince themselves that God does not see their evil deeds, but He does!

WARN THE WICKED

After praying to the Lord, we must confront the wicked with the truth, as the Lord gives us opportunity. But the battle belongs to the Lord God.  Does God the creator of ears and eyes not hear and see?  What a question!  What shallow thinking!  The subversive plans and plots of these evil leaders cannot be hidden from the Lord, nor will they go unpunished. Paul quoted this verse in 1 Corinthians 3:20 to warn church leaders in Corinth not to try to guide the church using the world’s wisdom, but to rely only on the wisdom of God found in Scripture.

ACCEPT GOD’S DISCIPLINE

The psalmist recognized the fact that the difficulties of life could help him mature in his faith. If God immediately rescued His people from their personal difficulties, they would become spoiled brats and never grow in faith or character. “For whom the Lord loves He chastens” (Heb. 12:6). God uses personal difficulties to teach us new truths from His Word.  There is coming a time of judgment (“days of adversity”), but the Lord will spare His people from it.  God will protect all who believe and trust in Him a “circle of quiet within the clamor of evil”.

The psalmist believed in the justice of God, the future judgment of the wicked, and the promise of a righteous kingdom for the upright in heart.  Do we?

WORK WITH GOD FOR JUSTICE

The psalmist was experiencing the devious plots of the evil leaders and cried out to God for help. He knew that the judges were twisting the law to exploit the poor (v. 20), and he was slipping into a deep and dangerous situation. His heart was anxious within him, but the Lord held him up, pulled him out, and gave him peace within. He was grateful for other believers who stood with him and prayed with him, for “my God” in verse 22 became “our God” in verse 23.  Ask God for justice then do what He says.  He is God and we are not.

In evil days, we give thanks that we have the Lord as our refuge and fortress. But we hide in Him, not that we may escape responsibility, but that we might be equipped to go forth and fight the enemy. As the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:13-16), God’s people should do all they can to encourage justice in this world. As Edmund Burke said, “It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph.” But in the end, it is the Lord who knows the hearts of people and who will judge justly. Count on God, not on man, to judge justly.

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 94, The Message

1-2 God, put an end to evil;
    avenging God, show your colors!
Judge of the earth, take your stand;
    throw the book at the arrogant.

3-4 God, the wicked get away with murder—
    how long will you let this go on?
They brag and boast
    and crow about their crimes!

5-7 They walk all over your people, God,
    exploit and abuse your precious people.
They take out anyone who gets in their way;
    if they can’t use them, they kill them.
They think, “God isn’t looking,
    Jacob’s God is out to lunch.”

8-11 Well, think again, you idiots,
    fools—how long before you get smart?
Do you think Ear-Maker doesn’t hear,
    Eye-Shaper doesn’t see?
Do you think the trainer of nations doesn’t correct,
    the teacher of Adam doesn’t know?
God knows, all right—
    knows your stupidity,
    sees your shallowness.

12-15 How blessed the man you train, God,
    the woman you instruct in your Word,
Providing a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil,
    while a jail is being built for the wicked.
God will never walk away from his people,
    never desert his precious people.
Rest assured that justice is on its way
    and every good heart put right.

16-19 Who stood up for me against the wicked?
    Who took my side against evil workers?
If God hadn’t been there for me,
    I never would have made it.
The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,”
    your love, God, took hold and held me fast.
When I was upset and beside myself,
    you calmed me down and cheered me up.

20-23 Can Misrule have anything in common with you?
    Can Troublemaker pretend to be on your side?
They ganged up on good people,
    plotted behind the backs of the innocent.

But God became my hideout,
    God was my high mountain retreat,
Then boomeranged their evil back on them:
    for their evil ways he wiped them out,
    our God cleaned them out for good.

TRUTH:  There is only one God and we are not Him.  No one on earth is like God.  God is in control of all.  God is the only perfect and righteous judge.  God is I AM, the Lord our God from creation to everlasting.  Believe in God, put Him first, leave all the rest of this world behind.  Work with Him not against Him.  God is our Hope.  Abide in Jesus, His Son who saved us and He will abide in You.  God is.  We are not…God. 

Do you really believe God or not?

Proverb 28:2-5, The Message

When the country is in chaos,
    everybody has a plan to fix it—
But it takes a leader of real understanding
    to straighten things out.

3 The wicked who oppress the poor
    are like a hailstorm that beats down the harvest.

4 If you desert God’s law, you’re free to embrace depravity;
    if you love God’s law, you fight for it tooth and nail.

5 Justice makes no sense to the evil-minded;
    those who seek God know it inside and out.

WISDOM:  Love God’s law.  Live God’s Love.  Seek God.  Seek His justice.

Abba Father,

Help us to not lash out but to pray for justice.  Guide us to know your justice and work with you not against you.  May all our hope, trust and faith be in You.  Help us to shine your light of hope and salvation for all to see.  May we consistently point the way to You, dear Jesus, and leave all else behind.  Provide a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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ALWAYS, GOD!

Posted on January 12, 2021 by randscallawayffm

I used to brag about a day gone well.  How pridefully foolish was that?  Knowing God the way I do now, I give all praise to God.  Now, I want everyone around me to know that God is at the beginning and ending of each day.  I pray, asking to see His glory at work in small and magnificent ways, and God never disappoints.  In fact, every way that God works is pretty magnificent when you really consider all His ways.  God is always at work in and around us.  It is up to us, our responsibility of trust and faith, to listen more intently to hear God’s voice above all others.  We need to laser focus our vision to recognize what God is doing right under our noses!  Always God.  That’s why we praise Him!

Our hearts, minds and souls need to be thrown open wide to receive Him so we “see” Him for who He is.  The rest of our created senses must join in to feel His Presence in our created beings!  Yes, He is God and we or no one else is…God.  There is nothing He cannot do.  There is no one He does not love.  There is no one like Him.  Seriously recognize God for who He is, not what we make Him to be in our small minds, but who He really is!  He is Love, Mercy and Grace.  God is the One and Only God who sent His Son to save us.  He never changes in His love for us and He never will.  What He promises, He delivers!  Our changing society, who can’t decide what love is much less who to love, cannot be trusted–ever.  Yes, God is the constant we can cling to in these times.  Always God.  Always.

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 93, The Message

1-2 God is King, robed and ruling,
God is robed and surging with strength.

    And yes, the world is firm, immovable,
    Your throne ever firm—you’re Eternal!

3-4 Sea storms are up, God,
Sea storms wild and roaring,
Sea storms with thunderous breakers.

    Stronger than wild sea storms,
    Mightier than sea-storm breakers,
    Mighty God rules from High Heaven.

5 What you say goes—it always has.
“Beauty” and “Holy” mark your palace rule,
God, to the very end of time.

TRUTH:  What you say, LORD God of all, happens!  God from beginning to end.  Always God.

Proverb 28:25, The Message


WISDOM:  “A grasping person stirs up trouble, but trust in God brings a sense of well-being.”  To know God as God alone who created the world, brings good from bad, protects, provides and loves beyond our wildest dreams brings a “sense of well-being” that no one else can give us.  Always God. 

Abba Father,

Simple truth.  Simple wisdom.  I will look for you all day long and into the night.  I will listen for your voice above the hard to understand voices of others.  I will give thanks now for all you will do today.  Help me to recognize all your works and give you glory immediately.  I stand in awe of You, Lord.  Always You, Lord God.

In Jesus Name, Amen

And I stand, I stand in awe of You
I stand, I stand in awe of You
Holy God, to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of You…

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HOW BEAUTIFUL!

Posted on January 11, 2021 by randscallawayffm

Oh Lord, you’re beautiful,
Your face is all I seek,
For when your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.

There is nothing more beautiful that to give God enthusiastic and sincere thanks for all He has done, is doing and will do in our lives.  He loves our praise for who He is, but I wonder if He really loves knowing we are grateful for how He loves us.  Isn’t that the way we feel when our family member or a good friend tells us how much they appreciate our loving provisions or actions for them?  Think about it.  God is our Father in Heaven who loves us and provides for all our needs in His timing.  How beautiful it is to acknowledge what God has done for us!

Because our God reigns supremely, and always will, we can be the people of God that He wants us to be. Gratefully appreciative!  The psalm describes the characteristics of believers who trust a sovereign God.  Let’s take a look;

We are to be a worshipping people.  A part of Israel’s covenant relationship with the Lord was their honoring of the weekly Sabbath. It was a special sign between Israel and the Lord and reminded them that God had delivered them from Egypt (Deut. 5:12-15). But the Sabbath also reminded them of God the Creator.

In Genesis 1 we are told that what God made was “good.” The psalmist added an eighth “good thing”–it is “good to give thanks [praise] to the Lord.” Believers today can praise the Lord for His generous creation gifts, His salvation through the blood of the Lamb, and His gracious covenant with us because of what Jesus did on the cross. Worship ought to be the natural outflow of a heart that loves the Lord and appreciates who He is and what He has done for His people. 

“To announce your love each daybreak, sing your faithful presence all through the night”.  We can begin the day assured of His love and end the day looking back on His faithfulness. We can look around and marvel at His works, including His providential care and leading in our own lives, and we can look into His Word and probe the depths of His great thoughts.

We are an overcoming people.  The psalmist shifts our attention to the enemies of the Lord who make life difficult for God’s people.  These people are God’s concern.  He takes care of those who are against Him and provides for those who are with Him.  God wants His people to be overcomers (Rom. 12:21; 1 John 2:13-14; 4:4; 5:4-5; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 21:7), and this comes when first we are worshippers.

We are a people of The Promise.  God grows and matures His own to be strong, flourishing and fruitful.  As believers, we take root in Christ, becoming the branches of The Vine.  As we take nourishment from Jesus, we begin to bear the fruit of the characteristics of God.  We can’t make this change without the help of His Holy Spirit. The fruit-bearing of His Holy character are named in Galatians 5:22-23, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”  Apart from The Vine, we wither and die.

The promise in Psalm 91:16 is still true, and so is the picture in 92:13-14. To stay “fresh and green” in old age and not spend one’s life complaining and demanding is a mark of God’s special blessing!  What a joy it is to hang out with an older saint who is fresh, fruitful, and flourishing. We change as we grow older, but the Lord never changes. He is our Rock, and what He wills for us is perfect, so we will not complain.

PAUSE TO PRAY…

How can this theme be the theme of our lives?  Are we grateful worshippers, overcomers with Jesus, as people of The Promise of His return?

Do we really believe what we believe about God is really real?

Then “come to his gates with thanksgiving and praise”!  How beautiful it is to praise and thank God!

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 92, The Message

A Sabbath Song

1-3 What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks,
    to sing an anthem to you, the High God!
To announce your love each daybreak,
    sing your faithful presence all through the night,
Accompanied by dulcimer and harp,
    the full-bodied music of strings.

4-9 You made me so happy, God
    I saw your work and I shouted for joy.
How magnificent your work, God!
    How profound your thoughts!
Dullards never notice what you do;
    fools never do get it.
When the wicked popped up like weeds
    and all the evil men and women took over,
You mowed them down,
    finished them off once and for all.
You, God, are High and Eternal.
    Look at your enemies, God!
Look at your enemies—ruined!
    Scattered to the winds, all those hirelings of evil!

10-14 But you’ve made me strong as a charging bison,
    you’ve honored me with a festive parade.
The sight of my critics going down is still fresh,
    the rout of my malicious detractors.
My ears are filled with the sounds of promise:
   “Good people will prosper like palm trees,
Grow tall like Lebanon cedars;
    transplanted to God’s courtyard,
They’ll grow tall in the presence of God,
    lithe and green, virile still in old age.”

15 Such witnesses to upright God!
    My Mountain, my huge, holy Mountain!

TRUTH:  What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks, to sing an anthem to you, the High God!

Proverb 28:5, The Message

WISDOM:  Justice makes no sense to the evilminded; those who seek God know it inside and out.

Abba Father,

Holy are Great are you, Lord!  You are God and I am not.  You are provider of all that is good and right, beautiful and appropriate, timely and encouraging.  You are our strength by day and our song in the night.  Your Presence is appreciated.  Your teaching is welcomed.  Your love is amazing.  Your grace and mercy–so undeserved, yet you give both from a love that is beyond our human thinking.  Keep me focused on You.  Help me to hear Your voice above all others and obey quickly.  My hope, trust and faith are in You alone.

In Jesus Name, Amen

O Lord, you’re beautiful

Your face is all I seek

And when your eyes are on this child

Your grace abounds to me…

(Keith Green)

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