What God says

On Wednesday we attended a choir festival. My granddaughter is in her school choir which was one of six high school choirs taking part.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

One of the songs performed was “You Say” by Lauren Daigle. I felt a deep affinity with the words.

“I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough

Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up

Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low

Remind me once again just who I am because I need to know

Ooh-oh

You say I am loved when I cant feel a thing

You say I am strong when I think I am weak

And you say I am held when I am falling short

And when I don’t belong, oh, You say I am Yours”

Jesus says about the devil, “When he lies he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)

Unfortunately we believe many of these lies – especially when they concern ourselves. The father of lies will tell us we are failures, we can’t do anything right, nobody loves us, we’ve been so bad that God will never forgive us and other similar lies. He will make us doubt our identity in Christ. “If you are really a Christian, you wouldn’t…” He even tried it with Jesus. “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread. ” (Luke 4:3 NIV,) or “If you are the son of God, throw yourself down” (from the pinnacle of the temple). (Matthew 4:6.) Each time Jesus countered with Scripture.

That’s what I love about this song. It tells us what God says.

We are loved. ” I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3 NIV,) “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love.” (John 15 vs 9 ESV.)

We are strong in Christ. “I can do all things Through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13 NIV)

I know God is trying to teach me these truths at the moment. I was in Pick ‘n Pay, about to rush home after grabbing a quick lunch, when my phone rang. It was one of our elders so I thought I’d take the call. When we disconnected, I became aware of what song they were playing in the huge store – “You say” by Lauren Daigle! If I hadn’t had the phone call, I would have left the shop five minutes earlier and another song would be playing. Do you think God is trying to tell me something?

My Prayer

Lord Jesus, You give me strength. My identity is in You. Please give me discernment to recognise lies that I have believed and the wisdom to replace them with truths from Your Word. Amen.

Zonkeys

We’ve just returned from a midweek break at Dube Private Game Lodge with the grandkids.

On the property, just outside the campsite, they keep a couple of donkeys. When the kids saw them, they noticed the strange stripes the animals had.

We decided they were a cross between zebras and donkeys and dubbed them “Zonkeys.”

Inspired by the unexpected Christmas Tea that the owners put on for all us campers, we began to feel that Christmas was really coming soon.

rpt

One evening, while drying and brushing the youngest’s long hair, I tried to distract her by making up a song to the tune of Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer. The kids joined in and this is our final copy.

I began to think about why we discriminate against people who are somehow different:- the deaf child, the boy with thick glasses, the dwarf, people in wheelchairs, people of other nationalities or cultures. What on earth makes us think we were all meant to be the same, (basically the same as us,) as if God made some kind of mistake when He created people with differences. This is a subject close to my heart and the main theme of my children’s book, The Saddest Little Sugar Bowl in the World.

Nelson Mandela coined the phrase The Rainbow Nation to describe South Africa. Every artist knows what happens if one takes all the colours and mixes them. The result is an uninteresting smudgy brown. A rainbow would have no beauty if each colour did not retain its individuality. Sure, there is some merging, like the green made in the transition between blue and yellow and the orange created between yellow and red.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

God created everything. “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Gen 1:31 NIV)

As a bumper-sticker reads, “God made me and He don’t make no junk!” Let us never look down on any person made in God’s image just because they are different. Let us never be the villains who “used to laugh and call him names.”

Songs that make me happy

 

This is in response to Helen’s prompt at Song Lyric Sunday.

I chose the hymn, All Things Bright and Beautiful by Cecil Frances Alexander. It makes me think of childhood and innocence, when the world is a wonderful place to explore and the beauty of nature is a constant unfolding of amazement.