Journal for Christ

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Who are you? Part 1

Don't you hate when you are watching a show and at the end, these words appear, "To be continued"?
Well, this is part 1 of my study on "who are you?" Part 2 tomorrow.

Journal entry from:

February 2, 2016

Worship: Mighty God by Joe Praize & the Soweto Gospel Choir

Oh Lord, my God, Jesus

I’ll speak of you Glory,
I will show forth your beauty
If I dance it won’t be enough,
If I shout it won’t be enough (Repeat)

For you are the great and mighty King
You rule in every nation
On Christ the solid rock,
You are worthy to be praised
You are Alpha and Omega, I worship you today
In you I put my trust, Your name I will extol

Heaven speaks of your glory
And the earth of your beauty
Your love is new every morning
And your faithfulness is ever sure (Repeat)

For you are the great and mighty God
So worthy to be praised
Your beautiful for all situation
You are the joy of the whole world (Repeat)

Yelele, Uyingwele [You are Holy],
Siyakudumisa [I worship You]
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

For you are the great and mighty God
So worthy to be praised
Your beautiful for all situation
You are the joy of the whole world (Repeat)

Jesus, Jesus my Lord, You are the joy of the world…

Video: https://youtu.be/zl62KqAruBo

Witness:

It has been a struggle for over a week now to have a quiet time. Tiredness, time, circumstances have teamed up with Satan to put roadblocks to the time I look forward to the most – time with you, my God and Savior. Today my Shepherd sent me a timely word from Spurgeon encouraging me to seek Him with all my heart and desire. The song I chose today to worship with is a song I have never heard before, but I chose it because it contained a phrase from Psalm 24 – “Mighty God”. I also chose it for the sheer joy exuding from it. Yes, it is a little out of my normal sphere of worship songs and some may object to some portions of the video, but then so did David’s wife object to David’s dancing before the Ark. Some feel this Psalm refers to that very occasion when David brought the Ark from Obed-Edom to Jerusalem.

As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. NIV

Some may object to the whistles and sounds near the end of the song. I choose to see them as outcries of joy!

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. KJV

Let me end this portion with the devotional I read today that served as an exhortation and encouragement to me today:

"Tell me . . . where Thou feedest, where Thou makest Thy flock to rest at noon."
— Song of Solomon 1:7

These words express the desire of the believer after Christ, and his longing for present communion with Him. Where doest Thou feed Thy flock? In Thy house? I will go, if I may find Thee there. In private prayer? Then I will pray without ceasing. In the Word? Then I will read it diligently. In Thine ordinances? Then I will walk in them with all my heart. Tell me where Thou feedest, for wherever Thou standest as the Shepherd, there will I lie down as a sheep; for none but Thyself can supply my need. I cannot be satisfied to be apart from Thee. My soul hungers and thirsts for the refreshment of Thy presence. "Where dost Thou make Thy flock to rest at noon?" for whether at dawn or at noon, my only rest must be where Thou art and Thy beloved flock. My soul's rest must be a grace-given rest, and can only be found in Thee. Where is the shadow of that rock? Why should I not repose beneath it? "Why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?" Thou hast companions—why should I not be one? Satan tells me I am unworthy; but I always was unworthy, and yet Thou hast long loved me, and therefore my unworthiness cannot be a bar to my having fellowship with Thee now. It is true I am weak in faith, and prone to fall, but my very feebleness is the reason why I should always be where Thou feedest Thy flock, that I may be strengthened, and preserved in safety beside the still waters. Why should I turn aside? There is no reason why I should, but there are a thousand reasons why I should not, for Jesus beckons me to come. If He withdrew Himself a little, it is but to make me prize His presence more. Now that I am grieved and distressed at being away from Him, He will lead me yet again to that sheltered nook where the lambs of His fold are sheltered from the burning sun.

Song of Solomon 1:7

Day 4

Ps 24:7-10 NIV

7 Lift up your heads, O you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

8 Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, O you gates;

lift them up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

10 Who is he, this King of glory?

The LORD Almighty —

he is the King of glory.

Selah

Ps 24:7-10

7 Open up, ancient gates!

Open up, ancient doors,

and let the King of glory enter.

8 Who is the King of glory?

The LORD, strong and mighty;

the LORD, invincible in battle.

9 Open up, ancient gates!

Open up, ancient doors,

and let the King of glory enter.

10 Who is the King of glory?

The LORD of Heaven's Armies—

he is the King of glory.

Interlude

Why do the doors need to “lift up their heads”? So “the King of Glory may come in”. Sounds simple enough, but does the God who created all (v. 1) need a door to enter in? Is He not, in a sense already inside? I will come back to this later. I want to explore briefly the question asked in this Psalm – “Who is the King of glory?”. An exhortation twice given- “lift up”. A question twice asked- “Who is [this] King of glory?”. All this leads to answers that will lead to an answer to the question I asked above: Why do the doors need to “lift up their heads”?

The word “who” is a powerful and essential word in the Bible. It is at the beginning of questions that have led to profound answers. Consider Pharaoh’s question:

Ex 5:2

2 Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I

NIV

Pharaoh learned the answer to that question, but more importantly so did Moses:

Ex 5:22-6:5

Moses returned to the Lord and said, "O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country."

God also said to Moses, "I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as aliens. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. NIV

Fast forward to the gospel of John and we hear our Lord being asked by a skeptical crowd, “who are you?”. To which He replied:

John 8:25-29

Jesus replied, "The one I have always claimed to be. I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won't. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful." But they still didn't understand that he was talking about his Father.

So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I AM he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him."

I will continue with more tomorrow. I am late getting ready for work.

Monday, January 9, 2017

Lift Up Your Head!

January 26, 2016

Worship: Glory by Hillsong

[Verse 1:]
Great is the Lord
God almighty
Great is the Lord on high
The train of His robe
Fills the temple
And we cry out
Highest praise

[Pre-Chorus:]
Glory to the risen king
Glory to the Son
Glorious Son

[Chorus:]
Lift up your hands
Open the doors
Let the king
Of glory come in
And forever be our God

[Verse 2:]
Holy is the Lord
God almighty
Holy is the Lord on high
Let all the earth
Bow before you
And crown You Lord of all

Songwriters
KIRKPATRICK, WAYNE / MORGAN, CINDY

Published by
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group

Read more: Hillsong - Glory Lyrics | MetroLyrics

Video: https://youtu.be/qNjJRbZgypY

Witness:

Dizzy and tired from a cold and very little sleep I enter into this time of worship and meditation. I have struggled to get to this point having started around 7 pm and now it’s a little past 8:30 pm. I have been struggling to find a song that went along with this portion of psalm 24. I found one, I thought, but it was not complete. In fact, no matter where I searched, there was not a full video of the song. There was only one video of the song and it cut out abruptly before the last verse of the song. I “perchanced” upon this video that I discovered on a website as I was searching with the phrase “lift up your heads”. It listed the songs I had found already, but it also listed this one. Now for the second part of the problem. As I was searching, my computer kept hanging up. When I tried to play the song to worship, it kept buffering. I finally got up and went to my new computer, which does not have the software on it yet to transfer my journal to it, and what a blessed difference. No buffering and mouths and bodies that moved to real time, no stuttering of movement. My soul soared as the song was sung and I decided to include only this song in my worship time.

My old computer is slow and buffers a lot because my hard drive is almost full (it is only an 80-gig hard drive) and my ram is too small for today’s programs (only 2-gigs). So, I run out of cache quickly and everything runs too slow. I think my spiritual life is sometimes like that. I fill my mind up with cares and worries and other distractions and I run out of cache for worship; so, my mind begins to buffer, as it were, and my worship begins to suffer. It is imperative then, that I clear out the useless cache, and begin afresh and focused. How will I do this? Not sure yet all I must do. Anyone reading this may have some suggestions. For now, I believe that deep and earnest prayer is the answer. Coming before the throne of grace and asking God to clear all thoughts and distractions from my mind and asking Him to keep me focused on Him.

WORD:

Ps 24:7-10 NIV

7 Lift up your heads, O you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

8 Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, O you gates;

lift them up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

10 Who is he, this King of glory?

The LORD Almighty —

he is the King of glory.

Selah

Ps 24:7-10

7 Open up, ancient gates!

Open up, ancient doors,

and let the King of glory enter.

8 Who is the King of glory?

The LORD, strong and mighty;

the LORD, invincible in battle.

9 Open up, ancient gates!

Open up, ancient doors,

and let the King of glory enter.

10 Who is the King of glory?

The LORD of Heaven's Armies—

he is the King of glory.

Interlude

It is known that the gates of Jerusalem swing open outwardly, so why are they asked to be lifted up? And what is meant by head here? Gates don’t have heads!

The NLT doesn’t translate it literally here. Instead, they translate it as some understand it to mean. “Open up”. It is possible, from archeological evidence, to take this somewhat literally. The IVP background commentary notes:

Psalms 24:7

24:7. gates and ancient doors. In a Hymn to Shamash, the Babylonian sun god, various parts of the temple are said to rejoice over Shamash, including the gateways and entrances. A Nabonidus text refers to the gates of the temple being open wide for Shamash to enter. These would occur in the context of regular processions of the statue of the deity into his temple. If the "head" of the gates refers to an architectural feature, it would most likely be the beam or projection across the top of the gates that served as a cornice. This was a common feature in Egyptian and Mesopotamian architecture, and the Akkadian word for it, kululu, also refers to a headdress or turban.

Hence the Wycliffe Commentary:

The Divine Entrance. Lift up your heads, O ye gates. The lintels or tops of the portals are pictured as being too low for the divine king to enter.

However, the previous authority cited, goes on to say this:

The idea that these would be lifted off the posts of the gates to allow something large to pass through is ingenious but not persuasive in that the usual design of gates would not have unencumbered cornices that could be so easily moved. The alternative, that the lifting of the heads is metaphorical, seems more likely. In Ugaritic literature the gods lower their heads when they are being humbled, and they raise up their heads when they have reason to rejoice.

Literal or figurative, it really does not matter, does it. The object is not the gates, it is the “King of Glory”. The command or exhortation given is for the purpose of welcoming this King with the proper respect and attitude. To lift up one’s head, to me portrays:

1. Expectancy – the gates personified are asked to lift up their heads. When one is exhorted to look for the arrival of someone coming they lift their heads and strain to see who is coming.

2. Joy – a sad head is hung in sorrow and a joyful head is raised in celebration.

3. Welcome – To look away or down is a way of saying one is not welcome. To look up is to say one is welcome here.

4. Respect – To avert our gaze at someone or to turn our backs, is to communicate contempt

Note what some commentators say:

24:7 Lift up your heads: The gates of the city seem to sag; the doors appear loose. But they must rouse themselves for the King of glory. One is coming who is worthy to stand in the holy place. As He nears, the gates raise themselves to honor His entry. Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (Ps 24:7). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

24:7. The psalmist offered an exhortation (v. 7) and then an explanation (v. 8). If lift up your heads, O you gates refers to the city of Jerusalem then he was calling for the ancient gates to open wide for the triumphant entry. This was a poetic way of displaying the superiority of the one entering. They should lift up their heads because the King of glory is about to come in.

(from Bible Knowledge Commentary/Old Testament Copyright © 1983, 2000 Cook Communications Ministries; Bible Knowledge Commentary/New Testament Copyright © 1983, 2000 Cook Communications Ministries. All rights reserved.)

Psalms 24:7

Lift up your heads, O ye gates - i.e., Be elated with the high honour which you have, in the entrance through you of God's own ark.

Psalms 24:7-10

The gates of Jerusalem opened outward, so what is meant by "be lifted up"? Certainly there would be plenty of headroom for the Levites to carry in the ark, and it wouldn't be required to raise the lintels of the gates. Martin Luther translated it, "Open wide the portals," that is, "Give a hearty welcome to the Lord!" Bringing in the ark may have reminded David of what Moses and the leaders of Israel sang when the ark was carried in the wilderness (Num 10:33-35; Ps 68:1-3; 132:8). The administration of an ancient city was transacted at the city gates, so the gates were to those people what the city hall is to citizens in the western world today. David was commanding the whole city to welcome the Lord and give honor to Him.

I will end this portion, that has taken me days to compose due to lack of sleep (even now my eyes are heavy), with a song in honor of our Great God. I heard this song while finishing this portion of my entry. May we lift our heads in honor our Great God! May we lift our voices in Praise!

Our Great God as sung by Fernando Ortega & Mac Powell

Eternal God, unchanging
Mysterious, and unknown
Your boundless love, unfailing
In grace and mercy shown
Bright seraphim in endless flight
Around Your glorious throne
They raise their voices day and night
In praise to You alone

Hallelujah!
Glory be to our great God!
Hallelujah!
Glory be to our great God!

Lord, we are weak and frail
Helpless in the storm
Surround us with Your angels
Hold us in Your arms
Our cold and ruthless enemy
His pleasure is our harm
Rise up, O Lord, and he will flee
Before our sovereign God

Hallelujah!
Glory be to our great God!
Hallelujah!
Glory be to our great God!

Let every creature in the sea
And every flying bird
Let every mountain, every field
And valley of the earth
Let all the moons and all the stars
In all the universe
Sing praises to the living God
Who rules them by His Word

Hallelujah!
Glory be to our great God!
Hallelujah!
Glory be to our great God!
Hallelujah!
Glory be to our great God!
Hallelujah!
Glory be to our great God!
copyright <a href="http://elyrics.net" rel="nofollow">http://elyrics.net</a>

Video: https://youtu.be/jdtHwaNUZho

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

SELAH

From my Journal entry on

January 24, 2016

Worship: The Joy of the Lord by The Destinysong Project. Music and Lyrics by Michael Burwell; Broken Hallelujah by the Afters

The Joy of the Lord

Lyrics: There don’t appear to be lyrics on-line for this song

Video: https://youtu.be/v9qxYHjT-jA

"Broken Hallelujah"

I can barely stand right now.
Everything is crashing down,
And I wonder where you are.

I try to find the words to pray.
I don't always know what to say,
But you're the one that can hear my heart.

Even though I don't know what your plan is,
I know you make beauty from these ashes.

I've seen joy and I've seen pain.
On my knees, I call your name.
Here's my broken hallelujah.

With nothing left to hold onto,
I raise these empty hands to you.
Here's my broken, here's my broken,
Hallelujah [x3]
(Here's my broken)
Hallelujah

You know the things that have brought me here.
You know the story of every tear.
'Cause you've been here from the very start.

Even though I don't know what your plan is,
I know you make beauty from these ashes.

I've seen joy and I've seen pain.
On my knees, I call your name.
Here's my broken Hallelujah.

With nothing left to hold onto,
I raise these empty hands to you.
Here's my broken, here's my broken,
Hallelujah [x3]
(Here's my broken)
Hallelujah

When all is taken away, don't let my heart be changed.
Let me always sing Hallelujah
And when I feel afraid, don't let my hope be erased
Let me always sing (let me always sing),
Let my always sing,
Hallelujah [x3]
(Let my always sing)
Hallelujah
(Let my always sing)
Hallelujah

Here's my broken,
Here's my broken,
Hallelujah [x3]

Here's my broken,
Here's my broken,
Hallelujah [x4]

A-Z Lyrics THE AFTERS Lyrics

"Life Is Beautiful" (2013)

Video: https://youtu.be/Fo3DudOzV4k

Witness:

Another long time between journal entries. Lately, I have been so tired that I fall asleep in the evening when I attempt to sit down to journal. I end up laying down and listening to music or a message instead because my eyelids are too heavy and I am forced to just lay down and rest before work. Sleep for the last week has been horrible. I may get only 2 to 5 hours actual sleep. Taking sleep medications don’t work for me. Taking natural substances like melatonin don’t help much either. Lord, please grant me rest so I can work for Your kingdom and Your glory. Amen!

WORD:

Ps 24:6

Such is the generation of those who seek him,

who seek your face, O God of Jacob.^b Selah

NIV

24:6 b Two Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac (see also Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts face, Jacob

NIV

Ps 24:6

This is the generation of those who seek Him,

Who seek Your face — even Jacob. Selah.

NASU

Such is the character of those who seek him,

of Ya‘akov, who seeks your face. (Selah)

CJB

This [is] a generation of those seeking Him. Seeking Thy face, O Jacob!

YLT

Selah

Before I move on to the next section, I must pause (pun intended) and speak about the word “Selah”.

What does this word mean? Why do we find it after some Psalms and a few verses in Habakkuk? Who knows is my answer. After viewing all the material I could get a hold on, it seems there is a long history of discussion on its meaning among scholar’s, but no definitive answers.

Some say it is meant as a notation to pause and think about it. Others think it is a pause in singing and a time for a musical interlude. Many include both concepts. Others think it comes from a word meaning “to lift up” so it is a musical notation to raise the voice or the music of the key. Ancient Rabbinical writers translated it “forever” while some later divines thought it was similar to “amen”.

Here is a sampling of some articles on the word. I have left out the longest article I read on the word from McClintock and Strong’s Encyclopedia (a massive 10 volumes and 2 supplements work written in the 19^th century by John McClintock and Dr. James Strong – this can be accessed for free on-line under the name Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature)

OT:5542 celah —

to lift up, to exalt; Selah, a technical musical term probably showing accentuation, pause, interruption

(from The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright © 1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation Research.)

SELAH

Seventy-one times in the Psalms, three times in Habakkuk. From

shelah

, "rest." A music mark denoting a pause, during which the singers ceased to sing and only the instruments were heard. Septuagint diapsalma, a break in the psalm introduced where the sense requires a rest. It is a call to calm reflection on the preceding words. Hence, in Ps 9:16 it follows

higgaion

, "meditation." The selah reminds us that the psalm requires a peaceful and meditative soul which can apprehend what the Holy Spirit propounds. Thus, it is most suggestive, and far from being, as Smith's Bible Dictionary alleges of this sense, "superfluous." Delitsseh takes it from

saalal

("to lift up," a musical forte, the piano singing then ceasing, and the instruments alone playing with execution an interlude after sentences of peculiar importance, so as to emphasize them.

Psalms 3:2

Ver. 2, 4, 8. Selah. Much has been written on this word, and still its meaning does not appear to be wholly determined. It is rendered in the Targum or Chaldee paraphrase, lealmin, for ever, or to eternity. In the Latin Vulgate, it is omitted, as if it were no part of the text. In the Septuagint, it is rendered Dia/yalma, supposed to refer to some variation or modulation of the voice in singing. Schleusner, Lex. The word occurs seventy-three times in the Psalms, and three times in the book of Habakkuk (Hab 3:3,9,13). It is never translated in our version, but in all these places the original word Selah is retained. It occurs only in poetry, and is supposed to have had some reference to the singing or cantillation of the poetry, and to be probably a musical term. In general, also, it indicates a pause in the sense, as well as in the musical performance. Gesenius (Lex.) supposes that the most probable meaning of this musical term or note is silence or pause, and that its use was, in chanting the words of the Psalm, to direct the singer to be silent, to pause a little, while the instruments played an interlude or harmony. Perhaps this is all that can now be known of the meaning of the word, and this is enough to satisfy every reasonable enquiry. It is probable, if this was the use of the term, that it would commonly correspond with the sense of the passage, and be inserted where the sense made a pause suitable; and this will doubtless be found usually to be the fact. But anyone acquainted at all with the character of musical notation, will perceive at once that we are not to suppose that this would be invariably or necessarily the fact, for the musical pauses by no means always correspond with pauses in the sense. This word, therefore, can furnish very little assistance in determining the meaning of the passages where it is found. Ewald supposes, differing from this view, that it rather indicates that in the places where it occurs the voice is to be raised, and that it is synonymous with up, higher, loud, or distinct, from sal, salal, to ascend. Those who are disposed to enquire further respecting its meaning, and the uses of musical pauses in general, may be referred to Ugolin, "Thesau. Antiq. Sacr.," tom. xxii.

Okay, that’s enough. There sure is a lot written on that which can’t be determined. However, purely from a subjective standpoint, I like how Spurgeon handles it, so I will conclude with this note:

Psalms 3:2

Selah. This is a musical pause; the precise meaning of which is not known. Some think it simply a rest, a pause in the music; others say it means, "Lift up the strain — sing more loudly — pitch the tune upon a higher key — there is nobler matter to come, therefore retune your harps." Harp-strings soon get out of order and need to be screwed up again to their proper tightness, and certainly our heart-strings are evermore getting out of tune, Let "Selah" teach us to pray

"O may my heart in tune be found

Like David's harp of solemn sound."

At least we may learn that wherever we see "Selah," we should look upon it as a note of observation. Let us read the passage which precedes and succeeds it with greater earnestness, for surely there is always something excellent where we are required to rest and pause and meditate, or when we are required to lift up our hearts in grateful song. "SELAH."

… and a song by… you guessed it… Selah

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there the risen Lamb
My perfect spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable I am
The King of glory and of grace
One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God!
With Christ my Savior and my God!

One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God!
With Christ my Savior and my God!

Songwriters: DP

https://youtu.be/yoPyLcY6Zv4

Come O’ people of the Lord

Come to the Bible and be blest

Drink deeply of His Word

Drink and find peace and rest

SELAH

And when you read His Word

And pause in a heavenly rest

You will find a truth to be heard

You will be filled and be blest

SELAH

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Who are you? Part 1

Monday, January 9, 2017

Lift Up Your Head!

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

SELAH

About Me