A writer once proclaimed, “Songs shape minds, laws matter less.” Might this claim seem exaggerated? Not in my view. Repeated songs mold thoughts and beliefs. This truth resonates in our own society. 

The same is true of our worship songs. In college, I knew a boy who knew his church songbook so well, that I could say a number and he would tell me the song on that page. His songbook was called, “Songs of the Church.”

I think Jesus knew his worship songbook that well also. Today we know the name of his songbook. It is called, “The Book of Psalms.” 

Psalms is not merely a book in our Bible but was the songbook of worship among the Jews in the time of Christ. Over the next few days, we will briefly examine that songbook. We will begin with the first song in the songbook of Jesus, Psalms 1. It is only 6 verses long and reads as follows:

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
²But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

³He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

⁴The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
⁵Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

⁶For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Let me call to your attention three great teachings in that first song of worship.

The first thought in the first song tells the importance of choosing godly companions: The psalm begins by highlighting the blessedness of those who do not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners. It emphasizes the significance of surrounding oneself with those who follow godly principles and avoiding the influence of those who are ungodly. This is one of the great teachings of Godly parents for their children. It is a teaching for the parents as well. Be careful who you pick as your friends.

Secondly, the song teaches the value of delighting in God’s Word: It says, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.”

Finally, we note that the idea of the entire song is to show the contrast between the righteous and the wicked: It describes the righteous as flourishing and prospering, while the wicked are described as chaff blown away by the wind. 

Psalms 1 can be summed up in a sentence this way, Blessed is the one who delights in the law of the Lord and prospers in righteousness.

Lonnie Davis

Suppose someone were to ask you to pick two verses to anchor your life around. What would you choose?

In the Bible, there are two verses that change everything. Without them there would be no Christians, no faith, and no hope.

These two verses are Genesis 1:1 and Matthew 28:6. 

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” It tells about the beginning of everything, the sun, the moon, and the stars.  It introduces us to “God.” It also tells us about time itself, “In the beginning.” 

As much as people attack the stories of the Bible, this verse is the one they would most like to exclude. Since this verse is true then nothing else is impossible. If God created the heavens and the earth, why would you doubt that he can heal a blind man or even cause a dead man to get up from the grave? Genesis 1:1 is only 10 words, but it is the foundation for every other miracle in the Bible.

The second verse, Matthew 28:6, tells us about the fundamental belief in Christianity. When the disciples came hunting for the dead body of Jesus, the angel told them, “He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying.”

The angel could not show them the dead body. All they could do was show them the place where the body had laid. The enemies of Christ would have loved nothing better than to stop this new faith before it began. It would have been easy. All they needed to do was to show the followers, not the place where the body was, but rather the body itself. The fact that Christianity grew from here, tells us they could not show the body. They could not because Jesus was no longer dead.

On these two verses hangs all the reason for God and Christianity. This little note is too short to cover everything in these verses, but they would be a great starting point for your own study.

Lonnie Davis.

Here is something a little different. It is a list of sorts. I call these the “Five Rules for Time.” Each of us begins our day with a decision to make on how to use our time. So that you might be better able to make this decision, here are the five rules for time.

#1: “There is a cumulative value to investing small amounts of time in certain activities over a long period.” One cannot pray for ten hours in one day and have the same effect as if one were to pray for thirty minutes a day for twenty days. Important activities must be done in small pieces over a long period of time.

#2: “There is a cumulative effect to neglecting important things over a long period of time.” An important activity neglected will always impact negatively your life. It may take time to show, but it will always damage your life. 

#3: “There are rarely any immediate consequences for neglecting single installments of time in any arena of life.” When you skip something important, the impact will not be felt immediately. That is the reason we skip it! Of course, the effect shows up later.

#4: “There is no cumulative value to the things we allow to interfere with what is most important.” For example, when you decide not to study the Bible daily and look back on the time you gained by neglecting to study, there will be nothing significant gained.

#5: “In the critical areas of life, you cannot make up for lost time.” Farmers know that you cannot go into the field and put in long days of planting the week before the harvest. If you did not plant in the due season, then it is gone. Plant in due season and reap in due season. You cannot make up for lost time and neglected opportunities.

Paul urges, “Be very careful, then, how you live — not as  unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” (Ephesians 5:15-17).

~Lonnie Davis

All people have struggles. All people have fears. All people have regrets. There are no exceptions. Your attitude is not about how smooth the seas are, but about who is piloting your ship.

One of my favorite advertisements was by Nationwide Insurance. One of their commercials had a theme “Life comes at your fast.” In one of those commercials, a guy parks his beautiful new car. Within seconds someone backs into it, paint is spilled on it, lightning strikes a tree near it and part of the tree falls on the car. “Life comes at your fast,” they said.  Things go wrong – for someone. Life is not about circumstances it is about what you do with those circumstances.

 One poet put it this way:

 I was regretting the past and fearing the future
Suddenly my Lord was speaking.
“My name is I Am” He paused.
I waited. He continued.
“When you live in the past, with its mistakes and regrets,
It is hard – I am not there.
My name is not “I Was.”

“When you live in the future, with its problems and fears.,
It is hard – I am not there.
“My name is not ‘I Will Be.’”

When you live in this moment, it is not hard,
I am here – My name is ‘I Am.’”

‘The circumstances of life come and go, but we must learn to live above the circumstances. Learning this skill may take a long time, but in the end, it is the only way we can have peace and joy.

One more thing. The difference between David the giant killer and the cowering soldier around him, was that David saw the giant through the eyes of God. The soldier could only see the giant.

David lived above his circumstances.

 Lonnie Davis

Our text for today is:

Proverbs 22:6

“Train up a child in the way he should go;
    even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Over the years many Christians have debated this truth. However, It is a proverb and not a law. We ARE given free choice by God and so a person can choose to turn their life around, but there is a strong pull towards one’s upbringing. This is explained in an amazing poem by Dorothy Nolte called, 

CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn. 

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight. 

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy. 

If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty. 

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient. 

If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence. 

If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate. 

If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice. 

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith. 

If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself. 

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, 

he learns to find love in the world.

This is a truth all experienced parents should know.

Lonnie Davis

Life is filled with necessary but hard decisions. 

Should I change jobs? 
Should I get married? 
Should I get a divorce?
 Should I drop my friend? 

 There seems to be more questions than there are answers.

As you ponder your own questions that need answers, I would call your attention to Exodus chapters 3 and 4.

These chapters tell the story of Moses and the burning bush. Israel was suffering as slaves in Egypt. God decided to deliver them. He spoke to Moses from a burning bush and told him exactly what to do. Moses listened. doubted, and made excuses. He had excuses but from the burning bush, but God had answers, assurances, and direction.

Wouldn’t you love to find your own burning bush? A wonderful source for answers to all your questions. If only we could talk to a burning bush then we would know what we should do.

Really?

Moses tried not to listen to God from the burning bush. I think that most folks would respond just as Moses did. They too would make excuses rather than obey. I know this because I see it all around. Sometimes it is me who does not listen but hunts for an excuse.

For example:

· From His Word, God says we should live thankful lives. “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:18)

· He commands us to live faithful lives. “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Obviously, this list could be greatly expanded. The point of all of this is to encourage all who wish for a burning bush so you could hear what God wants you to do, ask yourself “Are you even listening?” 

We do have a burning bush. It is called the Word of God.

~Lonnie Davis

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The Source of Help

Sometimes we don’t learn or even see the lesson for many years. Today’s thought is one of those lessons.

When I was in high school, I was presented with a puzzle. It was one of those where people were trying to cross a river with only one boat. It was a really good puzzle and I could not solve it. I, therefore, judged it unsolvable. 

All through college I challenged others with the puzzle. No one ever solved it. Later I was teaching 8th-grade school. To keep my class busy, I gave them the puzzle. Of course, I knew it was unsolvable, but wanted to challenge them to struggle with it. 

About 5 minutes into the puzzle, one little girl, said, “I’ve done it.” Of course, I knew she had not, but I let her come show me. She had no chance. She came to my desk to show me. Wow! She had solved it. 

I had prejudged her and decided that an 8^th-grade girl could never do this. 

The lesson I should have learned was that I should not prejudge. Sometimes answers come from unexpected sources. 

In 1 Samuel 17, the Bible demonstrated that principle. For 40 days, King Saul and all the Israelite warriors were tormented by a giant named Goliath. For 40 days, the Hebrews had lived fearfully. No one could get the victory for Israel. Finally, a teenage boy came forward and offered to fight the giant.

The mighty King Saul, told the teenager, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” (v33).

Well, you know how that story ended. King Saul prejudged the youth but in the end, the youth delivered the solution by meeting and killing the giant.

King Saul almost lost the battle, because he prejudged the boy and was ready to reject the only one who could solve his problem.

I sometimes do that too, but we must not make Saul’s mistake. It is important to remember that help sometimes comes from unexpected places.

Lonnie Davis

It’s Saturday and I try to bring you something I didn’t write but wish I had. Today’s writing is by that famous “Unknown Author” and is called:

No Time to Pray

I got up early one morning
And rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish
That I didn’t take time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me,
And heavier came each task,
“Why doesn’t God help me?” I wondered.
He answered, “You didn’t ask.”

I wanted to see joy and beauty,
But the day toiled on gray and bleak;
I wondered why God didn’t show me;
He said, “But you didn’t seek.”

I tried to come into God’s presence;
I used all my keys at the lock;
God gently and lovingly chided,
“My child you didn’t knock.”

I woke up early this morning,
And paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish
That I had to take time to pray.

~ Unknown

Bible Study for Today – The Lord’s Prayer

One of the most familiar texts from the Bible are the words of Jesus found in Matthew 6:9-13. It is often called, “The Lord’s Prayer.”

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

In the 1950s, Texas’s children started their school day by reciting these words. Unfortunately, the children did not understand the meaning of the words they were reciting. Many of us still do not. For today’s Bible toolbox, let’s look at one great purpose of this verse.

These words are not intended to be a memorized form for prayer, but rather an example to teach us about prayer. Those who teach about prayer will often use this prayer example of Jesus to show want our prayer ought to cover. Notice these parts to a good prayer.

Prayer should:

1. Acknowledge God as our Father: The opening phrase of the prayer, “Our Father in heaven,” reminds us that God is not only our Creator but also our loving and caring Father.

2. Honor God: The phrase “hallowed be your name” acknowledges God’s holiness and reminds us of the need to honor and respect Him.

3. Pray for God’s will to be done: When we pray “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” we are surrendering our will to God’s and asking Him to bring about His purposes in our lives and in the world.

4. Pray for our daily needs: The prayer includes the phrase “give us today our daily bread.”.

5. Confess our sins and ask for forgiveness.

6. Ask for God’s protection. The prayer includes the request “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” 

These lessons still provide insight and inspiration as we study and practice the blessing of prayer.

Lonnie Davis

The Great Request – Teach me to Pray

Think of all the things Peter, Andrew, James, and John might have asked Jesus. 

§  He was a great teacher. They might have asked him to teach them how to teach. 

§  He worked miracles. They might have asked him to show them how to work miracles. 

§  He was a great leader. They might have asked him for lessons in leadership.

On and on the list could go, but there is one thing they asked him to teach them. It is found in Luke 11:1

“When he finished praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.’”

Did you ever think about John the Baptizer teaching his disciples to pray? Probably not, but he certainly did. 

Did he have a special class where he gave pointers to his disciples? I don’t know, but what he did caused the disciples of Jesus to make a request to him for similar teaching. 

Of course, there was one other motivation for the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray – they heard his prayers and saw his prayer life.

I am so thankful that the disciples made this request. Prayer is a subject that needs to be taught. Prayer is also a subject that needs to be learned. 

Perhaps when we struggle with prayer, we are really struggling with not really understanding what prayer is or how to really pray.

For our own sake, each Christian should learn how to pray.

Lonnie Davis