Insights From Tom

Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods. Psalm 97:7

Shame is something that most people do not want to have in their lives. It means that one has done something wrong or has failed in some way or another. The world tries to avoid shame as much as possible. People are told that they can do or be what they want to do or be without being told that they are wrong or that they have failed. This allows for people to do anything without shame.

The writer of this psalm says that anyone who serves a carved image should be shamed and that all the idols need to worship God.

People tend to worship things, positions and other people on a regular basis. They put things at the very top of their priority list in their lives at the expense of everything else. Those things are the primary focus of all that they do and what they are about.

Anything that a person puts at the extreme top of one’s priority list in life is an idol. Although not worshipping it in a religious sense, the person is still worshipping that thing.

Even though the world says that one can worship that thing, in light of who God is, the person should be ashamed of doing so. One should be ashamed that one is putting all of time, effort and strength into some inanimate object that can do nothing at all.

All of one’s time, effort and strength—worship–belongs to God. It is God who created the person and everything in this world. It is God who can speak and do things. It is God who lasts for all eternity and gives eternal life, not the physical things of this world.

What is your highest priority in life? It is easy to get caught up in the temporary things of this world and the trying to keep up with the neighbor in wanting more and more. Following the ways of the world will cause you to put all of your time and effort into things, worshipping those things.

Turn all of your focus upon God. Worship God and God alone. Serve God with all of your mind, soul, strength and abilities. Make your life a life of worship to the one true God who is alive, not the dead things of this world.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will be ashamed of any idols in your life; that you will worship God with all of your life; and that you will serve God first, above all else in your life.

Picture by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Psalm 96:1

Music is something that has been a part of every society for all of history of mankind on this planet. Songs have been made and sung for thousands of years and continue to this day. There are songs that are about nearly every topic imaginable to a person. Thousands of different radio stations, and now online, play songs for people to sing along with. They capture the heart of people and say what people are thinking in new and different ways.

The psalmist encourages all the people of the earth to sing to the Lord a new song.

The world knows how to sing what is on their heart and mind and without shame or fear. Often the songs that are sung are about their heart’s feelings or desires, whether good or bad, right or wrong. Many of them are about sinful desires being played out in one’s life.

People love to sing along with songs that someone else wrote, because most people do not feel that they can personally sing, nor come up with their own words. However, a song is just words of the heart put to music or sung without music. All a person needs to do is sing what is on one’s heart.

Believers need to sing to God a new song. This new song is one of which is on their heart, based upon what God has done and is doing in their lives. Everyday God is doing something new in the life of the believer. This gives the believer a new song to sing about to God, giving Him praise for who He is and what He has done. It can show the joy and gratefulness in the heart of the believer.

You probably have a genre of music that you like to listen to and many of those songs you can sing along with, knowing all the words. They express what you feel. Even though you may not be a singer, nor a song writer, you do have a song you can sing to God. Take a moment to think about what God has done and is doing in your life and around you. Sing about those things. Give God praise through songs from your heart, bringing Him joy and honor.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will sing to God what is in your heart; that you will not be ashamed to sing before God a new song; and that the world will hear your song to and about God.

Picture by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash