Protective Shadow

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 121. Here is what I learned.

The Eternal keeps you safe, so close to Him that His shadow is a cooling shade to you. Psalm 121:5 (VOICE)

The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. Psalm 121:5 (NLT)

Protective Shade. Shadow. As I thought about a shadow... you need light for a shadow to appear. The Lord Himself is the LIGHT and I can take comfort that He is close enough so that His shadow protects me. 

Another thing about a shadow.. is that if the light is strong enough the shadow can be HUGE! That’s a great reminder that not only is God the source of Light—so the light is extremely strong— but He is larger than any problem or trouble I may have! His protection covers me in ways I could never imagine. 

To create a positive day, I only need to look for God’s protective shadow and realize that God is right beside me! 

Create a New Song... and Sing It!

O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Psalm 96:1 (AMP)

Sing to the Lord a new song [celebrating victory]; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Psalm 96:1 (EXB)

A new song. Do I have a new song to sing? What was I singing? 

A new song. Our old songs were those of pride, of gluttony, of luxury, in hope of gain, prosperity, or harm to others; our "new song" is of praise, reverence, and obedience, and love to God, in newness of life, in the Spirit that quickeneth, no longer in the letter that killeth, but keepeth that new commandment, that we love one another, not with the narrow patriotism and fellow feeling of a small tribe, or a mere national church, but with a citizenship which embraces all the whole earth. Neale and Littledale

I like a variety of music. And I usually have music on most of the time. As I read Psalm 96:1, I had to think about the songs I’ve been singing. Have they been songs of praise to God? Or are they simply filled with “me, myself, and I”? Am I singing songs of thanksgiving? Or songs of complaints?  Am I singing songs of joy? Or of misery? 

Music as an effect on our attitudes, emotions, and mind-set. Some songs make us smile, others make us cry. Since songs have such an affect on us, then I need to make a determined effort to be singing songs of praise to God. 

To create a positive day, I need to create a new song of praise and thankfulness to God, and then be sure to sing it.