Symphony of Praise

Isaiah 35:1-2

Wilderness and desert will sing joyously, the badlands will celebrate and flower—

Like the crocus in spring, bursting into blossom, a symphony of song and color.

Mountain glories of Lebanon—a gift. Awesome Carmel, stunning Sharon—gifts.

God's resplendent glory, fully on display. God awesome, God majestic. (The Message)

Everything that God has created shouts His praises. When I saw the dusting of snow on the mountains Sunday morning, I was in awe of the beauty of His creation. As I’ve been riding to work, I’ve been delighted by the occasional scent of rich jasmine and something else this morning – a tall tree with yellow-orange flowers that had a sweet scent as I passed under it. Claire just received a butterfly hatching kit and our whole family is excited to watch the miraculous transformation of a little caterpillar into a beautifully colored butterfly.

Miraculous.

From the tiniest cell to the largest star, everything was created to work in perfect harmony in this creative, beautiful, awe-inspiring universe.

Aaron G. shared an amazing article this week. It is actually an interactive scale of the universe that explores and explains the smallest feature theorized by scientists – quantum foam – to the largest known object – Sloan Great Wall – which is made up of other galaxies. If you have a minute (or 20), check it out here.  It is truly fascinating.

Psalm 19:1-4

The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 

Day after day they pour forth speech; 

night after night they reveal knowledge. 

They have no speech, they use no words; 

no sound is heard from them. 

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, 

their words to the ends of the world. 

Just like the perfect symphony of God’s created universe, so His people have been created to work together in united harmony to bring glory to Him. Each of us brings our own God-given gifts together to further His kingdom here on earth. He is worthy of our best, and when we let go of ourselves and freely give, side by side with one another, it really is a beautiful symphony of praise.

Colossians 3:12-17 

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Count Your Blessings

Ephesians 1:3 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. 

Are you a glass half-full or a glass half-empty kind of person? When trials come your way, do you look for the blessing or get lost in feelings of frustration and hopelessness? I often lose my way in worry when faced with trouble, and I am so blessed to be married to a true optimist – always able to help me see God’s positive spin on a difficult situation.

Romans 8:28 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

All things. 

Not certain things. Not easy things. All things. 

Today was a hard day for our school staff. Several teachers were called up to the office individually to be told that they were receiving “reduction in force” notices – pink slips. The mood was somber. Some were so emotional that they couldn’t return to their classrooms. It was difficult to see anything positive in such devastating news.

One teacher who received a pink slip was my friend Judy. I shared her story last year when I wrote about the power of prayer. Her baby girl, Aimee, tested positive for cystic fibrosis as a newborn, but tests given later proved negative. The doctors wanted to continue monitoring and testing, and after several months of rollercoaster emotions awaiting test results and fearing that every little cough might be the sign of something more serious, they received very positive news – she continues to show no markers of the disease. 

And then today happened. 

With the district letting go of over 30 permanent teaching positions, she will likely lose her job.

I talked with her about this and asked how she was feeling. She said that it was hard to hear that news. She has faced this for the past few years as a temporary teacher, and always was able to be hired back in the fall; but this time, even though her position is now permanent, with the drastic cuts and increase in class sizes, it seems unlikely that she will return next year. She faces the loss of income and much-needed benefits. She faces an uncertain future in a should-be promising career.

But, as she was driving home today, she looked in the rearview mirror and saw her daughter in the backseat and her thought was “I could stay home with Aimee!”

Where is the blessing in losing a job? For Judy, it might be to gain precious time with the miraculous gift God has given to her.

John 16:33

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Trials will come. Troubles will face us. But we can take heart as we serve a God who has overcome the world.

Ezekiel 34:26

I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.

The Love of God

1 John 3:1 

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

What words could you use to describe God’s love for us? Awe-inspiring… amazing… breathtaking… wonderful... mind-blowing. Or as the song says, “rich and pure…measureless and strong!”  How about crazy? 

David Powlison, author of the book Seeing with New Eyes writes, 

God’s love is active. He decided to love you when He could have justly condemned you. He’s involved. He’s merciful, not simply tolerant. He hates sin, yet pursues sinners by name. God is so committed to forgiving and changing you that He sent Jesus to die for you. He welcomes the poor in spirit with a shout and a feast. God is vastly patient and relentlessly persevering as He intrudes into your life. God’s love actively does you good. His love is full of blood, sweat, tears, and cries. He suffered for you. He fights for you, defending the afflicted. He fights with you pursuing you in powerful tenderness so that He can change you.


God’s love for us really is a crazy love, and it is so beautifully conveyed in the words of our song this week.

Frederick Lehman, the author of this hymn, found himself mid-way through his life moving from the Midwest to Pasadena, California and working a hard manual labor job to make ends meet. Inspired by words he had heard at a camp meeting years earlier, he found moments of time during breaks from his job to pick up a stub pencil, push a lemon box up against the wall, and pen the first two stanzas and chorus.

The words that had inspired Lehman were the words to the third stanza. Originally longer and part of a Jewish poem written in the year 1096, the paraphrased words, powerfully expressed in the spine-tingling poetry we know today, were found penciled by a patient on the walls of an insane asylum after he was carried to his grave.

Lehman believed that this insane man found moments of brilliant sanity in which he recalled the crazy love of God.

Could we with ink the ocean fill 
And were the skies of parchment made,

Were ev’ry stalk on earth a quill 
And ev’ry man a scribe by trade

To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry,

Nor could the scroll contain the whole tho' stretched from sky to sky.

George Sweeting, author and former president of Moody Bible Institute, is quoted as saying,

Down through the years God’s love has shined through misery, tears, and sin like a shaft of sunlight on a dark day. We see God’s love in His revelation, in His mercy, in His patience, and in His redemption. We see the love of God as the infinite One becomes an infant in Bethlehem’s manger. We see it in His life and ministry. And most of all we see it as He hangs on the cross, dying for our sins. 

To the world, it just seems insane. But to the believer, it is LIFE.

1 Corinthians 1:18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 

Francis Chan, author of the book Crazy Love writes, "God didn't just give a little for us; He gave His best. He gave Himself."

Oh love of God, how rich and pure! 

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure – the saints’ and angels’ song.

I Believe God

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Isaiah 43:10-12

"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.

Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.

I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.

I have revealed and saved and proclaimed - I, and not some foreign god among you.

You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God."

Belief.  Faith.  Little words that can be big obstacles when someone is considering the existence of God and His work in our lives.  The enemy so often sows seeds of doubt in our minds, but God's Word calls us to consider His past faithfulness, so that we might believe.

In John 14:1, Jesus comforts His disciples by saying, "Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You believe in God; believe also in me."

A friend recommended the devotional book Streams in the Desert - a book that offers daily wisdom and encouragement through scripture - so I ordered it recently.  It arrived the day I began writing this devotional and, before I opened it, I thought to myself, "How cool would it be if today's lesson was about 'belief'?"  So I opened to that day's lesson and found this:

"I have prayed for you...that your faith may not fail." Luke 22:32

Dear Christian, remember to take good care of your faith, for faith is the only way to obtain God's blessings.  Prayer alone cannot bring answers down from His throne, because it is the earnest prayer of one who believes that leads to answers.  Faith is the communication link between heaven and earth.  It is on this link of faith that God's messages of love travel so quickly that even before we ask, He answers.  And while we are still speaking, "he hears us" (John 5:14). 

What a special gift God gave to me to help strengthen MY belief.  And with that belief comes assurance, peace, and power in prayer.

Erik's great Auntie Grace went to heaven earlier this year at the age of 99.  Her funeral celebrated her belief in God and His work in her life.  She was born and spent most of her life on Vashon Island in Washington State.  While she was hospitalized in Seattle in the week before her passing, she told Erik's mom, "I want to go home."  Erik's mom responded, "Do you mean home to Heaven, or to your house on Vashon?"  She simply replied, "Either one."

As evidenced by those two words, her belief in her Savior gave her joy in her living and peace in her passing.


Consider all that God has done in your life.  All that he can do, has done, and will do.  And with that assurance, let your life tell the world - "I Believe God."


Cowman, L.B. Streams in the Desert. Edited by Jim Reimann. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan (1997).

I Bless Your Name

Acts 16:23-25 

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

 Flogging. Imprisonment. Darkness. Feet in stocks. And…singing? Paul and Silas did not know the rest of the story. They had no idea that an earthquake would loosen the chains and burst open the doors. They had no idea that the jailer and his family would enter God’s family as a result of their testimony. They had no idea that they would eventually walk out of that prison to continue the work to which God had called them. And yet they prayed and sang in that inner prison cell, giving glory to their Lord and Savior.

On January 12, 2010, a powerful earthquake hit the country of Haiti. Trapped under the rubble of the Hotel Montana was a man named Dan Woolley. A graduate of Azusa Pacific, he was visiting Haiti on an assignment to gather stories about Compassion International’s work with poverty-stricken mothers and babies. Immediately following the earthquake, Dan was confined to the “inner cell” of an elevator for 65 hours before his miraculous rescue. He writes about his experience over these 2 and a half days in his book Unshaken and on his personal blog.

Somewhere between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, my first night after the earthquake, I was trying to calm my spirit and align my heart with God’s heart. I knew worship would help, but I was having trouble getting my mind there, so I indulged in an hour of iPhone battery power and listened to worship songs, there in my broken elevator.

The chorus of the song “My Savior, My God” was encouraging to Dan that night. He writes:

Then the chorus is one of my favorite sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs-in-the-car choruses

“My savior loves, my savior lives, my savior’s always there for me…My God He was, my God He is, my God is always gonna be…”

Can you imagine how encouraging those words were to me in my situation? I literally had to force myself to hold back my voice, because I was afraid i’d spook the others trapped with me (just picture me absolutely rocking out at the top of my lungs at the bottom of six stories of rubble–they’d think I lost it!). *

After reading this story, I wondered if Dan eventually found himself singing those praise songs in that dark inner cell of the broken elevator. So I was able to reach him by phone and I asked! He said that yes, singing hymns and songs of praise really ministered to him during that time. 

Imprisoned under six stories of rubble, trapped in the darkness, injured and in pain. And giving praise and glory to his Savior, not knowing that he would eventually be pulled from the ruins of the Hotel Montana.


Bill and Julie Davis, a young couple who used to attend PFB but are now living in the San Diego area, are currently walking through a time of unknowns - waiting and praising in that "inner cell." On November 26, Bill was mountain biking with friends from church when he hit a rock, flipped his bike, and landed on his head and back. He immediately couldn’t feel his legs. In surgery, it was discovered that there was damage to his spine, with an unknown prognosis for future mobility. Now, 2 months later, he is in intensive therapy in an attempt to regain muscle strength and control in his legs. Three days after his accident, his wife (Julie) wrote this: 

Bill is giving God glory in the midst of this horrible accident and choosing to Praise God when He gives and takes away…

About two weeks after that, while Bill was still intubated in the hospital, she wrote:

The amazing thing is Bill is very much awake and communicating via a sheet that has the alphabet on it. He just spells out the words with his thumb. It is good because it makes him focus. He keeps hugging everyone who comes in his room and he had me and Julia tell them that the hug was from Jesus because He loves them. He also had us play some worship music and he was lifting his hands and praising the Lord. Such an amazing man he is. I am so blessed by him. He is at total peace about the tubes because as he typed out… "it is God’s will." **

Imprisoned by tubes and paralysis, facing daily pain and the darkness of an unknown future. And giving glory to God.

Wow. Only a God who consumes our very being, who changes us from the inside out could bring beautiful music from a dark place. Only a God who has the power to move mountains could stir our souls to sing in spite of the chains of physical and emotional pain.

Psalm 47:6-7

Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. 

For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.

Nehemiah 9:5 

…Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. 

Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.

Click here to see a video of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir singing I Bless Your Name.

* Excerpt from Dan's blog found here.

** Excerpt from Bill's blog found here.

Blessed Jesus

 Glorious, marvelous, grace that rescued me;

Holy, worthy, is the lamb who died for me!

What comes to mind when you think of great rescue stories? 

Maybe you think of the Chilean miners who miraculously survived their entrapment a mile underground for two months.

Or the astronauts on Apollo 13 who put their lives in the hands of their Houston-based team to bring them safely home from the void of outer space. 

How about the miracle on the Hudson River when, after the skillful landing of that engine-less airplane, every passenger and crew member was shuttled to safety away from the frigid water and sinking plane.

One rescue story that captured the hearts of Americans 25 years ago was the story of Jessica McClure - "Baby Jessica" - an 18 month toddler (the same age as my Levi) who was one moment playing with other children in the backyard, and the next moment tumbling deep into an unused well.  Trapped in the dirt and darkness for 2 ½ days, she was finally reached and pulled to safety by a team of dedicated rescuers.  Across the country Americans rejoiced at the news that she was safe.

Dirt, darkness, separation from her mother and father, fear, pain.  And Baby Jessica’s fall could have ended in death if it hadn’t been for those who bravely dug, drilled, and crawled until her rescuer’s hand finally grabbed that little pant leg and slowly pulled her inch-by inch back into the embrace of her loving family. 

This heroic story is a reminder of the greatest rescue mission the world has ever known.  Psalm 34:22 says “The Lord will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.”  This promise was fulfilled when Christ left the glory of Heaven to enter our dark, dirty, pain-filled world to reach out, grab us by the pant leg, and pull us back into the safe embrace of our Father.  And all of Heaven rejoiced!

Blessed Jesus – our Rescuer, our Redeemer, our Savior.

Colossians 1:13-14 “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Psalm 103:2-4 “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.”

Unlike Baby Jessica, whose fall was accidental, we have placed ourselves in that pit.  But despite our rebellion, despite our sin, God still pursues our hearts to redeem what was lost. 

Romans 7:24-25 “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

I Will Exalt You

Psalm 145

1 I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. 2 Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. 4 One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. 5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. 6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. 7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. 8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.9 The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. 10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you. 11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, 12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. 14 The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. 15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. 16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. 17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. 18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. 20 The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. 21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever. 

Exalt is defined as: “to raise in rank, honor, power, character, quality, etc.; elevate; to lift up; to praise; extol.” 

January always gets me thinking about priorities. With the changing of a calendar comes an urgency to make this year better than the last. Faced with the reality that another year is behind me, I want to make the most of the time God has given to me. So I start thinking about priorities. 

Family is more important than work. How do I make sure that my family feels valued amidst a busy work week? Relationships are more important than pastimes. I’m I spending more time pursuing a hobby than pursuing a friend in need? Do I truly exalt what I value the most? 

Above all, the most exalted should be my relationship with God. His creative work, as seen in the world and people around me, should be the first thought as I rise and the last thought as I lie down. 

Psalm 19: 1-2

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 

Romans 1:20

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 

Surrounded by his majestic creation, how can I go through my day without exalting Him to His proper place in my life? And yet distractions push their way in, and schedules get tight, and before I know it, I’ve replaced my time with the Lord with my to-do list. In my hurry through the day, I’ve completely missed opportunities to see His beauty and allow His guiding hand to bring joy and peace into my life.

Priorities. Now, I’m sure everyone has already made their New Year’s Resolutions (and some of us have already broken them!), but what if the ONLY thing we resolved to do this year was to exalt our mighty creator God above everything else in our lives. Above our to-do lists. Above our pastimes. Above SLEEP.

Psalm 99:5

Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy. 

May this be our New Year’s Resolution, this year and EVERY year for the rest of our lives.

Psalm 34:3

Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.