DCLM Higher Everyday 21 May 2024 — Sing Psalms, Merry Soul!
Topic: Sing Psalms, Merry Soul!
Text: James 5:13-16
13Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
15And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Key Verse: “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing Psalms” (James 5:13).
Message
Our God, being a loving God who daily loads us with blessings, often provides platforms for us to rejoice or be in a mood of merriment. Human beings express different moods or emotions depending on the situation they find themselves in. Surely, we are bound to be happy when we secure admission to a school, pass examinations and get promoted from one class to another, or when something good happens. Interestingly, it is the will of God for us to rejoice or be happy. During our happy hours, the Bible enjoins us to sing psalms or songs to praise God for His goodness and abundant mercy towards us. Songs are very important tools to connect our souls to God, leading to higher intimacy with Him as we experience more of His presence in an atmosphere of true worship and praise.
Plato, one of the greatest philosophers of all time says, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” However, Believers are to shun songs that are inspired by Satan to pollute the mind.
Quote: Shun songs that are inspired by Satan
Challenge: Experience His presence through songs.
Prayer for today: Lord, put songs of praise on my lips at all times.
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
