The Upper Room Daily Devotional – “A Beautiful Blend” Wednesday, 4 December 2013 Read Psalm 150

The Upper Room Daily Devotional – “A Beautiful Blend” Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Read Psalm 150: Praise for God’s Surpassing Greatness

1 Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

    praise him in his mighty firmament![a]

2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;

    praise him according to his surpassing greatness!

3 Praise him with trumpet sound;

    praise him with lute and harp!

4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;

    praise him with strings and pipe!

5 Praise him with clanging cymbals;

    praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

Footnotes:

Psalm 150:1 Or dome(NRSV)

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God.(Romans 8:28 (NRSV))

My government job requires occasional travel to neighboring counties. A stringed instrument junkie, I rarely embark on a journey without packing some driving music. Lively traditional music helps me stay alert and makes the time pass more quickly as I practice vocal harmonies or listen for cool licks to incorporate into a new song. On one journey, I began to reflect on each individual instrument I was hearing and marveled at how beautifully they all worked together. In bluegrass, old time, and country music, the strings on instruments like guitars, mandolins, fiddles, basses, banjos, and mountain dulcimers are traditionally tuned to play particular notes. Simply strumming the open strings of all these instruments together will not create a pleasant or harmonious sound. However, with a little effort, musicians can agree to play in a particular key and learn to play the proper chords so that their instruments contribute to a beautiful blend. The same is true of our Christian lives. God created our diversity. Diversity can create strife and tension; or it can add interest, beauty, and harmony to our lives. Each of us must decide if we want to put forth the effort to create a beautiful blend with others.(The Author-Nancy Rebecca (Becky) Wise (Tennessee, USA))

Thought for the Day: When we tune our hearts to God, we can create beautiful music with our lives.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we pray for unwavering confidence in your promise to perform the good work you have begun in us. Show us ways of combining our gifts and talents effectively and in harmony with the gifts of others. Amen.

Prayer Focus: Gospel musicians

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