Singing from the wrong hymn sheet
This fresh set of Daily Devotions is being provided for our LCA/NZ family, friends and visitors to help us to keep our eyes on Jesus as we face unsettling times. They can be used by families and individuals as part of the LCA/NZ’s Church@Home resources to encourage us and build trust in our Heavenly Father during this season of uncertainty and physical isolation.
by Rachael Stelzer
Click here for your printable verse to carry with you today.
‘And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself’ (Luke 24:27).
My brother used to sing a song by Starship with the wrong lyrics. He thought the chorus said, ‘We built this city on rocky road’ – instead of ‘rock and roll’.
Jesus’ followers were constantly getting the lyrics wrong. He was singing to them about going to Jerusalem to die, and they heard that he was going to Jerusalem to spit in Rome’s eye. He sang that he would rise after three days, and they heard that he was going to be Israel’s new craze. He sang that they would all fall away and betray, and they heard that they would ride in to save the day. And even after he rose again, they still hung onto the old lyrics – but now they were singing the blues.
The day of his resurrection, Jesus showed up on a road and walked with a couple of his miserable disciples. They were trying to understand the events of the previous days. And Jesus had a shot at them. ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ (Luke 24:25–26).
Either because of their grief or God’s plan, they never realised that the one who was giving them the Bible study was the one it was about. But they heard. And then they saw him.
As they listened to the familiar lyrics, those words of blessing, from a voice they would never forget, bells began to ring in their minds, and as the pierced hands lifted the bread, their eyes widened. And they danced back to Jerusalem singing a new song.
What lyrics do you sing? Are you singing from a different hymn sheet to the One who created you? When he sings ‘And I will love you, baby, always’, do you hear ‘I never really loved you anyway’? When his song is ‘Be still and know that I am God’, do hear ‘I still haven’t found what I’m looking for’?
Maybe it’s time to listen to the God who rejoices over you with singing and sing the song you were made to sing.
Dear Lord, help us to be open to your word and your words in our life. Speak healing, forgiveness and hope into our hearts. Let us dance to your song. It is a song that will never end. Amen.
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