Monday – July 4, 2022

Melodic Mondays

Those of you who know me know that I love music even though I am not musical myself. I listen to good music as often as I can. It is beneficial to the brain, valuable to the vocabulary, and strengthening to the soul. Isaiah 12:2-3 is a lovely passage that includes this soaring statement of surety: “The Lord JEHOVAH [YAHWEH] is my strength and my song.” This could be translated, “God is my mountaintop and my music.” Yes, He is! Each Monday, I want to study this subject and suggest a song to listen to. Anyone reading this devotional has easy access to any song. (I am an exception because I do not go on a computer or other information device.) If you do not like my suggestion (and we all have different tastes), you can think of or search for one that speaks to you. Then, it can become a source of encouragement throughout the week.

We love our country and yearn for a return to righteousness, which in simple terms is just doing the right thing. We are kindly commanded by God to be good citizens and to pray for our nation. In relation to government, we are “to be ready to every good work” (Titus 3:1) and are to pray for our leaders: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in the sight of God our Saviour” (I Timothy 2:1-2). A patriotic song that offers hope on the holiday is “The Ragged Old Flag,” written and performed by Johnny Cash.