When I was a kid, attending church camp at Maranatha Bible Camp, the songs we sang were completely different than the songs we sing at camps and other events today. The ones back then weren’t so much songs as they were simply choruses.

In fact, for several years, all of our camp music was written specifically for that summer’s theme by a guy who worked at one of the bigger churches in our camp system. I still have a few of the cassettes (cassettes!!!) from those weeks.

One of the songs we sang a lot was not written by that guy, but rather by a guy who lived several centuries earlier, the prophet Isaiah.

While simple, this song still has a way of getting lodged in my mind, and I will be singing it all day long today.

Take a look at the passage it’s found in, from Isaiah 55:12:

This whole passage, from verse 6 through verse 13, explain just what it means to seek after God, and further illustrates why we should do so. The first part of the passage gives us a reason for this from the nature of God (8-9). Next, we find another reason: the nature of God’s word (10-11). Our passage gives us a third reason: in the context of this earth, we can anticipate a new heaven and a new earth.

God’s creation is personified as it celebrates the removal of the curse.

That’s a reminder that I could use more frequently.

Maybe having a song such as this one stuck in my head is more of a blessing than I realize.

What reminds you of redemption? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

I’ve read and heard the story of Jonah countless times in my life. It’s a familiar tale.

Very familiar.

But recently, while reading the book again, I was surprised by a verse that I’d never really noticed before.

Look at it for yourself in Jonah 2:8:

I’ve been reading a lot recently about idols. Tim Keller has an excellent book on the subject called Counterfeit Gods. And I’m currently in the middle of Pete Wilson’s Empty Promises.

But as excellent as both of those books are, neither one of them have impacted me as heavily as these thirteen words have.

Jonah sums it up succinctly: grace can’t flow into where idols dwell.

In order to experience the fullness of God’s grace, the prerequisite is to break my grasp on worthless idols.

I know that this is going to be a topic I wrestle with a lot this week. Because I know my propensity to depend on myself, or my stuff, or my paycheck, instead of God.

And, as good and necessary as those things are, Jonah calls them worthless.

That kind of hurts.

But missing out on the grace that I could be experiencing hurts more.

What are you clinging to in place of God? What are you doing to stop clinging to this? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

One of the recurring themes in the Psalms is the idea of needing God to save. You find this idea over and over. David, and the other psalmists, cry out for God to rescue them from their enemies, their dangers, their circumstances.

Psalm 86 carries the same idea. Take a look at verse 2:

After reading Psalm 86, you get the idea that this is a personal pray of David. And it lends itself to that idea well. But there are a few commentators who suspect that there may be more here than just a personal plea for God’s provision of an undivided heart. Some scholars seem to think that this is a prayer written at the national level.

If so, it seems like a good prayer for America today.

Written with great fervor and passion, this psalm cries out for God to restore David and the nation of Israel into a right standing before God. And written with great confidence, this passage conveys just how great this need is.

So, both personally and nationally, this passage is worth committing to memory. That way, we can cry out to God with the same passion and confidence.

In your life, what keeps you from having an undivided heart towards God? And what do you see as the greatest barrier to this in a national scope? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Do you try to “do” too much with your faith?

I know I do. It’s an easy trap to fall into, it seems. I get focused on all the work I do, such as my daily Bible readings, and lesson studies, and youth ministry work, and I catch myself starting to see that as the path to staying in God’s good favor.

But that’s not how it works. Paul addresses this in Ephesians 2:8-9:

Nothing I can do can earn my place in God’s sight. I am totally dependent upon him, trusting that he will carry me.

It’s good to be reminded of this.

Do you ever get so focused on doing that you forget this promise? What do you do to combat this? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.