God, The Universe and Music

 God, The Universe and Music

January 12

    

Job 38:4,7

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell Me, if you have understanding,

…

7 When the morning stars sang together

And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Psalms 98:4-9

4 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;

Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.

5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,

With the lyre and the sound of melody.

6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn

Shout joyfully before the King, the LORD.

7 Let the sea roar and all it contains,

The world and those who dwell in it.

8 Let the rivers clap their hands,

Let the mountains sing together for joy.

9 Before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth;

He will judge the world with righteousness

And the peoples with equity.

According to Job, there was singing and shouting at the creation of the world. Presumably, the morning stars and sons of God were angels who sang together and shouted for joy as the Lord spoke the worlds into existence; the “Let there be…”s of Genesis 1. If that is the case, then music is older than the earth and there is something about music that brings joy to the heart of God.

In Psalm 98 it seems that all the earth sings for joy. The trees clap their hands and the mountains sing together. This joyful music lasts until judgement day and beyond (Ps 98:9). Perhaps music will even outlast the earth, going from the beginning of creation into all eternity. So what is so special about music?

It is said that Pythagoras was the first to recognize the mathematical foundation of the universe. He postulated music from the spheres (Latin: musica mundana) and invented the musical scales based on mathematical intervals. If music is mathematical and mathematics represents order, then music represents the divine order of a created world. Music is fundamental to the heart of God. He created the universe to have order, that can be described by mathematics and physics, and the joy of this order is expressed in music.

That’s enough for one day, but think about order and mathematics and let a song of joy rise from your heart.

Prayer and Fasting- 5- Healing

 Prayer and Fasting -5- Healing

January 9, 2026

Mark 9:17-19 (NKJV) 

17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who hasa mute spirit. 18 “And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” 19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”

Mark 9:23-29 (NKJV) 23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things [are] possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!”

26 Then [the spirit] cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he becameas one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

This story of Jesus healing the epileptic boy tells a lesson on faith, prayer and fasting. Jesus has already given the disciples the authority to heal and cast out demons (Luke 9:1-6), so why were the disciples not having success in praying for the boy? Jesus seemed a little put out  by this; “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?” He also told the father “If you can believe, all things [are] possible to him who believes.”    Jesus emphasized that having faith is a key to healing. So how do we increase out faith. The disciples asked Jesus directly why they could not cast out the demon and Jesus answered, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

One lesson from this story is that we can increase our faith by prayer and fasting. There is something about denying yourself by fasting that reduces your dependence on yourself and increases your dependence on God. Jesus has given us authority to heal all diseases and cast out demons, but we need to have faith that it is His power at work and not our own efforts. With sufficient faith we can move mountains so let us build up our faith by prayer and fasting. “All things are possible to him who believes.”

Prayer and Fasting- 4- Delight in the Lord

 Prayer and Fasting- 4 - Delight in the Lord

January 8, 2026

Isaiah 58:13-14 (NKJV) 

13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, [From] doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy [day] of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking [your own] words, 14 Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Matthew 22:36-40 (NKJV) 

36“Teacher, which [is] the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is [the] first and great commandment. 39 “And [the] second [is] like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Rememberer the three main points in Isaiah’s discourse on fasting in chapter 58:

1. Praying for others
2. Promises for pleasing God
3. Loving God

Today we come the third and final aspect of God’s chosen fast. It is arguably the most important aspect of fasting in that it results in delighting yourself in the Lord. The whole point of God’s chosen fast is to bring you closer to the Lord. Jesus said that the most important commandment was to love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. He taught that all the Law and the Prophets hang on this as well as loving your neighbor. This is something that King David understood.

Psalms 37:3-4

3 Trust in the LORD and do good;

Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

God’s chosen fast is a lifestyle of doing good and cultivating faithfulness. This results in delighting in the Lord and also can bring you the desires of your heart. But most of all, fasting will change your heart so that your foremost desire will be to delight in the Lord. So I urge you to solemnly consider how you should pray and fast as you enter into the new year. There can be great joy and delight when you enter into God’s chosen fast.

Prayer and Fasting- Part 3

 Prayer and Fasting -Part 3- Promises

January 7, 2026

Isaiah 58:8-12 (NKJV) 

8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I [am.]’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 [If] you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall [be] as the noonday. 11 The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

Rememberer the three main points in Isaiah’s discourse on fasting in chapter 58:

1. Praying for others
2. Promises for pleasing God
3. Loving God

Today, let us look at the second point. When you live according to Gods’ chosen fast, there are many promises that follow. There will be a new light or understanding and healing and deliverance will spring forth. The Lord will hear your prayers and guide you continually. You will be like a spring of water refreshing your neighbors and a light to the world.

Jesus taught the same in the sermon on the mount*. He began with the beatitudes which taught how you should live, how you should love your neighbor, then added this passage.

Matthew 5:13-16 (NKJV) 

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all [who are] in the house. 16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

When you live the blessed life, being meek, merciful, compassionate, etc. then you will be salt and light. God’s chosen fast is to live in such a way that you will be a blessing to those around you. And when you are a blessing, you will be blessed. You will be a light, illuminating the world with true wisdom and grace, and salt, bringing flavor and salvation to those around you.

So as you prepare yourself for the coming year with prayer and fasting, remember God’s chosen fast and love your neighbor. Be salt and light to the world and look for the blessings and promises that follow for those who live in such a fashion. It is the way of the kingdom of God. It is God’s chosen fast.

————————————

*Matthew 5:1-12 (NKJV) 

1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed [are] the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed [are] those who mourn, Forthey shall be comforted. 5 Blessed [are] the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed [are] those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7 Blessed [are] the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed [are] the pure in heart, For they shall see God. 9 Blessed [are] the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed [are ]those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great [is] your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Prayer and Fasting- Part 2- God’s Chosen Fast

 Prayer and Fasting- 2

January 6, 2026

Isaiah 58:6-7 (NKJV) 

6 “[Is] this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 [Is it] not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your housethe poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

Matthew 22:36-40 (NKJV) 

36 “Teacher, which [is] the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is [the] first and great commandment. 39 “And [the] second [is] like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

There are three main points in Isaiah’s discourse on fasting in chapter 58:

1. Praying for others
2. Promises for pleasing God
3. Loving God

This is similar to Matthew 22 where Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord and the second was to love your neighbor. Therefore, the first purpose for fasting is to deny yourself and turn your focus to others. You should pray for the healing and deliverance for the oppressed, but your prayers should have legs. If you see your neighbor hungry, you should actually go feed him. But the first step is to stop thinking only about yourself. Fasting is a discipline that denies your hunger for a time and helps you to think beyond your own physical needs. The fast that God chooses is one which will break bonds of wickedness. In Mark 9, we see the story of the disciples praying for an oppressed boy, but they were unable to cast out the demon. Jesus said the thing they were lacking was prayer and fasting.

Mark 9:28-29 (NKJV) 

28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Whycould we not cast it out?” 29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

So as you enter into this time of prayer and fasting, pray for others and ask the Lord what it is that you should do to demonstrate your love for your neighbor. You should not fast to be seen by men, but your fasting should have an effect on your neighbor as they experience the Love of God through your actions.

Prayer and Fasting- Part 1

 Prayer and Fasting - 1

January 5, 2026

Isaiah 58:3-4 (NKJV) 

3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ [they say,] ‘and You have not seen? [Why] have we afflicted oursouls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. 4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as [you do] this day, To make your voice heard on high.

Matthew 6:16-18 (NKJV) 

16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I sayto you, they have their reward. 17 “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 “so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who [is] in the secret [place;] and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

The beginning of the new year is a good time to reflect on your life and spent time in prayer and fasting preparing for the coming year. This week, we will look at some scriptures on prayer and fasting. For today, let us examine what fasting is not.

Isaiah starts his prophecy and teaching in chapter 58 with a rebuke from the Lord about how the people were fasting. They were complaining that the Lord wasn’t noticing their prayers when they afflicted themselves and fasted. The Lord answers them and says that He was not answering their prayers because of their attitude and behavior. The people were making a big show of their prayer and fasting, but they weren’t changing their behavior. They were still arguing with one another, perhaps with a “holier than thou” attitude, and they were continuing to mistreat their fellow workers. They were expecting the Lord to hear their prayers but were doing nothing to help their neighbors.

Likewise,  Jesus taught in Matthew 6 that we should not fast like the hypocrites. The scribes and Pharisees of his day loved to put on a show of great piety, looking sad and crying out loudly in public, but Jesus instructs us to pray quietly and keep up a normal appearance so as not to call attention to ourselves. Fasting is not about trying to make the Lord hear our prayers, but in changing our heart so that we can hear His voice. The Lord will hear our prayers without us flogging ourselves in public and making a spectacle of our prayers. There are many religious people in our day who love to make loud sounds and disrupt public life with their displays of praying, some 5 times a day. Jesus says this is not to be the way that we pray and that such displays don’t help our chances that the Lord will hear our prayers. Jesus even says that the public attention is the only reward they will get for their loud efforts.

Tomorrow, we will continue and talk more about the purpose and goal of fasting and seek to find out how it is that we should pray and fast in order to please the Lord.

New Years Day

 New Years Day

January 1, 2026

Genesis 1:1-5 (NASB95) 

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless andvoid, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

John 1:1-5 (NASB95) 

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

The first day of the new year;  not the same as the first day of creation, but similar in that the Word Of God is still speaking new things into existence. Maybe not entire new worlds, but new light for our understanding and new opportunities for the kingdom of God. The darkness is still struggling against the light, but can not overcome it. Our job is to be salt and light and drive back the darkness. We create new opportunities for people to come into the kingdom when we proclaim the light and minister hope and healing to the lost. So meditate on His Word this New Years Day, and ask what it is that He has planned for you to do for the kingdom this year. 

Many blessings and Happy New Year.