A Call To Celebrate

That was the Sydney Staff Songsters of the Salvation Army singing a wonderful arrangement of Revelation 19.

Revelation 19 contains words of praise and worship and encourages us to celebrate God's wonderful love for us each and every day. We so often take God's love for us for granted, so why not listen to the Songsters sing Revelation 19 again, and then share a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God for all he's done for you today and for all He will do in the future.

The Message version of the bible says the following in Revelation 19:1-10 under the heading of The Sound of Hallelujahs:

I heard a sound like massed choirs in Heaven singing, Hallelujah!
The salvation and glory and power are God's—
his judgments true, his judgments just.
He judged the great Whore who corrupted the earth with her lust.
He avenged on her the blood of his servants.
Then, more singing:
Hallelujah!
The smoke from her burning billows up to high Heaven forever and ever and ever.


The Twenty-four Elders and the Four Animals fell to their knees and worshiped God on his Throne, praising,
Amen! Yes! Hallelujah!

From the Throne came a shout, a command:
Praise our God, all you his servants,
All you who fear him, small and great!

Then I heard the sound of massed choirs, the sound of a mighty cataract, the sound of strong thunder:
Hallelujah!
The Master reigns, our God, the Sovereign-Strong!
Let us celebrate, let us rejoice, let us give him the glory!
The Marriage of the Lamb has come; his Wife has made herself ready.
She was given a bridal gown of bright and shining linen.
The linen is the righteousness of the saints.

The Angel said to me, "Write this: 'Blessed are those invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.'" He added, "These are the true words of God!"


I fell at his feet to worship him, but he wouldn't let me. "Don't do that," he said. "I'm a servant just like you, and like your brothers and sisters who hold to the witness of Jesus. The witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

A Matter of Trust

I realised yesterday after I published yesterday's blog post that I'd used the same bible text twice within a matter of days!

So what text was this? It was Psalm 9:10 from the New International bible:

Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

I've now looked up this version in several other translations just to compare what they say:
In The Message, verses 9 and 10 says

God's a safe-house for the battered, a sanctuary during bad times. The moment you arrive, you relax; you're never sorry you knocked.

This is my favourite translation as it's just so down to earth and the language is just as we'd use if we had just popped into a friends house!

The New Living Translation says

Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you

And finally, the Contemporary English Version says

Everyone who honors your name can trust you, because you are faithful to all who depend on you.

As you can see, regardless of the translation you look at, the same word appears...trust.

So, it would seem that I've been thinking a lot about trust lately. Maybe it's because I've ben feeling quite vulnerable in the last while, as well as struggling physically and emotionally at times too.

No matter what has come my way over the last few weeks, months and years - some including some very dark times - it has been my trust in God that has kept me going more than anyone or anything else.

Ensure you can cope with all everything that comes your way by trusting God, He can be all you need in every situation - I can testify to that!