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ACAD – Remnant: Judges 5

The Song of Deborah

Then Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying:

“When locks are long in Israel, when the people offer themselves willingly— bless the Lord!

“Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the Lord I will sing, I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel.

“Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens poured, the clouds indeed poured water. The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel.

“In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, caravans ceased and travelers kept to the byways. The peasantry prospered in Israel, they grew fat on plunder, because you arose, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel. When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel? My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the Lord.

“Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way. To the sound of musicians at the watering places, there they repeat the triumphs of the Lord, the triumphs of his peasantry in Israel.

“Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord.

“Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak, lead away your captives, O son of Abinoam. Then down marched the remnant of the noble; the people of the Lord marched down for him against the mighty. From Ephraim they set out into the valley, following you, Benjamin, with your kin; from Machir marched down the commanders, and from Zebulun those who bear the marshal’s staff; the chiefs of Issachar came with Deborah, and Issachar faithful to Barak; into the valley they rushed out at his heels. Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. Why did you tarry among the sheepfolds, to hear the piping for the flocks? Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan; and Dan, why did he abide with the ships? Asher sat still at the coast of the sea, settling down by his landings. Zebulun is a people that scorned death; Naphtali too, on the heights of the field.

“The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they got no spoils of silver. The stars fought from heaven, from their courses they fought against Sisera. The torrent Kishon swept them away, the onrushing torrent, the torrent Kishon. March on, my soul, with might!

“Then loud beat the horses’ hoofs with the galloping, galloping of his steeds.

“Curse Meroz, says the angel of the Lord, curse bitterly its inhabitants, because they did not come to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.

“Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed. He asked water and she gave him milk, she brought him curds in a lordly bowl. She put her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen’s mallet; she struck Sisera a blow, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple. He sank, he fell, he lay still at her feet; at her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell dead.

“Out of the window she peered, the mother of Sisera gazed through the lattice: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’ Her wisest ladies make answer, indeed, she answers the question herself: ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil?— A girl or two for every man; spoil of dyed stuffs for Sisera, spoil of dyed stuffs embroidered, two pieces of dyed work embroidered for my neck as spoil?’ “

So perish all your enemies, O Lord! But may your friends be like the sun as it rises in its might.”

And the land had rest forty years.

Judges 5:1-31 NRSV – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Judges%205:1-31&version=NRSV

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Song & Verse: Nothing to Hold On To & Abba by Leon Timbo

This weekend I finally spent some quality time within my congregation. I’ve been streaming, skipping, traveling, and visiting – generally not all there. Not all anywhere. This whole year, I’ve been scrambled. Doing too much. All over the place. Not able to write, or journal for that matter. Not even settled or centered enough to edit my Desert of Solitude manuscript.

Yesterday I was determined to sit in the morning and afternoon service. I was equally determined to spend time editing my manuscript after the services. I did both. It felt like a productive day. The end of the first service turned into a spontaneous prayer meeting. Needed it. Needed it all. I prayed. I released. I sang. I wrote. I hit repeat. Picked up groceries on the way home. Cooked myself a meal. Slept like a baby. Woke up on time. Got to work around the time I should (can’t fix everything in one day!).

After lunch today, I put on YouTube at my desk. Sometimes I let the gospel and praise songs play randomly. I’m able to listen through my phone headset, so not to obvious. Except, occasionally, when I give myself away with raised hands, humming, laughs (in place of shouts), verbal amens and hallelujahs. When Nothing to Hold On To came on today, I had to pause. It halted me in my seat. I stopped swaying and listened intently. I’m certain I’ve heard it before, even though it sounded brand new to my ears. It could’ve been the voice. I wasn’t familiar with Leon Timbo’s voice. The lyrics and the voice reached deep into me. There was clutch at my heart and no immediate release. I had to write it down before it ended: Leon Timbo, Lean Not on My Own Understanding. Then I headed to the Ladies room.

I lean not on my own understanding
My life is in the hands of the Maker of heaven
I give it all to You, God
Trusting that you’ll make something beautiful out of me

I want to be beautiful.

That thought spun around my mind and the tears began to flow. They’re still flowing as I write. Life used to be so beautiful. So very lovely and full of hope. Endless possibilities. But I got stuck in a miasma of nothingness. Emptiness. Futility. Routine that bears no good fruit; only bitterness and resentment. What beauty can come from such an existence?

Yet those were the words that cracked open my heart today and released the dam of tears.

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart
I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open

One of my edits last night read: “There are certainly those who are content to dump their trash into my ears, mind and life, but those same people choose not to share any measure of their joy or happiness with me. By and large, people have only chosen to sow their darkness into me, even as I attempted to sow my light into their lives. I now have the knowledge, understanding and strength to reject all such offerings.”

There’s nothing I hold on to, ‘cause I’m holding on to You.

When editing another piece titled, “For those who demand everything and give nothing freely,” I was led to add words from Luke 6:27-36. What I wrote on my draft was, He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, as your Father is merciful. This here is why my heart was in a vice grip in the ladies room. I had more to release. I hadn’t let go. I was holding on to nothing while begging for everything – for life. Fixated on the darkness, while searching for my joy and light.

I think that’s part of the reason the first line hooked me, I lean not on my own understanding. I’ve been caught in a loop and unable to see beyond the current cycle.

There’s nothing I hold on to
I lean not on my own understanding
My life is in the hands of the Maker of heaven
I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open

Nothing I Hold On To

Nothing I Hold On To
Written by Will Reagan and United Pursuit
Performed by Leon Timbo

I lean not on my own understanding
My life is in the hands of the Maker of heaven
I give it all to You
God trusting that you’ll make something beautiful out of me (3x)

There’s nothing I hold on to (4x)

I lean not on my own understanding
My life is in the hands of the Maker of heaven (2x)

I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open (2x)

Abba

Abba
Written by Jonathan David & Melissa Helser
Performed by Leon Timbo

You’re more real than the ground I’m standing on
You’re more real than the wind in my lungs
Your thoughts define me, You’re inside me
You’re my reality
Abba, I belong to you
Abba, I belong to you

You’re closer than the skin on my bones
You’re closer than the song on my tongue
Your thoughts define me, You’re inside me
You’re my reality

Abba, I belong to you
Abba, I belong to you
Abba, I belong to you
Abba

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Song & Verse: Morning Medley (God Provides, Made a Way & Worship Medley)

A good day to you all!

God Provides by Tamela Mann

God provides, so why do I worry about my life
When you come to my rescue a thousand times
Every other voice it is a lie
God provides

God provides
In ways I can’t explain and can’t deny
The little that I have he multiplies
Just when I feel He won’t show up on time
God provides

He’ll come through
When the clouds of doubt rain down on you
And test everything you thought you knew
Now you finally see what God can do, for you

So tonight,
Close your eyes
There’s no more need to fight
Watch God provide

God provides
It’s hard to say when there’s no food to eat
Or what you see feels all that life will be
And will this be another year of misery, for me
But my faith, can’t survive on just things I see
And my feelings can’t control my destiny
See God I only want what you believe, for me

So tonight,
Close your eyes
There’s no more need to fight
Watch God provide

God provides (yeah, he will provide)
God provides (before your eyes)
God provides (oh, He will, He will)…provides

So tonight,
Close your eyes
There’s no more need to fight
Watch God provide

God provides (He will provide)
God provides (before your eyes, He will)
God provides (whatever your need, I know that He will provide)

God provides (yes, He’ll step right in, in the nick of time, yes He will)
God provides (He’ll open the windows of heaven)
God provides (and pour you out a blessing, you won’t have room to receive, yeah)

So tonight,
Close your eyes
There’s no more need to fight
Watch God provide

Made a Way by Travis Green

Made a way
Don’t know how but you did it
Made a way

Standing here not knowing how we’ll get through this test
But holding onto faith you know best
Nothing can catch you by surprise
You’ve got this figured out and you’re watching us now

But when it looks as if we can’t win
You wrap us in your arm and step in
And everything we need you supply
You got this in control
And now we know that

You made a way
When our backs were against the wall
And it looked as if it was over
You made a way
And we’re standing here
Only because you made a way
You made a way

Now we’re here
Looking back on where we come from
Because of you and nothing we’ve done
To deserve the love and mercy you’ve shown
But your grace was strong enough to pick us up

And you made a way
When our backs were against the wall
And it looked as if it was over
You made a way
And we’re standing here
Only because you made a way

You made a way
When our backs were against the wall
And it looked as if it was over
You made a way
And we’re standing here
Only because you made a way

You move mountains
You cause walls to fall
With your power
Perform miracles
There is nothing that’s impossible
And we’re standing here
Only because you made a way

You move mountains
You cause walls to fall
With your power
Perform miracles
There is nothing that’s impossible
And we’re standing here
Only because you made a way

You move mountains
You cause walls to fall
With your power
Perform miracles
There is nothing that’s impossible
And we’re standing here
Only because you made a way

And we’re standing here
Only because you made a way

And we’re standing here
Only because you made a way

You made a way (x4)

Don’t know how but you did it
Made a way
Don’t know how but you did it
Made a way

Don’t know how but you did it (x4)

Don’t know why but I’m grateful (x6)

And we’re standing here
Only because you made
And we’re standing here
Only because you made a way
And we’re standing here
Only because you made

You move mountain (x4)

You cause walls to fall (x4)

You cause chains to break (x4)

Giants fall (x4)

‘Cause you move mountain
You move mountain
And everything is easy for you
‘Cause you move mountain
Yes you move mountain

Mountains are moving (x4)

Strongholds are breaking (x4)

‘Cause you move mountain
You cause walls to fall

With your power (x4)

You perform miracles (x4)

My son is breathing
My son is living
My son is breathing
My son is living

When the doctor said no, you said yes (x2)

When they pronounced me dead, you said not yet, ah aha
When they called me dead, you said not yet

You perform miracles (x2)

The Worship Medley by Tye Tribbett

I Love you forever. I love you forever. I love forever. Lord. (Repeat)
Will worship forever. Will worship forever. Lord. (Repeat)
**Alternate between the two verses**
Glory To God Forever:
And we give…Glory to God. Glory to God. Glory to God Forever
Glory to God. Glory to God. Glory to God Forever (Repeat)
I Love you forever. I love you forever. I love forever. Lord.
I Love you forever. I love you forever. I love forever. Lord.
I Love you forever. I love you forever. I love forever. Lord.
I Love you forever. I love you forever. I love forever. Lord.
Will worship forever. Will worship forever. Lord
Will worship forever. Will worship forever. Lord
Songwriters: Jonas Myrin / Marty Sampson
The Worship Medley (There Is Nothing Like/Glory To God Forever) lyrics © EMI Music Publishing
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A Prayer for Thanksgiving Day

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your re- quests to God.” Philippians 4:6

 

Dear God,

You have invited us to give you thanks, and this is what we wish to do. We are living in a time of great anxiety, but you have offered us a way out of anxiety. We long to know your loving care.

We pray to you because there is no one so good, so high, so holy, and so merciful as you. Thank you that you have invited us to bring our petitions and our requests to you. Who else can we go to for wisdom, or for hope, or for guidance?

We pray for the victims of violence wherever they may be found. We pray for those in authority, that they would seek and find the wisdom that comes from above. We pray for peace in the world.

We pray that you would help us live in obedience, with integrity, based on the dignity you have given. And we pray for peace in our own hearts, a peace that proceeds from your forgiveness, the wholeness that comes from your restorative touch.

We thank you for creating a world you called “good.” We thank you that despite the evil that has entered the world and still wages war in our own souls, your own goodness is undiminished. We thank you that we have seen

honor that is bolder than shame; 
mercy that is wider than cruelty; 
truth that is straighter than deception; 
faith that is stronger than treachery; 
hope that is deeper than desperation. 

We thank you for the ordinary things: the bread we receive today, the breath by which we live today. And we thank you for the extraordinary things: the strength we didn’t know was possible, and the discovery of truths we didn’t know we didn’t know. We thank you for the immeasurable grace shown to us in the coming of Jesus Christ, the hope of the world.

In His name, Amen.

(from Prayers for Our Lives: 95 Lifelines to God for Everyday Circumstances)

The Brook Network is an exchange of ideas and a growing set or relationships.

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ACAD – Rejected: Psalm 108

Praise and Prayer for Victory

A Song. A Psalm of David.

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;[a]
    I will sing and make melody.
    Awake, my soul![b]
Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn.
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples,
    and I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,
    and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
    and let your glory be over all the earth.
Give victory with your right hand, and answer me,
    so that those whom you love may be rescued.

God has promised in his sanctuary:[c]
    “With exultation I will divide up Shechem,
    and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet;
    Judah is my scepter.
Moab is my washbasin;
    on Edom I hurl my shoe;
    over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
Have you not rejected us, O God?
    You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
O grant us help against the foe,
    for human help is worthless.
With God we shall do valiantly;
    it is he who will tread down our foes.


Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 108:1 Heb Mss Gk Syr: MT lacks my heart is steadfast
  2. Psalm 108:1 Compare 57.8: Heb also my soul
  3. Psalm 108:7 Or by his holiness


New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ACAD – Rejection: Psalm 43

Prayer to God in Time of Trouble

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
    against an ungodly people;
from those who are deceitful and unjust
    deliver me!
For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
    why have you cast me off?
Why must I walk about mournfully
    because of the oppression of the enemy?

O send out your light and your truth;
    let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
    and to your dwelling.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise you with the harp,
    O God, my God.

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my help and my God.


New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ACAD – Helper: Psalm 115

The One True God

It does not belong to us, Lord.
The glory belongs to you
    because of your love and loyalty.

Why do the nations ask,
    “Where is their God?”
Our God is in heaven.
    He does what he pleases.
Their idols are made of silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
    They have eyes, but they cannot see.
They have ears, but they cannot hear.
    They have noses, but they cannot smell.
They have hands, but they cannot feel.
    They have feet, but they cannot walk.
    No sounds come from their throats.
People who make idols will be like them,
    and so will those who trust them.

Family of Israel, trust the Lord;
    he is your helper and your protection.
Family of Aaron, trust the Lord;
    he is your helper and your protection.
You who respect the Lord should trust him;
    he is your helper and your protection.

The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
    He will bless the family of Israel;
    he will bless the family of Aaron.
The Lord will bless those who respect him,
    from the smallest to the greatest.

May the Lord give you success,
    and may he give you and your children success.
May you be blessed by the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

Heaven belongs to the Lord,
    but he gave the earth to people.
Dead people do not praise the Lord;
    those in the grave are silent.
But we will praise the Lord
    now and forever.

Praise the Lord!


New Century Version (NCV)The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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ACAD – Praise: Psalm 66

How Awesome Are Your Deeds

To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
    sing the glory of his name;
    give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
    So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
All the earth worships you
    and sings praises to you;
    they sing praises to your name.” Selah

Come and see what God has done:
    he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
He turned the sea into dry land;
    they passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
   who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
    let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

Bless our God, O peoples;
    let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept our soul among the living
    and has not let our feet slip.
For you, O God, have tested us;
    you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net;
    you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
you let men ride over our heads;
    we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
    I will perform my vows to you,
that which my lips uttered
    and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
    with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

Come and hear, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
I cried to him with my mouth,
    and high praise was on[a] my tongue.[b]
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
    he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

Blessed be God,
    because he has not rejected my prayer
    or removed his steadfast love from me!

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 66:17 Hebrew under
  2. Psalm 66:17 Or and he was exalted with my tongue

English Standard Version (ESV)The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

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ACAD – Praise: Psalm 63

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
    beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
    my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
    in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed,
    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life
    shall go down into the depths of the earth;
they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
    they shall be a portion for jackals.
But the king shall rejoice in God;
    all who swear by him shall exult,
    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.


English Standard Version (ESV)The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

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ACAD – Praise: Psalm 33

The Steadfast Love of the Lord

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
    Praise befits the upright.
Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
    make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Sing to him a new song;
    play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

For the word of the Lord is upright,
    and all his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
    the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
    and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
    he puts the deeps in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;
    let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
For he spoke, and it came to be;
    he commanded, and it stood firm.

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
    he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
    the plans of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

The Lord looks down from heaven;
    he sees all the children of man;
from where he sits enthroned he looks out
    on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all
    and observes all their deeds.
The king is not saved by his great army;
    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
    and by its great might it cannot rescue.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
    on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death
    and keep them alive in famine.

Our soul waits for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him,
    because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
    even as we hope in you.

English Standard Version (ESV)The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.