Daily Reading for Thursday, July 11, 2024
Scripture: Ephesians 5:18-21
"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."
Meditation:
Reference(s):
1 Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 509.
2 General Conference Daily Bulletin, January 28, 1893.
"God is glorified by songs of praise from a pure heart filled with love and devotion to Him. When consecrated believers assemble, their conversation will not be upon the imperfections of others or savor of murmuring or complaint; charity, or love, the bond of perfectness, will encircle them. Love to God and their fellow men flows out naturally in words of affection, sympathy, and esteem for their brethren. The peace of God rules in their hearts; their words are not vain, empty, and frivolous, but to the comfort and edification of one another."1
"You might invest many hundreds or thousands of dollars in an instrument of music that would produce pleasing sounds but it would be to you an idol. It would not be an agency to convict and convert souls. The human voice that sings the praises of God from a heart filled with gratitude and thanksgiving is far more pleasing to him than the melody of all the musical instruments ever invented by human hands."2