“I will sing a new song unto Thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto Thee” (Psalm 144:9). The Psalmist David knew that music is a powerful venue to praise the Almighty God, and evidence abounds in Scripture that he himself was an accomplished musician—in fact, he was so capable that he was chosen to play before King Saul (1 Samuel 16:18–19). It is challenging, however, to follow the example of David in playing skillfully as he did. In my own life, the task of proficiently making God-glorifying music has been a serious pursuit for some years now. Although I play and teach recorder as well, the piano has been my main instrument and I would like to share a little bit of information about choosing, mastering, and interpreting a new piano piece that God has mercifully blessed me with through the sacrificial instruction of others.
​

    I have been reading A. W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God. I highly recommend this challenging book! It definitely stimulates a hunger and thirst to know Jesus! Through this book, the Lord has taught me many important truths, but one of them has been to wait patiently on Him

One afternoon as I was praying that God would make Himself manifest to me, I was pricked with the thought that sometimes it’s best to just listen. I had spent plenty of time pouring out my desires and hopes to God. I had asked Him to teach me to do His will (Ps. 143:10); but when I was done with my requests, I would just go back to my daily routine. I realized that if I spent the entire prayer time talking, I was not taking time to hear God speak to me. 
    The next day I spent a few minutes in prayer with this sole request: “Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth.” (1 Samuel 3:9) Questions filled my head about various decisions and topics. It was interesting to just listen. I heard birds chirping, my sister’s bubbly voice singing, and something poking around in the woods behind me. Even as I shut out all the distractions, it seemed that the Lord was not manifesting His Person and His will. 
    Ever so gently, the Lord brought this verse to my mind: “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”—Psalm 46:10 I suddenly realized that God knows the big picture, but He does not choose to reveal it all at once to me! For the time, He just wanted me to focus on one thing: He is God! That is a powerful truth that I must grasp to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
    Remember Mary and Martha? Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”—Luke 10:41–42 Quite often we get caught up striving to understand “many things.” God is omniscient and knows more than we do. When our hearts are quieted because we do not know the next step, we are more dependent to listen to and obey His voice. 
    We must learn to take life one day—one moment, rather—at a time. As God reveals His direction to us, we should follow. But in the meantime, let’s just remember to be still and know that He is God!

The Lord is reminding me to seek His face. A friend and I are memorizing Psalm 27, and as I have pondered this beautiful chapter, God has revealed so many truths! One thing do I desire of the Lord! When He asks me to seek His face, my heart cries out that His face—and His face only—will I seek. “When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.”—Psalm 27:8 

    You see, when we are seeking the Lord, we cannot be seeking anything else. Looking into His face causes us to be awed by His power, His grace and mercy, His love, and His justice. 
    What sort of things snatch our attention and shift our focus away from the Lord? The list is endless as it is anything that is not God Himself. Here are a few examples:
    Fear. Fear is a very real feeling that grips and penetrates our hearts and lives. When we are fearful, we are focusing on things, people, doubts, situations, or the unknown rather than seeking the Lord. Psalm 9:10 brings me peace during frightening circumstances. “And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.” This ties in beautifully with Psalm 27:8.
    Wants. We all have something we want in life. It could be money, friends, material things, fashionable clothes, easier school or work, etc. But Psalm 27:4 reminds us that we should only seek our Lord’s face. “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.”
    The World. What a distraction! Fads, attitudes, pleasures—they pull us away from our responsibility to seek the ways of Christ. Nothing, however, is comparable with the rewards and blessings of being devoted to our Lord. “Teach me Thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.”—Psalm 27:11
    What does it mean to seek, anyway? I think it is a yearning, burning desire to have something. All of our energy is put into seeking it. We search, we persist. We “hunger and thirst” after it. Is this how we seek after Christ? Are we passionate about abiding in Him, loving Him, and being devoted to His work? He will always accept those who long to know Him better, so start seeking Him today!
    “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”—Deuteronomy 4:29

Seek His Face,
​Tiffany

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16 KJV, emphasis mine.)
   
​Here are some notes from a sermon that my pastor preached a few weeks ago, that help us know how to pray for others.

Our time with the Lord is the most important time of each day. I hope that the following comments will help you to draw closer to God.
  
​Here are some essential elements of personal devotions:

Do you have a heart for missions? Have you ever wondered how to practically prepare to maybe one day go into the missions field?
  
​One idea that our family has implemented to learn about the nations, pray for laborers to enter His harvest field, and to get a heart for missions is to have a monthly missions night.

As I lean against the kitchen table and gaze out the window, I quietly ask the Lord, What do You want me to do? Where do You want me to go? What should my agenda look like? What’s the next step?

Darling Virtuous Daughters,
   
Today I want to share with you a quick thought that is near and dear to my heart. Recently the Lord has drawn my heart close to Him and has called me to sit at His feet. I sometimes see myself as a princess and my Father is the King. Even though I am the princess of a great and mighty King, many things trouble me. Yet my loving, kind, and gentle Father calls me to His throne to sit at His feet. Sometimes I just talk to Him and tell Him my cares and other times I cry upon His knees. Although my problems are trivial compared to the greater problems in His kingdom, He never forbids me to come to Him. And He lovingly welcomes me with outstretched arms, patiently listening.

The word etiquette is not in the Bible. However, there are some Biblical principles we can apply to this subject. Etiquette has to do with how we treat others. The basis of etiquette is love—love for God first then love for others. How can we show etiquette to others?