David’s Daily Devotion for March 27

March 27, 2023 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, March 27.

Over the next two weeks, we’ll have two week-long devotion series. Starting next Monday, we’ll focus on the events of Passion Week, leading to Good Friday and Easter. This week, leading to Palm Sunday, we’ll focus on the theme of praise.

Palm Sunday is connected to praise because of the stirring image of Christ entering Jerusalem that morning. We see the crowds of people lining the streets of the Holy City, shouting “Hosanna!” and waving palm branches. The Bible doesn’t say that they were singing, but if they were, the hymn “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” would have served the moment well.

In 1823, there was a memorable moment in the history of classical music, as Ludwig Beethoven completed his final symphony - the Ninth. It was the first symphony to feature a choir and was a tremendous success. The applause at the climax of its premiere was thunderous. But the aging maestro, almost completely deaf, was unaware of the ovation until he was turned to see the cheering crowd.

In 1907, a pastor wrote words of praise to accompany the stirring melody from Beethoven’s  Ninth. We sang those lyrics yesterday morning at First Baptist Center.

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee
God of glory, Lord of love
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee
Opening to the sun above
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness
Drive the dark of doubt away
Giver of immortal gladness
Fill us with the light of day!

Meet you back here tomorrow, 

Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org