Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

Arthur Blessit has literally carried a large wooden cross around the world many times over for the last 55 years.  I'd heard of him years ago but came across him again online the other day. As you might imagine, Arthur was not always met with welcoming cheers.  People would gather and many would get saved.  But Arthur was also imprisoned many times for carrying the cross in public, ridiculed, persecuted, and more. It makes me wonder if God would call more of us to do the unusual if only we were open to it. But the most interesting tidbit I learned while browsing Arthur's site was the following fact that my shock you: "The cross has been turned away from being left overnight at more than half the churches requested, but has never been turned away from spending the night at a bar or nightclub in 55 years around the world." From  https://blessitt.com/fascinating-facts-and-figures/ Does this statement shock or surprise you?  Not me. It saddens me, but I don't have a h

These days, it will become easier for people to harden their hearts just to survive.  But as Christians, we are called to keep a soft heart. When it comes to hardening our hearts, here is a typical cycle of how it usually happens:  Self-protect          Hard heart                    Love grows cold When we build a hard protective layer around ourselves, our hearts, to self-protect (no one likes to be hurt), it may feel like we've "won."  But therein lies the deception. That self-protection leads to a hard heart.  And everything issues from the heart.  Our relationship with God, first and foremost.  But after that, our relationships with everyone else, including ourselves. And a hard heart can only to lead to less love.  Jesus warns of this in Matthew 24 - that the love of many will grow cold.  He even says how it will happen.  The increasing lawlessness around us, and just the disintigration of a healthy society, these will lead to less love if we're not careful. But

You may have read in many sources (online, books, etc.) that your calling has to do with your gifts and talents.  Yes, the Lord can definitely sanctify and use our gifts and talents for His glory and purposes. But then why did God call the following people for the following tasks? Moses had a stutter, was a murderer, and was not very brave.  Yet God chose him as His mouthpiece and leader to His people.  He entrusted the Ten Commandments to Moses! Peter was ambitious, unreliable, and impetuous.  Jesus made Peter His rock on which He built His church. Isaiah was a man of unclean lips (he had a potty mouth).  God chose him to be His most important prophet to speak to Israel and foretell of Christ's identity as the Messiah! Noah struggled with getting drunk. God used him to literally save the world, and animal, population. Where in the world did we ever get the idea that God chooses "upstanding" citizens?!? It is just the opposite! God chooses the weak and foolish so that He

We overcome to teach others how to overcome. We are to share the ways that God has empowered us to overcome any or all of the following: bad attitudes fears obstacles haters doubts pain and suffering spiritual battles The list is endless! I don't believe there is one way - one catchall "help" for everyone.  I believe that the Lord's path for each of us is unique, and therefore the way in which He empowers us to overcome is unique to each of us.  He overcomes through us in the power of His Holy Spirit.  But how  we pray, how we worship, how we battle - each are unique to each of us. But all of us, at one point or another, have experienced one, more, or all of the things on this list.  Our problems are universal. How have you  overcome these problems?  That is what makes you you . Gideon fought his battle God's way - which made no sense in the natural - and won!  David only needed one small stone.  Joseph's battle took fourteen years or more to win, and he did s

  Today is a song day!  I've been studying about Christ's coming back for us and wanted to encourage you to think on the same.  I wrote this Scripture song, "We Will Meet in the Air" on I Thessalonians 4:17-18.   First of all, the thought of flying excites me!  Yeehah!  And with no fear because we will be held in the absolute power of our Lord Jesus Christ as we fly outta here! Stop and think on that for a moment.  The power of Christ is powerful enough, and then some, to literally raise the dead out of their graves to bring them with Him to heaven.  Then, we're next!  The millions of us who belong to Jesus will be Raptured with Him - He will lift millions of us up, flying heavenward to be with Him!  Talk about power! For those left behind?  All will see, experience, know in that moment that Jesus Christ is Lord.  They will have "missed the boat" - and this is the perfect analogy because Christ compares His return to the days of Noah and how all but Noah

As Christians, we know that we are here for eternal purposes.  Yes, we have works to do here and now. But mostly, since this life is but a breath, the Lord wants us to be forward thinkers!  Forward doers! His Kingdom will have no end.  Jesus will rule and reign forever!  Everything that our souls have desired in this broken world during our imperfect lives will find fulfillment and fruition in His Kingdom. Peace, love, joy, no conflict, no more natural disasters, no more death, no pain, and so much more!  It's hard for us to even imagine such a place, so opposite it is to what we know in this life. But it's coming!  And you will either be a part of it, or you won't. That part will remain similar:  just as we cannot physically live in two places at the same time, neither will anyone be able to live both in His Kingdom and elsewhere! So who wants in? There are many "kingdoms" of this world - none of which will last, none of which will fulfill us, none of which are w

So the other day, I wrote about being crushed by the Lord, and how it is for our ultimate good.  Read that entry here:  Stop, Jesus! You're crushing me! But then today, I had another revelation about crushing.  And I need to write about it again because I want you to know about the different types of crushing and how to tell the difference between them. When the Lord crushes us, He is after something in us that He wants to expose in order to heal or get rid of.  It is a painful process, but ultimately, like removing a splinter from under our skin, it is for our good. However, when others try to crush us in order to lord themselves over us via power, manipulation, or control, that is bad.   Now that may seem an obvious statement.  And perhaps you can perceive when this is happening to you.  I cannot always tell the difference. When you see all as coming either from, through, or allowed by God's Sovereign hand, it's easy to write everything off as "teachable moments,&qu

Throughout the Word of God we see His people being defeated.  But not for long!   And even when it seemed "permanent," it wasn't.  Why?  Because as Christians, even when we lose our lives, we win!  So if we take it to that extreme - the seemingly worse "loss" of all - there simply is no way we can lose as Christians! If we die, we are with the Lord!  This is THE biggest win of our lives! If we lose the occasional spiritual battle, it teaches us to know better the next time around. If we lose all of our possessions, we still have Christ!  And He provides better. If we lose our reputation, man's opinion matters not anyway because we belong to Christ and our true character is known by Him alone. So many seeming "failures" in my life were ordained by my loving Heavenly Father.  A good parent doesn't want their child to succeed before they are ready to handle it.  And the Lord is our perfect Parent.  Only He knows when we need to learn from failure,

The End Times are not the same thing as the Last Days.  We've been in the Last Days since Jesus died and rose again. The End Times include the Great Tribulation and all that leads up to it.   People throughout the ages have thought, "This is it!  The world is coming to an end!" World events, natural disasters, wars and such have all led people to believe that God's will was coming about in the form of the End Times. I'm not here to argue the timing of Christ's second coming - His coming before, during, or after the Great Tribulation.  I am here to hopefully help you prepare in case we are facing the End! Here's a non-exhaustive list of what I think it's going to take to be a true Christian in the End Times: 1. Stay close to Jesus (if you're not saved yet, get saved today!  Ask Jesus into your heart) 2. Pray a lot 3. Understand that as the world gets worse, we are not to despair but know that everything that happens is under God's absolute power

This is a favorite verse among many Christians.  I think it is because there is so much hope and power in it.  We can't ask of God too much because He is limitless in His power and abilities. But it's easy to stop short and only dwell on the "exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond all that we can ask or think" and leave out the rest of the verse which says, "according to His power that is at work within us." His power, not ours.   So the key becomes are we letting His power work in and through us?  Fully?  What are some things that "clog up" the works? 1. Self-sufficiency 2. Pride 3. Wanting control 4. Continuing in sin  5. Holding grudges 6. Gossip 7. Strife 8. Laziness And the list goes on, which is basically a list of walking in the flesh, not the Spirit. Oh everyone wants His power, but few are willing to lower themselves, humbles themselves, and admit their frailty and weakness in order to access His power! We want the Lord to exceedingly an

Have you ever been crushed by Jesus?  Job said, "Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him." Been there, too, Job.   But crushing feels worse than slaying.  What on earth am I talking about, you may wonder!  God is not a sadist!  Indeed not. I don't know if you are this way, but a lot of the time, I need to talk to know what I'm thinking!  Sometimes, as I'm talking to a pastor, a friend, or whomever, words just come out of me that I had no intention of saying.  It's like the Holy Spirit is getting out of me what is really going on in me and I didn't have a chance to verbalize it before. Writing is a great outlet for me.  But sometimes, it's speaking those unexpected words that sheds light on my circumstances. For example, I was talking to a pastor about a certain situation I am in that is very hard to endure, and the word "crushed" popped out of my mouth.  I don't remember exactly what I said, but remember saying how I felt like I was being

Is your load too heavy?  How do you know who your load is from? There are scads of people willing to dump their problems on you if you let them.  I'm not talking about bearing one another's burdens as Scripture tells us to. I'm talking about trying to be all things to all men.  And not in the good way like Paul talks about when he is trying to win souls to Christ. Are you eveyone's good little helper?  I wear that badge almost all the time and you know what?  I'm worn out most of the time! Jesus promises us that His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.  Ergo, if my burden is too heavy, I am either not sharing the load with Jesus (yoked with Him), or I am carrying a burden I was never meant to carry. How can any burden be light, you may wonder.  I suppose when we yoke with Jesus, as He tells us to, that then, and only then, is our burden less heavy - light, even.  How?  Because Jesus can bear it all and more!   Jesus does not get weighed down like we do.  This is b

We've all heard of the metaphorical "giants" in our lives - we are to name them, overcome them - such as fear, worry, doubt, anxiety, and so on. Giants are big!  That is a fact.  There are situations, people, and such in our lives that are  big.  Huge, even! If we don't know how to defeat or face our giants, we will feel overwhelmed, or scared, or try to avoid them at all cost. David did none of these.  Was David afraid when he saw Goliath?  He sure didn't act it!  But how could David, this small, shepherd boy, be so fearless when facing a 9' monster? Not only did David face Goliath, he ran straight at him!  He was the only one that was willing to take on the Philistine.   I don't think David was an overthinker!  I think he simply knew the Lord and His omnipotence.  He was zealous for God and didn't like anyone - not even a beast like Goliath - taunting God's people as if he were greater than God Alnighty! David acted.  He did something about it. 

You’re not supposed to like your prison, whether literal or not.  Joseph didn’t look back on his prison years with fond memories! Those years were simply preparing him for his leadership role.  Ugly as they were, they were part of God's plan for Joseph's life.  Yes, God's plan - not his brothers'.  His brothers' actions caused Joseph's imprisonment, but they weren't the authors of it, though they liked to think they were.  They were unwitting pawns in God's greater plan for Joseph's dream coming true.   As Christians, we are taught to make disciples of men. However, this is not the case in every season. Yes, we should always be a light for Jesus in every season. But during our “prison” seasons, the Lord is about doing more of a work in us than around us, preparing us for the next chapter that He has for us. If you want a comfortable life, don't follow Jesus. He will take you to unchartered territory that you never planned on or asked for.  The

"You're not the boss of me!" is usually spoken by teenagers asserting their independence from their parents.  However, I believe it is the entire cause of all humankind's problems in one sentence! Billions of people all over the world may not say this out loud to God, but how they live their lives is proof that this is exactly how they feel toward their Maker.  How can I be so sure?  Have you seen the news?  Have you read history? The worst thing is when believers live in this way.  Oh yes, friends.  Some who say they belong to Christ have no intention of actually obeying  Him.  Again, how can I be sure?  I have eyes, don't I?! I also know my own heart.  It is still prone to disobedience and rebellion whenever I cast judgment, or hold a grudge, or want my own way, and the list goes on! But the fact is that the Lord is  the Boss of me!  And when I am walking in His Spirit, I revel in this truth, I don't run from it.  None of us likes being told what to do - f

An example of this might be, "I should be further along in life by now."  This statement is fed by the comparison demon. "I treat others well, but they still mistreat me."  You're in the best of company.  So did Jesus. "I thought I was doing the best thing in life, but it didn't turn out the way I'd dreamed." Spoken like someone who actually bought the bait that they are the "master of their destiny."   At the crux of all of these musings is a mistaken rulership identity.  As Christians, we are no longer in charge of our lives, how they roll out, why things happen.  And those who do not belong to Christ who have managed to carve out a seemingly "better" life are, underneath, clinging to worry, doubt, and fear, though they may not acknowledge it or want to face it.  I know this to be a fact because there is no real, lasting, and true peace apart from a relationship with Christ.  Let them have their "mindfulness," yo

Some of us are natural born leaders.  But that doesn't get us off the hook when it comes to our relationship with Christ. Jesus is the  Leader.  And when leaders follow the  Leader, all is well.  Oh we ruffle many feathers along the way - after all, the real Jesus offended many when He walked this earth.  But our humility is tied into our connection to Christ.  Jesus was the most humble person ever.  Yet He was all-powerful, very bold, and He knew Who He was.  He is God's one and only begotten Son.  He of all people could have "lorded" His Lordship over us.  But He came to serve us.  He was a natural born Leader.  He led by example.  He led by teaching others truth.  He had many followers not because of His charisma and charm, but because there was something about Him.  People could not deny (although they tried!) His Presence had a power about it as never seen before. He not only healed the sick, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, but He forgave people their s