Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

God humbles us.  He brings us to the point where we realize our need for Him, our dependence upon Him, and how we cannot do anything apart from Him. Only God knows the heart of the person who may say aloud, "God gets all the glory!"  We can say the words and not really mean them, or we can never say them and simply go about doing everything we do to please Him.  That is what gives God the glory. God is glorious!  His glory fills the temple!  We cannot even imagine just how glorious He is! When Jesus performed miracles - acts which are impossible for humans to do in and of themselves - God received the glory.   But we do not have to do miracles in order for God to get the glory in our lives. I've seen it all too often.  The Christian leader whose "charisma" and "personality" get in the way of Christ being seen in them.  I see more of who they are than I see Jesus. But when I see or hear a Christian who is not constantly talking about him or herself, whe

I have stayed on in unbearable circumstances out of obedience to Christ.  But in all honesty, I am not always 100% sure if He wants me to stay or not when I am in those situations.  You see, I see all of life, as a Christian, as Jesus forming me into His image.  And it is never the happy times that do such a thing, but always the hard times, the trials.   This is more than mere "character-building."  This is Christ forming His very nature in me. If you don't think this forming is hard work, think again!  Yes, we are to rest and abide in Him while He does the work in us.  But we must cooperate.  We are to obey.  That is where the rubber meets the road in our lives as Christians. Most will simply walk away from an unpleasant situation before the Lord has fully done the work He wants to do in them there, in the muck and the mire. Especially these days where "boundaries" and "rights" are all the rage.   But many times, our most fruitful and productive time