Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

I have been waiting for some email responses lately, some of which can potentially change my life.  It has been nerve wracking for me. I've prayed about it, gave it all to God, and yet it still weighs on my heart and mind - the uncertainty, the wondering, and the not knowing. It's hard to truly let go sometimes.  I believe I trust God with my whole heart.  And yet when there are some issues on the line that affect my life, affect my immediate future, and just plain can either make life harder or easier for me, I give in to anxiety. It is a miserable place to live!  But I do not need to stay in that miserable state of mind. Especially when I belong to omnipotent God who is for me, on my side, ever watching out for me, and doing all sorts of wonderful things on my behalf behind the scenes.   How do I know He does all of these and more?  He promises to do them.  And if you are a child of God, you too have the same promises from His infallible Word. We will still have to wait on so

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

Continuing my study of Nehemiah, we learned that he finished the physical labor of building the wall around Jerusalem.  But wait, there's more! Once his work was done, there was the work of maintaining what he had built. Isn't that just like our lives?  We think we have "arrived" in some area, finished a task, only to find that it isn't really over.  And though the building process is difficult and wrought with challenges, maintenance brings its own set of issues. We cannot rest on our laurels, as tempting as it may be.  There is always  some more work to do.   In chapter 8, we read that Ezra read God's Word to God's people.  There was much rejoicing and worshiping.  However, there was also weeping and grieving. It does not say why the Jews were weeping, just that they did so while hearing God's Word read aloud to them. "For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law." Nehemiah 8:9 My guess is that they were conv

https://youtu.be/xjw1t0ENpEg?si=b8CTqo6_wmat_Dzo Words have power.  We think words.  We read words.  We hear words. But the written word can be the most powerful of all.  Whether you think you are expressive/creative or not, we all have creative outlets that help in life.   I write.  I journal, I write this blog, I write devotionals, and I also write songs.  All of these are not only ways to express my thoughts, they can be very cathartic and bring release in areas that need to be set free. Which leads me to the topic of this blog.  Fears. We've all got them.  No matter how bold or courageous you may be or think you are, you will be attacked with fears - especially if you belong to Christ.  The enemy of our souls uses fear as one of his most powerful weapons.   But there is nothing more powerful than God and His Word! So I encourage you to bring all of your fears into the light.  Whether or not you are a writer or keep a journal, change your personality just for this exercise!  You

Jesus was the most intelligent being to ever walk this earth.  Yet He never spoke using complicated words.  When He taught, He often spoke in parables, stories that His listeners could relate to and picture in their minds.  He knew that a picture was worth a thousand words and that these images would stick with them, easy to remember. Jesus wasn't "dumbing down" for His listeners.  He brilliantly realized that by giving them visuals, stories that included metaphors, that they could comprehend and retain more than if He spoke to them in more intellectual terms. Jesus also spoke plainly about His identity, what was to come, and about how we are now related to Him through His Holy Spirit.  (see John 14, Matthew 24, and Luke 21) God is omniscient, which means that He knows all.  Jesus is God.  Ergo, Jesus is omniscient.  His omniscience did not stop when He became human.  He could tap into that awesome power at any time as God's Son. I bring this up because I have noticed