Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

The number one thing I want Christians to understand is this.  There is nothing in us, in and of ourselves, that can pull off the Christian life. Now let's pause right here.   If the "Christian life" means nothing more to you than attending church and trying to be a "good person," you haven't a clue as to what it is truly about. God calls us to be holy. God calls us to love each other. God calls us to live a life worthy of Himself, His calling for us. God calls us to forgive others. God calls us to put Him first above all else (including reputation, money, and family). The question we must face is this: are we able to accomplish any of these things on our own? The answer: no way, no how, not in a billion years.  Maybe outwardly, but not from our own inner selves. So why would Jesus tell us to do what we are not able to do?  We must be able to do these things or He wouldn't have commanded them, right? We truly can only do all of these, and more, through C...

This morning, during my quiet time, I was thinking about how I put the Lord first.  My internal dialogue went something like this. Lord, I put You before my husband.  I felt the Spirit in agreement. Lord, I put You before family.  I felt the Spirit's approval in this, too. Lord, I put You before self.  Crickets. That is where the Spirit stopped me short.  Not so much agreement there. Oh, Lord.  How do I do this?  I do not want to put myself before You!  Help! I felt the Spirit speaking to my heart: You do this every time you don't trust Me about something or someone.  You put your human reasoning first instead of My Omniscience about a person or situation.  This, My beloved is nothing but pride. Ouch.  The deadliest of all sins.  And yet I know the Lord has humbled me through the many years I have known Him - and I let Him humble me. So is pride something we wrestle with as long as we're in this body?  And how do we even k...