Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

Jesus whittles down The Lord’s Prayer to these three provisions in my latest excerpt from my devotional, Greater is He.  https://a.co/d/7FJ7Zxt

Luke 8:26-38 I’ve read this passage before, but I saw something new in it when I read it recently.  Please click on the link above to read the story in its entirety. Jesus had performed a miracle. The result was that a man was set free from demons which had ruined his life. So why, then, were people afraid of Jesus after witnessing this miraculous event? Shouldn’t they have wanted to know Him and follow and believe in Him? Were they hiding demons of their own? Why wouldn’t they want a miracle from Jesus? Maybe they were keeping their demons around because they were profiting from them. The demons that Jesus rid the man of had destroyed his life and tortured him in many ways. But did you know that some demons “help” some to achieve wealth and fame? So although they are still demons out to ultimately destroy anyone who lets them in, there are those demons which masquerade as angels of light “promising” wealth and notoriety, if only temporarily. Perhaps those types of people were the ...

Lord, I have already been set free by You!  Thank You for this deep and wonderful truth, Lord. Christ set me free to know freedom in and through Him. When I keep choosing to stand firm in this blessed freedom, I am not subject ever again to a yoke of slavery in the form of: - fear - anxiety - reacting in the flesh - overthinking - caring what others think of me - stress Add to this list your own "yokes of slavery." Know that Christ has already set you free from all of your chains!  You simply need to walk  in the freedom! I am not a slave to others' wrong or judgemental opinions of me. Only Christ can name me! And He has. I am called His beloved. He calls me free He calls me redeemed He calls me honest and true He calls me reverent He calls me forgiving He calls me loyal He calls me righteous He calls me exemplary He calls me chosen He calls me His Lord, please help me walk in Your freedom always.  May it be an ever-present awareness in me, as part of my DNA, that I ...

I read these familiar verses this morning and they came to life for me. What do we really need in life?  According to the most famous prayer in the world, our Lord's Prayer, we need: - daily bread - to receive God's forgiveness and extend the same to others - to be delivered from evil There you have it: food, forgiveness, and freedom. To be content with and ever grateful that we have food to eat every day.  Of course we take this for granted.  Others around the globe do not. As Christians, we are forgiven people.  This is huge.  Do you know how many unbelievers are walking this earth with the weight of guilt, shame, and condemnation?  Another thing we take for granted - that we are forgiven in and through Christ.   That need is twofold: yes, we are so gratefully and undeservedly forgiven.  But the second part of that is even bigger: we are to forgive others the same exact way that Christ forgives us. How is that possible, you may wonder....

The other day, I was listening to Carrie Underwood’s rendition of “I   Surrender All” from her new album.  The entire album is glorious. While the song played, I felt led to write down all of the things  that I surrender to the Lord.  I wanted to see what my “all” looked   like – what items specifically I am surrendering. It’s easier to say, “I surrender all” than to be specific about it. Turns out, when I started typing a numbered list of what I am   surrendering to the Lord, I kept typing and ended up with 100 items! I felt so free!  With each new person, place, or thing I surrendered,  I just kept feeling freer and freer. This is helpful because now, when I’m tempted to revert back to   “owning” those items on my list, I remind myself, “Oh yeah.  I   surrendered that to the Lord.”  Then I’m free again. I highly recommend this exercise.  You will quickly discern just how   much you are...

When Christ sets you free, there is no effort required.  It just is. All the striving and wanting to be free are replaced with the simple and profound release, freedom, and Presence of Christ. Maybe you have been praying to be set free from a certain habit, sin, bondage but have not found freedom yet.  You have cried out to the Lord and your heart is in the right place. But still, no freedom. Old thought patterns and habits hold strong to your soul. What is the answer? If Christ promises to set us free, then why are so many of us still bound by our ways and thoughts? Old wounds can get the best of us if we let them.  But Christ longs to set us free from all pain and bondage! Sometimes, the Lord simply shows up.  We may not have been praying or even thinking about being free, and one morning, it just happens. That is what I experienced the other day.  It was bliss.  It was heaven.  There was no effort on my part.  I simply was free.  Free on t...