Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

Are you too hard on yourself?  I know I am. I can demand more from myself than God does! God never, no never, demands perfection from us.  How could He when He knows that we could never reach it? That verse, "Be ye perfect as I am perfect" has been so grossly mistranslated and misinterpreted that it has led many into a tizzy or worse!  Perhaps it might have even caused some to give up on their faith altogether. After all, why bother with an unattainable goal? However! The Greek translation of perfect in this verse is mature.  Be mature.  In other words, grow up! That is something we can work on, pursue, and do by God's grace. But during this maturing process, we will fail.  A lot.  Maybe even more than we succeed. And you know what?  That's okay.  Really. Old habits surface bringing out the worst in us.  Our flesh takes over instead of us allowing the Spirit to control us.  We just can't seem to get it together at times.  And that's okay. Maybe no one ever gav

The Lord is teaching me so much lately. As I "step out to find out," as Joyce Meyer says, He is faithful to ultimately make clear His best way for me. As we make decisions that may "feel" right, sometimes we step out into those decisions and only realize afterwards that they were not God's best for us. So we just cross that thing off the list and move on! I don't see them as mistakes any more but as all a part of the process of following Jesus. None of us has 100% perfect radar when yielding to the Holy Spirit; none of us hears perfectly all the time. And that's ok. Jesus knows that we want His will and that we seek Him in order to know His will and do it. If we are in any sort of danger in a decision, He will most assuredly check our spirits and let us know. But sometimes, we need to learn what is not the best in order to move toward what is His best for us. Two steps ahead, one back is what I always say! That's a hard pill to swallow f

  You can find anything online!  Here's a manure chart!  What kind to use, on what garden, and in what season(s). God is the Master Gardener.  He knows exactly what it takes for each of His "flowers" need to grow into His likeness. Would Paul have written his letters to the churches if he weren't in a feces-ridden prison cell?  Not sure.  But we have the majority of the New Testament thanks to Paul allowing God to use him in the crappiest (literally) of circumstances. What about us?  We are most likely not in a literal prison cell.  But what parameters is Jesus using in your life to grow you?  Do you want to mature and grow? Paul wasn't being chastised or punished by God!  Paul was not "in sin."  Quite the contraty!  He was imprisoned for  working for God!  For preaching the gospel.   So when our "stinking" situations are not changing, will we let God use it to grow us up?  Will we let ourselves be used by Him instead of complaining, getting de