Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

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

We like comfort.  No one likes to hurt, be in pain.  We want to avoid it at all costs.  Yet as Christians, we are called to suffer as Christ did.  What does this mean in day to day life?  It's not like we're looking to get hurt - that would be masochism.  No.  But we are on a different path from the world, to say the least.  Our tastes have been transformed, if we have progressed with Jesus to any extent. What the world finds fulfilling, we do not.  We are no longer attracted to sin.  We have renounced our pride, even though it may still rear its ugly head now and then. We have renounced "making our own way."  We follow Christ, His way. How is this diametrically opposed to the unbeliever's lot in life?  Simple.  Christ calls the shots.  We follow and obey. This is not giving up our adulthood, our responsibilities, and following without our faculties.  No.  It is a decision we make.  We choose to trust Christ more than ourselves.  We choose to trust Christ more tha