Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

This verse is often quoted among Christians.  They sometimes take it to mean that if you are making a decision and you are confused, then it is not of God.  Or if you are confused about anything in life, then it is not of God and should be dismissed. But we need to work through things.  We need God's help to shed light on what is really happening.  If the enemy is casting doubt on our minds, then the Lord can clear that up and reveal His will in the matter, if we're listening. When I looked up the original Greek for the meaning of confusion in this verse, it was surprising.  It actually means  anarchy. When there is a political uprising, it can happen when the people take power into their own hands, disregarding the law and man-made hierarchy in place. In light of this verse in Scripture, I take it to mean that when I am confused about a matter, that the enemy of my soul is playing anarchist in my mind, trying to overtake Christ in me (ha!).  Poor devil.  He just can't get

We know we are struggling with something when we lack inner peace.  This may seem an obvious statement, but yet we struggle. We want control, not contrition. We want our will, not God’s will. We want what will never satisfy, not simplicity. We want to make it about self, not sacrifice. We want outer peace and quiet, not surrender so that we can know inner peace. "Cease striving and know that I am God." When we cease striving, we come to know God better, are found in His peace that passes all understanding. It’s like we can’t know that He is God if we are still striving, struggling after that which does not satisfy. It’s all in Him. Everything we could ever want and need is in Christ. But we tend to complicate things instead. It’s too simple. There must be more to it. There isn’t. When we stop trying so hard, God is there, ready to meet us where we are. He is there ready to comfort and protect us from our greedy selves. Cease striving. There is an order: 1. Cease striving. Jus

Did you know that there is an ultimate, true Reality?  There is also the reality of what we can see, touch, and feel. I have been asking the Lord a lot lately to please reveal more of His Reality to me.  This is because like you, I can get bogged down in the earthly, daily "reality" of life. The Lord tells us to hope in Himself.  When we hope in earthly things, accomplishments, places, people, and things, we miss the mark.  Did you know that that is the literal definition of the word sin?  To miss the mark, as in when we aim an arrow at the target and miss. How to straddle Reality and reality?  After all we are not in heaven quite yet.  We live in these earthen vessels for now with all of their issues and problems.  We do not waft on a cloud of perfect peace most days.  At least I don't. Instead, I welcome anxiety and confusion.  "Come on in!" I say.  But they do not have a place in the life and heart of a Christ-follower.   Christ has promised to give us His pe

So my New Year prayers started out with me telling God what to do. I only half jest.  As I prayed on my knees, pouring out my heart to Him, I wasn’t finding peace. I was feeling more turmoil than peace. Until... I finally blurted out, "Lord, I give You carte blanche with my life."  Then, sweet release. His beautiful peace filled my soul. It seems counterintuitive to how we are wired in the natural.  We all want some semblance of control over our lives.  But when you belong to the Lord, He leaves some things seemingly unresolved in your life.  I don't know all the reasons why He does this.  I only know that all He does is done in love.  Great love.  Everlasting love.  Holy love.  Righteous love.  Problem with us is that we've been sold a bill of goods as to what real love is.  So when God, in His perfect love, allows certain trials to linger in our lives, our rational, worldly, fleshly minds cannot understand why He would allow such seemingly harmful things to continue

Where is my focus?  If it is on anyoe or anything else other than Jesus, I will get tripped up, distracted, even deceived.   So how do we keep our focus on Christ?  Mostly through prayer.  Talk to HIm and with Him throughout the day.  Trust Him to lead and guide us.  our work, and be sure to obey Him. He will perform His miracles, healings, and casting out of demons through us as we stay focused on Him, stay connected to Him.   As we give up control and allow  Him to take over our heart - mind, will, and emotions - He lives His life through us.  This is to be our core and how God does His work in this world - through our yielded selves! When we focus on the work, or on goals, instead, they can take over our hearts in place of Christ as gods to us. This always leads to stress and turmoil within because nothing else is meant to usurp Christ on the throne of our hearts. This takes surrender and trust.  We won't surrender to anyone or anything that we don't trust or believe in. Whe

I came across a reference to this familiar verse this morning in my quiet time.  I then asked the Lord to reveal to me what that means - how to do this in my daily life.  He brought another Scripture to mind: "...for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."  Romans 14:17 It really whittles it down very practically. If what I am seeking at any given moment is righteous, keeps me in God's peace, brings me His joy, then I am seeking His Kingdom in that moment! On the other hand, if what I am seeking leads me to idolatry, or anxiety, or any other fleshly thing, then in that moment, I am not  seeking His Kingdom - putting Him first. As Christians, we do both of these on any given day.  Our flesh is constantly waging war against the Spirit. It comes down to choice.  Will we choose  to seek Him first - His righteousness, His peace, His joy - and in so doing enter into His Kingdom right here and how - or will we choos

  I love these verses this song is based on.  Listen to my song, "God is Able," and be at peace.

We all do it.  Some may do it less than others, but we still do it nonetheless.  We worship our problems. Is this too strong a language?   If we focus on, meditate on, spend time thinking about, and magnify our problems, then yes, we are worshiping them! As Christians, we know that worshiping anything or anyone else other than Christ only leads to disillusion and heartache.  Worse yet, it is a huge sin. So how do we make idols of our problems? We cling to them.  We think about them day and night.  We are consumed by them. Now this is not 24/7 (hopefully!) and it is not every day. But it happenes enough to deform our character in those moments.  That is because whatever we behold, we become. Like most every other sin, at the root of it is lack of trust in God. If we don't believe that God will help, rescue, deliver, heal, or remove whatever is "getting our goat," then we simply do not trust Him. Is there any problem too big for God to handle?   Is your problem financial? 

The peace that passes understanding guards your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Peace.  Peace of mind.  Inner peace.  These are ours in Christ.  Not in and of ourselves, mind you.  I cannot manufacture that sort of peace.   There is a true, deep, and lasting peace that we can claim when Christ lives in us via the Holy Spirit.  It does not make sense in the natural.  At all. While anything but peace rages around us, around the world, in our homes, perhaps, and in our hearts, Christ stands there offering us His peace. How is this possible?!  Because He is the Prince of Peace.  He is peace itself. This means, for me (and for you, if you are in Christ), that when circumstances and people around me offer me nothing but turmoil, I can still possess the peace of Christ within me.   When I love a family remember - go out of my way to show love and kindness - and the love is not returned, and it hurts, I can still live in peace.   This is not escapism or denial.  This is the real deal. A

We all like to feel that we are in control over our lives.  What an illusion!  If we have learned anything at all from this pandemic is that we have very little control over the outer circumstances of our lives. Now self-control, that is the control we can control! How to let go of the stress and worries that beset us? Rest.  Trust.  Faith.  Submission. Confidence in Christ. When we rest in Christ, we have peace.  We are free to let go of our fears, worries, doubts, and lack of control because we trust Him  more than anything or anyone else - including ourselves! Why should we trust Christ?  Because He is in charge!  And not only that, He is thoroughly good.  That is a hard concept to grasp when all we see as human examples are flawed ones.  Even the best human example is still human! To realize His power and authority and that He is also pure goodness is a very comforting truth, and that Reality supersedes all other "realities." He is absolutely trustworthy (sigh, relax, sho

What are you worried about?  Do you have many cares?  Do you worry easily?   Have you ever asked yourself why you worry so much?  Has worrying ever done you a lick of good?  What does it accomplish?  Does it solve anything? If we look at worry straight on, see it for what it is, I don't think we would ever worry again.   What worry "offers:" Anxiety Fear Uncertainty Stress Doubt Physical side effects Who in their right mind would want these things in their life?! But how can I help it? you may ask.  You do not "have to" worry.  I repeat, you do not have to worry.   You have a choice. Reasoning and trying to figure out every little thing is exhausting.  And no matter how smart we are, or think we are, our intelligence and reasoning skills are no match for God's omniscience and wisdom (to say the least!). That is why when we "give it to God," surrender our worries, fears, and doubts, and allow Him to resolve, heal, deliver, protect, provide, and what

We can build all sorts of things in life.   A legacy A family   An empire   A home  A career   A network A fortune Building God's Kingdom is not like building anything else we can build.  Not everything that is God's Kingdom is visible yet.  Also, the Kingdom of God is within you.  So we learn that it is both a physical place yet to be, but also inside our spirits. "For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."  Luke 17:21 How do you build a spirit?  And how do you measure its progress?  It is not that specific a science.  Only God fully knows each human heart. So building the Kingdom is more than merely "winning souls for Christ," though that is a good thing.  But how do those "won souls" turn out in the end?  Do they go on to grow in Christ as one of His intimates, willing to follow wherever He leads?  Or are they merely good churchgoers, complying on the outside while their inner "house" may be a total wreck? That's why our faith

  I wrote this song shortly after 911.  Can you believe it's been 20 years?   This song is perfect for our times now - a reminder to run to Christ when world events baffle and disturb us.   He provides peace. He provides reassurance. He reminds me that He is in absolute control and that He knows exactly what He is doing. We need never fear when we belong to Jesus. We need only stay close to Him and He will protect, provide, and heal. He delivers. He restores. He mends. No other place or person in the world can give us what Jesus does.  Won't you come to Him today? Lord Jesus, You are the One I run to.  You are the One who's there for me.  Thank You for this awesome and wonderful truth, Lord Jesus.  I love You.  Please stay close to Me not only in times of distress or disturbance, but always.  Please give me more of Your wisdom in all things, Lord.  Thank You that I can trust You even when things don't make sense to me.  In Your Name I pray.  Amen.

I've been touchy lately.  Irritable.  Short-tempered.  Letting every little - and big - thing get to me.  I've been a nervous wreck. I think it's the cumulative affect of being in lock down for so long. I keep thinking that I need a vacation, that some R&R would do the trick. Then today, as I was reading in Hebrews chapters 4-6 about the rest of God, I got thinking about how Jesus never took vacations (as far as we know).  And though Jesus was always in God's peace, He was a very busy man!  Every day, everywhere He went, He was in demand as a teacher, healer, and rescuer.   Now Jesus went away frequently to pray.  And He spent time with His Father.  This rejuvenated Him. But I spend time every morning with Jesus, too.  Without fail.   Yet just a few hours into the day, depending on what is happening around me, I find myself getting upset about something or someone. How to stay in the rest and peace of God? What causes us stress?  How do we manage it?  Was Jesus ever

I read the first part of Psalm 62 this morning and was reminded of something.  My soul's rest comes from the Lord.  Oh I may need to get more sleep, which refreshes my body.  It feels good when my body feels rested. But my soul - my mind, will, and emotions - finds rest in God alone.  The Psalmist was spot on!  Unlike the other ways I try to find rest, only the Lord can provide the rest I really need.  Rest that brings me comfort and peace.  Rest that is untouchable by outer circumstances and stresses.  This is the rest I truly crave! Sometimes, I go to YouTube or other social media to find rest.  Really?! What am I hoping to find anyway?  A new recipe, a new song, show, or interview on YouTube, or even a sermon there, or a new idea on Pinterest - do any of these provide rest for my soul?  Not really.  So though I think I am relaxing when I look at these things, what I'm really looking for is escape or distraction.   When I'm weary and tired, I should simply be .  More like

Everything's weird because we're all pretending that it's not.  We're trying to do life as usual, but there's nothing usual about what we are experiencing during this pandemic. I'm sitting here watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and it is surreal.  I mean I'm glad they're still having it.   But no one is there. The streets are empty. Everyone is singing and dancing as if  everything is normal.   But it's not. And underneath all the "festivities," it just feels so sad to me.  It's as if we all want it to be like it once was.   It's nice that they want to still have the parade, to "keep our spirits up," but it all feels really hollow to me.   They just showed an overhead shot of the Brooklyn Bridge and it was eerily bereft of traffic.  To think of the millions of New Yorkers who are in the habit of complaining about the traffic - how they all must yearn to have the chaos of the hustle and bustle of the traffic o

I don't watch the news much any more.  I gather bits and pieces online.  Most of it is so utterly depressing that it is hard for me to watch or hear.  And what is worse, how much of it is truly factual? I spent one day last week getting caught up - watching various news programs and commentaries online.  By the end of the day, I was fraught with stress and anger. I understand why some people are so upset and angry about the events happening around us.  I was angered by injustice, evil seemingly "winning," just tuning in for one day!   The internet has changed the world, but like most any invention, it can be used for tremendous good or heinous evil.   People are airing their darkest thoughts online for all the world to read/hear - what good is there in that?!  People arguing, proving their point, or riding the "popular" wave to the point that they don't even know what their riding any more - it's just the "in" thing to do.   We don't need t