Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

As Christians, we know that we are here for eternal purposes.  Yes, we have works to do here and now. But mostly, since this life is but a breath, the Lord wants us to be forward thinkers!  Forward doers! His Kingdom will have no end.  Jesus will rule and reign forever!  Everything that our souls have desired in this broken world during our imperfect lives will find fulfillment and fruition in His Kingdom. Peace, love, joy, no conflict, no more natural disasters, no more death, no pain, and so much more!  It's hard for us to even imagine such a place, so opposite it is to what we know in this life. But it's coming!  And you will either be a part of it, or you won't. That part will remain similar:  just as we cannot physically live in two places at the same time, neither will anyone be able to live both in His Kingdom and elsewhere! So who wants in? There are many "kingdoms" of this world - none of which will last, none of which will fulfill us, none of which are w

A New Year!  A fresh start!  That is what we feel each January 1st.  We praise God for another year of life! As I read from one of my favorite devotionals this morning, "Joy and Strength," a compilation of writings from some of the greatest saints gone by (compiled by Mary Wilder Tileston), I thought that I would share with you today's reading.  The writer puts it so well and beautifully what we all need to hear today. "The year begins; and all its pages are as blank as the silent years of the life of Jesus Christ.  Let us begin it with high resolution; then let us take all its limitations, all its hindrances, its disappointments, its narrow and commonplace conditions, and meet them as the Master did in Nazareth, with patience, with obedience, putting ourselves in cheerful subjection, serving our apprenticeship.  Who knows that opportunity may come to us this year?  Let us live in a great spirit, then we shall be ready for a great occasion."  George Hodges Yes! 

Being prepared for extreme circumstances is pretty straightforward in the natural.  There are countless emergency prep checklists online to refer to.  Gather your peanut butter, flashlights, warm clothes, etc., etc. But how do we prepare on the inside?  How do our spirits and souls get ready for any more states of emergency? If you've lived any length of time, as I have, you realize how hard it is to wrap your brain around how much the world has changed in the past few decades.  It's hard to even remember how we lived our lives before the internet. Who would have ever dreamed that we would be "connecting" with strangers around the world and calling them friends?  People whom we've never even met.  It's all very strange. But pining for the past is not the answer. We get prepared on the inside by building up our faith in Christ.  We do this by reading and studying His Word. But beyond that, we will need more than ever before to abide in Him.   To abide means to