Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

The book of Nehemiah, as do all of the books of the Old Testament, points to the future Messiah, Jesus Christ.  The Levitical priests, the worship, the atoning for sins, the temple itself all point to what Jesus would do for us 400 years later. For the Jews, their temple was the place where God dwelt.  And He did.  He promised to be with them there.  He resided in Jerusalem and was their God. When Jesus arrived, He brought the New Covenant.  Now, thankfully, all were, and still are, welcome to receive and know God.  The way was now open for Gentiles to enter in the gates of thanksgiving and the courts of praise. Now, as miraculous as it is, God resides in the hearts of His followers.  Jesus left us the gift of the Holy Spirit to come and live inside of our hearts. Because of this, though Jerusalem and God's temple in Israel will always be God's territory, we now have the privilege of His Presence in our very souls, our hearts, too. If we stop and think about how holy and sacred

I have read scads of books over the years - Christian books - that were aimed more at me than God. What I mean is that they pointed me to me instead of Christ.  Under the veneer of trying to "help" me, they did little for me in reality. Make art for God.  Unleash your potential for God. Create something for God. But, you say, they all talk about God!  Yes, but indirectly.  They focus on self and not Him. It would be like looking at a newborn baby and giving no credit whatsoever to the mother.  The mother birthed and gave life to the baby.  The baby wouldn't exist apart from the mother.  Yet we ooh and aah over the baby, not the mother. It may not be the best analogy, but maybe you catch my drift. We are to fix our eyes on Jesus! (Hebrews 12:2)  Look though I may, I cannot find a single verse in Scripture that points me to myself, other than making me realize my need of a Savior. The Bible is not a self-help book - it is the revelation of God to man.  It is God's story

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?