Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

Is it easy for you to receive God's personal love for you?  Maybe you see Him as far off, or His love as all-encompassing but not for you personally. Yet Jesus suffered unimaginable pain and agony on the cross not only to make a way to heaven for all of us, but so that we can enter His Presence here and now, in this broken, on-its-way-out world! I admit I have struggled with accepting how much God loves me personally.  Why?  Because I know how unworthy I am of such a vast, deep, permanent, and unconditional love.  When we are honest with ourselves, we know that we can never earn God's love in and of ourselves.  We are all way too sinful for that!  This holds true for even the "best" of us.  We have all  sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, from Mother Theresa to Hitler!  All we like sheep have gond astray, every one to his own way.  I don't make this stuff up!  This is the Word of God. But in His great love for us, God sent ...

Dear friends, Thank you for reading my blog.  I hope that it is an encouragement to you! The Lord is leading me in new directions lately.  I am opening my Virtual Piano Studio to give piano lessons!  I also coach vocal students. I wanted to bless you in this way, in case you, or someone you know, is interested in studying piano with me. Here is the link to sign up:   https://takelessons.com/profile/elizabeth-v16?bookwithme=yes I am running a special offer if you sign up by August 10th! Blessings, Elizabeth

Hot off the press!  My new e-book devotional, "Knowing God's Presence," is available on amazom for only $2.99.  Click here to download:   Knowing God's Presence I promise it will be a blessing to you! Love, Elizabeth

Feeding your heart and mind with God's truths is the best way I know to delight in Him. Lately, I have been wrestling with anxiety over certain issues surrounding my life.  Although my morning routine of spending at least an hour with the Lord in my quiet time has not changed, it's not long after my hour of bliss that worries, fears, and anxiety start to chase me down. I prayed and asked the Lord what I should read or listen to.  That's when I happened upon a Charles Spurgeon teaching on YouTube. I am a big Spurgeon lover and knew that he would give it to me straight.  And it was just what Dr. Jesus ordered! As I was listening to Charles Spurgeon's sermon, read by a very calming voice with a British accent, I began to feel God's Presence and peace in me.  I was letting go.  I was being enveloped by the Holy Spirit. This was not some super spiritual phenomena, but I believe that this is how the Christian life is to always be lived, ideally!  I want to live i...

Part of Jesus' purpose on earth was to set the captives free.  He is still about the same business through His followers. True freedom can be a scary thing for those who think  they are living in freedom but are not truly. Apart from the saving grace of the Lord in our lives, we are all captives to sin.  We are each of us born with a sin nature.  No exceptions.  From Hitler to Mother Theresa, we are all born into sin. God, in His loving compassion, sent His Son, Jesus, to earth to set us free from sin!  He saw firsthand the devastation of the bondage of sin.  And because He loves us, He does not want to see us enslaved or in bondage to anything! The sad fact is that this truth is not what most people think of when they think of Christianity.  They think of it as a bunch of rules and regulations to follow and that is not what it's about at all! When we are born again, the blameless, perfect, and holy God comes to live inside of us via the Holy Spir...

Did you know that God hates some things?  He is love. But He still has hatred for some things. He hates sin.  He loves the sinner, but hates the sin. He hates lukewarm because it is useless. Think about it.  Can you even stand a lukewarm sip of coffee?!  I know I can't.  Coffee is meant to be served either hot or cold. If people are lukewarm toward you, that is another word for apathetic.  They just don't care.  To me, that is even worse than hatred. Jesus spoke plainly when He said that we are either for Him, or against Him. God wants us either hot or cold toward Him, but not in between.  Lukewarm serves no purpose - that is why God hates it! This Scripture in the book of Revelation is scary stuff.  And how can you be sure that you are either hot or cold?   The choice is yours to make. You make up your mind if you are for God or against Him.  No Switzerland here!  There is no neutrality when it comes to your relationship ...

So I read this translation of this verse that I haven't seen before and read into it something entirely new and fresh. Other versions are translated, "What can mere mortals to do me?" or "What can man do to me?" But when I read this version, "What can flesh  do to me?" a light bulb went off. Most people, including Christians, walk in the flesh, not the Spirit.  So if I experience their flesh coming after me, so to speak, I need to stop short and ask myself, what can their flesh do to me? Plenty!  That is, if I am not walking in the Spirit myself. Remember, no good thing dwells in the flesh.  So it is like only yucky stuff coming at you when others come against you for no real reason.   I don't think most Christians are sensitive enough as to whether or not they are walking in the Spirit or walking to gratify the flesh.  Oh they may want  to walk in the Spirit because they know that they are supposed to, but how many do you know that actually do? O...