Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

God asks crazy things of us at times.   If there was a crowd on the scene when Abraham raised a knife to his son Issac, those onlookers would have thought Abraham... Crazy Evil Ungodly No longer worthy to be a leader We don’t always appear to be doing the right thing when we fully obey God, to be in our right mind. But look at the example we have in Abraham and his perfect obedience to God!  We learn about God's faithfulness.  We learn that God provides a solution always.  We learn that God is always trustworthy, even when He tells us to do unimaginable things. The lesson here?  So many! 1. It doesn't matter what "they" think 2. Obey God no matter what 3. Trust God no matter what 4. Just do it! 5. Do not hesitate in obeying God 6. Know God's character through obedience 7. God will always provide, make a way for us If you knew that you heard God telling you to sacrifice your son, would you do it?  I'm guessing no, you most likely would not. Yet God told...

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 devi...

Every good story has a protagonist (the hero) and an antagonist (the bad guy).  Sometimes, there are several "bad guys," many different groups of people that come against the hero or heroine.   As we read on in Nehemiah, we don't have to read too far into it to come upon Nehemiah's opposition.   Chapter three lists all of the workers and their various jobs in simply repairing the wall.  They haven't even started the rebuilding process yet. Then, in chapter four, the fun begins!  We read about all the ways the Jews' enemies try to thwart their work.   4:2 The opposition belittled the Jews' work. 4:3 They were sarcastic toward them. 4:5 They demoralized them. But then, after Nehemiah cried out to the Lord to save them from their enemies, for the Lord to bring them down instead of letting their enemies bring them down, we see... 4:6 The Jews continued their work and started rebuilding the wall, after repairing it. 4:6  This angered their en...

I just started a Bible study on the book of Nehemiah.  Here's what I've learned so far from chapter one, and the first few verses from chapter two. Nehemiah had a mission from God.  He was to rebuild the the walls of Jerusalem. It was quite a job ahead of him.  He knew he was going to need help from the powers that be.  He needed to ask for King Artaxerxes' help. Before he approached the king, Nehemiah did a few things first. First, he mourned, wept, prayed, and fasted before God. He reminded God of God's faithfulness, His promises to His chosen people that He gave through Moses, and His covenant with them.   Nehemiah knew God, God's character, God's history with His people, the Jews.  Nehemiah confessed the great sins of his people as well as confessed his own sins before God.  Nehemiah was part of the problem.  Now, God was going to use him to bring about His solution. God chooses whom He chooses.  God knew Nehemiah's heart.  God ...

Satan tries to set up strongholds based on lies in our lives in order for us to bow down to them as gods. Our enemy is ever distracting us away from worshiping the Lord. Our enemy wants people, places, or things to lord themselves over us. This prevents us from keeping Jesus as Lord in our hearts, minds, and lives.  But if we persevere in doing as Christ wills us to do, we will eventually triumph. Make no mistake, it is a battle! Why? Because once we are secure in God’s love through worship of Him, there will be nothing we cannot do in His power and love! The enemy knows this. So exactly how does the enemy set up strongholds in us? Usually, they start small, like a foothold first. This is where we need to be aware of what is happening and nip it in the bud immediately. If we don’t, it will grow and become a stronghold. For example, let’s say you’ve been offended by someone. It doesn’t matter if it is a friend, foe, or stranger. The enemy wants to use that offense in your life to ge...

If we are on our phones for any length of time these days, we cannot avoid seeing all of the sales and “great deals” being offered. ‘Tis the season! If you keep seeing the same ad over and over, even if it’s an item that you don’t need, you may weaken and give in and buy the thing!  There’s a lot to be said for the power of repetition. The same holds true when it comes to God’s Word. There is power in reading the Scriptures over and over. And the beauty of it is that, unlike a cyber ad, the Word is alive and has the power to change us.  It holds everything that we truly need, and not just at Christmas, but always. When we read and reread God's Word, we can see something new in that familiar Scripture passage by the power of the Holy Spirit revealing new meaning to us. Unlike that “must have” item for sale that will eventually become old and lose its luster, and our interest, the Word of God is eternal, never perishes or fades, and has lasting value to our souls. Won’t you trea...

I'm in a good place these days. But this wasn't always the case. Life was hard, very hard, for a very long time; almost unbearable.  So much so that I started to doubt that God loved me.  As i type these words, I'm not very proud to admit this.  But it's true. During this long spell of trial after trial, I wrote this song, "The Love of God."  Go figure. I still believed that God was love, that He loved the world.  I just wasn't "feeling the love" from Him personally. Been there?  If you have been a Christian for any length of time, I'm guessing you've been there.   Stuff happens.  We live in a fallen world.  And trying to take comfort in God's Sovereignty can only magnify our soreness.  Why?  Because if God is Sovereign (and He is), then why does He allow horrible stuff to happen to us?   It's easy to believe that God loves me when I feel that things are going well.  But I have also believed and felt God's love w...