Encouragement Post – Day #34 (Saturday) Here’s one from way back… I
do love this man’s music. Keith Green is walking in the presence of
Jesus now, but for his brief time on this earth he surely made an
impact. I wanted to post something a little fun and upbeat, yet
truthful to the core… so here you go. So many naysayers down through the
years have tried to discourage God's people from simply obeying what
God has told us to do. But, if we believe and receive, we'll find the comfort we need… and HE WILL take care of the rest.
John 1:12-13 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were
born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man,
but of God.”
Ephesians 4:19-20 “And my God will supply all your
needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God
and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
This is from a
live performance he gave – and wow, what energy (and even a little
snarkiness at the beginning)! Makes me tired just watching him.
Encouragement Post – Day #22 (Monday) Knees To the Earth … I owe my life to You, my Lord. Here I am.
” Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to
resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having
put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with
the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up
the shield of faith with which you will
be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take
the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit,
and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and
petition for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:13-18
Knees To the Earth
by Watermark (Christy Nockels)
Wonderful Savior
My heart belongs to Thee
I will remember always the blood You shed for me
Wonderful Savior
My heart will know Your worth
So I will embrace You always as I walk this earth
Be blessed, be loved, be lifted high
Be treasured here
Be glorified
I owe my life to You my Lord
Here I am
Beautiful Jesus
How may I bless Your heart?
Knees to the earth I bow down to everything You are
Beautiful Jesus
You are my only worth
So let me embrace You always as I walk this earth
Be blessed, be loved, be lifted high
Be treasured here
Be glorified
I owe my life to You my Lord
Here I am
Encouragement Post – Day #19 (Friday) Today has been a long day, but I finally finished a project I have been working on for a long time. I am really thankful to have it finished, and I am looking forward to the next one now. Do you ever just get stuck? Like you just can’t move forward for fear of messing up? In “life” this doesn’t happen to me very often, but sometimes it does with art projects. But today I had someone tell me they were praying for me and gave me words of encouragement that I could do it. And that is exactly what happened. I am thankful for encouragement, and I want to pass that along to you. Whatever you are doing, working on, trying to accomplish… I am praying that God would show you the way, and I believe you can do it!
Ephesians 3:20-21 "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."
I am continuing to pray for our community, our nation, and our world. May God intervene in this process and give wisdom to those who are making decisions. HE IS able! To Him be the glory in (us) the church in Christ Jesus to ALL generations forever and ever.
Encouragement Post #12: (Friday... at least for a few more minutes ;) ) It's late, and it has been a busy day. Work still has to happen, even in quarantine. So, I have been pretty hard at it for most of today. I was thinking about work and its meaning just the other day... have you ever wondered if the work you are doing really matters? I imagine if you're a teacher, doctor, nurse, firefighter, military, etc. you might not question that. But, what about other things like creating music, growing a garden, sewing your children's clothes, writing poetry, making food for a needy neighbor, taking care of an elderly parent, taking care of your grandchild(ren), teaching others "how to", praying for those you love, or even leaving an encouraging word on Facebook, etc. The list goes on and on.
Whatever the work might be, what you are doing right this minute, today, has purpose, value, and meaning. How can you be sure of this? This may sound like an oversimplification, but if that were not the case you would not be here. Until the Lord takes us home, He has a purpose for the work we do. So, during these days at home, when it seems like your days, hours, and minutes feel a bit purposeless at times, be assured they are not. You are God's poem... a unique, original, one-of-a-kind work of art. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Did you know that the Greek word for "workmanship" in this verse is *poeima* ...we are His poem, His masterpiece, His one of a kind work of art. Let that sink in...
The Poem of Your Life by Michael Card
Life is a song we must sing with our days A poem with meaning more than words can say A painting with colors no rainbow can tell A lyric that rhymes either Heaven or Hell
We are living letters that doubt desecrates We're the notes of the song of the chorus of faith God shapes every second of our little lives And minds every minute as the universe waits by
CHORUS: The pain and the longing The joy and the moments of light Are the rhythm and rhyme The free verse of the poem of life
So look in the mirror and pray for the grace To tear off the mask, see the art of your face And open your ear lids to hear the sweet song Of each moment that passes and pray to prolong
Your time in the ball of the dance of your days Your canvas of colors of moments ablaze With all that is holy With the joy and the strife With the rhythm and rhyme of the poem of your life With the rhythm and rhyme of the poem of your life
Encouragement Post #9: (Tuesday) Finding myself THANKFUL today… for music. This is not unique to this particular situation, as DAILY I find myself thankful for the music that brings me such joy. In fact, for those of you who know me well, you know that I am pretty much constantly listening to it. In high school, I was always the one bringing the “boom box” to everything so that there would be music. I am pretty sure I drove my college roommates crazy playing my faves. My kids make fun of me because I have more music on my phone than they do (and because I have a song ready with a lyric to fit nearly every life situation). Isn’t it wonderful with new technology to be able to find almost any piece of music you want right at your fingertips? (My teenage self would have been crazy over the moon about that!!)
Music truly does permeate our soul… as you probably know, it is a most effective method for learning words, phrases, and things you need to know. Try to memorize something from rote and it can be a challenge, but set it to music and it's a piece of cake after a little rehearsing (thank you, School House Rock!!) Which makes it all the more important WHAT we are basically “cementing” into our minds. I can remember nearly every lyric to all those amazing pop songs from the 70s and 80s all these years later! It’s powerful. And these past days I have seen people posting all kinds of music, not a lot of secular music really, but mostly hymns and worship songs. It’s interesting to me… I love hymns so much because they are rich in truth about our God, but I also love the new hymns and worship music being written every day. As I have grown in my walk with the Lord, though, the most important part of any song is the lyric. I want to have an arsenal in my head, so that if I should ever not have the electronic means to listen I will have them at the ready. Did you know that for most dementia and Alzheimer’s patients, when they cannot remember anything else they can remember music. Amazing!
So, that’s why on each of my encouragement posts I have been including a song. It’s a command in scripture, right? “…speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:19) Today I am sharing one that is newer, but it is SO unique (a question and answer format) and SO filled with truth straight from God’s word. I am not sure there could be a MORE fitting song for this time.
Do you feel the world is broken? (We do) Do you feel the shadows deepen? (We do) But do you know that all the dark won't stop the light from getting through? (We do) Do you wish that you could see it all made new? (We do)
Is all creation groaning? (It is) Is a new creation coming? (It is) Is the glory of the Lord to be the light within our midst? (It is) Is it good that we remind ourselves of this? (It is)
Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole? Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll? The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave He is David's root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave
Is He worthy? Is He worthy Of all blessing and honor and glory? Is He worthy of this? He is
Does the Father truly love us? (He does) Does the Spirit move among us? (He does) And does Jesus, our Messiah, hold forever those He loves? (He does) Does our God intend to dwell again with us? (He does)
Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole? Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll? The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave He is David's root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave
From every people and tribe (People and tribe) Every nation and tongue (Every nation and tongue) He has made us a kingdom and priests to God To reign with the Son
Is He worthy? Is He worthy Of all blessing and honor and glory? Is He worthy? Is He worthy? Is He worthy of this?
He is, He is Is He worthy? Is He worthy? He is, He is He is worthy, He is worthy He is
