Mathew 6 has a challenge to not worry that God must take us through a process to bring us closer himself. In the beginning of Matthew 6, we are reminded that many people put their hope in what others think about them or even work towards impressing others. Look at the verses below……

-1″Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

-2″So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men.

-5“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men.

-16″When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full

-17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

All the people in these verses received their reward….praise from man. As Matthew points out, it’s an empty reward. The people here have put their hope in man. But in verses 19-21, Matthew reminds us where our heart really should be focused. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew encourages us to focus on the things of the Lord. There is where our heart, our treasure should be.

What do you long for?………

Political security? A warless Earth? Financial Peace? Smart kids? A good name? A good Reputation? A Flawless Home?

Peter says in Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

What are you storing up for yourselves that isn’t worth anything?…….that moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal?

Now….I’m not there yet…it’s not very joyful all the time in my life. I struggle everyday with something and God must take me through another process to bring me closer to Him. My head knows a lotta “stuff” but, my heart feels a lot more and takes over the lead. So, know that you are not alone with struggles that take you away from what good and Godly. That’s why Matthew says our treasure, our heart, must be longing for a better relationship with Him.

In the words of the song Slow Fade,

“It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It’s a slow fade, it’s a slow fade”

Hebrews 12:3,4 says it this way, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Only Jesus can bring everlasting Joy!!

Only Jesus can give eternal Peace!!!

Let me submit to you that it is less about silence and more about a relationship of trust……

Think about a house whose foundation is cracked or broken. Over time, that house starts to shift and other cracks and breaks start to occur.  Holes open and the weather gets inside.  Now, bugs and other “critters” can make their way into the house where you live.  You become uncomfortable with relaxing there and you choose to spend your time elsewhere.  The house also becomes unstable and not a safe place to live.  You can’t be “still” in this house.

A relatioship with God, hoewever, is built upon who He has proven Himself to be and there are NO cracks, NO foundational issues, and NO shifting.  He has proven Himself over and over in our lives and in His Word.  The problem is not with our God, it’s with us.  Our feelings and perspectives seem to cloud the judgements we have about God.  We also hear the questions and statements that people who don’t know God ask like, “Why would God allow bad things to happen to good people?”, and, “God is kind, He would never allow anyone to hurt.” What are your feelings saying about God?   When you go through hardship, what is your perspective on what you are going through?  Start there and examine your heart towards God.

The God of the Bible understands that we will not grow unless we not only read the Word and know Him, but we experience His Grace and wisdom throughout hardships in our lives.  In Luke 22:42,   Jesus felt hardship and despair at the Mount of Olives. He said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Our Savior felt overwhelmed, anxious, worried.  His human body was giving Him the same signs that you and I feel in the middle of something tough.  The difference is, that He turned to His Father and said Lord, your will not mine. What or who  do you turn to when your feelings are strong?

His perspective at the Mount of Olives  was also different from ours.  We want the pain to stop.  We want to have happy times.  Our focus is on us.  But, Jesus’s perspective, even facing His own death, was to do the will of the Father.  That will, by the way, was a way would be made that you and I could now have a relationship with the Almighty, wonderful God through the death and resurrection of His son.

Jesus trusted His Father completely.  He knew His Father and His character.
What do you know about the Father that gives you confidence in Him?  Start there……the foundation.

Some encouraging scriptures.

• 1 Corinthians 1:6  “If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.”
• Colossians 1:10-12,  “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”
• Psalm 73:24,  “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.”
• Revelation 17:14, “They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.

In harship and in good times, always start at the foundation of the Christian Faith:  Who is Jesus and who is His Father?  Search your feelings and your perspectives.  Focus on His character in His Word.  Your perspectives and Your feelings will change as you get to know the Father and His Son better and they will become more and more like His.  Your foundation will be stronger and more trust in it’s workmanship will be added.  The trust will be built and you will know what it means to be “still”.

Your house will grow to be beautiful.

Maybe the next time you look at what you think is your “bad day”,

some of these might encourage you!!

Angelina Jolie’s Baby Bump

US Sets Burma aid rule

Macklowe To Sell GM Building

Chinese Left To Ask Why Schools Crumbled

Suddenly, A New Future For Old Companies

Safety Lapsed In Rush To House Katrina Victims

Obama: “Assassinaion” Flap Overrated

THe Billboard That Won’t Go Away

Back Fire: RFK Remark “Last Nail” In Hill’s Coffin”

I guess I’m not drawn to anyone of them. They certainly don’t tantalize me to become a part of their worlds. I went searching for the article about Steven Curtiss Chapman’s family and the death of one of his little girls. That family lives in the same world I do. They worship the same God and they serve the same Savior. Their pain is something I want to shar, their hearts are something I want to see. But for the Grace of God, that could be my daughter or son’s death.

I was raised, went to college, and divorced with 2 kids in the same corner of the world in S.C. until I married a soldier and moved away at the age of 27. I had heard the same values and sentiments from my family and friends for many years. The music that just about everyone listened to was gospel country or hard rock.

Until I moved away and heard the lyrics of Steven Curtiss Chapman, I was pretty closeminded to who should be saved in this world. His words were so clear and yet so filled with the struggles of life that I felt each day. Each and every time his solution was to turn to Jesus. He always stressed that joy was found in Him. I’m an Army wife and life is tough.

Here’s where some of the the rubber meets the road on the death of Steven curtiss Chapman’s daughter. It’s sad to say, but, the world will be watching to see how they deal with this tragedy. Who do they lean on and what will they do? Will the world and even us, the believers, be able to see what Paul said in Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

A little bit further, Paul encourages the reader by saying, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” Romans 8:26.27

Paul even askes the question that is on everyone’s mind, “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Romans 8: 31,32

In his long wordy, but very helpful encouragement, Paul tells us how much God loves us in this harsh world. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39

In 1990, For The Sake Of The Call came out by Steven Curtiss Chapman. One of the songs on it was called “What Kind of Joy”. I wonder if he knew how powerful those words would be one day.

What Kind Of Joy is This

Anybody in their right mind
Would’ve given up their preaching and headed for home
They’ve been warned a hundred times
But something inside them keeps giving them hope
And just when you think they’d be crying
Instead of the tears, there’s joy in their eyes

CHORUS 1
What kind of joy is this
That counts it a blessing to suffer
What kind of joy is this
That gives the prisoner his song
What kind of joy could stare death in the face
And see it as sweet victory
This is the joy of a soul that’s forgiven and free

Anybody else with his pain
Would want to shake their fist at heaven
And give up the fight
‘Cause trouble had been Paul’s middle name
Ever since he’d been captured by God’s blinding light
But just when his hope should be dying
If you listen you’ll hear him singing a song

CHORUS 2
What kind of joy is this
The Father has promised his children
What kind of joy is this
That Jesus has come to reveal
What kind of joy could give hope in this world
To someone just like you and me
This is the joy of a soul that’s forgiven and free
I’ve found this joy for my soul is forgiven and free

Upon looking up the drfinition of frustration, I found that the real feeling behind this frustration is my own pride…………..Frustration – a deep chronic sense or state of insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unfulfilled needs.  It’s just one of those “Calgon Take Me Away” moments.

In everything we do a believers, I see that pride is one of the most deep seeded issues we hold onto.  It shows up in so many things we do………………parenting, finance, clothing, attitudes, and most of all in relationships.  Psalm 10:4 says, “In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.”  Let me just rephrase that.  In my pride I do not seek him, in all my thoughts there is no room for God.  I am so busy searching for my own “happiness”, that I have forgotten who gives me what.

Those calls for my husband to help out are ways he can show God’s mercy and love.  He can help ministry continue and flourish.  He can serve the Lord with excellence.  The dog is our friend.  We have neglected him and left him to chew on stuff to pass the time.  What a terrible steward I have become with God’s priorities. 

God’s reply to the Psalmist is to change His heart.  The psalmist remembers who God truly is.  It says in verses 15-18, “But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.b  Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness  that would not be found out. The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.”

Mathew Henry’s response is this………..The children of God cannot expect kindness, truth, or justice from such persons as crucified the Lord of glory. But this once suffering Jesus, now reigns as King over all the earth, and of his dominion there shall be no end. Let us commit ourselves unto him, humbly trusting in his mercy. He will rescue the believer from every temptation, and break the arm of every wicked oppressor, and bruise Satan under our feet shortly. But in heaven alone will all sin and temptation be shut out, though in this life the believer has a foretaste of deliverance.

Each day is a new test of who I think Gos is and what He has called me to do.  Praise the Lord, He is merciful and does not smite me down rigt away but send His Spirit to convict me and help to grow and repent. 

Keith Green has a song called Glory, Lord Jesus

Glory lord jesus, glory to your holy name.
Glory lord jesus, your blood,
It has removed my shame.
When the son of man returns,
Will he find faith on the earth?
Well I hope so, I want to be found ready.

Holy, lord jesus, holy is your righteous throne.
Holy, lord jesus, my praises go to you alone.
Worthy art thou lord our god,
To receive all glory honor and power,
For there is none beside thee.

Faith is believin’, faith is for overcoming.
And if I’m going to love you.
I sure got to trust you.

Glory lord jesus, glory to your holy name.
Forevermore you’ll never change.
When the son of man returns,
Will he find faith on the earth?
Well I hope so, I want to be found ready.

I wanna be found ready.
I want to be ready, lord help me be ready.
Please let me be found ready, I wanna be ready.
Oh, lord help me be ready.
I wanna be found ready, I wanna be ready.
Lord help me

Glory lord jesus,
Glory to your holy name.
Glory lord jesus,
Your blood has removed my shame.

Glory lord jesus,
Glory to your holy name.
Glory lord jesus,
For evermore you’ll never change.

For all you Keith Green fans, i found this old video of keith Green on a gameshow.  It’s funny how we all change!

1.  It starts with brake work on our van that adds up to  a whopping $500.00.  It sounds unbelieveable even as I write it.  So, not only do we not have that in the bidget, but that stimulus check that most people are getting is getting smaller and smaller as we speak for the Dillards.

2.  We have to call a plumber out to fix a backup in the laundry room.  That’s really more than we have in the bank as well.  The stimulus check just got smaller again…..but praise God there’s a stimulus check!!

3.  In Sunday school, we just had to go through Mark 8:11-21

The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven.  He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.”  Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.  

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.   “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”  

They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”   Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?   Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?   When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”  ”Twelve,” they replied. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”  They answered, “Seven.”  He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

4.  Our Homeowner’s Association Fee of $300.00 came due this weekend and if we want to use the pool and the tennis courts all summer and early fall, and we do, we have to pay it.

Now, let me tell you how all this fits together…………………..

I have been so downhearted latealy about our finances.  I see the paycheck just dwindle each month as I try to squeeze every bit out of it that I can.  I buy some of the cheapest groceries I can find; we try to conserve energy in many ways; I take less trips to the Installation to save gas, and on and on and on.  neverthelass, it goes out and we seem to really struggle with it each month.  We have laots of repairs that need to be made before we can put the house on the market next year with very little extra money coming in over that period of time.

I believe God, in His infinite wisdom, set me up to see that I still do not have a whole lot of faith that He will take care of us, even though He has worked numerous miracles with our money pit house for 2 years. 

The pharisees in Mark 8 had seen Jesus do many miracles and still wanted a sign that He was indeed the “political” Messiah they were looking for.  Jesus sighed deeply and said(in my own vernacular), “No way man, you got all the signs you need and you ain’t gettin’ no more signs!”  I feel for those Pharisees.  They will never understand Jesus.  They are searching for only what they understand, hoping they will not lose their power and that’s not the truth of who Jesus is.

It seems the disciples had somewhat of the same reaction to forgetting the bread.  You know, Jesus had already fed the 5000 and then the 4000, walked on water, healed the woman with the blood disorder,  the deaf and dumb man, the Garrisene Demoniac, and other numerous miracles.  Jesus heard them reasoning about not forgetting the bread.  His answer is very different for the disciples than the Pharisees.  Though having walked with Him and seen who He really is, Jesus seems frustrated but willing to reason with the disciples.  He reminds them of how He has taken care of them in the past, specifically with the large crowds, and He reminds them not to go down the road the Pharisees have gone.

I go down that “Phariseeical” road daily.  I look for Jesus in what I understand and if it doesn’t “feel” good, it must not be Him.    I am so much like the disciples as well.  I see miracle after miracle in my life and others and yet, I still am faithless much of the time. 

Just so I wouldn’t get  the idea that Jesus only helps the monetarily needy, the Pastor’s sermon Sunday was Luke 8:40-56.

“Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.  And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her.  She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.  “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.  And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,  but no one could heal her.  She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.   “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.   When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”  Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.  Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher any more.”   Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother.   Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”   They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.   But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!”  Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.   Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

Jairus is a Synogogue ruler.  He has plenty of money.  He is well known probably and has everything he needs at his disposal, but his daughter is dying.  He is desperate for help and He risks everything to go to Jesus for help.  Jesus brings his daughter back from the dead.  The woman with the blood disorder was probably poor.  She spent all her money on trying to find a cure for her bleeding.  Because of the kind of disease she had, she was probably an outcast, unclean and unacceptable socially.  Jesus, when he instantly healed her, probably restored her back to society as well because now, in the eyes of the people, she could be socially clean and acceptable. 

Needless to say, when I left church Sunday I not only could say, “Yes, lord, I am faithless at times and stubborn to change”, but  I could also hear Him saying, “I love you, no matter what your circumstances are, and even when you are faithless to me, I will be faithful to you.  I will take care of you.  I will bring you to Myself.”

In this moment now, I have a measure of faith that says God has the truth and I can resign myself to trust Him.  Down the “Phariseeical” road later that I am sure I will walk again some time, God will be faithful to love and keep me.  just as He did the Disciples at every questioning moment they had.  I marvel at how much he loves us.  I marvel at how much He loves us despite what Wrtched creatures we are.

Paule wrestles with the same process of repeating the same sins over and over again.  His answer is Romans 7:24-25.  “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

I don’t know what tmorrow brings, Jesus will be with me!

I’ve been through the gamut of emotions from hoping he will go to college and seeing he has his eyes set on the military.

• Will he make it through boot camp?
• Have we prepared him to face the world as a young adult?
• Will he ever come to know the Lord?
• Will he go to war?
• Can I handle it if he gets killed at war?

These are all normal worries that Christian moms have and they boil down to how much we really trust our God. If I am honest, I will say no to every one of those questions and still be successful. God’s measure of success is so different than ours. In Luke 16:13-16, “‘No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” When it gets hard around the Dillard house, I have to remind myself often that it is God who searches the heart and it is God who will make my heart what it needs to be to glorify Him.

Even knowing this truth, it’s still hard to look at my teenager who is struggling every day and want to ease his struggle with lessening the boundaries and appealing to his feelings. I want my teenager to turn to Christ when it gets hard, not what makes him feel good.

When God brought His people out of Egypt, He had to teach them to trust Him all over again. He did that by caring for them in certain ways. In Deuteronomy 8:3-5, it says, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him.”

It’s hard to think that God will have to change my son’s heart in ways that will cause him to hunger. That’s pain for my son! Who would wish that on their son? I would!! I want God to change my son, to change his heart. Only God can do that. The pulls of this world are very strong. Caedman’s Call has an old song called “The World” and there’s a line that says,“This world has nothing for me and this world has everything.”

It’s really the truth and my son’s heart’s direction must be turned around so that it is pointed to Christ and not this world. I’m trusting God that He can do that, even while I struggle with my own emotions of letting go.

In Deuteronomy 4:39-40, there is hope! “Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.”

You think you know a passage and then the pastor just puts a whole different, but truthful, spin on it. I think the most prevalent dangerous understanding of this scripture in believers is that God is there to help us through “the storms”………….the hard times in life. I know that even I slip into that mentality sometimes. The statement should be that the storms are here to help you know God better. They uncover your soul. They show you what is really there.

This passage reveals something clearly about the disciples. What was already in them came out in the storm. They had great fears and some of them didn’t even trust Jesus to get them through that storm. These are the disciples!! They walked and talked with Jesus and had his immediate wisdom!! Some questions you might ask yourself are:

Is there someone that brings the worst out of you?

What pet peave makes you blow up?

How do others experience me in a “storm”?

Are you, were you ever really in control?

The simplest answer is still whatever comes out was already there. the storm just brought it out more clearly. Your storm might be, the family, the economy, repairs and maintenance, punctuality, etc. It will show you your need for God. Our Pastor said that it can be likened to a career achievement. In other words, what you’ve become.

I have deep fears that I will and am disappointing God all the time. The truth of it is that I am. It is much harder to live for Him and die to self each day that it is to go through a momentary storm with someones else. The encouragement in the passage in Luke is that Jesus calmed the storm so that they could heal and know that He was with them. There is a storm coming one day that you won’t be able to survive, but God says, “I will be with you.”

Do Not Fear or Isaiah 43(words below)

Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night,
Jesus, I come! Jesus, I come!
Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to Thee!
Out of my sickness into Thy health,
Out of my want and into Thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into Thyself,
Jesus, I come to Thee!

Out of my shameful failure and loss,
Jesus, I come! Jesus, I come!
Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,
Jesus, I come to Thee!
Out of earth’s sorrows into Thy balm,
Out of life’s storm and into Thy calm,
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to Thee!

Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come! Jesus, I come!
Into Thy blessed will to abide,
Jesus, I come to Thee!
Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,
Out of despair into raptures above,
Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
Jesus, I come to Thee!

Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come! Jesus, I come!
Into the joy and pleasure, Thine own,
Jesus, I come to Thee!
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the flock Thy love doth enfold,
Ever Thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to Thee!

Out of my bondage is a great way to say it. Every fear I have is bondage to it. I come to Jesus out of those depths of bondage. Each fear I have, each situation that occurs, each doubt I posses, each reaction I have says something about who I think my Lord is. What is your life, your storms saying about who you know God to be?

At the benediction, we sang several verses of “What Wondrous Love Of God”. You can imagine there weren’t many unencouraged hearts there today as we sang those last words, “When from death I’m free, I’ll sing on through eternity, I’ll sing on.” Close your eyes and listen to the singers on the video.

]]> http://thelifeoflauren.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/89/feed/ 2 ldillardj