New Beginnings

At the start of every year we take stock of our lives and think of all the things we want to change.  We want to grow closer to God, lose weight, learn to drive, things like that.  We make resolutions, promises to change our bad habits and generally be better people.

However, every moment is an opportunity to change.  An opportunity to make decisions that could change the course of our lives. It's not everything we can accomplish ourselves but when we trust God, through Him all things are possible.

Be Careful Little Eyes What You See

As Christians we have to be so careful of the things we 'see': the type of movies we look at, the type of books we read. I was thinking today about the story of David and Bathsheba. As adults many of us think its okay to see that latest 18 & over movie or check out the latest trashy novel on the best seller lists our friends are raving about because hey, we're adults right? What could it hurt? David looked off the roof of his palace and saw a beautiful naked woman bathing. She was not in a porno intending to incite anyone, she was bathing. Yet an unholy lust ignited in his heart that lead to adultery, murder, an unwanted pregnancy and ultimately one innocent, dead baby. Psalmist David, Slayer of Goliath David, Man After God's Own Heart David. We always think we could 'handle it' trying to live as close to that forbidden line as possible without crossing over but before we know it we are separated from God, cold and ashamed. Not even recognizing our own evil as David experienced but needing someone else to point out 'thou art the man.' The truth is we are bombarded by temptations through the media all the time but when we accept and willingly feed this to our spirit I can't see it leading us anywhere that will be pleasing to God.

Angel Harp Blog Tour

Sincerest apologies. I just realised I posted my Angel Harp review on the wrong blog. It can be found here.

Angel Harp

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Angel Harp FaithWords (January 26, 2011) by Michael Phillips





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michael Phillips has been writing in the Christian marketplace for 30 years. All told, he has written, co-written, and edited some 110 books. Phillips and his wife live in the U.S., and make their second home in Scotland.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Widowed at 34, amateur harpist Marie "Angel" Buchan realizes at 40 that her life and dreams are slowly slipping away. A summer in Scotland turns out to offer far more than she ever imagined! Not only does the music of her harp capture the fancy of the small coastal village she visits, she is unexpectedly drawn into a love triangle involving the local curate and the local duke.



The boyhood friends have been estranged as adults because of their mutual love of another woman (now dead) some years before. History seems destined to repeat itself, with Marie in the thick of it. Her involvement in the lives of the two men, as well as in the community, leads to a range of exciting relationships and lands Marie in the center of the mystery of a long-unsolved local murder. Eventually she must make her decision: with whom will she cast the lot of her future?



If you would like to read the first chapter of Angel Harp, go HERE

Saying No

“Sometimes you have to yell something to make every part of you hear it. If you speak softly, what you say seems to carry no weight, even with yourself.”

Roberts Liardon in his book Learning to Say No Without Feeling Guilty.

James 4:7 says “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Sometimes however we only offer token resistance and still expect the devil to get to stepping. Other times we push him away yet leave him within arms reach. Inevitably we find ourselves victims of such situations and shame and regret usually follow (thus speaks the voice of experience).

What Mr. Liardon taught me in his book is that an emphatic no, even to myself will go a long way. So the next time that old devil comes around don’t push him off with a half-hearted giggle and a tickle. Let your no resound within him so that he knows he must flee; let that no rise up from your spirit and echo with authority over every foreign yes that seeks to be heard.

This may take some practice so say with me: no, No, NO!

To Be Absent in Body

Tonight I visited the wake of a dear sister in the Lord who passed on early Thursday morning. While there the words of another sister touched me deeply. The sister that died was actually the founder and pastor of her church and in the course of sharing with us she said that she was looking forward to a powerfully anointed service tomorrow morning because she fully believed that God could raise Sister Dolly from the dead. Listening to her I felt my faith leap and grow because we serve the same God that raised Lazarus from the dead after four days. The same God that arose from the dead himself after three days.

What I realised upon hearing her speak was that I had accepted her death as final. I had not enquired the will of the Lord in the matter but just accepted the situation as it was. I realised too that this could be happening in other areas of our lives as Christians where things happen and we just accept them as the will of the Lord, especially negative things. The situation might say, this is it (e.g. my marriage is over or I have an incurable disease or I can never change) but God is bigger than any situation, and no matter how dire it may seem, God can still turn it around. The stench of death can be quickly wiped away by the perfume of life.

So when the sister said that God can bring our sister back to life for His own glory I agreed wholeheartedly because I was reminded that I serve a great and mighty God.

I SEARCH FOR YOU

I search for you Lord
In the deserts
On the pinnacles of the mountains
Within the depths of the valleys

I thirst for you Lord
My soul longs for Your presence
My ear waits on Your word
My heart weeps for Yours

I hunger for You Lord
My heart trembles in need ofYou
Touch me Lord
Make me whole