| We are told not to worry. But how is that possible? Read more... |
| God delights in revealing Himself to us, and He promises to answer if we call on Him. After that, we just have to listen. Get the phone. It's for you. Read more... |
| Charlotte Elliott wrote over 150 hymns during her lifetime but few of us would recognize any but this one. However, referring to this one song, Miss Elliott’s brother said, "In the course of a long ministry, I hope I have been permitted to see some of the fruit of my labor, but I feel that far more has been done by a single hymn of my sister’s." Read more... |
| I recently heard this old hymn of praise and joy (for that's how carol is defined in my dictionary) and, word lover that I am, I was curious about its origin and wording. Some of what I found was expected, but one major thing was not. And that makes all the difference in the world to the meaning of the song. Read more... |
 | Grace, Gratitude, and God With Thanksgiving approaching (at the time I write) I felt a prompting to write on the subject of "grace" and "gratitude". While praying and asking the Lord to formulate and assemble this subject in my mind, I came across this column by Michelle Malkin. It speaks so eloquently and simply that I feel I should share it with you. Read more.. |
| A few years ago my dear friend, Robbie, gave me new insight into the significance of this song. We must have been singing it in a service and I told her how much I liked it. She said something like, “But have you ever thought of the seriousness of the words—about what you’re saying when you sing this song?” And, therein, lies the beginning of another journey with the Lord. Read more... |
| “When you get this concept into your mind and heart it will totally revolutionize your life.” That's just the way the Lord said it to me. And just what is this revolutionary concept? His all-consuming, unconditional love for me. (And each of you can say the same.) Read more... |
| Why I thought of this old song I'll never know, but it took me on another journey with the Lord into the history of this language which He gave us. It illustrated for me again the richness of our vocabulary and, most important, gave me new insight into how I can use my words in praise and worship of Him; of how I can enjoy myself as I enjoy Him. Read more.. |
| "I was sinking deep in sin,
Far from the peaceful shore,
Very deeply stained within,
Sinking to rise no more..." That's the way I felt last night. Oh, I know the subject of the song is really the salvation experience--that moment when God reaches down in His grace and pulls us up into His arms, just as we are, from the depths of sin. Still, this old song came to mind. Read more... |
| Gatekeepers. That’s what we are called to be. We stay close to Jesus, the Gate to God, and place the hands of the lost on the latch—the latch which each person must open for himself, but to which we can direct them. It’s part of the great commission Jesus gave us when He went back to be with our Heavenly Father. Read more... |
 | Recently I was given an opportunity through which the Lord reminded me about aspects of intercessory prayer which I had forgotten. Perhaps you have been in the place I was and can identify. I admit I am a slow learner when it comes to spiritual matters and need repeated instruction to get it to "sink in." Read more... |
| How amazingly quick and efficient is the God we worship and serve! When He speaks to me I hear no audible voice and He usually speaks His mind in an instant. Yet, to relate what He says takes me many words and much time. It's as if He gave me an mp3 file which took only a moment to download but which took hours to play. He spoke to me that way this morning and I am still considering the weight and substance of His thoughts. Read more... |
 | God was accustomed to communing with Adam in the garden "in the cool of the day" (for some reason I really love that phrase). After Adam had eaten of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he was not so eager to take an afternoon stroll with God. If we are reluctant to have a "one-on-one" conversation with our Creator, or with His Son, it is often due to similar thinking on our part. Read more... |
| Lately, I've given the Lord reason for Him to bring the words of John 15:5 to my mind and to read John 15:1-17. In the Christian community we talk about things like "spiritual growth" or "maturity" and the Bible seems to be filled with "DOs and DON'Ts" regarding how we are to live our new lives. Read more... |
| "Simplify, simplify, simplify!" That's what the Lord continues to say to me. That's undoubtedly why these lines from the song "Still" ring so true. (Yes, I'm "still" there.) I'm looking up the road for the next thing God has to teach me and He keeps bringing this one up! Read more... |
| Surprise, surprise! Another song has led me down the path of discovery in the Lord. As before, even though this "lesson" was intended for me, I want to share it with you. Perhaps you will find some application in your life as well. Read more... |
| Wonder...a sense of wonder. Isn't that where we all end up when we consider our God, His creation, the works of His mighty hand? I once had an office mate at work with whom I did this wondering out loud. One day I was talking about one thing in particular that I wondered about when she suddenly burst out with, "Bill, you just wonder TOO MUCH!" Too much? Such a thought had never crossed my mind before! Am I not supposed to wonder, or had I crossed some maximum threshold and boldly gone where no man had gone before? Read more... |
| There's a song that has dominated my attention for the past couple of weeks. From the first time I heard it, I began to play it so many times I've lost count. I think it's a beautiful song, of course, but there's so much more to it than that. Read more... |
| We spend time together each Sunday morning praising and worshiping God but how many of us take the opportunity to praise and worship Him during the week? Read more... |
| Disagreements, personalities, differences, hurtful comments, hurt feelings, lack of recognition, distrust. These things and more can and do occur even in the body of Christ. But isn't all that a part of the human condition? We all fail each other sometimes. After all, we're "only human". Should we accept these situations as "just the way things is"? What do we do as believers in Jesus Christ when conflicts arise? Read more... |
| Do you want to get excited right now? If so, just read these words from the book of Ephesians!
Read more... |
| I love what Paul said when he wrote to the Christians at Philippi. He told them, I don't mind repeating what I have written in earlier letters, and I hope you don't mind hearing it again. Better safe than sorry--so here goes." (Philippians 3:1 MSG) Now, I don’t compare myself to Paul, but in this instance I, too, feel I sometimes repeat myself when sharing with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Running that risk, however, I felt strongly led to continue to share words about the blessed task you and I have at the "Gateway to Abundant Life." Read more... |
| Ambassadors for Christ What people see and hear in us could make an eternal difference in their lives. Instead of feeling pressure with that thought, see yourself as God's ambassador, and ask Him to use His Holy Spirit through you to guide some lost soul into the Kingdom. Read more... |
