WORSHIP

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--WORSHIP

Five minutes to free-write about it

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This week's prompt made me ponder how easy it is to worship when we're in a season of unexpected blessings, but not so much when the going gets rough and we find ourselves in a dark and scary place. And yet those are the times when we need worship the most.

Psalm 22:3 tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people. Praise ushers His presence into even the darkest of moments. It is a powerful weapon of spiritual warfare that confuses the enemy, and redirects our focus to God.

Many of my dark moments happen late at night when I am alone and there is no one to call at that hour. And then I remember that I am not really alone. God is with me, and I can call Him 24/7. His line is never busy, nor does He ever silence His cell phone. 

I put on the praise music and worship along, and it's amazing how quickly my spirits are lifted and I'm seeing things in a whole different light.

  

BUT THEN...

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--BUT

Five minutes to free-write about it

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BUT THEN... two little words that remind me God is in control and has the last say no matter how convincing things may look in the natural. Nothing is impossible for Him.

I could write volumes about it. Five minutes isn't even long enough for a trailer. 

This little kalanchoe plant, for instance, was a Christmas gift from a friend. After the blooms died, it looked as though that would be it as far as flowers were concerned. But then -- as I went to clip off the deadheads, I was surprised to see new buds popping out in the middle of some of them.

On a more dramatic scale, many years ago family gathered around the bed of an elderly neighbor who had just been taken off life support. But then -- she started breathing on her own; sat up, looked around, asked, "What are you all doing here;" and went on to live another 15 years.

But the greatest but then of all happened over half a century ago when my search for roots and purpose led me down a dangerous path I believed held all the answers I had been looking for. But then -- when I was no longer seeking, God, in His infinite mercy and grace used the improbable to rescue me from the darkness I believed to be truth, and set my feet on the right path (documented in my memoir, Sincerely Wrong).

Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth,

and the life. No one can come to the

Father except through me. (John 14:6, NLT)

NOISE

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why

the unease within me? Put your hope in

God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior 

and my God. (Psalm 43:5, BSB)

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This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--NOISE

Five minutes to free-write about it

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Noise isn't always a loud sound you and everyone around you can hear with your ears. Sometimes it's something going on in your head that only you can hear.

That's the kind of noise this post is about.

There has been a lot of noise going on in my head lately. Ever since my fall on Christmas Day, actually.

Many fears and what ifs, going round and round.

A fierce battle is raging on the battleground between my two ears.

The only way I have been able to silence it is by replacing it with a louder noise.

The noise Psalm 100:1 tells us to make -- a joyful noise unto the Lord.

The Lord inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3).

The joy of the Lord is my strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

My health may fail, and my spirit grow weak, but God remains the strength

   of my heart and my portion forever (Psalm 73:26).

The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart,

He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of

   thanksgiving (psalm 28:7).

Rejoice not over me, O my enemy,

when I fall, I shall rise,

when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me (Micah 7:8).

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Loving this song by Jon Reddick, entitled No Fear.

I had never heard it before.

It was very timely.

SECOND

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--SECOND

Five minutes to free-write about it

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My first thought was how full of unexpecteds life can be. In a single second, things can change for better or for worse. 

In a single second our world can be turned upside down. A lesson on not taking things for granted.

In a single second we can become the recipient of an unexpected blessing or breakthrough that turns a worrisome situation around. A lesson on never losing hope. 

No one knows what tomorrow will bring--or even if there will be a tomorrow--so don't put off the important things like telling the people closest to you that you love them and how much they mean to you; thanking those who have made a difference in your life and letting them know how much you appreciate them; forgiving those you need to forgive, and getting right with those you need to get right with, so you have no regrets down the road.

Most important of all, if you have not yet accepted God's free gift of salvation, don't wait for another day. Tomorrow may be too late. 

Seek the LORD while he may be found, call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. -- Isaiah 55:7, NIV

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For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. -- John 3:16, NIV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ. -- Romanse 3:23-24, NIV

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. -- Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. -- Romans 5:8, NIV

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. -- Romans 6:23, NIV

If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. -- Romans 10:9-10, NIV