Sometimes, if you begin to sing in a halfhearted mood, you can sing yourself up the ladder. Singing will often make the heart rise.”
Charles Spurgeon
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Check out my page Who Is Jesus?
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“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens.” Psalm 68:19 NIV
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Check out my page Who Is Jesus?
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“Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm of praise.” Psalm 47:6-7 NIV
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Check out my page Who Is Jesus?
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“…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
I want to share a true story with you, an example of how God glorified His name through a handful of praying Christians, many years ago.
Next month will mark the 204th anniversary of the church I attend. In 1818, a small church of about 26 people in Rockfield, KY began to pray that God would help them start a new church in Bowling Green, Warren County, KY.
Providence Knob Baptist Church sent 4 members to Bowling Green to start a new church. The church they started is the one I worship in today, 204 years later.
To put this in perspective, 1818 is the year the famous American Patriot, Paul Revere, died. In fact, Warren County was named after General Joseph Warren of the Revolutionary War, who dispatched Paul Revere on his famous midnight ride.
The population of Warren County was less than 12,000 then, as compared to over 125,000 at the present time.
Today, the church planted over 200 years ago thrives. A magnificent choir of 50 sings praises to our Lord. A team of singers and musicians lead the congregation in worship, and little children sing of Jesus’s love. An orchestra plays heavenly music in praise to the Lord. People are being saved. The Word of God is being proclaimed. Missionaries are being sent abroad. God’s work is being done and God is glorified.
The obedience and prayers of those pioneers who, in 1818, prayed for God to build a church in Bowling Green resulted in God being glorified. When God answered their prayers, He did “immeasurably more” than all they could ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)
Those faithful saints never really saw the fruit of their labor, but God was, and is, and will be, glorified in this place.
It made me think about my own life. Do I want to bring glory to God only? Or do I want glory for myself? Do I want God to do “immeasurable more” than all I ask or imagine? Do I want Him to use me according to His will, even if I never see the fruit of my labor? These are heart-searching questions. May we have the courage to ask them.
God’s plans are bigger than our ability to imagine. I understand now, that God’s plan for my life might bring forth fruit that I don’t live to see, just as these church planters didn’t live to see the fruit of their obedience and prayers.
I would imagine they probably became discouraged at times. It couldn’t have been easy to start a new church in a new city. But they persevered and God answered their prayers.
“Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.” Psalm 115:1 NIV
Jesus prayed to His Father,
“I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” John 17:4 NIV
God has the plan. Will we surrender our will to Him? Our part is to be willing. He will do the rest.
“…for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13 NIV
We may not always see the fruit of our obedience and service, but if we are surrendered to His will and obedient to His Word He will glorify His name. This is God’s plan – To glorify His name.
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Check out my page Who Is Jesus?
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“The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7 NIV
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Check out my page Who Is Jesus?
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“I want you to trust me in your times of trouble, so I can rescue you and you can give me glory.” Psalm 50:15 TLB
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Check out my page Who Is Jesus?
Photo by John Price on Unsplash
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“Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!
For each day he carries us in his arms.” Psalm 68:19 NLT
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash
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“I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
3 He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:1-3 NLT Read full chapter
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Josh Rocklage on Unsplash
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Over the last few months, I’ve thought a lot about what I look at and listen to. For example, television, music, news, talk shows, Facebook, etc. How does it all affect me? How does it influence my thinking and my attitudes?
The Bible says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23 NIV
What does that mean exactly? I decided to dig in.
A wellspring is the source of a spring or abundant supply. OK. Above all else, I should guard my heart because it is a spring of abundant supply of something called “life”. Hmmm. I still didn’t get it, so I dug in more. I found some clues.
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” NLT
So, how well I guard my heart determines the course of my life. Well, that’s certainly been true enough (and sometimes in a bad way).
“. . . out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45
My mouth reveals what’s in my heart. Can’t argue with that, either.
“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
Sometimes we think God only looks at our actions, but what he really examines is our heart. Well, that’s certainly something we should think about! That tells me that no matter how many good works I perform, He is still going to look at my heart.
“. . . the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.” (1 Chronicles 28: 9
He knows me better than I know myself.
If I’m going to guard my heart, I must be careful what I allow to influence me. One thing that concerns me is TV, especially the news. Honestly, it doesn’t do anything positive for my attitude. However, I’ve learned that the more I listen to and sing Christian music, the closer I feel to God.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4
“Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.” Psalm 146: 1-2
My heart is the spring that nourishes my life. Is that spring sparkling clean or is it polluted by the things of this world? Well, I guess that depends on how well I guard my heart. Are you guarding your heart?
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
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“But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.” Psalm 13:5-6 NIV Read full chapter
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
Photo by James Wheeler from Pexels
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Real Christian Women 