Musings

The beautiful scenery in this video reminds me of my visits to Israel, which have nurtured a further appreciation of the life and walk of our Lord. The video focuses on the Sea of Galilee where the Messiah performed many of His miracles. With the singer Joshua Aaron, we can raise our voices and sing: Hallelujah to the One who made His home among us and took our sin away, Oh Hallelujah, He has torn the veil that separated, to bring us face to face, Oh Immanuel, Oh Immanuel, Oh Immanuel, God with us! Jesus' birth was prophesied by Isaiah centuries before: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call His name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 Matthew states that the birth of Christ is a fulfillment of this prophecy in his Gospel: So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord, through the prophet, saying: "Behold the virgin shall be with child and bear a Son, and they shall call H

Why You ever chose me Has always been a mystery All my life, I've been told I belong At the end of a line With all the other Not-Quites With all the Never-Get-It-Rights But it turns out they are the ones You were looking for All this time 'Cause I'm just a nobody trying to tell everybody All about Somebody who saved my soul Ever since You rescued me, You gave my heart a song to sing I'm living for the world to see nobody but Jesus I'm living for the world to see nobody but Jesus... One of the most wonderful aspects of the life of faith for me is the expression of joy through worship and song. It's a great time to be alive with unprecedented access to whatever type of music our hearts desire. Starting the day with joyful song is a must! Martin Luther expressed a truth which has embedded itself in my mind since I first read it: The devil, the originator of sorrowful anxieties and restless troubles flees before the sound of music almost as much as before

"From the ashes, from the dust, I will rise up, rise up, out of darkness, into the light, I will rise up, rise up. You make all things new..." Recently, I was contemplating Psalm 113, particularly verses 7 and 8: He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the ash heap, that He may seat him with princes- with the princes of His people. This morning I realized these were Hannah's words recorded in the prayer she offered in 1 Samuel 2: 1-10 after she had dedicated her son Samuel to service in the temple. In that day women felt ashamed if they could not procreate and indeed poor Hannah felt despised and humiliated. After her heartfelt prayers, God heard and answered by giving her a son. Now she had value in Jewish society and within the family. God had lifted her up and removed all the shame, seating her in a place of dignity. In the Christian sense, God still does this. He lifts us out of the barrenness of the ash heap of sin and suff

On Tuesday evening at our Bible study, we considered that most precious verse among others in Isaiah 43:2: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, You shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. As I was returning on the mountain road back to the village, I drove into torrential rain. Even though I come from the Emerald Isle where it rains so much, I have rarely witnessed such a downfall of water in so short a time. When it rains in Cyprus, it rains! How fitting was this verse I thought to myself as I carefully and prayerfully returned home. Some fellow believers are currently going through deep testing and this verse is a real source of comfort. Most of us will ‘pass through the waters’ at some point in our lives (notice the verse says ‘when’ and not ‘if’) yet our God promises to be with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deut. 31:6). We may f