Sing For Joy

To Sing For Joy – God-Exalting Reverence 

Occasionally on Delight-in-God.com, I like to share beautiful spirit-lifting music with you.

The song today is not only worshipful, I want to sing for joy every time I hear it!

I’ve listened to “Precious Jesus” dozens of times by now and it never gets old.

You might want to turn up the sound on your speakers for this one.

Jesus!

He is precious to God, a beloved cornerstone, described as such in 1 Peter 2:4-5 . . . 

Sing for Joy to our precious Savior

We, as Christians, are the living stones of God’s church.

His Son Jesus, our precious Savior, took the weight of our sins upon Himself and, through Him, we have eternal life.

Spurgeon writes, “He is preciousness, He is an honor, He is everything that is glorious to you. You can never think highly enough of Him, or speak well enough concerning Him. All the world beside may disallow Him, but unto you He is precious.” – as quoted in Precept Austin.org.2

To Sing for Joy – A Call to Worship!

What does the Bible say about singing?

Actually, singing is mentioned a lot in God’s Word.

Here’s just one example in Book of Psalms . . . 

Psalm 95:1-2 says:

1Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord,
Let’s shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
2Let’s come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving,
Let’s shout joyfully to Him in songs with instruments.3

Together in churches across the nation we gather on Sundays to praise God by the reading of His word and through our singing.

When we sing for joy with a song like this, we are shining the light of our Savior to a dying world in need of Hope.

“Hope” –  as in the confident expectation of our precious Lord’s return.

As beautiful as this song is, can you imagine how heaven will sound?!

# # # 


Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

2 Precept Austin quotation is from the 1 Peter 2:7-8 Commentary, [2022] Courtesy of Precept Austin, Subheading, “The Preciousness of Belief” Web. Accessed 12 September, 2023.

3 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Share

A Day Like Any Other

A Day Like Any Other . . . Until It Wasn’t

September 11th – it was a day like any other . . . at least it started out that way.

I got up, showered, fed the dogs, kissed my husband goodbye and headed to work.

Moments later, everything changed.

I’ll never forget watching those horrific moments on TV as the planes crashed into the Twin Towers.

Replayed over and over on the news, those images and memories are indelible in my mind.

God help us, I thought, as the news got worse and worse.

Planes crashing

Desperate souls jumping out of burning buildings

People running for their lives

The Twin Towers crashing to the ground

Smoke and ashes everywhere

Thousands of lives lost

The bravery of first responders rushing headlong into the fiery chaos

A nation grieving

A day like any otherA few days ago, I heard someone say that many in the younger generation don’t even know what happened on 9/11.

How is that possible?

Has the teaching of important historical events taken a backseat to social and sexual ideologies?

Apparently so.

Don’t let your kids be among those who have absolutely no idea what happened on this day 22 years ago.

Life can change in a moment.

Hug your loved ones extra tight today.

There are families who are still mourning their losses from that fateful day known as 9/11.

It was a day like any other . . . until it wasn’t.

# # #


 

Share

The Power Of Hope

The Power of Hope in These Uncertain Times

Hope versus wishful thinking

Here’s a million dollar question for you:

Do you think it’s going to be cooler tomorrow?

“I certainly hope so” . . . said everyone in Texas.

And, by the way, every other person in every other state facing daily temperatures well over 100 degrees!

Hope – it’s a comforting word, isn’t it?

It’s that wonderful feeling we get when we expect something good to happen.

Is something good happening right now?

You’d have to live under a rock not to see how chaotic things are . . . 

Devastating wildfires

Intense hurricanes

Multiple earthquakes

A huge homelessness problem

Growing depression among adults and teenagers

Constant attacks against God’s design for marriage and family

This is all very disheartening to observe.

So, how do we unleash the power of hope in these uncertain times?

What is our hope going forward?

Or, should I say, “Who?”

The power of hope

The Power of Hope Lies In God’s Promises

The author of Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.”1

This is just a small part of the whole blessed chapter which emphasizes a faith that will endure through anything. We can be encouraged by the examples the author presents of great biblical heroes whose faith sustained them.

Our hope in God’s promises isn’t about a “maybe.”

Dear Christian, the power of hope is so much better than that!

Most people understand hope as wishful thinking, as in “I hope something will happen.” This is not what the Bible means by hope. The biblical definition of hope is “confident expectation.” Hope is a firm assurance regarding things that are unclear and unknown (Romans 8:24-25Hebrews 11:17). – gotquestions.org 2

With confident expectation, we can look to the future, even in these uncertain times, and say “Amen.”

# # # 


Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

2 Quotation from gotquestions.org, from “What is the Christian’s hope?” n.d., para. 1. Web. Accessed August 31, 2023. https://www.gotquestions.org/hope-Bible.html

Share

Who Is God?

Many Will Ask: Who is God?

Who is God?

Are God and Jesus the same person?

To delight in God, we must first know who He is.

For the answer to that, we turn to His Word.

He reveals Himself in Scripture this way:

God the Father

God the Son

God the Holy Spirit

Matthew 28

This truth forms one of the essential foundations of our faith: We serve a triune God – that is, God in three persons.

Granted, the blessed mystery of the Trinity is hard to understand at times.

I’m humbly raising my hand here.

Pastor John MacArthur wrote, “the doctrine of the Trinity stands as a perpetual reminder that we cannot comprehend everything God has revealed about Himself.” (Pastor John MacArthur, March 4, 2020)1

There’s a reason for that.

All that I can write about God, when compared to the totality of His attributes, is like one grain of sand compared to every beach, every mountain, and every planet in the universe. In order to comprehend God, we would need to be God’s intellectual equals, but He has no equals and doesn’t tolerate the impudent pretense of anyone who claims to understand things better than He does (Job 40:6–41:34). – Pastor John MAcArthur, pastor and bible teacher from Grace To You.2

Even though we deserve eternal punishment for our wickedness, nothing about you and me is a surprise to God.

He is faithful – making a way for us to receive salvation through His Son.

What a beautiful example of His indescribable grace and love that should humble us every single day.

Therefore, we delight in Him not only for His faithfulness, but for Who He is.

God is the Source of all things and we are His created ones.

Who is God?

As our Righteous Judge, He punishes sin, but by His grace and mercy, He will also forgive repentant hearts.

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Heavenly Father, thank You for Who You are.

No matter what comes our way – whether rich blessings

or humbling trials – we thank You.

The single, greatest act of worship you can render to God is to thank Him. It’s the epitome of worship because through gratitude, we affirm God as the ultimate source of both trial and blessing—and acknowledge our humble acceptance of both. –Pastor John MacArthur, pastor and bible teacher from Grace To You.3

God The Son

Jesus!

It is our imperfection that brought Him here, and it is our weaknesses that will bring Him back to save us from our sins.

Lord, thank You for Your grace and

for sending us Your Son, Jesus.

Through Him, and by His death and resurrection,

You saved a wretch like me (and you who are reading this!)

With a thankful heart, we can recognize that, through Jesus, we are reconciled to the very One Who gave us life in our mothers’ wombs.

Only God could know what it would take to make a sinner acceptable to Him so that that sinner could escape eternal hell and live in the very presence of God in His own house. Only God could determine how the spiritual nature and the supreme authority and the unchangeable perfection of His law which is holy, just and good could be completely satisfied and the lawbreaker completely justified and rightly and purely forgiven and accepted, though fallen, guilty and depraved. Only God could bring all of those components to reconciliation. Only God knew what it would take. – Pastor John MacArthur, pastor and bible teacher from Grace To You.4

The Holy Spirit – A Distinct Member of the Trinity

What is the role of the Holy Spirit?

Pastor Alistair Begg writes this, “Enabling us to bow to Scripture’s authority and not man’s, the Holy Spirit plays the central role in the conversion of unbelievers. Being theologically accurate is of no assistance if the Holy Spirit does not live inside us.” (Pastor Alistair Begg, August 23, 2018)5

In John 14:26, Jesus comforted the disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit’s coming.

John 14:26

Thank You, Lord, for Your gift of the Holy Spirit –

our Comforter, Intercessor, Counselor, and

a divine and distinct member

of the blessed Trinity.

Heavenly Father, it is with gratitude,

that our hearts remain focused on You.

May we wake up every day praising Your Name.

# # # 


1-2 John MacArthur quotation, courtesy of GTY.org/library/sermons-library. “God Is a Trinity.” para. 10, March 4, 2020. Web. Accessed 22 August, 2023. Retrieved from God Is a Trinity.

3 John MacArthur quotation, courtesy of GTY.org/library/sermons-library. “God Wants you to Give Thanks, Part 1.” para. 4, March 4, 2020. Web. Accessed 22 August, 2023. Retrieved from Give Thanks.

4 John MacArthur quotation, courtesy of GTY.org/library/sermons-library. “Fifteen Words of Hope.” para. 16, April 23, 1995. Web. Accessed 16 August, 2023. Retrieved from Words of Hope.

5 Alistair Begg quotation, Christian pastor, author, and founder of  Truth For Life Teaching Ministry. “Sermons on the Holy Spirit.” para. 2, August 23, 2018. Web. Accessed 28 August, 2023. Retrieved from the Holy Spirit.

6 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Share

Paw Prints On Our Hearts

Paw Prints On Our Hearts

Sometimes blog posts are hard to write.

This will be one of those.

A few days ago, we had to say goodbye to our beautiful Siberian Husky, Ellie.

Pawprints on our hearts

Every husky we’ve ever owned becomes a cherished family member.

And, when we’ve had to say goodbye to one, our hearts break into a million pieces.

Paw prints on our hearts that last forever.

A Day of Heartbreak

On Wednesday, we could tell something was wrong.

We had leashed both of our huskies, ready as usual to go for their morning walk. Usually at that time, Ellie is fussing at us.

Let’s go! Let’s go, people!

She could be quite exuberant at 6 a.m. in the morning.

Except that day, she wasn’t.

We walked a few paces and were alarmed at her demeanor.

Something was seriously wrong.

Our vet got us in that very same day. He took one look and, after some tests, told us to get her to the ER – NOW.

The ER vet performed X-Rays and other tests, and then we got the worst news.

A large tumor had developed quickly on her spleen. Ellie was severely bleeding on the inside and dangerously anemic.

The vet said she wouldn’t even last the night.

Through many tears, my husband and I sat on the floor with our girl, held and comforted her.

She knew we were there.

As the last shot took hold, her body relaxed in peace, and she went home.

Thank you God, for bringing her into our lives.

Paw Prints on our Hearts: A Tribute to Ellie

Like all of our huskies, we loved Ellie to a fault and were honored to give her a little piece of heaven at our house.

Even though all Sibes are beautiful, Ellie was an actual former beauty queen.

Our beauty queen

She came to us as a retired 7-year-old, after several years spent in the show ring.

It was here at our house though, that she realized she could just be a dog.

As our longtime vet liked to joke, “It’s a husky Shangri-La at your house!”

We have so many happy and hilarious memories of her (an endearing husky trait).

Memories to Last a Lifetime

One of our favorite Ellie memories was when we first got her.

She realized she wasn’t just visiting our house, but she had found her forever home.

My husband and I were sitting on the couch while she was sniffing around and exploring her new digs.

We watched as the realization finally hit her.

I get to stay here!!

She literally ran and jumped in between us on the couch – all 40 pounds of her!

We will miss that precious smile on her face every day as she romped around in our backyard and chased the cicadas on our oak tree.

I will miss her sneaking into my office every morning for an extra treat – our little secret.

Not one for subtlety, here she is reminding us it’s dinner time.

It's dinner time!

I will miss her play fighting with our male husky.

“Okay you two, break it up!”

He looks for her now . . . but she isn’t there.

We are forever grateful to God for letting us care for this magnificent creature on earth – from His blessed gallery of the extraordinary.

Her brilliant smile

If love were enough,

Ellie, you would have lived forever.

# # #


 

Share
1 12 13 14 15 16 99