Tag: Delight in God

Cochren and Company Who Can

Cochren and Company

Cochren and Company “Who Can” – Powerful New Single

A couple of weeks ago, Cochren and Company released a powerful new single called “Who Can.”

After listening to it several times, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the powerful lyrics.

They seem especially relevant, considering the world is in chaos right now with a pandemic and people of every skin color are hurting and broken.

We need the Lord, and His blessed affirmation that He will forgive us if we sincerely repent and seek Him with all of our hearts.

See if the uplifting lyrics to “Who Can” encourage you this way too.

“Only You can hold my head up, only You can help me see,” Michael brings the verse home with, “Only You can break the grip that sin had on me.” – Song lyrics, Genius.com.2



Stylistically, Michael Cochren’s soulful voice never fails to disappoint.

I became a fan of Cochren & Company in October of last year when I first came across their song, One Day, and started listening to their whole catalog.

You can learn more about Cochren & Co here.

Does Your Spiritual Life Feel Like a Mess?

So many worldly distractions – all, at their root, designed to take our minds off of God.

Do we think Satan doesn’t know what our weaknesses are?

Idolatry

No time for God

Fights on social media

Wrongful Pride

Social status

Do any of these sound familiar?

What a mess you are!

No, that’s not what I mean.

What a mess we are.

But, as messy as our lives are sometimes, we have a Sovereign God Who can love us like no other.

I delight in God because, like the song says, “I’m a mess, I confess, but You carry me through.”

Cochren and Company Tour

Cochren and Company is touring again, starting in late June with 18 upcoming concerts.

Here’s a fun idea for you to consider. Their first tour date is aboard the Summer Hits Cruise departing Galveston en route to Cozumel, Mexico. The lineup will be incredible. They’ll be sharing the stage with other top-named acts such as TobyMac, Danny Gokey, and Tauren Wells.

After that, the group returns to the States with stops in Ohio and Texas, to name a few of the venues. You can check out all of your opportunities to see Cochren and Company Live here!

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1Cochren & Company opening photo, courtesy of cochrenmusic Facebook post., 12 December, 2017. Accessed 8 June, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/cochrenmusic/photos/a.384165171613570/1932707970092608/?type=3&theater.

2 Song lyrics, courtesy of Genius.com.     

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Is There Good News Today?

Is There Good News Today in the World?

there is good news

Yes, there is!

Today, and every day.

Even though the world is dominated by negative stories in the mainstream news media, there’s an antidote for that.

But, you have to do some digging.

Online, that means you have to search a little harder for stories that are uplifting and joyful.

Let me start.

Here’s a recent real headline, for example, that made me smile.

A friend mentioned it to my husband the other day and I had to check it out for myself.

Coronavirus outbreak spurs record Bible purchases: ‘People are looking for hope’ – Fox News, April 2, 2020.  

By the way, a similar headline was also shared on the Christian Post on April 7th of this year.

Bible sales have gone up!

More and more people are turning to the Bible during these unsettling times.

People are looking for real answers today, not a temporary Band-Aid.

We can’t put our hope and trust in so-called experts and politicians who send mixed messages every day.   

Our hope and trust is in God alone.

We Must Keep Our Eyes On Christ

Remember the Lord’s command to Israel through His servant, Joshua.

He is also with us!

In Isaiah 41:10, the Lord’s command and promise to Israel was not, “do not fear, for I am with you [unless there’s a plague.]”

God is our Sovereign Promise Keeper, from biblical times through today’s virus fears.

“Be Strong and Courageous” – let that be our rallying cry in what is ultimately a spiritual battle unfolding in front of our very eyes.

The tender love of God for His servants makes Him concerned for how they feel inside. He wants them to be courageous. Some people think it is okay for a believer to be vexed with doubts and fears, but God does not think so.

From this text, [Joshua 1:9], it is clear that our Master does not want us entangled with fears. He desires for us to live without fretfulness, doubt, and cowardice. Our Master does not think as lightly of our unbelief as we do. When we are despondent, we are subject to a grievous ailment that is not to be trifled with but instead taken at once to the beloved Physician. – Alistair Begg, Christian pastor and author.2

Time To Dig – There’s Good News Today

Seek out the good news online to get a much-needed break from the bad.

In an earlier post on Delight-in-God, I suggested one option – the website called InspireMore.

There are also some very positive posts on YouTube.

Here’s a sweet video that came up during my searches that I just fell in love with.

I can’t speak the language, but no matter.

This marriage video of a special needs teacher is touching in so many ways.

Here’s a dose of happy for today!

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1 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 Alistair Begg, Christian pastor, author, founder of Truth For Life Teaching Ministry. Web. Accessed 20, May, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/truth-for-life/truth-for-life-may-12-2020.html.

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Seeing 20/20 In 2020

The Eyes of Faith – Seeing 20/20 In The Year 2020

having clear vision 20/20 in 2020

We used to love watching hawks fly around at our old house.

Have you ever seen a hawk up close?

They are truly fascinating birds of prey.

Fascinating, but take it from me, they don’t pick up after themselves.

Seriously.

Once we saw a hawk with a snake in its mouth land directly on our back fence.

We quickly grabbed our binoculars to see what cool thing it would do next.

It didn’t take long.

It dropped the snake in our yard, and then flew off.

Hey, not cool.

You can see one of our frequent hawk visitors in the center of the picture below.

seeing clearly in 2020

Did you know that hawks can see eight times better than we can? That works out to about a 20/2 on the vision chart.

That’s pretty amazing.

My 20/20 pales in comparison.

I want to always see the world around me through the eyes of faith.

Seeing 20/20 in 2020

The other day, I came across the following verse in my Bible reading, located in 1 Samuel 16:7.

God is with the prophet Samuel in Bethlehem. God had a clear message for what Samuel was to look for in the search for a new king over Israel.

Check this out.

through God's eyes

The Lord looks at the heart

He sees us, not just for what we are on the outside, but more importantly, who we are on the inside.

Have you ever noticed in your Bible readings whom God chooses to use for His glory?

Did He always choose the most attractive, richest, strongest, and powerful people?

God often chooses unlikely people to do His work, so that all know the work is God’s work, not man’s work. He wants to work in a way so that people regard His servants as they regarded Samson: they wondered at the secret of his strength. (Judges 16:5). – David Guzik, Christian pastor and author. 2

Don’t you love that?

The Eyes of Faith

Delight yourself in the Lord, take shelter in Him, and see everything going on in the world with a Godly perspective.

Things may appear impossible right now, but through the eyes of faith, we know that, in God’s timing, everything will fall into place.

And then it will all start to make sense.

As hard as it can be sometimes, we have to try and look beyond our circumstances.

Choose to view life through God’s eyes. This will not be easy because it doesn’t come naturally to us. We cannot do this on our own. We have to allow God to elevate our vantage point. Start by reading His Word, the Bible…Pray and ask God to transform your thinking. Let Him do what you cannot. Ask Him to give you an eternal, divine perspective. – Chuck Swindoll, Christian pastor and author.3

Amen!

If you feel any of my posts would be helpful to someone else, please feel free to use the sharing buttons.

God bless.

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1 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 Christian pastor David Guzik. “1 Samuel 16. God Chooses David.” n.d., Web. Accessed 26 April, 2020. Retrieved from https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/1-samuel-16/

3 Chuck Swindoll, influential Christian pastor and author. Swindoll quotation, courtesy of AZquotes.com. 

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No Time To Pause

We Have No Time To Pause

Easter (or more accurately, Resurrection Sunday) just wasn’t the same this year, was it?

Several Christians I’ve spoken to have described it as:

Strange

Surreal

Different

Heartbreaking

Whether you were watching a service online, or sitting in your car at an outdoor church service, all of us had to face the reality that we are not in control.

The world is temporarily on hold, but Christians, we have no time to pause . . . in faith matters, that is.

The time is now.

There are hurting people out there who don’t know the Lord. All they’re hearing about is a seemingly out-of-control virus, and what the media tells them every night.

This is an opportunity for us to shine the light of the gospel in the midst of a global panic.

What We Know About Godreaching the lost

Christians – we have the answer for lost people.

Although this pandemic may have temporarily caught us off guard, the fact is, the Bible speaks to us about calamities and pestilence.

But, I never thought I would see something like this in my lifetime.

I sooooo get it.

I’ve had my own moments of tears and frustration.

But, our Sovereign God already knew about this virus.

He will accomplish His will through this.

As this virus continues to attack our sense of peace, please try to take comfort in the fact that there are lost people coming to Christ all over the world through this awful contagion.

Shelter in His Wings

At a time like this, many Christians are turning to Psalm 91.

When you read through it, you can trust the reassuring words that God is our refuge and we need not be afraid.

Psalm 91

The Lord has graciously given medical experts the knowledge to work towards a cure, He has given a heart of compassion and skillful hands to all of our brave emergency responders to help the afflicted, and He has given us (the people of God) the ability to add to this fight with fervent prayer.

no time to pause

I love Charles Spurgeon’s expository lesson on Psalm 91, a small portion below.

Upon the child of the Lord’s own heart, pestilence has no destroying power, and calamity no wasting influence: pestilence walks in darkness, but he dwells in light; destruction wastes at noonday, but upon him another sun has risen whose beams bring restoration. – Charles H. Spurgeon, influential pastor and author.2

Every day is a day that the Lord has made.

A Wake-Up Call To Reach The Lost

This pandemic is a global wake-up call for each and every one of us.

Dr. Michael Youssef quotation

The Great Commission has not gone away.

The best way we can delight in God is to take the truth of His Word to the lukewarm and to the lost.

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Photo source credits:
– Window photo by Kristina Tripkovic on Unsplash.
– Oswald Chambers meme regarding Prayer, released into the public domain , via pixabay. It is an allowed derivative work of the original, and is licensed under a  Creative Commons CC0 License by Gracie Jane.

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

2 Quotation from Charles Spurgeon, influential Christian preacher and author, (1834-1892). Taken from The Treasury of David by Charles H. Spurgeon. “Psalm 91. Exposition.” n.d., para. 10. Web. Accessed 8 April, 2020. Retrieved from https://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps091.php

3 Quotation from Dr. Michael Youssef, influential Christian pastor and author. Taken from The Christian Post. “2 Things God is calling us to do in the age of COVID-19.” n.d., para. 11. Web. Accessed 14 April, 2020. retrieved from https://www.christianpost.com/voices/2-things-god-is-calling-us-to-do-in-the-age-of-covid-19.html

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Wonderfully Made

What comes to mind when you think of a worm?

Yuck, right?

A creepy-crawly, I-don’t-want-to-step-on-one, icky creature.

Did you know that some people even eat worms?

I know, crazy right?

Take the silkworm, for instance.

If you live in South Korea (and a few other places), you can order your silkworms boiled or steamed.

I won’t show a picture because . . .  gross.

But, before you go thinking that every species of worm is ugly, have you ever seen a picture of a Christmas Tree worm?

In my opinion, these beauties defy all worm definitions.

They’re like the “Cinderellas” of worm species.

Photo courtesy of Nick Hobgood1

Christmas Tree Worms come in a variety of colors too . . . just like the human race.

Photo courtesy of Nick Hobgood2

If you ask me, God’s creation paints a wondrous picture of the magnitude of His love for us. Everything He created is perfect, and beautiful in its own way.

We don’t always understand the purpose for some of these created things, but we’re not God.

God knows, and that’s all that really matters.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made.

So much love, but what does God hate?

All of our sins are ugly, it doesn’t matter what we look like on the outside.

God hates our sin.

“Sin is not just breaking God’s laws; it is breaking His heart.” – Adrian Rogers, pastor/author.3

But, God.

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23, (NASB).4

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Through faith in our salvation through Jesus Christ alone, we are transformed into “new creations.”

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  – 2 Corinthians 5:17, (NASB).5

As Christians believing in the atoning work of Jesus Christ, we are new creations – how amazing is that?!

We will face many challenges in this rapidly changing world, but God alone will change what’s ugly inside our hearts into something beautiful – a transformed heart.

It happens every day, and all of heaven rejoices.

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1 Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, 30 July, 2006. “Spirobranchus giganteus Red and White Christmas Tree Worm.” By Nick Hobgood – Own work, [CC BY-SA 3.0, (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51941881)]

2 Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, 2 October, 2005. “Christmas tree worms (Spirobranchus giganteus) from East Timor.” By Nick Hobgood – Own work, [CC BY-SA 3.0, (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51941881)]

3 Adrian Rogers quotation, as quoted from Christian quotes.info

4 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.

5 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.

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