Have you ever listened to a song so many times, repeatedly, and then suddenly the message in it just HITS you out of nowhere? That's what happened when I listened to Casting Crowns' older song, "Voice of Truth" recently.
The song, for those of you who might not be familiar with it, talks about the two types of voices there are combatting within us. The Voice of Truth (aka the LORD) and the other voices that only knock us down and discourage us in our attempts to do right. I was reading John 8 for my devotions this morning when I came upon these verses. "When he (the devil) speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."—then the very next verse--"And because I (Jesus) tell you the truth, ye believe me not. . . . And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?" (verses 44-46) What voices are filling your mind today? What voices are you allowing into your mind and heart? Most likely, the dominant voice is the lies that tell you you're not good enough, you're too ugly, you're too fat, you're too sinful, you'll never make it. But what would happen if we combatted every one of those lies with the TRUTH? What does God say about these things? "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power." (Colossians 2:10) "Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee." (Song of Solomon 4:7) "For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." (1 Timothy 4:8) "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 10:17) "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." (Romans 8:37) Don't believe the lies. Listen to the only Voice that matters--the Voice of Truth. P.S. And while you're at it, go listen to that song! It's really an encouragement. :)
1 Comment
Hey, everyone! Sorry about my two-week absence. I was trying to figure out what to write for the blog and couldn't come up with one cohesive theme to write under, so hence the name for today's post. Buckle your seat belts, everyone. This isn't my usual style of writing in broken up thoughts without some sort of theme to unite them under, so today is my first! Bear with me. ;) Words In my devotions, I'm reading through the Gospel of John and there was an emphasis on the Word from the beginning of the book. His Word—Jesus' words—give LIFE. "It is the spirit that quickeneth (makes alive); the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63). A little further down, we find that some of Jesus' disciples left Him after this conversation and Jesus turns to the remaining twelve and asks, "Will ye also go away?" (verse 67) Peter's answer here is something to think about. He says, " Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life." (verse 68) Where else can they go to find words that give life, and not only life but ETERNAL LIFE? We know the One whose words are LIFE. When we quote His Word to others, we're in turn, speaking LIFE to them. Isn't that amazing? Before I leave this section, there is a quote I'd like to share with you from one of the characters in Joanna Davidson Politano's latest release, "The Love Note." "Make your heart a deep well of the Almighty by saturating yourself in his presence, and your words will come out drenched in him no matter what you say. I can promise you, no matter how many brilliant things you have to say, he has better ones." Aunt Maisie from The Love Note.
I love that quote, don't you? Our words need to be drenched in Him always. Thank you for writing such a wonderful quote, Joanna, and for giving me permission to share it with my readers. :) Sacrifice In the evenings I read a couple chapters of Genesis and just the other night, I read the account of Abraham going up with his son Isaac, to sacrifice him as the Lord commanded (It was a test). The Lord then provides a substitute instead of Isaac and the whole image made me think of the contrast many decades and generations later when Jesus was being sacrificed. . . only, He wasn't spared. Have you ever thought about that? I immediately thought of the verse in Romans 8 where it says, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (verse 32) God didn't spare His own Son. . .and if He didn't withhold the greatest Gift from us, then we can rest assured that He won't withhold anything good or profitable from us. It's a promise. (See Psalm 84:11, towards the end of the verse.) What I've been up to: 2021 has given me a big, (might I say) crazy goal. I'm working through one of my older stories to edit and polish it up before I attempt to get some beta readers, apply their suggestions, and then try to get toward my goal of getting my work out there. Maybe to show it to an editor or try to send it to smaller publishing houses. We'll see where the Lord leads with that. :) So that's what I've been working on. I haven't really been writing that much except for some small exercises every now and then. I have been faithfully reading, though, and admiring the 10 inches of snow outside my window, from inside where it's warm. :) Have a great rest of your week, friends! |
AuthorHi! I'm Carolyn, a writer seeking to glorify God with my words. Archives
February 2024
Categories |