by marian | Apr 7, 2016 | Uncategorized
The Pensacola Christian College spotlight reminded me that being in the spotlight is what I do. People know that I get in front of an audience. I perform. That’s basically it in a nutshell. There’s however an important spiritual component to being a Christian musician that’s deeper than this update story and my CD. It goes beyond the lessons I was blessed to learn at PCC. It’s not some secret to being successful that I learned during a lesson. Rather, it’s something that I’ve learned very slowly over the past twenty years since graduating. I’ve learned that in order to have a fruitful life as a Christian, I have to make an effort to have a daily quiet place and time. I have to be serious about cultivating the basic disciplines of prayer, reading God’s word, and being a part of Bible-believing church. While there are more, these are the three bare essentials. If I let one of them go, I begin to see tell-tale signs that my spiritual health is faltering. I need to maintain a close walk with God or I’m not ready for the spotlight. Of course, I can go through the motions, but my performance will lack that power that only the Holy Spirit can grant. I need that power–and I desperately crave it all the time. I’ve learned the hard way that I can’t survive on a diet of Christian “lite” snacks–a quick prayer, a verse on-the-go, and a church service here and there whenever I sort of feel like it. I desire a full and rich relationship with my Lord and Savior. It’s...
by marian | Apr 7, 2016 | Devotionals
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.–Ephesians 5:15-16 There are so many people on their phones that most of the time they’re clueless to their surroundings. Whether crossing a street or driving on it, pedestrians and drivers seem to have their eyes glued to their phones. They are in their own little world hardly noticing the “real” world that they’re really part of at that moment. The Bible calls us to a life of discernment. It warns us that it’s very easy to be foolish and just go with the flow. It takes effort to truly pay attention to every step we take. The way we begin this is by considering how we use our time. The world expects us to be frivolous in what we occupy our eyes and hearts with. The message is that fun is the most important and a good laugh is all that counts. There’s nothing wrong with having a good time and enjoying a good joke. Of course, we need to have balance in our lives, but wasting the hours away with non-stop entertainment is not the way to spend your precious life. We have a call to use our time in the best way possible–striving to bring glory God and to lay up treasure in heaven. Every single day I’m bombard with messages via the media for any kind of evil imaginable. When I am grounded in God’s word, then I can walk in God’s wisdom–not in the philosophy of this world. Building upon a firm foundation...
by marian | Apr 6, 2016 | Devotionals
Walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.–I Thessalonians 2:12 When someone fails to live up to their name, they hang their head low. They’re disappointed not only in what they did, but also for not reaching for that higher standard in their lives. A committed follower of Christ also has a name to protect. That believer has a calling from God to live their entire lives in such a way that honors God. When there’s a summons from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, we must be willing to follow His example. Father God: I pray that my life–every choice I make–brings You glory. I ask You to help me walk so I can reflect You. May I have your meekness, humility, and grace. May I always be worthy of the name, “Christian,” in everything I say and do....
by marian | Apr 5, 2016 | Devotionals
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 There’s a lady at the park that gives new meaning to the concept of, “power walking.” She swings her arms and puts her whole self into each step. She seems to walk circles around me. For every lap I do, it seems like she manages to go around three times faster! Now that’s the kind of energy I need! God promises an endless supply if we will but wait. Isn’t that counterintuitive? You mean..just do nothing and expect things to change? And yet in God’s advanced arithmetic courses, He seems to abide by an entirely different set of addition rules. His formula goes something like this: waiting + nothing else = more strength If you sit back and think about it, the Lord isn’t asking anything hard from me. He simple wants me to do nothing at all. He wants me to let go. He wants me to let Him work things out as He sees best. He wants me to trust. I, on the other hand, just love to control things. I love to be in charge. I want to make things happen. I know how to manipulate things and get results and I will try my best to do that. And when I do, I get tired. I need a break. I can’t keep on walking anymore. How wonderful it will be when I finally learn to let the Lord take over....
by marian | Apr 4, 2016 | Devotionals
Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.–Psalm 86:11 On February 1st, I decided to start a walking program. I made a commitment to walk every day for 30 minutes. After about three weeks, I found that I enjoyed it so much that half an hour was not enough. Before long, I decided to increase it to 3 miles a day…before work! And then, I decided to double that and go for another hour after school. I was now up to 6 miles a day–way beyond my first goal! I learned so many lessons along the way. One of the first was that when I started out, I didn’t know if I’d be able to stick to my daily schedule. I just didn’t know if I could really do it. I had great intentions but I had no way of knowing for sure if it would last. Would I lose my motivation? Would I quit when it got tough? Would I skip days whenever it was convenient? This taught me that even though I had started on the right path, I’d have to keep on recommitting every single day in order to follow through on my new walking routine. There were so many days that I just wanted to give up. I found that I wanted to say, “I’ve had enough.” It would have been so easy to slip into my, “old,” way of doing things. But I had made a commitment. I was going to stick to it no matter what! And this parallels precisely with what God asks...
