Truth For The Heart
You may have wondered why, if Joy to the World is my favorite Christmas carol, I didn’t wait and post it on Christmas Day. I have several reasons. Joy is a major theme of Philippians, and I want to keep this theme in mind—because the topic of Philippians 1:29 is one that is difficult for us […]
Read MoreJoy to the World with its exuberant music and words of celebration is one of my favorite carols of the Advent of Christ. The words are based on Psalm 98, and it is one of the more than 600 hymns written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748).1 He wrote the hymn, however, not of the First Advent […]
Read MoreWhen Jesus washed the feet of His disciples the evening before He was crucified, He was demonstrating the command He had given them just before He traveled to Jerusalem for the last time: But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their […]
Read MoreI Wonder As I Wander is an American Christmas carol with words and melody by John Jacob Niles. He based it on a few snatches of song he heard on July 16, 1933, in the small Appalachian town of Murphy, North Carolina: “A girl had stepped out to the edge of the little platform attached […]
Read MoreDuring December I will be posting some of my thoughts on ministry drawn for the most part from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. God has poured out on His children the surpassing riches of His grace through the gift of His Son, Christ Jesus, and in our service to one another, He enables us to […]
Read MoreMusic is one of the most wonderful aspects of the Christmas season. The songs of hope, joy and love span centuries and countries, and when we sing these words or listen to these carols, we join with other believers who in other times and in other places worshiped God with the same music. This is […]
Read MoreGiving thanks frequently receives short shrift when we talk about it, because we tend to discuss it either superficially when we are at ease in our circumstances, or else in denial of the pain of difficulties. We give moralizing lectures about it or sometimes present the idea of giving thanks to God as a sort […]
Read MoreIn 1970 (incidentally, the year I became a Christian), Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released the song, Teach Your Children. The tune was memorable, and the lyrics were of war protest and lament. My thoughts and values are certainly different, but Graham Nash’s chorus of teach your children well echoes the note of warning and […]
Read MoreSeveral years ago when my daughter came home from college, her local voice teacher wanted her to sing with other students at a recital. A voice lesson was squeezed in at the last minute, and because most of her music was still packed up, she grabbed the score of Les Misérables as we ran out […]
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Kindling for Candles 