Power in Praise

We have renewed our site after a few years of rest!  It seems like as good a time as any to add some new features, so the newest feature will be audio samples from our previously released albums.

The first offerings will be "If My People" from the album He Loves You as well as the instrumental "Trusting is Believing" featuring the brilliant stylings of Marion on the piano.

You can access these audio files on this new page!

Stay tuned for more exciting updates... we're not getting older, we're getting better :)

The newly released book by Rabbi Jonathan Cahn titled "The Harbinger" (www.hopeoftheworld.org) has been promoted through various Christian media outlets. We have been absorbing the information and the bottom line to this message from Rabbi Cahn is that we are called to humble our selves before our Holy God, to pray, and seek His Face.

The Rabbi's heartfelt cry to the Body of Yeshua is lifted from the Lord's response to King Solomon as the King asked for an answer to what the future would hold for the nation that he was leading. God's response was simple and direct.

2 Chronicles 7:14 says "If My people which are called by My Name shall humble themselves and pray and seek My Face and turn from their wicked ways then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land."

On our digitally remastered CD "He Loves You" is the scripture song "If My People" which is taken from 2 Chronicles 7:14. We recorded the song over 30 years ago, however, the message is relevant for us today. The solid foundation of God's Word, which is eternal and unchanging, is our only source of Truth.

Y'shua, our Messiah said "I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life no one comes to the Father except through me..." If you are a child of God though adoption into His family, then check your heart for the leaven of sin and sweep it out of your life. If you do not know our Loving Father or have relationship with Him through His Son, then all you have to do is ask Him to forgive you and clean you up from the inside out and accept His Gift of Love - Life Forever!

We all want to see healing in our Nation and all around the world. As the old song says...Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.

Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed with the amount of work that we have to do with a limited amount of time. We need to be ready to calm ourselves down and recognize that our busy schedule and the pile of tasks assigned to us will be accomplished without going into panic mode.

On a recent flight I was a witness to how quickly one can go from being relational and calm to "get out of my way and out of my face and don't bother me with you questions and requests" mode.

The flight attendant in on the 50 seat plane was relational and accommodating with all the passengers. She took extra time with making sure each person's need was met and went over and above the call with some requests. The flight was less than an hour long and the flight attendant was still at the rear of the plane serving the last couple of rows their beverage service when the cockpit signalled the 20 minutes to touchdown call.

The cart and the attendant came up the aisle with great haste as she put the announcement over the system to shut down all electronics, stow your carry on luggage, tighten your seatbelts, put away your tray tables and place your seats in their upright and locked positions. She also had to pass out declaration forms and make her final trash sweep of the cabin and finish her own paperwork and stowing and locking of the galley items. Time was running out and she was in panic mode!

The man in the seat next to me had spilled his drink and was asking the attendant for another drink to replace it. She did not really have the time to process his drink order, but she did it anyway. It was impressive that she completed all the tasks and was able to strap herself in before the final approach phase of the flight.

Once strapped into her seat, which faced my seat, we talked about the amount of work that she had to get done in a very short amount of time. She blamed herself for taking too much time with the passengers and giving out extra drinks and stopping to talk to people instead of just performing her duties. She went on to note that while she was in a panic the people behind the cockpit door were cool, calm, and collected and not worried about her state of affairs as they quietly and efficiently went about their job.

I appreciated several things about the lessons that I needed to assimilate. I need to slow down and take my time with the various tasks presented to me to accomplish in a day, but still be relational to those around me. Rabbi Saul told us that "love is not rude." I need to be aware of those in my space, but not let the people around me distract me from getting the job done. Last, but not least, I need to acknowledge the Presence of the Lord even though He is hidden from my view. He is quietly getting me safely to my destination. He is never in panic mode and He is the One Who is always on my side.

"Be still my soul, the Lord is on your side..."

I love children's songs. What's not to love? They are simple and clear and teach many things. Children's songs about the love of the Father in Heaven are especially powerful teaching tools. Instructive songs are important to learn, whether for children or the childlike at heart.

One song resonates in my soul very loudly and since I am a Natural Born Follower, I can testify to the truth of the power in these simple, straightforward words.

My God knows the way through the wilderness
All I have to do is follow
My God knows the way through the wilderness
All I have to do is follow.

Follow, follow, I will follow Jesus
Anywhere, everywhere
I will follow on
Follow, follow, I will follow Jesus
Everywhere He leads me
I will follow Him.

It doesn't get much simpler than that, people. Jesus invites us to follow Him. He knows the way because He is THE WAY. He is never in darkness because HE IS THE LIGHT. He is never uncaring because He loves us with AN EVERLASTING LOVE.

Can you say in your heart and with your mouth, I will follow Jesus? If you do then the wilderness of this world's woes will not bring you fear as you follow our Leader through this world system's fearful and dark maze.

"Anywhere He leads me, I will follow on....!"

Whose side are you on?

In political life there is the left and the right. In the legal world there is the prosecution and the defense. In the sports arena it is the home club against the visiting team. In the male/female relationship conflict it is "he said, she said."

Whether in the area of politics, law, sports, or marriage, the conflict is always just one side versus the other side In truth there is always the third alternative, another side...the Lord's side.

When you choose to be on the Lord's side you are on the side of the One who sees the end from the beginning. He knows our thoughts and the intent of our hearts. His perspective is perfect.

Who is on the Lord's side, who will serve the King? We get to choose everyday whose side we are on...as for me and my house we will serve the Lord (see Joshua 24 verse 15.) When we are on the side of the One Who says He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (see John 14 verse 6) we are on the only side that matters.

No one comes to the Father except through the access door of the resurrected Son of the Living God and in so choosing the Lord's side, one chooses life and that life is abundant and full. We are filled with love and peace and joy and assurance.

Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879) who penned the hymn which began "Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee..." wrote the hymn "Who Is On The Lord's Side?" Miss Havergal was a woman of many talents and abilities, although she was frail and in poor health for much of her short life, she was filled with a strong faith and assurance in the Lord's merciful provision.

To choose the Lord's side is the best choice, the only choice that one can make to have a sure victory over the conflicts in the world.

"The Death of Intimacy"

Strange title, but not really once the context is given. The context is the observation of the modern Church's apparent lack of teaching the value of one on One quiet time with the Lord. We are so busy running here and there in pursuit of the latest mega meeting that we forget that the Walk with the Lord is just that...a WALK with the Lord.

The old hymn "In The Garden" expresses the joy of "He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own..."

What are we missing in this era of "bigger-is-better-megachurchianity?" In a word, we are missing - EVERYTHING!!!

The joy that my Father and I share on a daily moment by moment basis is so sweet that even nature seems to pause to take in the beauty of our conversation. My relationship with the Lord is so deeply personal and intimate that it is too private to be shared with anyone else.

My personal time with my Father is leisurely and refreshing and filled with Life. He instructs me to "be still and know that I Am God!" To that end I choose to turn off the TV, radio, IPod...whatever electronic gadget is drawing my focus and attention and listen........then He speaks in the Still Small Voice that I have grown to love and trust and He assures me that I am His own!

"I am my Beloved's and He is mine His banner over me is Love..." is a chorus that I learned many years ago in the infancy of my walk with the Lord. Here I am many years later and that chorus - taken directly out of Scripture - expresses the depth of the feeling that fills my soul.

I feel sad for the banging/clanging/drum beat driven corruption of what constitutes a "Worship Service" in the mind set of today's Seekers. Am I against drums and electric guitars in a Service? No, I am against the "Death of Intimacy."

"I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses and the Voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses and He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known."

Here's the crux of the matter and the challenge..are we willing to take the time to give our undivided attention to a quiet time of Life giving Intimacy with our Father or are we going to put intimacy to death?

Michael J. Fox, the actor widely known as Marty McFly from the "Back to the Future" movie series, and spokesperson for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter games once said that in spite of his current physical limitations he was grateful and thankful. He added that he did not know what mailing address to send his gratitude to....in other words, he did not know God or where God lived.

If we are followers of Jesus (Y'shua) we know that He is the Son of the Living God. He has shown us God's Face - "if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father" - he told his disciple Phillip. Talking to His Father was a daily, living, breathing, reality for our Lord Jesus. We are one in Him, so talking to our Father should be a daily, living, breathing, reality for us as His Children.

If I could answer the mailing address quest of Mr. Fox I would tell him about the One Whose Name and Address he can send his gratitude to....The True and Living God; The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; The Beginning and the End; The Author and Finisher of our Faith; The Great I Am; The Bright and Morning Star; The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world; The Faithful and True Witness; Wonderful, Counseller, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace...........

The first followers of Y'shua asked Him to teach them to pray so he instructed them:

"Our Father" the Person, the Object of our petition is named...

"Which art in Heaven" there you have it, the mailing address of our Father. He resides in a Place called Heaven.

"Hallowed by Thy Name" Wow!!! His Name is called "Holy" He is far above us in the place of Heaven and yet He is our Father.

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven" Not only is our Holy Father residing in Heaven, He is the King. We should desire to see His good will accomplished in our Earthly residence. He should sit on the Throne of our life and heart.

"Give us this day our daily bread" Our needs are met in the day. We need only today's provision to make us full.

"And forgive us our trespasses.." We need to give up our own sinful ways everyday and seek forgiveness for the times we give in to our old nature.

"As we forgive those who trespass against us..." Mmmm. We need to forgive. Harbouring unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping it hurts our enemy.

"And lead us not into temptation" We are led into temptation when we allow our eyes to see things they shouldn't and our ears to hear things they should not hear. We are led into temptation by our own lustful nature...so we need to kill that old man, everyday!

"But deliver us from evil" Okay, so we allow our eyes and ears to succumb to the lusts of the old nature and we fall into the old routines of sin...Praise the Lord that He will reach out His Hand and rescue us from the slimy pit of despair that we have slipped into by our willful, stubborn, pride. But...we need to remember that we don't go out and sin just because we know that God will rescue us. Why would we put our Heavenly Father through the anguish of seeing His Child in such jeopardy? We love Him and want to honour Him...

"For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory..." He is the All Powerful, Glorious, Mighty King! We should bow to Him and worship Him with contrite and grateful hearts as we lift our hands to Him and sing out our praises to Him now and...

"Forever!!!!! Amen"

"Mr Fox," I would say if I met him with this answer, "You have been bought from slavery to a mean taskmaster and delivered into the household of the King who has adopted you and made you His Son by washing you clean in the Blood of the Lamb. You are no longer a pawn in the evil one's fallen world, you get to choose to become a member of the Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a Person belonging to God.

You don't have to be in the dark as to Who it is that has blessed you with a wonderful family and resources to stand on a platform of influence. You can be a voice for the King, if you choose to accept Adoption into His Family."

Once upon a time, I was singing at a conference in a local church. The guest speaker at the event asked me to sing "The Lord's Prayer" in an unusual fashion by singing each line and then stopping so he could expound on each truth.

After he was done his teaching he asked me to sing the prayer straight though with no interruption. The joy that I felt in sharing this beautiful piece of music and words reached deep into my soul.

I know Who I am talking to when I pray. I know where He lives and what He has done in my life, what He is doing, and what He will do...forever. Amen!!!

The snowball is created by the compacting together of millions of crystals of frozen water. The frozen water is commonly called snow flakes.

In the design process, each crystal is a unique creation, no two patterns are alike.

The crystals can be packed together into a ball of snow that can be used as the perfect artillery shell in a snowball fight.

They can be rolled around to make a bigger set of three balls which, when stacked on top of each other and embellished with a corn cob pipe, a carrot nose, a set of coal eyes, with a jaunty top hat, can become the subject of a winter yuletide jingle.

But, alas, the lowly snowball will melt away forever when heat is applied. So the second law of Thermodynamics states that all things pass from a higher state of organization into a deteriorated and lower state. Example, leave an apple on the counter for a month...you get the point?!

So what does this have to do with hymns, songs, and spiritual songs?

Our life here is about as long as the life span of a snowball, when compared to the length of eternity (which does not have a beginning or an end) and like the snowball our life here on the planet has a start and a finish.

We are each uniquely designed by the Creator out of the crystal composition of earth. Like the lowly snowball we can be used as artillery shells by the enemy of our souls to attack those around us or we can be like the frosty snowman and live for a season before we melt away back into the dirt from which we were formed....but wait...there's more!!!

What about the lowly snowball? As the saying goes "it doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell." Why? Because hell is hot and it is filled with burning regret and terror and turmoil that makes anything horrific on this plane of existence look like a sesame street playground.

What does that have to do with nice Christian songs?

Glad you asked....

Unlike the snowball, we are alive because we have been made in the image of our Father, our Creator. He formed our first father from the dust of the earth, breathed into him the Breathe of Life, and made him a living soul. Yes, like the snowball, we are a unique Creation, no two humans are identical in our Spiritual make-up, each Soul is unique unto itself. We are unlike the lowly snowball because you and I are Living Spirits made in the Image of our Creator. We live in a DNA House of Clay and have free will and the ability to choose. We can choose our future destiny. What do we have to do to be kept from melting into a puddle of eternal regret?

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind and the cleansing of your heart with the Living Word of Life. Believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and you will be transformed, made new, and saved.

Back in the day, Andre Crouch penned the song "Soon and Very Soon (We Are Going To See The King)" and we anticipated the wonderful event with wide eyes.

The reality of the King of Kings coming back to Planet Earth is True as a future event, because He told us He would return, so we look with eagerness toward The Day of His Appearing.

We have assurance that we will see Him one day, whether we go to see Him through the grave or go to see Him through the skies, we can look for the Day with joy.

In recent days notable people have been leaving their earthly habitation and stepping into Eternity. We grieve with their loved ones, because Death is an Enemy. For the ones who have left their bodies without taking the time to make room for the King in their hearts and lives, the day of Death is indeed sad.

Without the Lord, the Existence beyond this life is a forever separation of unspeakable darkness, away from the Father's loving Presence of Light.

In the Lord, the Existence beyond this life is a forever time of unspeakable joy, love, peace, and Light in His Loving Presence.

So, here is the gist of the message for today...soon, in the twinkling of an eye, time will be no more for you and for me. We will see the King and either cower in fear as He rejects us or we fall down in awe as He receives us as one of His Own...soon - maybe today?