“What Salvation’s Done for Me” – Monday Musical Musings

October 17th, 2016 dsisler

 

Have you ever heard someone tell their story of salvation that is amazing? How God took them from the pits of sin to walk with Him in marvelous joy? Hearing (or maybe seeing) about the transformation that has brought them from darkness into God’s beautiful light?

 

IMAG1492I love hearing these stories. We read about several of these accounts in Scripture (the woman at the well or the demon-possessed man who lived among the tombs to name a couple) that help us to understand God’s amazing grace.

 

I don’t have a story like either of these people or like some of the people I have encountered through my life. But what my story does have is the same outcome. Transformation. Sanctification. A grace-filled life that is devoted to Jesus.

 

Regardless of what our back story is, we all are a testimony of what salvation has done for us. And that is the message of today’s song. And I don’t know about you, but I praise God every day that I live on this side of salvation. I am thankful for Jesus’ sacrifice so that I might live in the shadow of the cross.

 

As you read through these lyrics, you may find glimpses of you and your life. If so, I pray that your path has led you to salvation. I pray that each person who reads this today is able to recount the words of the chorus. Oh, it is difficult for us to understand why Jesus did what He did, but we can also be thankful for the gift of salvation that His sacrifice gave. And then, just like that, each of us can tell another what salvation has done us.

 

Take a look at the lyrics and then listen to this beauty. I’ll be praying for you today!

 

“What Salvation’s Done for Me”[i]

 

I used to be so lonesome, I never had a friend
Always looking out for number one
Didn’t know where I was going, didn’t care where I had been
The life I lived had me on the run
One day Jesus found me and took my sin away
He showed me what I thought I’d never see
He put me in His family, and He’s with me to this day
Let me tell you what salvation’s done for me
 

Chorus:
I used to be a blind man, but now my vision’s clear
Mercy came and drove the shame from me
There’s peace of mind with Jesus that drives out every fear
I’m stronger than I thought I’d ever be
I can’t tell you why He loves me, as bad as I had been
Why I’m worthy of this life of victory
I know I’m not a scholar just a sinner saved by grace
But I can tell you what salvation’s done for me

 

One day when life is over, I’ll go to my reward
Where Heaven waits for those who have been set free
With saints from all the ages, in the presence of our Lord
This is what salvation’s done for me

 

Click here to listen to this calming, peaceful song by the Booth Brothers.

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

[i] “What Salvation’s Done for Me,” words and music by Diane Wilkinson and Rusty Golden, Rusty Golden Music, Christian Taylor Music, 2006.

Share

A Few Words

October 14th, 2016 dsisler

I suspect you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to today. Well it’s been a little busy. Working. Running errands. Being creative. But now it’s time for me to get down to business.

 

I’m going to share some of my new favorite passages of Scripture found on Pinterest. I pray that you will find exactly what you need today. Blessings upon your evening!

 

deut-31-8

 

psalm-8-5

 

psalm-33-20-22

 

psalm-91-2

 

psalm-103-5

 

prov-3-5-6

 

is-40-8

 

micah-6-8

 

1-cor-16-14

 

eph-3-20

 

col-3-17

 


Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

Share

A Scaredy-Cat

October 12th, 2016 dsisler

 

I am not a brave person. I am easily frightened. I cannot watch horror movies or any television program with even hints of a scary segment. I dread the month of October because of the TV ads for scary Halloween shows. I wind up closing my eyes and even muting the television for most of the commercials in October. I work very hard to keep images of anything scary from joining the brain cells in my head. If I do, I can guarantee a nightmare is close behind.

 

???????????????????????????????I don’t know why I am this way. It could be that I’ve been frightened far too many times when younger and simply don’t want to feel that way again. Or it could be that I am a scaredy-cat at heart. I think I fit that definition.

 

Whatever the case, I’m not brave.

 

But Scripture calls those in the service of the King to be brave.

 

In the Old Testament, warriors were given the status of being brave. 2 Chronicles 5:24 speaks of the heads of the Half-Tribe of Manasseh as being brave.

 

2 Chronicles 14:8 tells of Asa’s army and that they were brave fighting men.

 

We see in 1 Samuel 14:52, Saul took a mighty or brave man into his service as he saw them.

 

In 1 Samuel 16:18 (NIV), David was described by a servant. “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.”

 

Joshua was commanded to be “strong and courageous” on multiple occasions before leading Israel into the Promised Land (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9, 18). He in turn told the men of Israel to be “strong and courageous” (Joshua 10:25).

 

In the New Testament we see some encouragement to be brave. As Jesus spoke to His Disciples, He said these words. “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 – NIV) The New Century Version translates “take heart” as “be brave.” Be brave when troubles surround you.

 

As Paul encouraged the Corinthian Church, he wrote these words. “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14 – NIV)

 

We can take these words as advice for ourselves. To be brave and courageous when troubles come our way.

 

And here’s the good news. God is with us through it all. Regardless of what we’re going through, He will be there to strengthen, lead and surround us with His love. Just like the men of the Old Testament and the early believers, we can depend on victory because God is with us.

 

There is no reason to be afraid or fearful. Johns tells us that in 1 John 4:18 (NIV). “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” You see, God is love and when we are in Him, there is nothing to fear.

 

I am not saying that I will watch a frightening program this October…I’m 100% certain that I won’t. What I am saying is that when troubles come, I will look to God for His strength and I will face it boldly because my God is with me.

 

When speaking the Gospel, I will not back down. I will be fearless because my God is with me.

 

When I am being attacked for my faith and belief in God, I will be strong and courageous, because my God is with me.

 

Will you join me? Are you willing to speak and live boldly for the cause of Christ? I pray that you are. I pray that collectively, with God’s help, we can take back what Satan has stolen. I pray that others will see Jesus shining through us as we go about our day-to-day lives. I pray that God will honor our efforts as we share His Gospel with those we speak with.

 

Be bold. Be courageous. Be brave. Be fearless. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31b – NIV)

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

Share

“Good News from Jerusalem” – Monday Musical Musings

October 10th, 2016 dsisler

 

Don’t you love hearing good news. The birth of a baby. A job promotion. Health issues resolved. The return of a friend or loved one. A good day at school. These are all things we love to hear and are excited when we are the recipients of such news.

 

IMAG1492Sometimes when we hear such news, it is difficult for us to contain our joy. I know for me, that after hearing good news, as I thought of the news, a smile would break and sometimes I’d almost be giddy with excitement. Maybe you’ve experienced such joy.

 

I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for those who heard the good news from Jerusalem when Jesus rose from the dead. There were plenty of emotions in those moments, but eventually, these hearers must have broken out in jubilation. Their Friend, Teacher, Leader, Messiah had returned to life and His victory was theirs.

 

The good news for you and me is that His victory is ours as well. So today, let’s celebrate! There is “Good News from Jerusalem” and it is for each one of us. Here are the lyrics to this song and there’s a link after for you to listen to this uplifting piece.

 

“Good News from Jerusalem”[i]

 

Jesus was a man who was not like any other
He preached about judgement and a kingdom soon to come
Oh the people had never heard words like these
He stirred up the scribes and the Pharisees
so they began to plot against God’s one and only son

 

They led Him before the courts and the house of Pilate
In a trial they mocked and condemned this righteous man
Pilate listened to the crowd and he knew they lied
but when he heard the people cry “Crucify”
He tried but he couldn’t was the blood from his guilty hands

 

Jesus died on a lonely hill they called Mount Calvary
They laid Him in a tomb and a stone sealed Him inside
but three days later when the women came
shocked and excited when they reached His grave
they ran back to town and everybody heard them cry

 

Good news from Jerusalem
The cross on the hill where the debt was paid
An empty tomb where His body laid
A small upper room where they saw He was glorified
Good news from Jerusalem
He’s alive. He’s alive. He’s alive
Good news from Jerusalem
He’s alive. He’s alive. He’s alive

 

Two thousand years have passed since He ascended
Oh wars rage on in a world so lost in sin
Troubles and trials on every hand
Peace is coming to the promised land
When the King comes back we’ll shout it again and again

 

Good news from Jerusalem
A sign in the sky every eye can see
A crown that will last for eternity
A throne for a King who had long been prophesied
Good news from Jerusalem
He’s alive. He’s alive. He’s alive

Good news. Good news. He’s alive.

 

Click here to listen to glorious song!

 

The good news from Jerusalem is still energizing, uplifting and relevant in our world today. Now that you know the good news, who will you share this good news with? It’s too good to keep to yourself!

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

[i] “Good News from Jerusalem,” words and music by Jerry Salley and Diane Wilkinson, Universal Music/Brentwood Benson Tunes/Lasso the Moon Music, 2011.

Share

Tis the Season

October 7th, 2016 dsisler

 

Good morning folks. I am struggling with my allergies this morning (they’ve been horrible all week!) and I can’t seem to get my head unclogged. So I am going to repost an older blog that is just as relevant today as it was early in my blog-writing days. I pray that God will be able to use these words to encourage you today.

 

Near Sighted

 

I am nearsighted

 

???????????????????????????????I am nearsighted. Now if you’re trying to remember how this works, when you’re nearsighted you can see things that are up-close but things further away seem blurry.

 

I have tried bi-focals on several occasions, but they just never seemed to work for me. So when I need to read or use the computer, I simply remove my glasses and do my reading. It works relatively well, but it isn’t perfect.

 

I recently had an eye exam. My eye sight has improved! In fact, over the past few years, my eye sight has steadily improved. Well, my nearsightedness has improved.  My far sightedness has remained the same, however.

 

I was actually pretty excited about it. I hoped that one day I would be able to toss my glasses completely. Then I mentioned it to my youngest daughter. She worked in the optical department at a local eye glass store and she mentioned that at my age it is common for this phenomenon to occur.

 

Wow was I disappointed! Of course, the “at my age” conversation wasn’t all that fun either.

 

I have learned through the years how important eyesight can be. Knowing people who have lost their sight due to disease or accident has helped me to see that this is one sense that I would be disappointed to lose.

 

But what about our spiritual sight. Am I spiritually nearsighted? Am I sometimes too focused on myself to miss what others are battling? Do I see things that are up-close in focus but things further away seem blurry? Yes, sometimes I believe I fall into this trap.

 

If I’m really honest, I might even say that it occurs more often than not.

 

Jesus had something to say about this during the Sermon on the Mount. He said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23 – NIV)

 

When my eyes are strictly focused on myself or those closest to me, I miss the opportunity to be filled with God’s light. But sometimes this is so difficult to do. So where do we begin to widen the view we see with our eyes?

 

Psalm 16:8 (NIV) shares how David was able to do so. “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” We must keep our eyes upon God.

 

We also must keep God’s commands and precepts in sight. Psalm 19:8 (NIV) says, “The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”

 

We must turn from worthless things. “Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.” (Psalm 119:37 – NIV) Focusing on things that are not important will draw our attention away from God’s purpose. Worthless things will always cause farsightedness.

 

When we’ve set our eyes upon God, focused on His precepts, and turned from worthless things, our eyesight will improve!

 

The passage of Scripture that I have used as the structure for this blog is from Ephesians 1:18 (NIV). “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints…”

 

I am certain that each of us would want this for ourselves. For our spiritual eyes to be unselfish. For our spiritual eyes to be healthy. For our spiritual eyes to have 20/20 vision.

 

It is possible. But it will take effort on your part. You will need to open your spiritual eyes to see what God is preparing for you. You will need to open your spiritual eyes to see others before yourself. You will need to open your spiritual eyes to God’s wonderful law and see how His light will shine through your eyes.

 

All this I pray for you!

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

Share
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

  • Subscribe by Email

  • About Me

    "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe." Ephesians 1:18-19


    I am a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. I lived in the beautiful state of Colorado for 20 years where I found great inspiration for my novels and devotional writings. Currently living in southwest Ohio.

    I am passionate about helping women find their way to Jesus through Bible study, teaching, speaking, inspirational writing and creative Bible journaling.

  • Bible Studies & Other Happenings

    Bible studies I’m currently leading:

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    In September 2012 I went to SE Asia on a service trip. For more information, check out preachitclearly.blogspot.com.

  • Categories

  • Recent Posts

Visit Us On TwitterVisit Us On FacebookVisit Us On PinterestVisit Us On Linkedin