Sharon's Sharings

 Singing Praises-zamar.  Strong’s #2167- To make music, sing praises; to sing songs accompanied by musical instruments. Psalms 33:3 TPT “Compose new melodies that release new praises to the Lord.  Play His praises on instruments with the anointing and skill He gives you.”  There are so many Christian songs of praise and worship I love to hear.  I love the old hymns:  Amazing Grace is my absolute favorite, The Old Rugged Cross, Be Still My Soul and many more.  When I hear these and sing them, they reach deep into my spirit and bring me to a place of restoration.  Newer lyrics can also bring me much needed renewal. Colossians 3:16 NIV “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” Singing helps us repeat thoughts of God so His word can dwell in us.  We can remember what God has done for us.  Psalm 96:1 NKJV “Oh, sing to the Lord a new s

 Salvation: The theological definition is “ Deliverance from the power or penalty of sin; redemption.” “F or Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:13 NIV As I look up the many scriptures on salvation, I am so uplifted and blessed. I am not a theologian.  I do not search the scriptures for deep meanings.  I mostly read what it says and believe it.  I know if I study the Greek and Hebrew I will find deeper insight. Occasionally I do that. Romans 10:9-10 NIV “I f you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  (10)For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” I know there are scriptures that tell us why we won’t go to heaven but I believe My God is a God of grace and mercy and knows our hearts. Romans 3:23-25 NLT tells us “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious stan

  Greetings, There is a saying I have heard “Man plans, God laughs”.  I think that saying might be based on  Proverbs 16:1 TPT “ Go ahead and make all the plans you want, but it’s the Lord who will ultimately direct your steps.” It has certainly been true of me lately.  For the past couple of weeks since we moved, I have tried to plan my days for unpacking and organizing.  I do not like living in chaos and that is how my life has felt.  Besides normal, everyday life, we lived for a week without water.  This house is on a well and a week after moving in the well went dry!  An event we have never had to experience before.  It definitely gave me empathy for Elna in Africa.   I did not immediately ask God what my lesson from this was.  I was pretty sure I just needed to relax and “go with the flow”.  Ultimately there really isn’t any other choice.  Being upset and frustrated does not change anything. I have certainly lived long enough to know my life does not always go as I plan. 

                                                                                  Joy:  a noun or a verb.  As I looked up the word in Vine’s Expository of Biblical Words, there was a long definition including joyfulness, joyfully and joyous.  I was looking for a simple definition. “The joy of the Lord” has been resonating in my spirit. A portion of Nehemiah 8:10 says “… Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength !” In my regular dictionary, the definitions of joy are: “a deep feeling or condition of happiness or contentment.  An outward show of pleasure or delight, rejoicing.” These are the words I think about in reference to my relationship with our Lord.  Sometimes I am “excited and rejoicing” but mostly, knowing the Lord is my Savior and always available to me, gives me a deep sense of contentment. Psalms 28:7 NET “The Lord strengthens and protects me; I trust in Him with all my heart.  I am rescued and my heart is full of joy; I will sing to Him in gratitud

  “Therefore be merciful (sympathetic, tender, responsive, and compassionate) even as your Father is [all these].” Luke 6:36 AMPC One of my favorite characteristics of our Lord is His mercy.  I am constantly reminded of how compassionate He is. Because of His mercy and love we are saved and promised eternal life.  Ephesians 2:4-5 NLT “But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, ( 5 ) that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)  1Peter 1:3 NLT “ All Praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.  Now we live with great expectation,” Our shortcomings are all forgiven because of God’s love and mercy.  Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT “The faithful love of the Lord never ends!  His mercies never cease.  ( 23 ) Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each mo