Miracle of Music

 

                            This picture represents powerful music from the Lord God Almighty

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly 

above all that we ask or think… Ephesians 2:20 NKJV

          I usually get out of bed each morning with a positive “this is a day the Lord has made, we will be glad and rejoice in it” attitude.

One morning, I got up and felt unmotivated and a bit anxious. I attributed these unusual feelings to a program I’d watched on TV the previous night, about a dysfunctional, pill-popping, alcoholic family who led a miserable life. They were the epitome of Thoreau’s statement, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

I knew I should not have watched such a dreadful show. I felt like I’d failed God by planting the wrong thoughts in my head.

To encourage my heart and draw closer to God, I told Alexa to play the song, Let it Be a Hallelujah. As I listened to that wonderful song of praise, I was uplifted and blessed.

Since I didn’t tell Alexa to stop the music, it continued.  That’s when God took over the playlist and gave me just what I needed to hear for the next eight songs.

Heaven Changes Everything was up next and my thoughts turned to three people I’ve been praying for who need salvation and freedom. When Chain Breaker started echoing my thoughts on freedom, I had to laugh. God has such a sense of humor!

I prayed for my friends as I imagined their chains being broken. Then God sends the song, Somebody Prayed, and I just shook my head in wonder and awe at my Father’s encouragement not to give up on prayer.

The song, Desperate, began playing and I began to weep, because yes, I was desperate for God – for myself and for my three friends. I felt so unworthy and needy for God’s help. So, I wasn’t surprised when God followed up with The Truth, a tender song about God’s love for me, especially when I’m feeling unworthy. I was reminded that I need to refuse the enemies’ lies and embrace God’s truth that He surrounds me with His grace and I am His child.

He followed that with Strong, to remind me that I am strong in the Lord even when I feel weak. Then God played Still Waters (from Psalm 23) and my heart melted into the sweet embrace of my precious Lord and I felt such peace.

About this time, I was wondering when I should tell Alexa to “stop.” Would God make it clear to me?  Why, of course, He was going to let me know – and He did. When Shout to the Lord began to play, I knew that was the grand finale of this amazing playlist. It was the perfect ending of praise to Almighty God since, “Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.”

This was nothing less than a musical miracle from my loving Father. He sent me a string of nine powerful songs that formed a progression of just what I needed to speak to my soul in that moment.

“Oh, Lord, please help me to walk in your power and on your path to fulfill your purpose for me. Help me to carry a heart of praise and purity, depending on your provision and not my own pitiful pursuits. I am weak, but you are strong, Jesus keep me from all wrong.”

 

Note:  I chose pictures of fireworks to represent the wonder of God's working through the music He chose for me in my Miracle of Music.  I took these fireworks pics at Epcot in Disney World when we were there in February.  They were so beautiful!

 

 

You Can't Take it With You

 

YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU

   When I was in Italy last year, my sister and I visited the Etruscan Necropolis in Tarquina, Italy.  A necropolis is a cemetery.  The tombs there are dated back to 700 BC.  There are around 200 painted tombs in this particular cemetery, which are considered the most beautiful and best preserved painted tombs in the ancient world.

   I'm pictured here on the steps going down to one of the tombs.  Each tomb is underground and reached through a small house and a set of stairs.  Visitors look through a window into the ancient tomb.

  The picture below is an example and shows a two-room tomb.  There would have been a number of sarcophagus holding the deceased in the tomb, along with all kinds of treasures belonging to the deceased.  

       

   You see, the Etruscans thought they could take their treasures with them into the next world after their death - much like the ancient Egyptians did.  As I looked into their tombs and later at their treasures in the nearby museum that displayed items from the tombs, I was saddened at the thought of what their reality would have been when they opened their eyes after they took their last breath.  Imagine their shock when they woke up in hell instead of the lovely tomb that had been prepared for them.  It would have been a horrifying discovery -- and too late to change the outcome.

    

   Here is one of the sarcophagus taken from a tomb.  We saw many of these carved effigies of people buried in the tombs - each one representing a soul who went into eternity without God.  I say that because the Etruscan people believed in false gods, like Tinia, Uni and Menrva.  They had temples dedicated to these gods, along with other deities.  The key aspect of their religious beliefs focused on the afterlife and elaborate burial rites.

    Scripture clearly tells us, "...he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God," John 3:18.

     While it is too late for these poor Etruscans who are already in the afterlife, if you're reading this post, you still have time to make sure of your eternal destination.  Jesus said, "he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life," John 5:24.

    "For God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life," John 3:16.

    When you join the family of God, I guarantee that you will never regret it, but you find a joy and peace that you never knew before.  God bless you, my friend!