Amazing Paradoxes

It is amazing to see what happens when we praise God regardless of our circumstances. Listening to music or singing in our mind can change the most depressing moment into a time of joy. Praising the Lord in our car, at home, at work, in the grocery store and in our quiet times will change our attitude quicker than any other pursuit. Praising puts a smile on our face and a spring in our step! People are drawn to those who are full of the joy of the Lord.

The amazing paradox is that living a life of praise will change everything for us. We can sing our way out of depression and into the courts of our God (Psalm 100). As we look for God’s will in our life, work, exercise, church encounters, volunteerism and hanging out with our friends, He turns everything into a time of ministry for Him, as well as a source of joy for us. We wait on the Lord and move only and always as His Spirit directs us.

If you are home alone, and you start to feel lonely, either get out of the house and work in the yard, or serve a friend or family member, or spend time growing deeper in God. When you feel lonely, put on your praise music and sing at the top of your lungs in worship to God, dance around as you dust, bake a cake and take it to a neighbor, go to the homeless shelter and help out any way you can, or go grocery shopping for an elderly person. Just listen to God’s Spirit and He will direct you.

God has a plan for our good now and in the future. Rejoicing in the Lord one moment at a time keeps our negative thoughts under God’s control (Philippians 4:8). However, we can praise Him even for the negative aspects in our life, because He has a plan for us even in them. Praising God will put Satan in his place and let God work in our behalf. We will feel better, once we stop allowing negative satanic fears, anxieties and desires to torture us. It is a human characteristic to worry about the future, but God has everything in His control (Jeremiah 29:11).

God cares for us even more than for the sparrows and lillies, and He tells us not to be anxious about anything (Matthew 6:19-34). If you praise God for what you have, even the bad things, knowing that God has a plan in it for you, then He will give you everything you need to live victoriously. As we seek the Lord first and fulfill His purpose for us in His Kingdom, then we can rest assured that He will supply all of our needs according to His glorious riches through Christ Jesus who lives within us (Philippians 4:19).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that we cannot control anything about life. Allowing feelings of unhappiness and loneliness to disturb our peace and the joy in our soul is not trusting in You. It is focusing on what we do not have instead of what we do have. If we spend intimate times with You, Lord, through every waking moment, then we will not be unhappy, because You are our ultimate hope, rest, joy and peace. We are only unhappy and lonely when we think more about temporal things than we do about spending our eternal glory with You.

Thought for the Day:

If God’s will does not include what you want, then you do not want to have it, because you will be out of His will.

Life's Illusions, Misnomers and Paradoxes

An illusion describes a misinterpretation of a true sensation. Much of life is often an illusion. The brain processes information gathered by the eye; however, the perception given by the brain does not always measure up to reality. Therefore, we have the real possibility of being deceived by a false perception or false belief about something that is true.

A misnomer is a name wrongly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers are illusions of reality.

A paradox is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition, that when investigated or explained, may actually prove to be well-founded and true.

Here are some examples. Can you think of any others?

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Tin foil in not made of tin, but aluminum; and tin cans are made of steel.

Lead pencils are made from graphite.

Guinea pigs are not pigs, and do not come from Guinea.

Catgut is actually made from a sheep’s intestine.

The English Horn is not from England and is not a horn; and French Horns originated in Germany.

The “funny bone” is not a bone, but a nerve.

Sushi does not mean raw fish, but actually means “sour rice”.

The "banana tree" is in fact an herbaceous flowering plant. An herb, not a tree.

You cannot regard something any less than regardless. “Irregardless" is not a word!

Not all bats are blind. Because not all bats can echo-locate; those that cannot, have excellent night vision.

Jellyfish are not actually fish.

A Catch 22 is a situation where someone is in need of something that can only be had by not needing it.

A peanut is not a nut, but a legume (bean).

The sun does not rise or set…the earth turns.

In order for the self to live fully, we must first die to self.

Yesterday is the memory of what, at one time, was today; and tomorrow is merely an illusion of the promise of another day.

The obvious is not seen, until someone recognizes it.

A barber shaves all and only those men who do not shave themselves.

The caterpillar does not die, so that the butterfly can be born; it simply metamorphosizes.

What we teach the best is what we need to learn the most.

The next phrase is true, if the previous phrase is false.

What we view as a problem is usually the very gift that we need.

Knowledge is useless, unless we choose to use it.

The law of probability assures that there must be at least two people in the world with the same number of hairs on their heads at the same time.

Winning simply means that you did not lose.

A photo is not conclusive evidence, because it does not show what happened before or after that exact moment, which is immortalized on film.

Two people might not cooperate, even if it is in both of their best interests to do so.

The life we live is simply the accumulation of all of the consequences of our decisions.

We cannot be an overcomer, unless we have a problem to overcome.

We often waste today by dreaming about tomorrow.

People think they can control life, when it is actually uncontrollable.

Puppets are only as smart as the people who speak for them.

What would happen if an unstoppable force hit an immovable object?

Whatever goes up, must always come down, eventually.

Going left is never right.

When a cup of tea is stirred, the leaves assemble in the center, even though centrifugal force pushes them outward.

We can sew what we sow, but we cannot sow what we sew.

A pickle is a soured cucumber, a raisin is a dried up grape, and a prune is a shriveled up plum.

If one seeks happiness, he/she will never find it.

Nobody goes to that restaurant; it's too crowded.

Don't go near the water, until you have learned how to swim.

Someone said, "I always lie." Are they telling the truth? Or are they lying?

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Most of life is an illusion, a misnomer or a paradox. The only reality that we can count on is that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Yet, people who are born every day, end up dying everyday for lack of acceptance of this truth.

On the other hand, those who actually believe that Jesus Christ paid the penalty of our sins, rose again and lives in the hearts of every Born Again believer, he/she will never die (John 11: 26). When we take our last breath on earth, our next breath will be that of celestial air.