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An Indescribable Gift
Mary gazes down on sweetness in a manger,
Bright eyes, soft skin, pure delight,
A gift from heaven.
John sees the Lamb at the Jordan,
Without spot, without blemish, without sin,
A gift from heaven.
Nicodemus questions the Rabbi in darkness,
New answers, fresh hope, glad heart,
A gift from heaven.
Zacchaeus climbs the sycamore tree,
Delighted, repentant, forgiven,
A gift from heaven.
The Savior dies on a Roman cross,
Bloodied, rejected, scorned,
A gift from heaven.
A sinner hears a message full of grace,
Good tidings, great joy, blessed hope,
A gift from heaven.
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9:15
It’s a Joy Thing
Whether you spend time reading the Bible on a daily basis, or you’re only familiar with it from hearing a minister preach from the Bible, you can’t miss the fact that joy is one of the predominate themes in the Bible.
Depending on which Bible translation you’re using, there are over 200 verses that talk about experiencing joy, which I would define as a deep sense of well-being that comes from knowing Christ through the presence of his Holy Spirit.
Joy isn’t happiness, which is a temporary emotion based on outward circumstances which brings pleasure or satisfaction for a short length of time and can easily disappear when a situation changes.
Instead, joy is rock solid, permanent, anchored in the unchanging nature and promises of God and expresses itself outwardly through our prayers and praises to Him.
Here are a few instances of what the Bible says about how we experience joy:
Joy is found in God’s presence
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11.
Joy is found in believing God
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13.
Joy is found in worshiping God
“Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.” Psalm 33:1.
Joy is found in hearing the words of God.
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11.
This deep, abiding joy is exclusively given to those who are believers in Christ, who have trusted His death on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice to pay for their sins, and who are anticipating spending an eternity basking in the light of His glorious beauty.
“And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isaiah 51:11
I’m Not Able
When someone makes the statement, “I’m not able,” it can be an admission of weakness, but it can also be an admission of faith.
When a person realizes they’re not able to stand before God as blameless, they’re not expressing weakness; they’re validating the truth of Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
But that’s not the full story. Even though everyone has sinned, Hebrews 7:25 tells us that Jesus, the Son of God, “is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God.”
And there’s this from Jude 24, where the writer says that Jesus “is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.”
Admitting I am not able to deliver myself from my sins, nor appear before God as blameless, is an expression of faith, and accepting the truth that He is able—by means of His sacrificial death—to accomplish it, is a confession of that faith.
But that’s still not the full story. In 1 Timothy 4:12, the apostle Paul says, “I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.”
And lastly, from Hebrews 2:18: “For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
I am not able, but God is able.
He is able to save those who come to Him.
He is able to keep you from stumbling.
He is able to present you as blameless.
He is able to guard you.
He is able to help you in temptation.
As the apostle Paul urges us in Ephesians 3:20-21, we give Him glory for He is able.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
What Really Counts?
I recently saw this quote attributed to Winston Churchill: “Success is not final; failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.”
As I thought about the sentiment behind this quote—that neither success nor failure defines a person, but what truly matters is the determination to keep going—I realized that while the language was inspiring, it wasn’t Biblical and therefore wasn’t true.
Churchill was emphasizing human determination rather than faith in God. He suggested that personal courage is the key to overcoming challenges, but Scripture teaches us that believers should rely on God’s strength rather than their own determination.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6.
While Churchill’s statement implies that success and failure are transient, believers understand that both are under God’s sovereign control and part of God’s plan for His people.
“He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” Daniel 2:21.
And lastly, what truly “counts” at the end of life is not courage, but faith in Christ.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.
This is not to say that perseverance isn’t encouraged in the Christian life. Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
However, it is only through God’s strength and guidance that believers endure.
What are you counting on when you can no longer count?
It Doesn’t Make Sense
A newly remodeled house burns to the ground. A long-awaited child is stillborn. A businessman dies on the day he retires.
It doesn’t make sense.
Abraham waiting twenty-five years before his promised child is born. A chosen people suffering in slavery 400 years before freedom comes.
It doesn’t make sense.
The son of God becomes a man and lives among His creation. His creation despises and rejects Him.
It doesn’t make sense.
The One who never sinned takes on the sin of all mankind. Their punishment becomes his punishment.
It doesn’t make sense.
No, God’s ways don’t always make sense, and neither should our response.
Habakkuk, an Old Testament prophet, didn’t understand what God was doing, but after voicing his confusion, this was his response. “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail, and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:17-18.
When God doesn’t make sense, we are to rejoice in the Lord.
No, it doesn’t make sense, but as Paul said, “What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:18.
Eternity, when all will make sense.
Need Comfort?
Body language experts are on the news a lot these days. Because it’s an election season, they’re asked to interpret the subtle, nonverbal cues that give insight into a political candidate’s feelings.
One particular observation got my attention recently, because I had never heard anyone put a name to certain gestures a speaker makes, like clutching hands together, putting hands to the face, or massaging an arm. Body language experts call these “comfort gestures.”
Such actions serve to soothe the speaker and indicate the person is feeling anxious, stressed, or uncertain. One expert says that everyone has these “self-comforting movements,” which we all engage in many times during our day.
Although we may not be aware of how often we feel the need to comfort ourselves, the Bible is full of verses that address our universal need for comfort. I immediately thought of several, which made me curious, so I did an internet search and discovered over 100 verses that either mention comfort directly or describe how God provides comfort to us. Bible verses that speak of how God comforts us.
Here’s one of my favorites: “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.”
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17.
This verse tells me that Jesus Christ himself will comfort our hearts, and He does so on the basis of His love for us, a love that caused him to give “his life for us, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
Now that’s comforting!
The Certainty of Doubt
“I think I figured out who the doubters are.” That’s what a reader emailed me after I released my newest book, Four Doubt.
She followed up that sentence by saying, “But I found more than four doubters in this book. If I counted correctly, there were at least eight. It was like everyone had doubts. Did you realize that?”
I write series, so as a way of making it easy for my readers to know which book to read next, and also as a way of having an author “brand,” I include the number of the book as part of the title.
However, the number also has meaning in the plot of the book. Thus, in this series, the Silas McKay Suspense Series, the number in each of the titles—One Wonders, Two Believe, Three Confess, and Four Doubt, can be linked to certain characters, while also signifying the book order.
For example, in Two Believe, Silas McKay finds it hard to believe in the goodness of God after his wife died of brain cancer. Then, as he and a colleague investigate a robbery, she confesses she doesn’t believe in God. I won’t give any specific spoilers, but by the end of the book, two believe.
The reader who emailed me was right about Four Doubt having a reoccurring theme of doubt running throughout the book. Although the four main characters in the plot expressed doubt of some sort, there were others as well.
The reason doubt was so pervasive among the characters is that I try to make my novels as realistic as possible—in a fictional sort of way, of course—and our culture today is permeated with doubt. We express skepticism toward institutions, government, politicians, medicine, and the list goes on and on. However, doubt isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
There are many instances in Scripture where doubt is expressed, and while Jesus pointed out to his disciples that their doubt showed their lack of faith, he didn’t condemn them for their doubt. Instead, he urged them to believe in Him.
When Silas, the main character in my novel, is asked whether he doubts something, he says, “In my line of work, I never shy away from having doubts. Doubt stems from a desire to know the truth, and if I engage in it, it’s only because I’m pursuing the truth.”
One of the certainties of life is that everyone will experience doubt, but pursuing truth dispels doubt. Where does that search begin?
Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” John 14:6.
Have no doubt. It begins with Truth himself.
Words Don’t Really Matter
Do words really matter? We tell our children they do. We defend our use of words. We remind ourselves to choose our words carefully.
However, at the end of our life, whether we die of old age, disease, violence, or an accident, our words don’t really matter. There’s only one word that matters—His Word—the Word of God.
It was His Word that brought our world into existence, His Word that brought comfort to sinful Man in the Garden, His Word that promised a coming redemption.
It was the Word who became a man, the Word who healed a cripple, the Word who restored sight to the blind, the Word who brought a dead man to life, the Word who said, “Father, forgive them.”
It was the Word who took the punishment for our sins, the Word who conquered death for us, the Word who rose to give us life.
Our words don’t really matter, but His Word does.
His Word says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:7
No other words matter.
Do you really want to believe?
Why do you believe in God?
I’ve seldom had to answer that question. In fact, when I heard it the other day, it surprised me. That’s like asking me why I breathe or why I love my grandkids. The answer seems obvious.
Then again, maybe it isn’t.
Why do I believe in God?
It’s certainly not because I’ve had some tangible experience. I’ve never seen God or had an angelic visitation, nor have I received some special sign—a cross in the sky or writing on the wall—to prove He’s real.
The answer to why I believe in God involves trust; it involves faith. I trust what the Bible tells me about God. Ironically, the faith to believe in Him and what the Scriptures tell me about Him is a gift, a gift from God. It is, as Ephesians 2:9 says, “not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Believing in God is not something I can do for myself. The ability to believe in God comes from God.
Any person who sincerely wants to know God will find Him. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13.
I believe in God because He created the desire, provided the means, and made the provision for me to believe in Him.
Book 8 in the Mylas Grey Mystery Series, Click on cover
Book 5 in the Silas McKay Suspense Series, Click on cover
Book 11 in the Titus Ray Thriller Series. Click cover
Book 7 in the Mylas Grey Mystery Series on Amazon. Click cover.
Book 4 in the Silas McKay Suspense Series on Amazon. Click cover.
Book 10 in the Titus Ray Thriller Series on Amazon. Click cover.
PREQUEL to the Mylas Grey Mystery Series on Amazon. Click cover
Book VI in the Mylas Grey Mystery Series on Amazon. Click cover
Book III in the Silas McKay Suspense Series on Amazon. Click cover
Book IX in the Titus Ray Thriller Series on Amazon. Click cover
Book V in the Mylas Grey Mystery Series on Amazon. Click cover
Book II in the Silas McKay Suspense Series on Amazon. Click cover
Book I in the Silas McKay Suspense Series, Available in Winter Deceptions
Ben in Trouble follows Four Steps Missed in the Titus Ray Thriller Series
Book IV in the Mylas Grey Mystery Series on Amazon. Click cover
Book VIII in the Titus Ray Thriller Series on Amazon. Click cover.
Ben in Charge, Follows Three Steps Away in the Titus Ray Thriller Series
Ben in Love, Follows Two Steps Forward in the Titus Ray Thriller Series
Two Days Taken:Book II in the Mylas Grey Mystery Series; Click cover.
Book VII in the Titus Ray Thriller Series on Amazon. Click on book cover
One Day Gone: Book I in the Mylas Grey Mystery Series; Click on Cover
NEWEST BOOK: Available on Amazon. Click on Cover.
Prequel to the Titus Ray Thriller Series is $0.99 on Amazon. Click book cover
Book I in the Titus Ray Thriller Series on Amazon. Click book cover
Book II in the Titus Ray Thriller Series on Amazon. Click on book cover
Book III in the Titus Ray Thriller Series on Amazon: Click on book cover
Book IV in the Titus Ray Thriller Series on Amazon. Click on book cover.
Book V in the Titus Ray Thriller Series on Amazon. Click on book cover.
Book VI in the Titus Ray Thriller Series on Amazon. Click on book cover.
Books 1 & 2 in the Titus Ray Series Available on Amazon. Click on cover.
His Glory My Joy, a blog of Author Luana Ehrlich 
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