How to Impact the World Turning Despair to Joy

September 12, 2016 Effie Barba

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4

Paul wrote this to the early church at Philippi, while he was imprisoned in Rome. It had not been the first time the Philippian Believers had seen Paul imprisoned. Indeed, when he first had come into Philippi to preach the gospel of Christ, Paul had been beaten and thrown into prison.

And the multitude rose up together against them (Paul and Silas): and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. Acts 12: 22-24

There was never a time within the early church that those following Christ were not subject to ridicule, hostility, imprisonment, and even death for their belief. In many nations today, the same remains true. Continue reading How to Impact the World Turning Despair to Joy →

Christian Poetry

Casting Aside the Heart of Stone

September 11, 2016 Effie Barba

And I will give you a new heart—I will give you new and right desires—and put a new spirit within you. I will take out your stony hearts of sin and give you new hearts of love. And I will put my Spirit within you so that you will obey my laws and do whatever I command. Ezekiel 36: 26-27 (TLB)

Casting Aside the Heart of Stone

By Effie Darlene Barba

Let me not grow weary in my life for You

Let me show love and grace in all that I do

Let me not grow tired in this journey of life

Nor build walls of steel when I am facing strife

Lord, please, open my eyes Your truth to see

Let me never be focused on only me

I need You My Lord, my righteous King

To guide and lead my heart to sing

You are my strength, my hope, and joy

To rise above and then destroy

The darkest sorrows of my heart

And bid the weariness depart

So help me Lord to only see

The depths of love You have for me

It was Your Grace alone that called out to me

Into my darkness shone light that I might see

A glimpse of Your glory that bid me draw near

Casting aside my worry, my shame, my fear

I bring You my sin, my wretched heart of stone

Do whatever You must to make me Your own

I need You My Lord my righteous King

To guide and lead my heart to sing

You are my strength, my hope, and joy

To rise above and then destroy

The darkest sorrows of my heart

And bid the weariness depart

So help me Lord to only see

The depths of love You have for me

photo used by permission https://unsplash.com/@whiteboytravels

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Christian Blog

What Happens When My Expectations of God Are Wrong?

September 9, 2016 Effie Barba

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and everything in it IS the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ Acts 17:22-28 (NIV)

Everything that God has done or allowed down through the ages in the history of mankind has been so that we human beings might seek Him, search for Him, and by such perhaps reach out for Him to find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. Without Him, no one ever lives, moves or has existed. Think of this, a perfect righteous God has been willing down through the corridors of time to be mocked, criticized, beaten, denied, and spit upon by the very creatures whose life and Continue reading What Happens When My Expectations of God Are Wrong? →

Christian Blog

How to Avoid a Weary Heart When Serving Others

September 7, 2016 Effie Barba 2 Comments

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9

Life at times can cause us to feel a weariness of heart and spirit, a sadness that runs deep within our heart and soul. Our body aches with a fatigue that is much deeper than we could imagine. We press forward, striving to be noticed, to be loved and to be appreciated by those around us. It is for that reason, I wanted to delve into the emotional stumbling blocks that we may face in our life. During the last post, I began to explore some of the root causes of weariness of heart and spirit by pointing out that often this emotional fatigue comes as a result of our expectations. In the last post I began with our own expectations of ourselves. Today, I want to explore our expectations from others whom we serve and then Friday I want to discuss our expectations of God. Often, we falter or feel utterly dismayed because our expectations are not met; yet, it is our expectations that are faulty and need to be realigned. Continue reading How to Avoid a Weary Heart When Serving Others →

Christian Blog

How to Overcome Weariness of Heart and Spirit

September 5, 2016 Effie Barba 1 Comment

Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. Psalm 69:1-3

There is a weariness of heart and spirit that we may face at times in our life. That weariness and fatigue can lead toward a paralyzing depression if we cannot discover it’s source and find it’s remedy. So often we try to hide the weariness from the rest of the world, never wanting them to know. We run after entertainment, relationships, alcohol, and drugs to numb the pain. Yet, in the darkness of night, the weariness is still there. Sometimes, our bodies are too fatigued as we battle some chronic illness or we face the agony of losing someone we love. The sorrow digs deep within our soul. We agonize over our own frailty and sin at times. I do not know what sorrow, worry or despair may be rising up to drown your soul. Over a lifetime, I have found myself at times drowning in my own tears. For that reason, I want to reach out a hand of hope to you today as I begin a new series concerning the emotional turmoil we face on this journey called life. Continue reading How to Overcome Weariness of Heart and Spirit →