Psalm 100:5
For the LORD is good
and His Love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues
throughout all generations.

The longer I live the more I understand how my life must be built on God’s Truth. Otherwise, I am like the foolish man who built his house on the sand; or when the storms came, it could not stand. So, in walking with Jesus as my Savior, I am being led by the Holy Spirit as I read the Bible, as I experience the power of God’s Truth active and powerful in and around my life.  In so many other ways, I rejoice there is available, truth that never fails in all the many ways He touches and surrounds my life. Praise be to His Holy Name! How did I select the following truths? These are truths which make my heart sing, which fascinate my mind, and which secure my soul in my relationship to God. Each time I hear these truths my whole being responds, “Amen! Amen! Amen!”

My Ten Most Treasured Life Truths

1. God is Agape, Self-Existent, Eternal, Sacrificial Love.
2. Jesus is my Savior, my Shepherd and my Lord.
3. The Holy Spirit empowers, cleanses, guides and directs me.
4. The Enemy ALWAYS lies.
5. My sin horribly harms me, those who love me, and all those around me.
6. The Bible, God’s Word, is the perfect guide for me.
7. Prayer is as necessary as breathing.
8. Obedience places me securely in God’s Hands.
9. Loving others as God loves me demonstrates His Love in me.
10. In God life is eternal.

Psalm 119:105 ESV
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.

God graciously used my godly parents to bless me in many ways.  One of these many is that they both loved reading; and so , encouraged us to love reading. I remember many, many trips to the library when we were young, and how excited my brother and sisters and I were, to have a stack of books to take home and read. A really good book feeds me deeply with God’s Truth as it works out in the everyday, and in some cases, imaginary world. For me, experiencing life with God and Good and Truth and Joy and Justice in reading a good book,  just makes God-Centered living more real than just about any other activity . So, here are the wide variety of books which have delighted me with God’s Goodness and Enjoyment and Inspiration time after time.

My Ten Most Meaningful Books

1. The Bible: (It’s the Word of God and the Word of Life. Obviously it is the best literature ever written because it is God-breathed and so, illuminates the hearts and minds and souls of those who read it.)

2. The Chronicles of Narnia: (Somehow C.S. Lewis manages to capture almost every true challenge, inspiration, and feeling Christians experience in life. His characters, plots, settings and themes speak God’s Love and Truth deeply inside our hearts.)

3. The Lord of the Rings: (JRR Tolkien captures the grand scale of the battles between good and evil in this world. God’s absolute power to destroy evil takes place in amazing ways which ironically demonstrate there is no person too small to play a role in God’s Redemptive activity in history.)

4. The Pendragon Cycle:  (Stephen R. Lawhead tells from a Christian perspective the stories of King Arthur and his Knights in Britain. Again we are allowed to experience the faith-building reality that God works in all circumstances for His Good and for our joy.)

5. Many Waters: (Madeleine L’Engle imagines what Noah and his family might have experienced during the years leading up to the Flood. L’Engle makes the days leading up to the flood real and deeply moving—as He reveals His love for individuals in remarkable ways.)

6. The O’Malley Series: (Dee Henderson creates an enjoyable group of stories about a family who “adopt” each other in an orphanage and grow up to engage in a wide variety of careers serving people, even as they one-by-one, eventually  come to Christ. In this remarkable family we read the stories of a doctor, a psychiatrist, a fireman, a police negotiator and a builder.)

7. A Tale of Two Cities: (Charles Dickens tells a tale of ultimate sacrifice and redemption in the midst of the French Revolution. We experience through this powerful tale a story in which the reality of redemption inspires a man who goes to the guillotine for another as a type of Christ.)

8. Les Miserables: (Victor Hugo tells a grandiose tale of the role of redemption in a prisoner’s life which leads to an epic battle between good and evil as other people are miraculously transformed by the deeds of one life redeemed.)

9. The Wingfeather Series: (Andrew Peterson creates an enjoyable story filled with humor, miraculous escapes, much despair, and faith until three children fulfill their destiny for good and for God.)

10. Blessed Child: (Ted Dekker and Bill Bright who founded Campus Crusade for Christ,  imagine together how a child miraculously blessed from birth might bring redemption in the midst of a perilous, corrupted and  modern world.)

I must add this note: Since there is never enough time to read as much as some of us desire, I have discovered how enjoyable it is to listen to audio versions of books like these as I exercise or do the daily chores that must be done. Sometimes listening is even better than reading, allowing my mind to imagine the characters and the setting, and the drama taking place in extraordinary lives.

Revelation 5:12-13
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
To receive power and wealth
and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”

I dearly love Christian music—pretty much all types of Christian music. I listen to Christian music throughout my day. So, how do I choose just ten songs? That’s an excellent question: Well, in my life there have been unforgettable moments when a song caught my heart and drew me almost literally up into Heaven—given me such delight I rejoice in the music and words which in turn move me more deeply than I can describe. I can just say I go through life longing for the next time I can hear such a song. It is as if God so uses each of these songs to lovingly wrap His arms around me with a musical hug, and from then on, my soul dances each time I hear it, as if I were already in Heaven. Each of these songs, and a few others I could not squeeze into the list, do, indeed, snatch me up into His glory.

My Ten Most Treasured Songs

1. “Is He Worthy?” Andrew Peterson (No song draws my heart into worship like this one. The first time I heard this song, I knew joy and praise and worship in a way I had never experienced before. In awe, I stand in worship each time I hear this powerful song.)
2. “Gratitude” Brandon Lake (This modern psalm echoes how my heart feels before our Good God. The simple majesty and beauty of this song always swells my heart with gladdened praise.)
3. “Give Me Jesus” Orlando Ortega (This song expresses the key to living every day, all my life. Such a sweet and simple song. It says it all. I know this should be my moment-by-moment prayer. Throughout my day, if I have Jesus I have so much more than I could ever need.)
4. “I Wish You Jesus” Scott Wesley Brown (This is the song I want to sing to my family, my friends, my students, everyone! The sweet music of this song matches the sweet message—what better wish could I have for my family, for my friends, for everyone—I Wish You Jesus!)
5. “Dimitri’s Song (Jesus is Alive)” Todd Smith (This bold ballad powerfully tells the story of how God is working among the persecuted Church today. This song is one of those which makes me stand to my feet and shout! I long to sing it with all the prisoners who have found freedom in Jesus.)
6. “Softly and Tenderly” Cynthia Clawson (In the film, “The Trip to Bountiful” this song breaks my heart over the Love of Jesus for us all. I was in a car with a beloved Pastor who literally wept the first time he heard her sing “Softly and Tenderly” I know why: Cynthia Clawson’s versions captures the haunting power and beauty of God’s Loving Call to Salvation.)
7. “My Jesus” Anne Wilson (This song beautifully proclaims every believer’s testimony. Its lively music and lyrics say what I want to say to those who have not yet found Jesus and His incredibly powerful love.)
8. “Faithfully” Toby Mac (This song honestly and emotionally captures the blessing of God’s Presence in the midst of heart rending tragedy. I need and I claim this remarkably honest testimony to the reality of God’s faithfulness, even in the worst of times )
9. “In Jesus Name (God of Possible)” Katy Nicole (This song voices the  fervent prayer of true believers who have been freed to bring such intercession on behalf of those in need to our Heavenly Father, who has the answers, the truth which those in the midst of pain, so need.)
10.  “Then I Will” Lauren Daigle (This song  based on the life and death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer challenges every Christian to give up everything to stand for righteousness. With her hauntingly beautiful voice, Lauren powerfully challenges all of us to take our stand in this world which seeks to undermine all righteousness.)

There you have it; my collection of treasures that do lift up my heart and make this entire life of mine one filled up to overflowing with the cup of gladness. Every single day is filled with wonders which testify to God’s Love, His Grace, His Mercy, His Empowering Presence, and His Heavenly Delight as He loves me and all His children. He truly makes me glad, and as He gladdens me, He makes me want to point others to His Glory in the person of our Lord Jesus. What a privilege to praise His Holy Name. Amen! Amen! Amen!

Next week we will conclude this series of lists with MY TEN MOST PIVOTAL HISTORICAL EVENTS and MY TEN MOST ADMIRED HISTORICAL FIGURES. Of course, no matter the subject of all my lists; They are ALL ABOUT JESUS.

Isn’t it wonderful that God
continues year-after-year
to bless our lives with such
a rich variety of blessings?
In Jesus we are so blessed!