Incredible God....................

But you are holy, you who inhabit the praises of your people. Psalm 22:3

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The primary word for praise is Halal, which is the root of hallelujah, (to give glory, to boast, to shine, to be clamorous, to rave, to make a show, to celebrate). So praise is acknowledging, celebrating and honoring the person and work of God our creator for who He is and all He has done. Praise should come naturally from our heart. I can assure you that praising God is an enjoyable environment. We had 1-hour long praise at church this morning and I can’t remember when I was the happiest. I cried, smiled and danced in pure joy. When we praise God together, our praise creates an environment where God makes His presence known. People were weeping and hugging each other, they were even nice in the parking lot, which not typical. The above scripture says that our praise establishes a throne from which God can rule. God manifests Himself in the midst of praise. God is worthy to be praised. He is amazing and has done incredible things. He is never "out of stock" when it comes to grace and mercy and that should be sufficient but He gave His best (His son Jesus Christ) for humanity’s worst. I don’t know about you, but that makes me want to praise God as often as I can.

Friend when was the last time you thought of all the things God has done? I promise you, when you make Jesus the focus of your life, you will become a person of praise for He is worthy to be praised. So, when you read the words "Praise the LORD" at the beginning and conclusion of many Psalms, including one of my favorite, (Psalms 113), you should understand that the psalmist is telling “you” personally to praise the Lord by opening your mouth, and start singing to God. Do you trust in God’s mercy regardless of the situation you’re living in? Are you depending on Him in everything (good, bad and ugly)? Are you praising Him daily for His mercy and sufficient grace? You need to start praising God.

Dear friend, God deserves and merits our praise in big assembly, but He will accept our praise anytime and anywhere. (Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. Psalm 96:3). Our Father in heaven deserves our praise. If there is anything in your life keeping you from enjoying a relationship with The Incredible God, repent and confess it to God and invite The Holy Spirit to help you change so that you can become the son/daughter God created you to be; and if there is anyone you know who does know The Incredible God yet, make the decision to share the good news of Christ with him/her as soon as possible.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise him, all creatures here below; praise him above, ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen! (Thomas Ken, 1674).

My Incredible God Deserves Incredible Praise.

Praise the Lord!

Our Father's Love..............

“Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, 'Father, save me from this hour'? But this is the very reason I came! John 12:27

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

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The word "love" is so misused and overused in our society that we hardly know what to think and how to receive it when someone says, "I love you." People seem to be on a constant quest to find new love of the week because their kind of love is temporary and base on performance. But Jesus came to show us love at its best. He came to show us God kind of love. Nothing made us attractive to God! The original sin made us despicable to God. But despite our shortcomings it was God's pleasure, it was God's will to predestine us to be adopted as His children. Praise God! I don't know about you, but this truth is freeing to me. In personal relationships, even those with our spouses, are sometimes tricky. We have to consistently remain on our toes or else we face the consequences.

Friends, it brings me great joy and peace to know that I don’t have to worry about being perfect. I don't have to be on my best behavior at all times while looking over my shoulder, wondering if God is going to shut the door or abandon me because I blew it yet again by doing or saying the wrong thing. God loves us as we are, imperfect and all. It is okay to be us. We do not have to put on an act for God. We do not have to worry that God might change His mind about loving us because of poor performance or because of tendency to be less than perfect or even because of our controversial past. This the way I see it: God already knows the worst about me -- and He chose to love me! God's love is unconditional. God loves me!My dear friend, God loves you! He loves us both despite our imperfections, quite a delight contrary to temporary, and quid Pro Quo earthly love. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Roman 5:8

Only love has the power to drive Jesus to accomplish what He did on that cross. Only those of us who have loved someone deeply can begin to understand what Jesus was going through during His last week on this earth. I don’t know about you, but I have great difficulty being away from those I love. I don’t enjoy separation. As stated earlier, In this world we tend to love on the basis of performance (we love people who stimulate and challenge us), and yet love still tend to be beautiful, enjoyable, and something worth finding. But Romans 5:6-8 tells us that God's love is not based on our performance! God's love, instead, is unconditional. So Jesus and the Father are one and Jesus knew that time had come and He also knew that death would separate Him completely from the Father. No wonder He felt troubled! It would have been so easy for Him to ask the Father to spare Him and the above scripture clearly tells us that the thought had crossed His mind but He was caught between a rock and a hard place. He loved the Father and He also loved us. He opted to  go with the original plan, the Father's will. He went for His Father's plan of redemption. Jesus chose to save us in accordance to God's will.

Friend, if like you are longing for love and complete acceptance, seek no further. God will not reject you because He loves you too much. Praise God! The Cross of Christ is the clearest, loudest, most powerful "I love you!” ever proclaimed. Jesus loves us so much that He stretched out His arms so wicked people could nail Him to a cross. That's how much He loves us. When speaking of Jesus' love the only question that comes to my mind is why does He love us so much? I do not know about you but I am as imperfect as it gets. The Bible does not elaborate on the reason but it makes it clear that Jesus does because He is love. Jesus died on the Cross to take our (yours and mine) place and make complete payment for our sins so that we could spend an eternity with Him forever in heaven! He chose to die for us rather than live without us. Wow! We are absolutely, totally, completely, and indisputably loved!

Father I thank you for your love. Thank you for opening the eyes of my heart so I can receive your love. Thank you for continuing to perfect what has concerned me for so long. Thank you for the sacrifice of the cross. Thank you for your son Jesus Christ, my savior and Lord!

Praise the Lord!

Walking in the Valley............

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

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When we apply God's word to situations and circumstances in our lives, God will meet the need! No matter how big the need or high the mountain, we serve a God that is a Need Meeting God! We sometimes forget or don't realize that the God we serve is a big God, He holds the world in his hands and there is no problem too complex for our God to solve. What seems impossible for man is possible for God. If we stop complaining and feeling sorry for ourselves, abut start confessing the Word of God, and Thanking God we will see God move in our lives like never before. God's word is sharper than any two edged sword; It accomplishes that which it is sent to do. Friend, confess the word about the need, Thank God for his favor, and wait with expectancy! God is waiting for the opportunity to meet your needs if you would only call on his name.

Your heart may have been broken, you may have been rejected by someone who promised you forever, your bills may be due and no money in the bank, no foreseeable job, One thing after another, it seems like you get over one problem just to face another; or you may be cornered by all kind of challenges, friend, you are in your valley. We often want to hurry or run thru our valley, or wish we could sleep through it because it's an uncomfortable place, but God allows us to walk through the valley to teach us, to make us, and to show us his awesome power in our lives! How would you know God was a deliver, if he's never delivered you! How would you know he solves problems if you never have any? How would you know he heals if you never been sick? How would you know that he provides if you never have a pressing need? How would you appreciate His love if you never been abandoned without any clear explanation? And how would you know He picks up the pieces if you never been broken?

God is a God of timing. God works according to his time table not ours. We sometimes don't want to give God the time to work things out. We want it right now! In the storm (waiting time), it seems too difficult to hold on but God will come through in due time. Don’t go ahead of God. Why don’t you just hold on a little longer? Hold on and trust God and know that he is a God will that work it out just in due time.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 122

I rejoiced with those who said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
    in your gates, Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem is built like a city
    that is closely compacted together.
4 That is where the tribes go up—
    the tribes of the Lord—
to praise the name of the Lord
    according to the statute given to Israel.
5 There stand the thrones for judgment,
    the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
    “May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls
    and security within your citadels.”
8 For the sake of my family and friends,
    I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
    I will seek your prosperity.