Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Worship God!


I will praise you, my God and king; I will bless your name forever. I will always sing praises to my God while I am alive. Psalm 146:2

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Worship is an expression of love to the only living God who gives us abundantly and far more than we deserve. God is holy, loving, and worthy of all our worship and devotion, and He wants us to be just like He is. John 4:23 says, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

In order to worship God in truth, we need to know that Jesus said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." So, before you can worship in the way that God desires, you have to develop a relationship with Him through faith in His son Jesus Christ. God is the focus of our devotion in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. In Exodus 20:2-3, God says, "I am the LORD your God, you shall have no other gods before me." In Matthew 4:10, Jesus says, "Worship the Lord your God and serve him only." So, worship is not a command from God throughout the Bible.

Our praise and love to God should be a daily matter and not a rare occurrence when we feel like it. God blesses us every day and covered us with favor. God and God alone is worthy of our devotion, honor and worship. He continuously gives us His best. He sent his son Jesus Christ to die and we are commanded to praise and worship Him. Psalm 29:2 says, "Give unto the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Whereas, Psalm 96:9 says, "Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth." Dear friend worship, worship and worship God. Worship with every breath that you take. He is worthy.

The best way that we can praise and worship God is with our every thought and action. Romans 12:1-2 states, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is his good, pleasing and perfect will." The Bible says that God inhabits in the praises of His people (Psalms 22:3). In other words, God “dwells” in the atmosphere of His praise. This means that praise is not merely a reaction from coming into His presence, but praise is a vehicle of faith which brings us into the presence and power of God! Praise and worship is the “bridge” which allows us to enter the sacredness of God’s glory. David said “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name” (Psalms 100:4).

I challenge you to become a person of praise, and you will experience the release of the power of God!

Praise the Lord!

Not Afraid...........

Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. Proverbs 3:25-26

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There are a few passages in the Bible where God tell us to “Fear Not”. I found 31 verses, there could be even more, and that makes me wonder why the word of God discusses fear? God knew that our journey here on earth wouldn't be easy and we’d have to face some challenging times and we may be tempted to fear, as the loving father that He is, He left us with certain guidelines to get through our temptations. Fear can paralyzed you and keep you fro praying and keep you from enjoying the life that God gave you. Well, fear is a powerful force that can keep your focus off of God, and that is the most dangerous aspect of fear. We tend to focus on our circumstances more than God, but Jesus died on the cross to take us from our circumstances. So many Christians today worry about things they have no business worrying about. The word God urges us to bring all our burdens to God. Not some of them, not the ones we can’t fix ourselves but all of them.

Fear should not be in the heart of the believer because it is rooted in unbelief. Faith and fear cannot co-habit. You either have faith or you don’t. If you are terrorized by the fear of what might suddenly happen to you, around you or in the life of your love ones than you are in disobedience because the word of God tells us not to worry because God is able to supply all of our needs. He has done it before and He will do it again. There are a lot going on today, from wars to national disasters, to numerous scary/devastating new diseases that keep coming out of no where. There are numerous natural disasters in every part of the globe, but we remain in faith because we believe in God’s ability to come through for us. We know whose children we are.

My friend, don't worry. Whatever it is you are fighting right now is temporary. God is going to work it out. As a matter of fact, Christ already won the battle for you more than 2000 years ago. Whatever it is, as hard and hopeless it may seem in the natural, DON’T WORRY. It is already taken care of in the spiritual. God is the answer. He wants to help and He is able. Call on His name and invite in, tell Him about your trouble, He cares and loves you. Remain in faith and He will see you through it. There is no need to fear when you put your faith in God.

Be courageous and be fortified in Jesus name.

Praise the Lord!