Praise

I would like to take a moment and offer a word praise to God. Isn't it always amazing to see the presence of God at work even in the midst of challenges and difficulties? The old Preacher may say it this way, "You can't have a testimony without a test." Genuine praise and thanksgiving is often raised up out of a time of difficulty. It is during those times that we turn our hearts and attention toward God and realize that His greatness has not changed as we walk through a time of challenge. God is still God regardless of what is happening to us, around us, or even in us. It is with a thankful heart that I offer my THANK YOU JESUS today.

Ann and I have seen the goodness of God at work over the past few weeks in our lives. We have been reminded that is a good thing that we have placed our faith and confidence in God. We are not embarrassed to say that we do not have to look anywhere else but to God; He is our present help in challenging times. Some one today may need to be reminded that it is your time to share your praises with God. Do not wait any longer before you take the time to praise. There is no better time that the present time in which you are living. God is revealing Himself all around us. We just need to take the time to identify His blessings as well as identify His presence today. 

In four (4) separate verses in Psalm 107 the Psalmist makes this declaration: "Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" (KJV) (Emphasis added)

Would you be one of those individuals who will choose to follow that admonition today?

Spiritual Growth

2 Peter 1:1-3: “This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. ² May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. ³ By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. (NLT)

Is it possible that we have overlooked the principles related to our individual need to develop an attitude and desire for spiritual growth? Is it possible that we can grow and possibly have grown complacent in our journey with Christ? Is it possible that we have sought the blessings of God and failed to ask Him to teach us about spiritual growth/maturity? Spiritual growth can be time consuming and challenging. It is one thing to pursue the blessings of God and another thing to pursue the discipline of Discipleship! I for one certainly appreciate all of the blessings of God that He has sent my way but I also appreciate the on-going development of my relationship with Christ. 

Would you take a moment and once again read verse 2 of I Peter 1? "May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord." I believe this verse reminds us that God will provide Grace and Peace in abundance as we grow in our "knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord." I also believe that provision could be placed in the category of the blessings that come from God. Is there not a great need for Grace and Peace in our world today? Is there not also a great need to see the continued development of our knowledge of God and the continued development of our relationship with Him?"

I plan on addressing three (3) questions during the message this coming Sunday morning. 1) Do I want to HEAR what God is SAYING? 2) Do I want to SEE what God is REVEALING? 3) Do I want to PUT INTO PRACTICE what God is TEACHING? 

I still believe that Spiritual Growth is an IMPORTANT PART OF OUR WALK WITH CHRIST!!!

Sincerity

Matthew 15:7-9

 "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8  “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9  They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules." (NIV)

The words sincere and sincerity kept arising in my heart this morning during a time of prayer. I had to ask myself, "Am I truly sincere in my approach to God whether I am in a public setting or in my private time with God?" The Prophet Isaiah spoke in unflattering terms about a group of people (The Spirit called them hypocrites or stage actors) when he spoke about this group of individuals. They were able to speak an abundance of words but their hearts were not connected with the words that were being expressed. I can only assume they knew the "right words" to say and even the appropriate way that these words should be spoken. BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING MISSING. The words were coming through their lips but their heart was not connected with the words that were being spoken.

How often does the modern day church express the right words, the right phrases, the right songs and yes, even the right message but our heart has become dis-connected from what is being spoken? Our worship and praise to God becomes captured in the prison of the 3 Spiritual R's. The 3 Spiritual R's are "ruts, rituals, and routines." These 3 R's lead us to worship from memory and recitation rather than passion and fervor. We can read the words out of the hymnal, we can read the words off the screens that are provided to us and some of us can even sing the songs from our ability to remember them so we just recite the words routinely week after week. 

But I must remind you that God is looking to hear from our heart and not just our mouth. I can only hear what you audibly say but God is able to hear what your (mine) heart is saying. What will we do with this challenging scripture in today's post? How will we respond to God? Does it matter how we respond to God or have we prepared our list of reasons/excuses that we trust God will accept as the reason that our worship/praise is "flat or empty" today? Do you remember when you had failed to do your homework for school and you went to class with your excuse in your mind and you were prepared to share that with your teacher? Have we treated God in the same manner that we treated our teacher in school? I believe many of these questions including the list of excuses can be handled through the single word "sincerity." We need to approach God with a sincere heart that is full of thankfulness and gratitude. I BELIEVE THAT GOD IS WAITING TO HEAR FROM OUR HEARTS TODAY!!!

Personal Reflections

My posts on the blog have been sporadic over the past few weeks for a variety of reasons. I am a person who seeks to model consistency in every area of life. Consistency can cause you to develop some "habits" or daily preferences that can be interfered with or disrupted through an abrupt change in your daily schedule. Those changes in my recent schedule has somewhat interfered with my "spiritual routine" of prayer and then sharing the thoughts that I deem important and pertinent to our walk with Christ. Over the past week my wife has undergone a battery of tests and appointments with Doctors as we have been investigating some health issues that have recently arisen with her. I am not one to disclose a lot of personal issues but this is worth mentioning because we sincerely desire your prayer covering. 

But there is another reason that I have shared these brief details. I shared these to let you know that God uses all types of situations, challenges, decisions, etc. to teach us more about Him and more about ourselves. Let me share a few of these lessons with you. 1) Over the past several days we have seen the love and care of God being lived out through our family, our local church family and our unique set of friends. I have learned that each of us need to be reminded that God actually does care about our cares of life. 2) God has taught me that He uses the wisdom of others to help you navigate through the challenges of life. We have met some awesome Doctors, nurses, technologists, medical support staff, and other individuals who have decided to put their knowledge to use through their service to their fellow human beings. 3) God has taught me that His Word and His Spirit are still strong, powerful and yes, even relevant in this day and time in the history of mankind. The culture would lead us to believe that the Word of God is "out of step" with modern man but I refute that teaching by saying that I (we) have found God "right in step" with those thoughts, fears, anxieties, troubles, etc that we are facing at this present moment. His Word has reminded me of His Sovereignty, Might, Power and that He still has the last Word in the lives of mankind. His Word has come to us through devotionals, text messages, personal conversations and personal "words of encouragement." 

I challenge you to make your own list of things that God has taught you over the past few weeks through the various channels of life that He has chosen to use. You might be surprised what you have learned once you audibly speak those lessons out loud or take the time to write them down so that you can reflect on the presence of God. 

Will I Praise Him?

Psalm 34:1-3, "I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together." (NKJ)

I was awakened earlier this morning with this passage of scripture in and on my mind. There are passages in the Bible that call for a radical response to God even in the midst of the challenges and difficulties of life. I recently read a statement that truly challenged my heart. The minister shared these words in the context of his sermon, "Christianity is more than a decision we make; it is a lifestyle that we choose to live."  

I honestly was intrigued though his choice of words. I believe that I knew that this principle was based on the truth of the Gospel but the written words jumped off the page and began to stir in my heart. This scripture passage this morning brought me back to the challenge of a "Christian lifestyle." Doesn't the thoughts of lifestyle go deeper than our selection of clothes, styles of worship, choices of music, Pentecostal or non-Pentecostal, etc? 

Would living a Christian lifestyle also include the daily application of the scriptures to our lives? Isn't there some scriptures that are easier to apply to our lives than others? I certainly enjoy all of the passages of the Bible that refers to the blessings that God has to offer me but what about those passages that describe what God expects me to offer to Him? Following Christ must be more than just a "lifestyle of convenience and provision." Following Christ demands a willingness to put into practice the principles of the Bible rather than just our select list that only brings His benefits into our lives. 

Jesus died so that we could become disciples and not just spiritual beggars who are looking for a favor or looking for a handout!!

Psalm 34:1, "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth." 

Sufficient Grace

Hebrews 4:16, "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (NIV)

Many of my posts refer to inspirational thoughts that I received during times of prayer and meditation. Today's post will fall into the parameters of that understanding. I have learned that prayer is about God talking back to me as well as me talking to God. I wonder if that is one of the reasons that satan seeks to hinder the prayer life of the modern day church. Is it entirely possible that satan does not want us to have a time of fellowship and interaction with God? Strength can be found in the presence of God. Courage can be found in the presence of God. Hope can be found in the presence of God. The promises of God are revealed afresh and anew to us in His presence.

During prayer time on Friday morning I believe that the Spirit placed this passage of scripture in my heart as well as the words of a song. The scripture is familiar to many of us and many of you may also recognize the song that I am referencing. One of the lines of the song makes this declaration; "...His Grace is sufficient for me, His love is abundant and free. Oh, what joy feels my soul, just to know, just to know that His Grace is sufficient for me..." 

I am sure that many of you can agree with me and say that you have found the scripture to be real and that you also have found the inspirational words in the song to be real and comforting. I truly believe that God reminded me of these facts on Friday. But I also believe that God desired for me to remind you of those same facts. You can find Grace to help in time of need and you can realize that His Grace is sufficient regardless of the circumstances of your life. We just need to remember to walk in the strength of our relationship with God. God is interested in fulfilling His role in our relationship and each of us need to be committed to fulfilling our role in the relationship with God. 

I believe that it is time that the children of God come into agreement with our Heavenly Father and stop listening to the propaganda of satan. The enemy is busy spreading his lies and accusations against each believer. But we can defeat the propaganda of our enemy through the declaration of the Truth of God's Words. Do not compromise the strength of your faith. Hold to the Truth and allow God to send the help that you need.

You are Not Alone!

Psalm 23:1-4, "The Lord is my shepherd;

    I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
    he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3     He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
    bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me."  (NLT)

Today's blog post will focus on a word of encouragement that I received during a time of prayer this morning. I am preparing to share an eulogy at a celebration of life service in a few hours. This man was a member and attender of a previous congregation that I served. As I was praying for this family and today's service I felt God speak a reminder in my heart. That reminder is one of the facts revealed in Psalm 23. The Lord has promised to be near you regardless of the type of valley in in which you are walking today. The size of the valley, the problems of the valley, the trials you are facing in the valley and any of the other challenges which will affect you in the family WILL NOT HINDER the presence of God. I can boldly declare to someone today that YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN YOUR VALLEY!!! 

Let us remember and reflect on the prophetic promise concerning Jesus Christ: Matthew 1:22-23, "All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: 23  “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” (Emphasis added) (NLT)