Praise The Lord!

The phrase Praise the Lord comes up often in Christian conversations.
And that says something right there.
While praise begins in the heart, it doesn't remain silent!

There are many different  ways to praise the Lord.
Here are a few:
With instruments and melody:
Psalms 33:2 Praise the LORD with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.

With dancing: 2 Sam 6:14 David danced before the Lord with all of his might.

 

With clapping our hands and shouting Psalms 47:1 The psalmist declares, Clap your hands all ye people, shout unto God with the voice of triumph!

 With Singing and talking: I Chr. 16:9Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!

So worship with Lord with all of your soul, your mind and your strength and don't be silent!

Warfare

If one does a search* on warfare jargon in the concordance (i.e. battle, warfare, armor, win, attack, victory, defeat) it is very apparent that Christianity is not a passive thing. We are constantly in a battle. Perhaps not like the battles in the Old Testament, but certainly with the flesh; the enemy of the spirit.

We cannot win a battle passively. We must be prepared to fight the good fight of faith.

The good news is God has given us a whole armory of spiritual weapons. But the weapons in themselves don’t win battles, they must be used!

2 Cor. 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Ephesians 6:11-13* Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

· I like to use the Blue Letter Bible Concordance: www.blueletterbible.org

· For further study see Ephesians 6:14-18 for a whole listing of our spiritual armor.

Possessions- Who Owns Who?

Deuteronomy 4:20-21 Remember that the LORD rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today. But the LORD was angry with me because of you. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan River into the good land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession.

 

We are His possession and He gives us possessions.

But remember Jesus warning: Matthew 6:24 NLT "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

So… do you possess your possessions or do your possessions possess you?

Abba Father Loves You

John 16:27 for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God
.
Jesus cried Abba Father in the garden of Gethsemane.

Abba means father, but not as a founder of an idea or organization, like "Father" Abraham.
It is a true parental term.
It isn't casual but it is intimate
Servants could not address the head of the house as Abba, only his true children could.
We can approach throne of God in confidence, as a child of a King might do.

Think about that.  Meditate on it.

Your heavenly Father is the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords, He is the Almighty God  and He, your Heavenly Abba loves you!

Works of the Flesh - Idolatry

Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders,* drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

When I think of the word idol, what comes to mind is “American idol”and  "America's Top Model.  One might think of a sports hero, movie star or business tycoon.   It could be anyone that we strive to imitate or strongly admire.

 But an idol can also be an image; perhaps nothing more than a reflection in a mirror; it can be seen but has no substance or power.

It is interesting to note that while an image or reflection can be seen but has no substance; our faith is substance we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1)

As followers of Jesus, our identity is Christ.

We look to Him as the author and finisher of our faith.

When we look into the mirror of our life we should see a child of God; a sinner who is saved by grace!

A Spark in the Dark

In the dark even a tiny spark of light shines brightly.
Jesus said, that we are the light of the world and to let our lights shine.
He also said if they persecuted Him they will persecute us also.

So the next time someone reacts to you negatively remember you are a spark in the dark!


 Matthew  5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

John 3:19 NIV This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

No Triumph with out Trial

We can't have a triumph without a trial.

Trials are absolutely inevitable and essential for our spiritual growth:

John 16:33 NLT I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

 

They won't be pleasant, but they won't last forever:

Psalms 23:4 NLT  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.

We may, like King David ask ourselves :

Psalms 43:5 NIV

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

 

But above all  remember this!

James 1:2-3 NIV Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.