Don’t trust in those who cannot save. When it comes to the worship of God, is your praise dampened by the events of the world around you? Are your prayers distracted by foreign affairs? Does your song sound less vibrant because of the failures of your elected officials? God says not to worry and praise him with all of your heart. Political leaders are not worthy of your ultimate trust. People can cannot save you. The one who trusts in the Lord is secure. Only in God is there reason for hope. As you worship, pray with a heart that is overflowing. Praise your God for the unique and powerful being that he is. Sing knowing […]
Worship
159 posts
The wicked will not win. The headlines tell the story of a godless culture. World events are troubling. The situation with our southern border seems out of control. The political climate is anything but stable. These things may shake our confidence. But, this is only what my eye can see. Praise God there is another set of eyes that sees more than my limited vision. While wickedness appears to be firmly entrenched, the rule of God is never threatened. His goodness knows no end. The time of evil has limits set by the Lord of Lords. The King has triumphed at the cross. The rule of God is secure. He raises up the mighty of this world […]
Christ secured freedom that can never be lost. Those without Christ will never experience true freedom. No matter how hard one works to secure freedom from things on earth, the ultimate freedom is to be free of the sins of the heart. We all have craved and compromised for significance apart from Christ. We all have been found wanting. We all know the most oppressive condemnation is that which entangles the heart with the burden of unrighteous sinful thoughts, words, and deeds. Without Christ there is no freedom of worship, no relief from condemnation. Because of Christ’s sacrifice we have been set free. There was no war that we could win, no declaration we could make, no payment that could […]
What is safety? The answer depends upon how you define safe. If safety means protection from the evil and devastation of this world, then the answer is no, you are not safe. If safety means you are always in God’s care and that whatever the circumstance, he is working all things together for his glory and your good, then yes, you are safe. This world is not our home. The ugliness of sin and death mark this world. The enemy wishes to distract us from these realities by fleeting, temporal pleasures. The reality is that we live in a world at war. Sometimes, we are reminded of this war by our own war with sin or the sins […]
Are you thankful? Psalm 100 says that we are to enter into the presence of God with thanksgiving and praise. If we lived with an appropriate understanding of the mercy of God this command would be joyfully obeyed. Yet, often we find ourselves asking “do I feel thankful”. This means that you seeing your world through the lens of your circumstances. This means that you have a distorted view of reality and a diminished appreciation for the grace of God. To be thankful we must first view our circumstances through the lens of the glory of God expressed in his word! Thankfulness is not ultimately dependent upon the actions of others. Thankfulness is not dependent upon the circumstances of your […]
But there is a God in Heaven! King Nebuchadnezzar had had enough of the mystical song and dance routine his spiritual advisors had been playing before him. The King had a disturbing dream. He wanted to know the meaning of this dream. He also doubted the authenticity of his advisors. So he devised a test to find out if his advisors could be trusted. Not only would they have to interpret the dream, they would also have to tell the King what the actual dream was. If they failed to do this, Nebuchadnezzar would have them all killed. The whole collection of Babylonian advisors panicked and were in great distress. The King had called their bluff. Because Daniel […]
Life is about more than time. A Christian must not live as though time is all that matters. As the hymn says, the sands of time are numbered. They are contained in an hourglass crafted by God for his glory. One day the last grain of sand will sink to the bottom of the glass. When this happens God will not turn the hourglass over. When the last grain falls, life on earth will also fall. Don’t live your life for sinking grains of sand. Live it for the glory of the King of Kings! The Sands of Time are Sinking The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of Heaven breaks; The summer morn I’ve […]
Worship – your life depends on it. Our world is changing. The gospel is our only hope! Peter Jones: From its founding until the 1960’s American culture was defined by patriarchal, heterosexual and Judeo-Christian presuppositions. In one generation, this worldview has been largely replaced by a radically egalitarian, omnigendered, pansexual, multi-religious and One-ist, (i.e. eastern thought) belief system that has turned our contemporary world upside down.
Worship is centered in the heart. God is not interested in sharing heart space with anyone or anything other than himself. A heart where the splendor of God shares space with the worries of life is a divided heart. God commands that his music is to play in your heart. Colossians 3:16 is not a suggestion, it is a command. Ignoring this command is just as destructive as ignoring the command not to steal. When you engage in corporate worship, when you engage in day-to-day worship the word of Christ is to dominate your heart. His music is to lead you to gratitude for his constant mercy. So, if you find that God is distant to you, in whatever the […]
Know that the Lord is good. Worship is about God, not about you. The psalms offer a powerful way to check your attitude and the condition of your heart as you worship. Consider Psalm 100. Recite this psalm to yourself. Then ask yourself does this psalm accurately reflect the state of your heart as you worship. All of the reasons given for praise in this psalm have to do with God’s faithfulness and not your circumstances. Is this the condition of your heart? Psalm 100, check it out! Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God. It […]