Psalms 34:1-3
1) I will praise the Lord at all times, I will constantly speak His praises.
2) I will boast only in the Lord; Let all who are helpless take heart.
3) Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt His name together. NLT
Psalms 34:1-3
1) 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 it and be glad
3) Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. NKJV
Choices! We all make choices every day. We speak life or we speak fear, doubt, and death. I believe that we must choose life. Every time, let us choose life. We will all go through hard times, tough times, painful times, but what do we talk about? I am not talking of some type of denial; we need to process issues for healing, but do we focus on the negative, hard, and painful, or do we talk of the faithfulness of God? Do our lips continually praise Him? Do we boast of the goodness of the Lord even when it is hard because at the core of our being we believe that God will make all things work for our good? In all our lives, we choose, so let us choose life, let us choose trust in the Lord, let us believe what God says no matter what we experience in this life. He is still God, trustworthy, and our redeemer. Yes, we will have tribulation in this world, but be of good cheer, He (God) has overcome the world. If we believe His Word, and trust God’s faithfulness, then praise and focusing on God’s goodness will not be difficult. You will always see God bigger than your self, trials, and anything we may encounter of the difficult and painful. So let us ask God to keep fresh in our hearts to choose life, and rest our lives on His faithfulness.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Genesis 22:5
“Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the young men. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” Genesis 22:5
God asked Abraham to worship Him by sacrificing his son, Isaac. Human sacrifice has never been God’s way, but here is a story of the ultimate test of Abraham’s obedience to the Lord. And we can learn some things from Abraham:
Worship was a priority in his life. He was determined to offer to the Lord all that was due Him, even if that was Abraham’s most treasured possession.
Obedience was also a priority. Having been asked to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham got up early the next morning to see to it.
Isaac was Abraham’s only child. He was promised to Abraham and in his old age, God came through and they had Isaac. It’s interesting that even though Abraham knew that he was going to sacrifice Isaac to the Lord, he tells his men that he and Isaac will be right back. This tells us that Abraham knew and trusted God. He understood God’s faithfulness and walked in relationship with Him enough to trust that God would make a way. Abraham trusted the heart of God.
Let’s embrace our destiny to be worshipers of the living God. Let’s give Him every part of ourselves and our lives and our substance because He’s worthy and He’s our example. He gave His own son for us and Jesus chose to lay down His life for our redemption. He would never ask us to do anything He hasn’t already done. He empowers us and calls us higher so we can live a life of worship, sacrifice, and fulfillment. He calls us to be like Him.
God asked Abraham to worship Him by sacrificing his son, Isaac. Human sacrifice has never been God’s way, but here is a story of the ultimate test of Abraham’s obedience to the Lord. And we can learn some things from Abraham:
Worship was a priority in his life. He was determined to offer to the Lord all that was due Him, even if that was Abraham’s most treasured possession.
Obedience was also a priority. Having been asked to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham got up early the next morning to see to it.
Isaac was Abraham’s only child. He was promised to Abraham and in his old age, God came through and they had Isaac. It’s interesting that even though Abraham knew that he was going to sacrifice Isaac to the Lord, he tells his men that he and Isaac will be right back. This tells us that Abraham knew and trusted God. He understood God’s faithfulness and walked in relationship with Him enough to trust that God would make a way. Abraham trusted the heart of God.
Let’s embrace our destiny to be worshipers of the living God. Let’s give Him every part of ourselves and our lives and our substance because He’s worthy and He’s our example. He gave His own son for us and Jesus chose to lay down His life for our redemption. He would never ask us to do anything He hasn’t already done. He empowers us and calls us higher so we can live a life of worship, sacrifice, and fulfillment. He calls us to be like Him.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey You. Psalm 51:12
None of us start out with the intention of losing the joy of our salvation. But we do lose it when our relationship with the Lord is unattended and stagnant. I know that if I don’t take time to keep connected with my wife, we tend to drift away from each other and our joy at being together gets lost. In the same way, when we sin we lose our close connection with God. Sometimes we feel as though God is distant and we may think that He has withdrawn from us, but it isn’t God who has moved away! When we feel that distance, it’s time to take stock of our hearts. Are we enmeshed in some sin? Do we need to repent and draw in? Is it a season of deeper reliance on the Lord? All we need to do is ask. God will let us know what we need to do. He desires to give us joy! He wants us to rejoice, celebrate, dance, sing, and enjoy all that He’s given us. Let’s focus on relationship with the Lord and learn to walk closely with Him. Let’s open our hearts so that we can walk in close relationship, filled with His joy, assured of His goodness and the knowledge that His mercy endures forever. If you ask, God will give you a heart that’s willing to follow him. And His presence and joy will follow.
Rejoicing in my salvation,
Pastor Darrell
None of us start out with the intention of losing the joy of our salvation. But we do lose it when our relationship with the Lord is unattended and stagnant. I know that if I don’t take time to keep connected with my wife, we tend to drift away from each other and our joy at being together gets lost. In the same way, when we sin we lose our close connection with God. Sometimes we feel as though God is distant and we may think that He has withdrawn from us, but it isn’t God who has moved away! When we feel that distance, it’s time to take stock of our hearts. Are we enmeshed in some sin? Do we need to repent and draw in? Is it a season of deeper reliance on the Lord? All we need to do is ask. God will let us know what we need to do. He desires to give us joy! He wants us to rejoice, celebrate, dance, sing, and enjoy all that He’s given us. Let’s focus on relationship with the Lord and learn to walk closely with Him. Let’s open our hearts so that we can walk in close relationship, filled with His joy, assured of His goodness and the knowledge that His mercy endures forever. If you ask, God will give you a heart that’s willing to follow him. And His presence and joy will follow.
Rejoicing in my salvation,
Pastor Darrell
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