Praise Shout With Joy

Praise

Praise is mentioned about 596 times in the Bible. I’m just going to use Psalm 66.

Shout with joy to God, all the earth!

Sing the glory of his name;

make his praise glorious!

Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!

So great is your power

that your enemies cringe before you.

All the earth bows down to you;

they sing praise to you,

they sing praise to your name.”       Selah  Psalm 66:1-4

So we are told to (a) shout with joy, (b) sing the glory of His name, (c) make His praise glorious, (d) sing praise.

David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals. 2 Samuel 6:5

They were celebrating getting the ark of God back to the city of David.

So when did we stop giving God the praise He deserves? Isn't He doing wonderful things in our lives, in the lives of our family and friends that we should be celebrating?

Shouldn't we be celebrating His magnificence? His glory? His faithfulness? His forgiveness? His healing? His protection? And the list can go on and on.

In my opinion not only has ‘going to church’ become a habit, a religion; but so has the time of praise. We finally arrive at church after arguing with our flesh or spouse or children….that did not want to get up, it’s the only day they get to sleep…..or we are still thinking on the work we left on our desk Friday….or maybe we are dwelling on some gossip we heard and can’t wait to see if so and so shows up today. You name it, our minds; our desires are elsewhere so we go in and go through the motions. We sing the songs but are we really noticing the words and the meanings? Are we really singing these songs to God? Can you close your eyes and feel His presence and if you hear Him to tell you to lift your arms in worship to Him, will you do it or are you concerned about someone seeing you and ‘gossiping’ about you?

 

I know we are to do all things to glorify God, but when you read about how they praised Him in the Bible; it seems we have lost exuberance.

God has done so much for me that I want to make sure I’m giving Him all the glory every day of my life and when I come together with the body of believers I worship with – I want to be able to put our praises together and welcome His presence in our midst.

One day I was asking God why it felt heavy, like no one was really singing to Him, it was ‘habit’. And I heard Him ask me, ‘What do you want?’ And I told Him (while praise was still going on I stopped to write this down so I’d remember it).

     I want to go into a place of worship and if even one ounce of flesh is on me…..it falls off! There is so much passion for God and for His people that nothing else can come in – we leave our pride, selfishness, fear, sickness, gossip, etc at the door.

Then I heard the Lord clearly say to me, ‘If we don’t come really seeking Him we squelch the Spirit. If we can’t find and rest in His joy we are losing the Light. We are to praise Him with all our might, to know what we are singing and why, it is beautiful to Him.

I believe if you want to see a move of God’s power, we need to know what we are singing, why we are singing it and make sure we focus on giving God the praise.

(c)Has Breath Publishing LLC

Carrying an Offense?

The Bait of Satan

By

John Bevere

I’m doing a study using this book and even though I’m only on Chapter 3, I highly recommend your prayerfully get and go through this book with your spouse or get a group together at your church.

One of the first things that stood out was in the ‘Preface’:

…..”it was not these miracles that pushed them to the brink of doubt. No, that challenge would come later toward the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Jesus had instructed His disciples, “If your brother sins against you…..seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.’ Their immediate response to Him was. ‘INCREASE OUR FAITH’ (Luke 17:3-5)”.

Then Mr. Bevere continues:

Jesus said, “It is impossible that no offenses should come” (Luke 17:1)

“It is not a question of opportunity to be offended, but what your response will be.”

How many marriages fall apart because one or both hold an offense? How many children walk away from the parents or siblings that love them as only family can – because of an offense? How many times will it take for a person to say they are sorry and ask for your forgiveness before you will quit playing God and allow Him to work through you? You are not just hurting the person you are holding an offense for, you are hurting yourself which will cause you to react in certain ways or hide yourself behind alcohol (getting drunk) or drugs (you just want to feel ‘happy’) or ….well you name it.

One of the testimonies in this book should bring encouragement to many married couples, whether you are married to a believer or non-believer.

“….He was unsaved and wanted nothing to do with the church. Someone put a copy of ‘The Bait of Satan’ in my hands. I read it and, within a short time, was completely set free from offense and bitterness. WHEN MY HUSBAND SAW THE CHANGES in my life, he surrendered his life to the lordship of Jesus Christ and stopped the divorce proceedings.”

Another testimony:

“….I hated my mother for abandoning me…..I realized I had to go to her and forgive…….Now the wall that separated me from God’s presence is gone!”

Now that’s just part of the Preface, can you imagine what the rest of the book is going to be like? Are you ready to take a chance and open yourself up to Truth? To allow God to show you where you are holding on to an offense?

Can you truly say you have never offended anyone? Have you complained about someone behind their back instead of going to them? Then you probably offended them and I’m sure you want them to forgive you and not carry that offense out.

I guess what I’m asking – what makes you greater than someone else that you don’t have to forgive? What makes you special enough that you can carry an offense and discredit them to your friends and family?

Is that placing yourself above God? Is that really where you want to be?

I know I don’t want to place myself above God, if you know anything about what He says in His Word then you know that’s not a good place to be.

I’m actually thankful I’ve let go of many offenses before reading this book. I believe there are a few hidden ones and that is why God has placed this in my hands to study. It may ‘feel’ and be uncomfortable but I want God’s blessings and I want to be a blessing so I’m willing to spend time in prayer, this book and check it against God’s Word – then do what the Lord instructs.

I just may continue sharing as I go through the chapters and what He is showing me – what do you think? Would you like to follow along?

There is nothing to fear, God wants us set free to live the abundant life He has promised, all we have to do is admit our sin, listen to how He wants us to make it right and then move forward in His strength, giving Him all the glory, honor and praise.

You can purchase this book at amazon.com  or check it out from your local library. 

You can also sign up to trade your paperback books here - 

Are You Eager?

there's a couple places where the sound cuts out - I don't know what is wrong with my laptop, sorry - but you will get the message. God worked on me for weeks before I sat down and received what He had for me.
One of these days I will learn to listen, sit down and do it the first time!
Blessings

Love A Lesson Learned

I was going to work on the second class of our 'The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children' by Stormie Omartian but the Lord put it on my heart to share this first.

I really struggled with love until I did a search in the Bible and spent time with God. I'm so glad he challenged me and has kept me growing. Do I have it perfectly yet? Nope, but I'm not where I use to be either!

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