beyond the struggle

 We all have gone through struggles and will face struggles in this life: sickness, pain, loss, fear, thoughts we think, things done to us, acts of nature, life in general has hardships and struggles. Spiritually, we face struggles of being steadfast, faithful, consistent, and strong in our resolve of faith. We are faced with struggles that seem to keep us from every promise we have from God. His word is full of promises for every believer. He has given us promises individually as well. Promises for our families and promises spiritually. Those promises may seem deterred or out of reach. But, in faith, we can look beyond the struggles and the promise is still there.  

Moses was given a promise, At the first sign of trouble he began to question. In Exodus 5:20-23 we see Moses asking God why he is allowing Pharoah to punish the Israelites and not actually delivered them at all. 

Exodus 5:20-23 

And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: And they said unto them, The Lord look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us .And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

Yet, Moses knew who had the power to change things. He had gone straight to the Source. He ran to God and God answered with deliverance. 

We also see David had a promise. He was chosen to be king of Israel. He went through years of trials. years of Saul chasing and trying to kill him. His promise seemed far away. At one point, David faced a great trial, he wept and grieved, but ran to God. He knew where his help came from. 

1 Samuel 30: 1-8

And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.  

 David was faced with the loss of all he had, his family, home, livestock, all he had. Even his men were ready to take it out on him. He ran to God and encouraged himself in the Lord. He prayed and asked God to lead him. He asked God what to do next. If you keep reading, we find that God did exactly what he promised. 

We also need to run to God when his promises seem far away.  Moses and David are great examples of this. They were given great promises that seemed defeated and unlikely to come to pass. Yet, when they called on God, he responded with the next step.  We need to remember that he cares and already has a plan set in motion.

⁷ Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.  1 Peter 5:7

God is able to work it out and leads us further down the path if we but rely on him, ask for his wisdom and guidance and seek him first. he is able to give us strength, establish us and make us more in his image. He is working to bring about his will in our lives. We can be encouraged in his word and be settled, calm and in peace knowing we are in his plan.

¹⁰ But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.  1 Peter 5:10

 We can be grounded and find a peace knowing God is working it for our good. He has called and made his promises known to us for a reason. He will not allow his word to fall void and he will fulfill his word. 

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

 God fights the battles. The answer is on the way.  Our flesh is weak and becomes afraid, When we look with the natural eyes, the promises may seem unavailable and impossible. But God is a Spirit. We are to walk in the spirit. God is fighting for us. We cannot allow our thoughts to be distracted by the natural appearance of a situation. God is mighty, powerful and nothing is impossible for him. That battle before you already has an answer in God. Use your spiritual eyes, increase your faith. Use the weapons God has given you. Pray, Speak his word. Call on his name! His Word is our weapon. 

2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 7

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;  Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? if any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.

The enemy will be defeated as he attempts to destroy what God has given us. We cannot allow ourselves to give in to anything that tells us we will never see the promise of God. We can be encouraged that God's word is true. God will allow us to walk right over the enemy that tried to destroy us with peace and victory. We will be triumphant when we are aware of the devices the enemy uses against us. He attempts to give us unbelief, doubt, and fear. If he can get us to fear or no longer believe, he destroys our faith. Keep the faith! 

Romans 16:19-20

For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

 We can be confident that Gods promises are yes!  He has promised and he will never lie. He is the God of truth. His word is true. When he speaks, there should never be a doubt.

For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 2 Corinthians 1:20

In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; Titus 1:2

Be encouraged in faith.  If you have a promise the enemy has tried to destroy, call on God. Run to him. Ask him to lead. He has the next step for you. He has the plan in place. He can change to situation just as he did the Moses and the children of Israel. He can restore what the enemy has stolen. He can bring it back and make you whole again. He is able to do more and exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or think.  Lay it all at the feet of Jesus and let him do what only he can do. Look beyond the struggle at the promises of God. His promises will be fulfilled. His promises are true. 

 

 

launch out

 Have you ever felt like God is challenging you to grow, go deeper, or do something you never thought you could do?  Have you questioned, worried, or tried to figure out how that dream you have for ministry will ever come to pass?  I think we may all have had some experience with this.  We want to see the dreams God has given us to come to fruition. We want to be used of God. I think Peter may have experienced this a few times. He started out with God telling him to do something a little crazy after trying to fish all night and had caught nothing. They were tired and ready to go home. But Jesus challenged.

Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. Luke 5:4

Upon obeying, the catch was so great it caused the nets to break. It did not make sense but Jesus stepped in and changed the situation. 

Another momentous act was when the disciples were out in the boat tossed by the waves when Jesus came walking on the water. When Jesus cheerfully revealed himself, Peter asked, "If it is you, bid me come. "

And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. Matthew 14:29

Here we see Peter obeyed and placed his trust in Jesus.  Yes, in the second story, we can read that Peter became fearful and Jesus had to pull him up from sinking. But the point is, he stepped out of that boat and began walking on the water. 

So many times, we may feel called to move, speak, write, or go, but we allow doubt and fear to hinder and stop us. God wants us to trust and obey.  I have spent many times of my life afraid of the outcome and did not do what I know God was asking of me. I did not obey all the while saying, "I trust you Lord." I did not demonstrate that trust with obedience. I hope I am not alone in that confession. 

God is ready to use his people. The first step is to trust, then obey.  The word 'obey' is in the King James Version 114 times with varying examples of those who do and don't obey the word of the Lord. I want to choose to obey his voice. 

I must know His voice. I cannot obey effectively if I have not spent time getting to know the voice of God. This comes with prayer, study of the word, some fasting, even and yes, listening. I must hear his voice. Jesus said in John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  We will hear and know his voice when we follow him.

I want to obey in the small things so when he decides I am ready to tackle the big things, he can trust me to listen, trust and obey. Jesus spoke a parable demonstrating this very principle in Luke 19. He told the servant that he had been faithful in the little things and placed him as ruler over ten cities. I want to demonstrate to God that I am faithful in the small things. The Bible is full of small things we are to do. Love God first, love others, study to show yourself approved pray without ceasing, be witnesses, and the list can go on and on.  When we work on these small things, God can find us able to be used in greater ways or magnify these small things into great effectiveness for the Kingdom of God.  Sometimes, I think we see these commandments as a drudgery or as not important in the Kingdom, but without the foundations being laid and built, the Kingdom cannot stand. Each of us has a part in the Kingdom of God. We are all part of the plan and part of the building as well as the building process. Each stone laid is for a purpose in the Kingdom of God. Every prayer, time in study, time in worship, words spoken to share the gospel are not unnoticed by the King. 

So, I come to the verses again. Launch Out! Come! When God speaks and lays something on your heart, launch out and do what he is speaking. 

testify of His goodness

We are all given a life that has ups and downs. We all have gone through the rough times and the good times. We can see God operating and moving as we experience all of life's moments. We testify about the goodness of God and sometimes even testify about our weaknesses. We have a testimony that can reflect human frailty and yet, demonstrate how strong our God is. We can look back over the years of our lives and find that God never left us or forsook us. He walks with us and brings us through all the hills and valleys. He has and will always be our guide, our strength, and all we need. 

Luke 21:13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

I have gone through many valleys and climbed many mountains, all with the strength that comes from God. There were times I did not realize or understand how much I needed him and times I didn't think he was there, but I can testify that he has never left me and because of him, I am still here. 

I can say that God has kept me and directed my paths. From figuring out that I needed him to direct me to the right spouse to leading me in stepping out in faith, he has been there. 

I can give some examples of God's goodness to me. When I finally decided to let God bring the right husband and stop looking for myself, I prayed. I told God, he would need to bring the right person and I would not date another boy until he brought the one, he had prepared for me. When my, now husband, asked me to visit me, I prayed and fleeced the Lord. He said he would come to visit at our church the next Sunday, I asked God to show me if he was the one I was to marry. I would not get involved if he was not. I told the Lord that if he got to the church before I did, then that would be a sign to me that God had sent him for me. That Sunday as I pulled up, I started looking for his truck.  Lo and behold, it was there across the street.  When I went into the church, he greeted me and said he had actually arrived at 7:30 that morning. Church started at 10:00.  So, I realized God had clearly answered my prayer. I did not tell that young man about that prayer for a while, but we did get married. God can direct our paths when we place our trust in him to do so. 

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 3:6

A few years later, as we excitedly were expecting the birth of our son, we entered the hospital.  Throughout the night, I labored and struggled. The next morning, he was getting close to being born and began to show signs of distress. He was in trouble and my doctor was in the operating room with another mother performing a C-section.  I had a midwife and her trainee. She kept calling for a doctor because she was becoming very concerned for the baby and my safety.  Finally, she made the quick decision to just deliver the baby as quickly as she knew how.  She saved him that day.  When they held up that little body, we thought he was dead. He was limp and blue.  He had also been born with a birth defect that had not been seen in the ultrasounds. He had a cleft lip and palate. We immediately became overcome with anguish, my husband and mother began to pray and call others to get prayer going.  They were able to work on our baby and he began to cry. He was rushed off to the NICU for tests and care. They thought the lack of oxygen may have caused brain damage. I had to be cared for as well due to the traumatic delivery. We were finally able to see our little baby and find out about the blood tests. His blood showed that he had not suffered from the lack of oxygen and no signs of brain damage. After some consultations with the cleft palate team, he quickly picked up feeding and was able to go home after three days. He has had many surgeries starting at five months old. As a mother, it is hard to place that little boy into the hands of a surgeon and watch him endure the pain and recovery. He is now fifteen and has gone through the tough days with God on his side. We have prayed over him many times and God has directed us to wonderful surgeons and professionals that have been a blessing. We are still walking through this process as he is not done with all the needed treatments and doctor visits, but we know God has had his hand on him the whole time. Even when things turned out wrong, and stitches broke, when a tumor was discovered in his ear, and when he had a terrible allergic reaction to penicillin, God was there watching over him, protecting him and placing us right where we needed to be at the right time. He has been faithful through it all. 

My husband and I made some decisions to do our best to be obedient to the Word of the Lord. We have failed and we have succeeded at times. We ended up moving to Kentucky from California after many things occurred that brought us to the decision to move. We were struggling financially, and spiritually, and California was becoming a difficult place to live. We lost my mother in a car wreck. With much prayer for God to help us, we packed up and moved across the country with our two little kids. It was a huge move and a big change, but we wanted to get out of California and knew we had a church to come to in Kentucky where we could be used and hopefully be a blessing. We were blessed to help the leadership in Franklin, KY and enjoyed the presence of God in the wonderful work. We enjoyed helping the kid's ministry and the music ministry. We knew we were growing in our spirits as well. There were hard times and good times as any church can attest to. Our children grew up in this wonderful assembly, got baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost. We were comfortable and happy.  But God had another plan for us. I began helping with music at a neighboring church on Sunday nights since we did not have a Sunday evening service.  My husband would as well on nights he didn't have to work. Over the time of three years, we continued with this. As only God can, he began working and dealing with both of our hearts pushing us and preparing us to move into more of what he had for us. There was a restlessness developing in our spirits for the leading of God.  Our home church announced a theme for the year 2020: What's your next? We both were wondering what our next as supposed to be, and even discussed it with our pastor. He also seemed to know God was working on something for us.  About halfway through the year, the pastor of the neighboring church approached my husband and asked him to come preach on a Sunday. He agreed. After that service, he asked if my husband had ever considered pastoring and what God was calling him to do. He asked my husband to consider coming and becoming part of the leadership. He needed help and needed someone to step alongside him.  We panicked a little then began praying. We counseled with our pastors and after much seeking and uncertainty, God showed us he had this planned for us. We made the step of accepting the offer to come help.  It has been a journey I do not regret. It is a journey just beginning. It is a journey of learning, praying, fasting, seeking and definite uncertainty, but one in which I know God has clearly made the path for us. We know we are right where God wants us.  God is still working and leading. Do we know what will happen? No. But we know God is right there working. He has ordained the path and when we make a decision to follow after God and obey his word, he will make the path clear. It may not always be what we expect, but it is what God had planned. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Psalm 23:6

Ultimately, when we look over our lives, we can find the hand of God right there, going before us and working for our good. Do we always respond correctly and quickly? No. We are humans who often don't see the big picture. We sometimes stray, fail, and get distracted. We sometimes allow fear and doubt to keep us from moving. We let the cares of life become our focus. But I can testify that in the little moments and in the big events, God is calling and wanting us to lean on him. He wants to show us what he has in store. He is our Father and our Protector. He is our Guide and Friend. He saves us and keeps us. He has a purpose for every soul if we would only attend to his leading. He made us for a purpose, on purpose. I can testify that all my life I can see the goodness of God in operation. He has always been good to me. 

Psalm 34 speaks

 Psalms is one of my favorite books of the Bible to read.  I read some of Psalms often. Whether I am feeling blessed or troubled, I can always find Psalms speaks to my heart. Recently, I have really been dwelling on the verses in Psalm 34. Verses 1 -9 say:

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

This speaks to me with every line. I need to spend my time blessing the Lord. His praise should be what I speak continually. Complaints and murmuring need to disappear and no longer be a part of my vocabulary or thoughts. I should, instead, focus on praising Almighty God who has delivered me, saved me, and kept me. He deserves every praise I can give and more than I do give him.  I can be a witness to others by sharing and testifying of His goodness to me. I can invite others to magnify him and exalt his name. We join together in worship and praise. We can share what God has done. He has blessed us and he deserves our blessing and praise. We need to be a leader of praise. We need to encourage others to praise God as well. We know he dwells in the praises of his people. Let us lift him up in praise. 

I sought the Lord and he hear me. He delivered me from all my fears. This verse reminds me that I can seek God in every circumstance and he will answer. He is always ready with an answer for my every problem. He has told us not to fear many times. It is said, that the BIble records, "Do not fear," 365 times. He can be trusted to have the answer for every need. We can look to him and he will be there. He will not leave us or forsake us. He hears our every cry and carries us through every trial when we keep our eyes on him.  Just as Peter walked on the water when he was looking at Jesus, but began to sink when he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the waves, we too, will continue to walk toward Jesus when we keep our eyes and hearts focused on him. He will place his angels round us and protect us as we go through this life and all of its troubles. 

O taste and see that the Lord is good.  This tells me how good God is. We can enjoy his goodness and show others around us how good God really is to us. We are blessed when we trust in him. We are able to look around us and see all the good he has done. From the beauty of nature, to the joy of children's laughter, we find the goodness of God.  I love to listen to and sing the song, Goodness of God. It is amazing to know he is good. Goodness exists because of God. Goodness comes from him alone. We cannot be good without him.  I am able to taste and see that the Lord is good.  

Fear the Lord. We have nothing to fear when we fear the Lord. We place our trust in him alone and we are under his care. He will lead us through every path, good and bad. He will provide all we need and he will never leave us to harm. There is a peace and security that comes from placing all we are and all we have into his hands. We run to him and are safe. He is our strong tower. He is our shield. He is our Provider and our Protector. We can find many scriptures that speak of how God protected his children and how he wants to do the same for those who trust in him. Place all your trust in him. Cast all your fears and anxieties at his feet. He cares for you. He cares greater and in ways we cannot even understand sometimes. He goes before us and behind us. He walks beside us. We just follow and hold on to his hand. He takes us through.

Psalms 34 speaks mighty things to my heart and mind. It encourages me and reminds me that God is for me and not against me. It reminds me of his love and goodness. I can praise him more because he is good. He deserves my highest praise. 

what do you keep in your heart

 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19

This verse has always stood out to me. Mary had been visited by an angel and given a tremendous message about a miracle baby. We all know the story. after his birth, shepherds showed up to worship this little baby, the Messiah, with their own story of angels bringing a message.  Mary experienced the miracles of the birth, the visits from the shepherds and the wise men. She knew who her baby was. She kept all these things in her heart. She pondered them.  She placed great value on these things. She wanted to remember them, to cherish them, and be able to marvel upon them over time. She was probably the one who told the disciples and the writers of the gospels about the birth of Jesus and the visitors who showed up. She may have been the one who became the messenger about the miracle baby born to be the Messiah.

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalm 119:11

David wrote about hiding the word of God in his heart. He wanted the word of God to be in his heart to keep him from sinning. He not only kept the word of God in his heart, he allowed the word to affect him, lead him and change him. He allowed the word of God to challenge him and humble him when he needed it. He loved the word of God. He read it and learned it. 

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. Luke 6:45

We, too, need to hide the word of God in our hearts. We need to keep the testimonies and the experiences we have with God in our hearts and minds to keep us. What we place in our hearts is what we think about or ponder. Mary pondered, thought about all she had seen. She would probably remember it and pour over it, recounting the details. We can ponder and think about the word of God and the things he has done for us. The testimonies and experiences we have with God can become what we ponder. Recount the details of what he has done to be lifted up and encouraged. When we think on the things of God, we are lifted up in faith and strengthened in spirit.  The treasure of our heart is what we value and what we think about. It becomes the memories we recall and what we tell others. The treasure of our hearts should be what God has done and his mighty deeds. I want to think about the word of God and his wonderful blessings. He has kept me daily, provided for me and has performed miracles. I have heard others testify of God's great love and what he does for them. He is good. I want to ponder these things. I want my heart full of his love and goodness and the testimonies of him showing me how good he is. 

When my heart is full of the things of God, my mouth will speak of Him.  I want to be the mouthpiece that tells others of a great and mighty God who is full of love and goodness. I want my testimony to pour forth out of my mouth that others may know the goodness of God.  I want the abundance of my heart to be completely devoted to the evidence of God's great love for me and his people.  I want to be able to say that like Mary, I kept these things in my heart and pondered them. 

examine yourself

 The following verse gives us a command. 

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

2 Corinthians 13:5 KJV

When I looked at the definition of 'examine'  it is from the Greek:  peirazo, meaning "scrutinize," "discipline"  and in Oxford dictionary

1. inspect (someone or something) in detail to determine their nature or condition; investigate thoroughly.
2. test the knowledge or proficiency of (someone) by requiring them to answer questions or perform tasks.

Paul was directing the believers to inspect their hearts and lives to determine the condition they were in. We also need to take a good look at our condition.  Are we serving God with pure hearts, free of things that hinder our faith or walk with God? What are our priorities  and what is the testimony  we are giving to those around us? 

Joel 2:12-13 

12Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

13And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

All of our heart needs to be given to God, no part held back. Rend your heart means wring it out to remove the sin and give it to God. 

2 Timothy 3:1-5

 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

² For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

³ Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

⁴ Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

⁵ Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

This is a list of the things that can draw us away from God. There are many Christians who have a form of godliness but deny the power of God.  We cannot just think we are doing okay when our lives do not reflect any amount of who God is. If His power is not evident in our daily actions, words and attitudes,  we are missing the power of God and denying him. 

Titus 1:15-16

¹⁵ Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

¹⁶ They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Titus explained this as being defiled and not pure. Defiled in mind, conscience,  and action. I do not want to look into my heart and mind to find I am defiled before God. 

Ezekiel described such defilement  when he had a vision about God showing him a hole in the Temple wall. He dug in to find that abominations were taking place within the hidden parts of the temple. The leaders and people of Israel no longer served God nor kept pure, righteous hearts acceptable to God. They served self, pleasure, pride, idols and allowed much sin to take over their hearts. 

Titus 2:11-14

¹¹ For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

¹² Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

¹³ Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

¹⁴ Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

God gave us grace for salvation.  His Spirit teaches us to turn away from the ungodly things and live godly. If we ignore the prompting and teaching of the Spirit, we will fall. He will lead us by his Spirit away from sin into purity. We will be eager and zealous to be in the will of God as we rely on His Spirit within us. He sent His Spirit to give us power and authority over the enemy who seeks to deceive and destroy. We cannot give sin a place, rather we seek God.

1 John 3:19-22

¹⁹ And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.

²⁰ For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

²¹ Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

²² And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

When we examine our hearts and find we are not condemned, we are able to be confident  to stand before God. We can be sure we walk in truth, ask and believe we receive. God will receive our petition because we are in obedience and pleasing in his sight. Israel was not pleasing and ended up in exile. We have access to grace and mercy. We can run to him anytime we need to make ourselves right in his sight, and see to be in obedience to his word. 

Take time to examine yourself. Find any area that needs to be turned over him completely.  He will take it, clean it up, purify it, set it right,  forgive it, and make it pure for his purpose.  He wants to show you how precious you are, but we have the choice to give him all of our hearts or retain the secret areas from him. We can hold back the areas we like, the secret sins, the pride, the unbelief, the fear, the need to control, but will miss out on many blessings, peace, and the very Will of God if we do not submit wholly, completely  to Him. Examine yourself and call on Him to take it all in his hands. You will find He is ready to receive you as you are. He will change you, cleanse you and make you pure and righteous. He will be pleased. 

lifestyle of praise

 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

Psalm 145:2 KJV

I have always enjoyed worship. There is something uplifting about coming together with God’s people to worship the Lord. We know he is worthy of all our praise. We can never worship him enough for all he has done.  I love to sing of his Amazing Grace and How Great is Our God.  Our worship services are filled with songs, old and new that speak of our wonderful Savior. I appreciate these times. People are uplifted, miracles can be seen, and lives are changed. This is a wonderful part of any service and ushers in the presence God.  

But God reminds me often that we cannot think that praise and worship is just a part of a service at church and does not apply every single moment of every day.  Our entire being is only here by his Grace and every breath we breath is because of him. Every breath should be used to praise Him.

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

Hebrews 13:15 KJV

This verse uses the word, ‘continually.’ That tells us that praise does not stop once the church worship team sits down.  We have often fallen into the idea of compartmentalizing services, and the rest of our days. We worship for the twenty or so minutes of a church service, feel good about it, and think what great worship we had this week, but the Bible tells us to praise continually. The Bible does not define praise and worship as just a part of a corporate service.  We are to be in a mindset of continually praise. It is to be our lifestyle.  What does that mean?

Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

Psalm 63:4 KJV

While I live tells me that this is an every day, minute by minute activity. My life should reflect continuous praise and worship in my words and actions. I can sing my heart out on Sunday morning, but what about the rest of the week? Do my words and actions speak praise?

I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

Psalm 9:1 KJV

Each day, I have a choice and opportunity to show others who God is.  Do I share him by speaking in ways that reflect Him or am I speaking complaints, gossip, iIl-will, etc?  Do I treat others with the love of God or do I act out of anger, frustration, or impatience?   These questions apply to my home, my place of work, and my comings and goings.  Each moment is an opportunity to praise my God. Each moment is an opportunity to share God with someone. In our homes, we affect our testimony to our children and family members. They need to see a consistent testimony. What we do daily will be our testimony to our children more than what we do at a church service. How we treat coworkers, customers and business dealings will speak louder than just saying that I’m a Christian.  They will know you by your actions. You should have a lifestyle of praise and worship.  This will be a greater testimony of God’s goodness than anything you could ever just say.

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Ephesians 5:19 KJV

You may wonder or think, this is impossible,  especially, when I am facing hard times. You may think that I cannot praise or worship during times of loss, pain, worry, fear, etc. But these are the best times to choose to praise. Our flesh will fail, but God never fails. He said he would never leave you nor forsake you. In the middle of the trials, we can find that a lifestyle of praise and worship will be more powerful than you can ever imagine. If, in the trial, you speak of His goodness, you will be encouraging your own faith to grow. If, in the loss, you magnify the Lord, He is your comfort. If, in the fear, you sing of His might, you find that He did not give you a spirit of fear, but power, love, and a sound mind. He is still there. Praise and worship will activate faith and set you up to see his glory in operation.  When I was young, I would have dreams of something dark attacking me in my sleep. When I would finally wake up, I learned that singing Jesus Loves Me would change my fear into peace. I could go back sleep feeling his love around me. I have been able to apply this in other situations as I have grown up and had to face the tough parts of life. If I dwelt on the pain and despair, I would be overwhelmed by those thoughts and feelings.  If I turned to God in prayer, in praise and placed my trust in Him, my faith would rise. His Word would sustain me, and He would bring me through.  That has been proven time and time again. My choice to praise Him through the storm, would change how I saw the trial and how I came through it.

But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.

Psalm 59:16 KJV

He will be our refuge and defense. We will be able to sing of his power. This is the makings of powerful testimonies of His goodness.  Praise and worship is powerful. Continual praise and worship will change you from the inside out into a walking, talking testimony of the powerful God you serve. Our daily lives should be a continuous praise for God. We will be able to the ones that others will recognize as a child of God and we can say as David did:

O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

Psalm 34:8 KJV

Make a choice to praise Him, to worship Him, no matter the circumstances.  David did this many times. He may have spoken of his weaknesses, concerns, and hurt, but he always returned to magnify the Lord. 

O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

Psalm 34:3 KJV

I want my heart’s song to be praise. Praise will be my song and I will not be able to contain it. May my life, my lifestyle, be a continual praise to my Lord.