Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Measuring Our Worship

                                                                   

I Chronicles 16:
7 Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and
his relatives to give thanks to the Lord.
8 Oh give thanks for His deeds among the peoples.
Make known His deeds among the peoples.
9 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
Speak of all His wonders.
10 Glory (boast) in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.
11 Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face continually.
12 Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done,
His marvels and the judgments from His mouth, 
13 O seed of Israel His servant,
Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!
14 He is the Lord our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded to a thousand generations,
16 The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His oath to Isaac.
17 He also confirmed it to Jacob as a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
18 Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan,
As the portion of your inheritance."
19 When they were only a few in number,
Very few, and strangers in it,
20 And they wandered about from nation to nation,
And from one kingdom to another people,
21 He permitted no man to oppress them,
And He reproved kings for their sakes, saying,
22 "Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do my prophets no harm."
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
24 Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
He also is to be feared above all gods.
26 For the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and joy are in His place.
28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come before Him;
Worship the Lord in holy array.
30 Tremble before Him, all the earth;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.
31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
And let them say among the nations,
"The Lord reigns."
32 Let the sea roar, and all it contains;
Let the field exult, and all that is in it.
33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy
before the Lord;
For He is coming to judge the earth.
34 O give thinks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
35 Then say, "Save us, O God of our salvation,
And gather us and deliver us from the nations,
To give thanks to Your holy name,
And glory in Your praise."
36 Blessed be the Lord, The God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting.
Then all the people said, "Amen," and praised the Lord.

When you gather for worship each Sunday, is this what you are doing? Is this what is accomplished during the time of your gathering that you call praise and worship? Does what you do and what you sing about elevate the Lord as this does, or do you find yourself singing songs to yourself, about yourself ? Do you glory in praising Him?  Do you sing of His mighty deeds, the greatness of His salvation, the wonder of His majesty, the glory of His name? Does what you call worship boast in Him? Does what you do on Sunday bless the Lord, or is it designed to bless you? Can you really be blessed if you are not blessing the Lord? Would you call your gathering a holy array? Do your people come to present themselves before the Lord, and have that sense of trembling before Him? Are you ascribing to the Lord the glory due His name? Does what you do bring glory to His name? Does your worship time cause the people attending to say, "Amen," and praise the Lord.?

Just asking.....But God has given us the means, by His word, to inform and guide our corporate worship. Hopefully, this is how you are measuring your worship; to know if it is acceptable in His sight, and a pleasing fragrance and soothing aroma to Him



Wednesday, March 16, 2022

What God Begins, God Finishes

For I am confident of this very thing, 
that He who began a good work in you
will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6

Life is the Lord's finishing school, as He uses all of what we encounter to continually conform us into the image of Christ until we are complete in Him. He leaves nothing unused as He works all things together for our good, and our good is to become more like Christ. He has begun the work of salvation in us and will continue in that work until it is perfectly accomplished. So, my fellow saints, rejoice this day that He is busy at work in you. Rejoice that He will not leave undone the good work that He has started, and will continue to work in you to accomplish His good pleasure for His glory, and your complete salvation.

The Lord will accomplish what concerns
me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, 
is everlasting...
Psalm 138:8

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify
you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and
body be preserved complete, without blame
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is He who calls you, and He will also
bring it to pass.
I Thessalonians 5:23-24



Wednesday, March 02, 2022

The Practical Atheist, Is That You?

Those who say they believe in God,
and have trusted in Christ
for the forgiveness of their sins,
but who live their lives with no fear 
 of God, are, as such, practical atheists.

Transgression speaks to the ungodly
within his heart; there is no fear of
God before his eyes.
Psalm 36:1
Transgression is the deliberate violation
of the law of God, and the ungodly
fearlessly violate the Law of God.

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
pride and arrogance and the evil way
and the perverted mouth I hate.
Proverbs 8:13
Pride, arrogance, and a mouth that
speaks perverted things are 
all part of the evil way; and those
who truly fear the Lord hate these
things when they see them in themselves.

...by the fear of the Lord one
keeps away from evil.
Proverbs 16:6b
 One who truly fears God, is one
who shuns evil and runs from evil.
One who fears God does not embrace evil.

Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but live in the fear of the Lord always.
Proverbs 23:17
 One who truly fears God does not 
desire to have the same life, to live
the same lifestyle as sinners.

There is none righteous, not even one...
There is none who seeks for God...
There is no one who does good...
There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Romans 3:10-18
One who truly fears God is one who truly
seeks after God, who seeks the things of
God, and seeks to do good--according to
what God says is good.

..."Give praise to God, all you His bond-servants,
you who fear him, the small and the great.
Revelation 19:5
One who fears God is one who has 
the desire to praise God, and cannot
contain his praise for God.

I will make an everlasting covenant with them 
that I will not turn away from them, to do them
good; and I will put the fear of Me in their 
hearts so that they will not turn away from Me.
Jeremiah 32:40
My friends, do you have the fear of God within you?
If not, repent of your rebellion against Him, and ask
Him to forgive you and give you the fear of the Lord.