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Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5
One of the unfortunate things about ‘church’ today is that we tend to categorize our spirituality into activities and not life style. We go to church on Sunday. The rest of the week is ours to spend time as we wish. We focus on church as a building and worship as a set of songs and/or hymns that we sing at some point in a service to direct our attention and praise to God.
Old habits die hard. Our tendency to place our spiritual activities in categories isn’t a new one. The Israelites had the same tendency. Just as today worship was often built on an object or an activity and not a person. That’s what got them in trouble when Moses was up getting the 10 commandments. They were without an object to worship so they made a calf.
Worship isn’t about activity and praise isn’t related to circumstances surrounding you. Worship is a lifestyle and praise is dependent on WHO God is and what HE has done. Praise and thanksgiving are not based on the mistakes we’ve made in the past, the guilt or shame we bear or the amount of money in our bank accounts. PRAISE AND WORSHIP ISN’T ABOUT US.
One of the great ‘Psalms of praise’ is Psalm 100. In this short song of praise that was written by King David we are instructed to praise the Lord for the many things that He has done for us. But hidden within the song we are directed when and where to praise Him.
David tells us to offer thanksgiving and praise in ‘His courts’ and ‘His gates’. These terms were references to places outside the temple! In other words, David is telling us that our praise and worship of Jesus is to be a part of our everyday lives. It isn’t to be hidden within the walls of some building someplace or placed strategically at some place and point of time.
Take time to focus on what God has done for you. Don’t let your current circumstances influence the way you feel. Don’t be general in your thanks or go back to some point in history of what ‘He did back then.’ Take time each day to focus on just one aspect of Jesus’ love that won’t change regardless of your circumstances. Maybe it’s Jesus’ unconditional love or His unending mercy, patience, grace, forgiveness, understanding. Make your own list. Be specific. Take these praises with you everywhere you go.
Let the world see Christ’s love in you at the grocery store, in rush hour, in the long lines at your favorite discount store or at the coffee shop. Wherever you go, focus on what Jesus has done for you. You don’t need to put on a show! His light will shine through you to others. Words and songs of praise aren’t nearly as effective as a lifestyle of praise and worship.
PRAYER: Holy God. I confess to you that too many times my spirituality is categorized. I show a ‘different me’ in every situation. My praise of you is limited to time and based on my changing circumstances. Thank you that you never change. Help me today, to focus my attitudes, actions, words and activities on who you are and not who I am. Amen.
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5
Everyone likes to have ‘new things’. We dream of winning the lottery or inheriting a fortune and most of us begin to think of all the ‘new things’ we would buy and ‘new things’ we would do with our new found fortune and power. Money is power!
In reality though, there really is nothing around us that is ‘new’ in the way God talks about ‘newness’. Our idea of new is, in reality, modifications to something that has already existed. There’s nothing really ‘new’ under the sun, as the cliché goes.
God’s view of ‘new-ness’ is vastly different than ours however. When God says He’s going to make something new He isn’t referring to modifications of something that already is. When He created the world there wasn’t something to model it after. It was His own creativity that formed the life we see around us. What a marvelous thought!
That makes the statement John writes down in Revelation even more exciting. From a prophecy standpoint John is telling us that what lies in the future is NEW! It’s nothing we’ve ever seen or experienced before. When you consider the vast love God has for us and when you think of His promise to make all things NEW it should excite you. When someone makes new stuff for those they love they don’t make junk! His promise of ‘new-ness’ makes what we look forward to so much better than we can imagine here on earth, and there is nothing we can compare it to.
But God’s idea of newness didn’t skip from creation to eternity. His newness is available to each of us as well. Paul tells us that through Jesus we are ‘NEW CREATIONS’. When you accepted Jesus as your personal savior He didn’t simply revamp the old you. He made a new one! A nice shiny new you. No past. No failures. No flaws. NEW.
Don’t let past failures or poor decisions keep you from realizing the potential you have to be new in Jesus. Your new-ness isn’t the result of anything you have done or said. It’s all because of God’s great love for you.
PRAYER: Father God. As I think about what it means to be a ‘new creation’ I’m in awe of your love and power. I’m so undeserving of your great love! I fail you and others constantly. I make poor choices and demand my own way. Still, in the face of all this you love me! Thank you for your great love and compassion. Help me from this day forward to live in the newness you have planned for me. Amen.
The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”1 Samuel 16:1
Samuel was a priest who experienced first-hand the nation Israel’s transition from being a people governed totally by God (through priests) and being governed by a King when he annointed Saul as the very first King of Israel.
In spite of Samuel’s help, Saul had not proven to be a king that honored God. He was too easily swayed by the opinions of the people and was openly disobedient to the rules God had set forth for him. As a result God would soon be removing Saul from the throne and replacing him with a new king.
When God made this announcement to Samuel, he was very sad indeed. In fact the Bible tells us that he reacted in the same way one would react if someone close to us had died, by going into mourning.
God came to Samuel one day and told him it was time to be done with his sadness. He had a new man chosen for the throne and Samuel would be the one to anoint him as King, just as he’d done with Saul.
The man Samuel would anoint was a shepherd boy named David. He would become the strongest King the nation Israel would ever see and be referred to by God himself as a ‘man after my own heart.’
Imagine what is must have been like for Samuel to be involved in one more transition of power. He’d poured a lot of time and effort into Saul and it hadn’t worked out at all the way he’d hoped. When Saul failed I’m sure that Samuel felt a little bit of a failure as well. It’s never easy to see projects of yours fail. That’s true whether those projects are people, places or things. Failure hurts.
In anointing David, Samuel would witness a passing of an era as well. Change is never easy. Especially when that change involves something that is near and dear to your heart.
While we may never have an opportunity to anoint a king or usher in a new era, each of us know what it is like to experience the pain of failure. We are all to familiar with the effects of change in our lives. Relationships fail that we’ve counted on for a lifetime. Favorite TV shows are pulled from the air. Businesses we have frequented close their doors. And with each of these events we feel the pain of their passing.
We don’t always understand the reason for the changes that come into our lives. As Christ-followers we need to remember that if we trust God and look objectively at the changes that come we will see how God can take changes that are tough to handle and make them into blessings for our future. When changes come remember that God has everything in His control and will take care of you in whatever new challenges arise.
PRAYER: Father God. There are so many changes going on in my life right now. Some are of my own doing. Many are being forced upon me. Regardless of the reason, change is hard for me to take. I ask that you would empower me with your Holy Spirit to accept the changes that are ahead of me and look for the blessings that will come as a result. Amen.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
We are free because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those who are Christ-followers hold this truth as the foundation of our faith and the motivation for all that we say and do. Our faith is based solely on Jesus Christ.
The entire book of Galatians can be summed up in one word. Freedom. Grace gives us the freedom we need to face the sometimes seemingly insurmountable obstacles in our way on this journey we call life.
Along with those obstacles come intentional or unintentional attempts by the enemy to rip the freedom we have in Jesus from our hands. He is a cunning enemy. He uses circumstances, people and even religion to try to enslave us. When it works we can find ourselves in more bondage than we were in before we came to Jesus.
Paul gives us a two word battle plan to protect our freedom. He tells the Galatian Church, and us, to STAND FIRM! That’s it. Stand. And while you are standing, stand firm. Immovable. Resolute. Unwavering.
Normally we think of defending our freedom in terms of warfare. It’s either fight or flight. We fight like a cornered animal if need be and run like a scared rabbit if necessary. As Christ followers all we need to do is stand. Jesus fought the battle on the cross and in the grave. He won! It’s over. Signed, sealed and delivered. Done. Period.
Standing isn’t normally considered a position of warfare. But standing in the face of adversity takes courage, strength and trust. A story is told of a neighborhood bully known to pick on dogs in the area. The ‘bully’ was a big old tomcat. In his wisdom he’d learned that dogs could only go as far as their chain or fence would allow them to come. He would walk just outside the perimeter of the chain or fence and stand. The dogs would come running until they reached the ‘end of their rope’ and come to a sudden, painful stop. The tomcat simply stood because he knew he was in no danger.
As Christ-followers we can stand in the face of adversity because we know we are free. We stand outside the perimeter of the enemy. He can’t hurt us any longer. We can trust our Savior to see us through and protect us.
Ask the Father to help you stand firm in the battle before you. Develop the faith-muscle you need to be unwavering using the PAS method.
P – Pray. The single most formidable weapon we have as Christ-followers is to pray. God is there and wants to hear your heart.
A– Accountability. Surround yourselves with people who are truly interested in encouraging your gifts, building you up and guiding you according to God’s word. Religion enslaves you. Relationship with Jesus frees you.
S – Scripture. God’s word is His letter to you. In it he holds the keys to how you can stand firm in Him. Read it daily. Study it with your accountability group. Take it with you into battle as you would a shield and weapon. It is not outdated. It is relevant for today.
PRAYER: Holy Father, I thank you for the freedom I have in Jesus Christ. I pray that you would remove the guilt and shame of past mistakes. I invite your Holy Spirit to enter into my life and guide, protect and strengthen me to stand in the midst of the obstacles that are before me. Empower me to stand firm in You. Amen.
