"Copyright Infringement"
Numbers 21:1-22:20
Luke 1:26-56
Psalm 57:1-11
Proverbs 11:9-11
Copyright has become a big deal in this day and age. A copyright is intended to protect an author, songwriter, advertiser, or other creator and their "work". Basically, it's so the "idea" isn't stolen and someone else makes money off of it. There's big FBI warnings at the beginning of videos to make sure you don't show them to a bunch of people or make copies of it, because to do so would in essence keep the creator from making money from their creation. The intent is to make sure to give credit where credit is due.
Reading today's Psalm, consider the damage we cause when we infringe the "copyright" of God.
"Rouse yourself, my soul! Arise, O harp and lyre! Let us greet the dawn with song! I will thank you publicly throughout the land. I will sing your praises among the nations. Your kindness and love are as vast as the heavens. Your faithfulness is higher than the skies. Yes, be exalted, O God above the heavens. May your glory shine throughout the earth." Ps 57:8-11
You're thinking... "OK, Copyright infringement??" Well let's look at it this way. What is God's Goal? To draw all men to him. How does that happen? By them seeing his glory. How is he glorified? By his people declaring his praises. How do they declare praises? By giving credit where credit is due.
We need to be in the habit of giving praise to the Lord for EVERYTHING. We take so much for granted to begin with, and when we do think to praise him, it's mostly in our personal quiet time, or in our homes, or in the corporate worship setting.
It's great that we do it in those places, but if we don't go beyond that we are in danger. We are in danger of taking credit for his blessings. "I have this because I worked hard." "I did this, or that". We are also in danger of robbing the world of the opportunity to see his greatness; to see his glory. In essence we are robbing God of the objective of his creation.
I have a friend who can hardly say a sentence without the phrase, "...by the grace of God" or "because of his goodness..." Do you know what he's doing by these statements? He's singing God's praises to the nations!
Imagine how different things would be if giving God praise was a constant part of our day. Too often we wouldn't want to go this route because it's "weird". We'd be labeled as "one of those..." We have the wrong mindset. We NEED to be one of those. We need to be his workmanship for his purpose.
We have a Mission to Reach Our World for Christ. When we praise the Lord publicly for what he has done we are fulfilling our mission.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Showing posts with label Praise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Praise. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
10.25.11 "Take the Time to Praise"
"Take the Time to Praise"
Jeremiah 48:1-49:22
2 Timothy 4:1-22
Psalm 95:1-96:13
Proverbs 26:9-12
Many times it's easy to get entrenched in the routines of life and we forget the most important thing: Taking time to praise the Lord. Let's take the time today.
"Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord! Give a joyous shout in honor of the Rock of our salvation! Come before him with thankful hearts. Let us sing him psalms of praise. For the Lord is a great God, the great King of all gods. He controls the formation of the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains; all are his. He made the sea and formed the land; they too are his. Come, kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God. We are his sheep and he is our Shepherd. Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him!" Ps:95:1-7
I wrote a song a couple years ago similar to this Psalm:
I'm amazed that the One who made the mighty oceans roar,
Placed the stars in the heavens, formed the mountains of the earth,
Gave the infant breath of life, turned the sea into dry land,
Is the One who carries me.
Think about that. The creator of the universe is carrying you! I love the last part of verse 7. "Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him!" We get so distracted by the stress we try to carry on our own that we lose track of his voice.
Come to him in worship today. "Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing it everywhere around the world! Sing out his praises! Bless his name. Each day tell someone that he saves." Ps 96:1-2
This Psalm shows that worship isn't just between us and him! His worship should be made known to unbelievers as well. "Publish his glorious acts throughout the earth. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. For the Lord is great beyond description, and greatly to be praised. Worship only him among the gods! For the gods of other nations are merely idols, but our God made the heavens!" Ps 96:3-5
I love Ps 96:9: "Worship the Lord with the beauty of holy lives." What a great way to worship God: Living a holy life. You can only imagine what that means to God when we live that way. When you live that way, your lifestyle is an expression of praise for others to see how great your God is. Notice it's not a "holier than thou" life. When we worship properly, it puts us in our proper place. It doesn't exalt me, it humbles me. Living a holy life is living a humble life. When speaking with a co-worker about why we don't party the way they do it should not be a conversation of condemnation. It should be a revelation of how great God is, not how great WE are!
Take the Time to praise today! Live the Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship. Take note of what it does inside of you. Then take note of what he does through you!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Monday, March 14, 2011
3.14.11 "Copyright Infringement"
"Copyright Infringement"
Numbers 21:1-22:20
Luke 1:26-56
Psalm 57:1-11
Proverbs 11:9-11
Copyright has become a big deal in this day and age. A copyright is intended to protect an author, songwriter, advertiser, or other creator and their "work". Basically, it's so the "idea" isn't stolen and someone else makes money off of it. There's big FBI warnings at the beginning of videos to make sure you don't show them to a bunch of people or make copies of it, because to do so would in essence keep the creator from making money from their creation. The intent is to make sure to give credit where credit is due.
This may seem like a bizarre train of thought, but I guess it wouldn't be my first! As I read today's Psalm, I was realizing the damage we cause when we infringe the "copyright" of God.
"Rouse yourself, my soul! Arise, O harp and lyre! Let us greet the dawn with song! I will thank you publicly throughout the land. I will sing your praises among the nations. Your kindness and love are as vast as the heavens. Your faithfulness is higher than the skies. Yes, be exalted, O God above the heavens. May your glory shine throughout the earth." Ps 57:8-11
You're thinking... "OK, Copyright infringement??" Well let's look at it this way. What is God's Goal? To draw all men to him. How does that happen? By them seeing his glory. How is he glorified? By his people declaring his praises. How do they declare praises? By giving credit where credit is due.
We need to be in the habit of giving praise to the Lord for EVERYTHING. We take so much for granted to begin with, and when we do think to praise him, it's mostly in our personal quiet time, or in our homes, or in the corporate worship setting.
It's great that we do it in those places, but if we don't go beyond that we are in danger. We are in danger of taking credit for his blessings. "I have this because I worked hard." "I did this, or that". We are also in danger of robbing the world of the opportunity to see his greatness; to see his glory. In essence we are robbing God of the objective of his creation.
I have a friend who can hardly say a sentence without the phrase, "...by the grace of God" or "because of his goodness..." Do you know what he's doing by these statements? He's singing God's praises to the nations!
Imagine how different things would be if giving God praise was a constant part of our day. Too often we wouldn't want to go this route because it's "weird". We'd be labeled as "one of those..." We have the wrong mindset. We NEED to be one of those. We need to be his workmanship for his purpose.
We have a Mission to Reach Our World for Christ. When we praise the Lord publicly for what he has done we are fulfilling our mission.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Numbers 21:1-22:20
Luke 1:26-56
Psalm 57:1-11
Proverbs 11:9-11
Copyright has become a big deal in this day and age. A copyright is intended to protect an author, songwriter, advertiser, or other creator and their "work". Basically, it's so the "idea" isn't stolen and someone else makes money off of it. There's big FBI warnings at the beginning of videos to make sure you don't show them to a bunch of people or make copies of it, because to do so would in essence keep the creator from making money from their creation. The intent is to make sure to give credit where credit is due.
This may seem like a bizarre train of thought, but I guess it wouldn't be my first! As I read today's Psalm, I was realizing the damage we cause when we infringe the "copyright" of God.
"Rouse yourself, my soul! Arise, O harp and lyre! Let us greet the dawn with song! I will thank you publicly throughout the land. I will sing your praises among the nations. Your kindness and love are as vast as the heavens. Your faithfulness is higher than the skies. Yes, be exalted, O God above the heavens. May your glory shine throughout the earth." Ps 57:8-11
You're thinking... "OK, Copyright infringement??" Well let's look at it this way. What is God's Goal? To draw all men to him. How does that happen? By them seeing his glory. How is he glorified? By his people declaring his praises. How do they declare praises? By giving credit where credit is due.
We need to be in the habit of giving praise to the Lord for EVERYTHING. We take so much for granted to begin with, and when we do think to praise him, it's mostly in our personal quiet time, or in our homes, or in the corporate worship setting.
It's great that we do it in those places, but if we don't go beyond that we are in danger. We are in danger of taking credit for his blessings. "I have this because I worked hard." "I did this, or that". We are also in danger of robbing the world of the opportunity to see his greatness; to see his glory. In essence we are robbing God of the objective of his creation.
I have a friend who can hardly say a sentence without the phrase, "...by the grace of God" or "because of his goodness..." Do you know what he's doing by these statements? He's singing God's praises to the nations!
Imagine how different things would be if giving God praise was a constant part of our day. Too often we wouldn't want to go this route because it's "weird". We'd be labeled as "one of those..." We have the wrong mindset. We NEED to be one of those. We need to be his workmanship for his purpose.
We have a Mission to Reach Our World for Christ. When we praise the Lord publicly for what he has done we are fulfilling our mission.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
12.29.10 "Praise Him!"
"Praise Him!"
Zechariah 14:1-21
Revelation 20:1-15
Psalm 148:1-14
Proverbs 31:8-9
Today's Psalm is a great reminder of why this world exists.
"Praise the Lord, O Heavens! Praise him from the skies! Praise him, skies above. Praise him, vapors high above the clouds. Let everything he has made give praise to him. For he issued his command, and they came into being; he established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked."
When we look at the greatness of creation, we need to acknowledge that it all came from his spoken word. The fact that the sky exists declares his praise!
"And praise him down here on earth, you creatures of the ocean depths. Let fire and hail, snow, rain, wind and weather, all obey. Let the mountains and hills, the fruit trees and cedars, the wild animals and cattle, the snakes and birds, the kings and all the people with their rulers and their judges, young men and maidens, old men and children - all praise the Lord together. For he alone is worthy. His glory is far greater than all of earth and heaven. He has made his people strong, honoring his godly ones - the people of Israel, the people closest to him."
We are a product of the spoken words of God. It's time to rejoice & praise his name!!!!
"Hallelujah! Yes, Praise the Lord!"
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Zechariah 14:1-21
Revelation 20:1-15
Psalm 148:1-14
Proverbs 31:8-9
Today's Psalm is a great reminder of why this world exists.
"Praise the Lord, O Heavens! Praise him from the skies! Praise him, skies above. Praise him, vapors high above the clouds. Let everything he has made give praise to him. For he issued his command, and they came into being; he established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked."
When we look at the greatness of creation, we need to acknowledge that it all came from his spoken word. The fact that the sky exists declares his praise!
"And praise him down here on earth, you creatures of the ocean depths. Let fire and hail, snow, rain, wind and weather, all obey. Let the mountains and hills, the fruit trees and cedars, the wild animals and cattle, the snakes and birds, the kings and all the people with their rulers and their judges, young men and maidens, old men and children - all praise the Lord together. For he alone is worthy. His glory is far greater than all of earth and heaven. He has made his people strong, honoring his godly ones - the people of Israel, the people closest to him."
We are a product of the spoken words of God. It's time to rejoice & praise his name!!!!
"Hallelujah! Yes, Praise the Lord!"
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Monday, December 27, 2010
12.27.10 "Anger Management"
"Anger Management"
Zechariah 10:1-11:17
Revelation 18:1-24
Psalm 146:1-10
Proverbs 30:33
Some practical words from Proverbs today.
"As the churning of cream yields butter, and a blow to the nose causes bleeding,
so anger causes quarrels."
"Anger causes quarrels." Sounds pretty obvious doesn't it. It ain't "rocket
surgery". Some people just seem ready for a fight. The anger is out of control.
Oh, it may not be a kick the dog/ throw things kind of anger issue. It could be a
much "slower burn". But either way, it's an unhealthy posture of the heart.
Anger needs to come under the subjection of Christ. If this doesn't happen, you
end up with a quarrelsome person. No one "plans" to turn out this way, it's a
result of undisciplined thought and undisciplined emotion. Did you know that
Anger usually stems from the feeling that someone "owes" you something? That
usually begins with prideful thinking, and can build into full blown bitterness. If
that's how we pattern our thinking, we are destined for quarrels at every turn.
We need to combat that with praise.
Today's Psalm says, "Praise the Lord! Yes, really praise Him! I will praise him as
long as i live, yes, even with my dying breath." Psalm 146:1
You wanna beat the anger issue? Combat it with praise! Praising the Lord puts us
in proper relationship with him. Our anger can't survive.
If you have problems with anger, what is it that is really pushing your buttons?
Look at Psalm 146:5-10: "But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their
helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He made heaven and earth, the sea,
and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. He gives justice to the
oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. The Lord opens
the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord
loves the godly. The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the
orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. The Lord will reign
forever. He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations. Praise the
Lord!"
When you read that, how could we leave room for anger to enter in and wreak
havoc? It's amazing how living the Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship improves the
Relationships Devoted to Unity! Praise the Lord!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Zechariah 10:1-11:17
Revelation 18:1-24
Psalm 146:1-10
Proverbs 30:33
Some practical words from Proverbs today.
"As the churning of cream yields butter, and a blow to the nose causes bleeding,
so anger causes quarrels."
"Anger causes quarrels." Sounds pretty obvious doesn't it. It ain't "rocket
surgery". Some people just seem ready for a fight. The anger is out of control.
Oh, it may not be a kick the dog/ throw things kind of anger issue. It could be a
much "slower burn". But either way, it's an unhealthy posture of the heart.
Anger needs to come under the subjection of Christ. If this doesn't happen, you
end up with a quarrelsome person. No one "plans" to turn out this way, it's a
result of undisciplined thought and undisciplined emotion. Did you know that
Anger usually stems from the feeling that someone "owes" you something? That
usually begins with prideful thinking, and can build into full blown bitterness. If
that's how we pattern our thinking, we are destined for quarrels at every turn.
We need to combat that with praise.
Today's Psalm says, "Praise the Lord! Yes, really praise Him! I will praise him as
long as i live, yes, even with my dying breath." Psalm 146:1
You wanna beat the anger issue? Combat it with praise! Praising the Lord puts us
in proper relationship with him. Our anger can't survive.
If you have problems with anger, what is it that is really pushing your buttons?
Look at Psalm 146:5-10: "But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their
helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He made heaven and earth, the sea,
and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. He gives justice to the
oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. The Lord opens
the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord
loves the godly. The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the
orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. The Lord will reign
forever. He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations. Praise the
Lord!"
When you read that, how could we leave room for anger to enter in and wreak
havoc? It's amazing how living the Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship improves the
Relationships Devoted to Unity! Praise the Lord!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Saturday, April 17, 2010
4.17.10 "Ain't No God Like Mine"
"Ain't No God Like Mine!"
Joshua 15:1-63
Luke 18:18-43
Psalm 86:1-17
Proverbs 13:9-10
As kids there was always a "my dad's tougher than yours" conversation at some point or another. My dad was a hockey coach, so I had a lot of clout in that area. Of course those conversations are motivated by pride, and not the healthiest thing to get involved in as they usually lead to a fight in some form or another, which proves today's Proverb true: "Pride leads to conflict..." (Prov. 13:10)
Reading today's Psalm, we get that "my God's tougher than yours" feeling. "Where among the heathen gods is there a god like you? Where are their miracles?" (Ps 86:3) What a great line! Where are their miracles? There is no god like our God! He is awesome his power is unending. As much as we've experienced, we can only comprehend a portion of his greatness.
Everyone's going to know it, though. "All the nations - and you made each one - will come and bow before you, Lord, and praise your great and holy name. For you are great, and do great miracles. You alone are God." (Ps 86:9-10)
We serve an awesome God! We need to think about that. We need to acknowledge his greatness. We need to respond in worship. How do we worship? With our lives.
"Tell me where you want me to go and I will go there. May every fiber of my being unite in reverence to your name. With all my heart I will praise you. I will give glory to your name forever, for you love me so much! you are constantly so kind! You have rescued me from deepest hell." (Ps 86:11-13)
I love that line "May every fiber of my being unite in reverence to your name." What would our day be like if we lived like that? If every fiber of my being united in reverence to his name, I would obey his commands, I would walk in unity, I would study his Word, I would use the gifts he's given me for his glory.
I would Live the DREAM!
Today's reading from Joshua is one that you probably don't have memorized. It lays out the allotment for the tribe of Judah in the promised land. It lists the boundaries on all sides, and then goes on to list the hundreds of cities & surrounding villages that were conquered, and allotted to them.
Ok, be honest... did you read each name of each city? I caught myself skipping over a few verses because i caught the "gist" of what was going on. As I was doing that, I realized I was skipping over answered prayer. The cities that are listed are the result of the unbelievable trials and miracles that God's people went through. This was the promise.
It made me stop to think if I'm doing the same thing in my life. Do I skip over the "details" of the great things God has done for me. "yeah, yeah, yeah... my God is better than any other... I got the gist...." That's not how we should be! We should be listing the great things God has done!
In Luke 18:35-43 the blind man is crying out to Jesus, and Jesus asks him, "'What do you want me to do for you?' 'Lord,' he said, 'I want to see!'" Jesus healed him, and verse 43 says, "Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too."
While the healing of the blind man may seem a bit more dramatically exciting to us than the list of cities, both are a sign of an awesome God. What do you have to praise God for today? I have health! I have provision.
God is GREAT! There ain't NO god like mine!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Joshua 15:1-63
Luke 18:18-43
Psalm 86:1-17
Proverbs 13:9-10
As kids there was always a "my dad's tougher than yours" conversation at some point or another. My dad was a hockey coach, so I had a lot of clout in that area. Of course those conversations are motivated by pride, and not the healthiest thing to get involved in as they usually lead to a fight in some form or another, which proves today's Proverb true: "Pride leads to conflict..." (Prov. 13:10)
Reading today's Psalm, we get that "my God's tougher than yours" feeling. "Where among the heathen gods is there a god like you? Where are their miracles?" (Ps 86:3) What a great line! Where are their miracles? There is no god like our God! He is awesome his power is unending. As much as we've experienced, we can only comprehend a portion of his greatness.
Everyone's going to know it, though. "All the nations - and you made each one - will come and bow before you, Lord, and praise your great and holy name. For you are great, and do great miracles. You alone are God." (Ps 86:9-10)
We serve an awesome God! We need to think about that. We need to acknowledge his greatness. We need to respond in worship. How do we worship? With our lives.
"Tell me where you want me to go and I will go there. May every fiber of my being unite in reverence to your name. With all my heart I will praise you. I will give glory to your name forever, for you love me so much! you are constantly so kind! You have rescued me from deepest hell." (Ps 86:11-13)
I love that line "May every fiber of my being unite in reverence to your name." What would our day be like if we lived like that? If every fiber of my being united in reverence to his name, I would obey his commands, I would walk in unity, I would study his Word, I would use the gifts he's given me for his glory.
I would Live the DREAM!
Today's reading from Joshua is one that you probably don't have memorized. It lays out the allotment for the tribe of Judah in the promised land. It lists the boundaries on all sides, and then goes on to list the hundreds of cities & surrounding villages that were conquered, and allotted to them.
Ok, be honest... did you read each name of each city? I caught myself skipping over a few verses because i caught the "gist" of what was going on. As I was doing that, I realized I was skipping over answered prayer. The cities that are listed are the result of the unbelievable trials and miracles that God's people went through. This was the promise.
It made me stop to think if I'm doing the same thing in my life. Do I skip over the "details" of the great things God has done for me. "yeah, yeah, yeah... my God is better than any other... I got the gist...." That's not how we should be! We should be listing the great things God has done!
In Luke 18:35-43 the blind man is crying out to Jesus, and Jesus asks him, "'What do you want me to do for you?' 'Lord,' he said, 'I want to see!'" Jesus healed him, and verse 43 says, "Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too."
While the healing of the blind man may seem a bit more dramatically exciting to us than the list of cities, both are a sign of an awesome God. What do you have to praise God for today? I have health! I have provision.
God is GREAT! There ain't NO god like mine!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Thursday, December 31, 2009
12.31.9 "Last Words"
"Last Words"
Malachi 3:1-4:6
Revelation 22:1-21
Psalm 150:1-6
Proverbs 31:25-31
The last hours of this year are passing by. This has been another year of God's goodness. Many have gone through the reading plan of the One-Year Bible. Each day is a portion of the Old & New Testament, as well as Psalms and Proverbs. For the last day of this year, let's look at the theme of what the "last words" of each of these sections of scripture are saying.
The Old Testament closes with the book of Malachi. Chapter 3:1-3 says, "Listen: I will send my messenger before me to prepare the way. And then the one you are looking for will come suddenly to his Temple - the Messenger of God's promises, to bring you great joy. Yes, he is surely coming," says the Lord Almighty. "But who can live when he appears? Who can endure his coming? For he is like a blazing fire refining precious metal and he can bleach the dirtiest garments! Like a refiner of silver he will sit and closely watch as the dross is burned away. He will purify the Levites, the ministers of God, refining them like gold or silver, so that they will do their work for God with pure hearts."
Verses 8-11 speak of bringing tithes into the storehouse. "...if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won't have room enough to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!" Nearing the end of the book, Malachi 4:4 says, "Remember to obey the laws I gave all Israel through Moses my servant on Mount Horeb."
Revelation 22:12 says, "See, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, to repay everyone according to the deeds he has done."
Psalm 150 closes out with 6 verses commanding us to praise him. verse 6 says, "Let everything alive give praises to the Lord! You praise him! Hallelujah!"
Proverbs ends with many verses talking about wisdom and the awesome joy of a godly wife.
Do you see a link with all of these? The thought that goes through my mind is, "What are you doing with what you have?"
Both Malachi & Revelation speak of Jesus coming and our works being tested by him. What are our works? They are what we've done with the resources we have.
Proverbs causes me to realize that I need to highly value one of the greatest resources in my care. My awesome wife.
The Psalms cause me to understand that with all that is within me I need to be praising God.
This is for real. I need to use everything at my disposal for the glory of God. He's coming soon! He longs to pour his blessings out on his people who obey his commands and bring him glory.
Lord, I commit all of this to you, for your glory in the year to come.
The last 2 verses of the bible say "He who has said all these things declares: Yes, I am coming soon! Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen!"
You may or may not be a person who looks at the new year with the "resolution" mindset, but we should be consistently setting goals for progress in our Christian walk. Most of the time our resolutions come across as big drastic changes, and therefore only last a few days or weeks. But really, most also have to do with an increase in discipline in some manner. If we make a huge goal in the area of discipline, we can get discouraged and give up, but I want to encourage you to pray about what areas of discipline the Lord may be desiring you to grow in for 2010.
I'm pretty sure for all of us, the Lord would love to see us spend more time with him. It's been great going through the One Year Bible again this year. Even though they may be the same words read last year, when ignited by the Holy Spirit, they bring fresh life for every day.
Make it your goal to spend time in God's word EVERY DAY of 2010. It will tremendously equip you to do all that he has called you to do. Allow His Spirit to work in you so that you can become all He has created you to be.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Malachi 3:1-4:6
Revelation 22:1-21
Psalm 150:1-6
Proverbs 31:25-31
The last hours of this year are passing by. This has been another year of God's goodness. Many have gone through the reading plan of the One-Year Bible. Each day is a portion of the Old & New Testament, as well as Psalms and Proverbs. For the last day of this year, let's look at the theme of what the "last words" of each of these sections of scripture are saying.
The Old Testament closes with the book of Malachi. Chapter 3:1-3 says, "Listen: I will send my messenger before me to prepare the way. And then the one you are looking for will come suddenly to his Temple - the Messenger of God's promises, to bring you great joy. Yes, he is surely coming," says the Lord Almighty. "But who can live when he appears? Who can endure his coming? For he is like a blazing fire refining precious metal and he can bleach the dirtiest garments! Like a refiner of silver he will sit and closely watch as the dross is burned away. He will purify the Levites, the ministers of God, refining them like gold or silver, so that they will do their work for God with pure hearts."
Verses 8-11 speak of bringing tithes into the storehouse. "...if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won't have room enough to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!" Nearing the end of the book, Malachi 4:4 says, "Remember to obey the laws I gave all Israel through Moses my servant on Mount Horeb."
Revelation 22:12 says, "See, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, to repay everyone according to the deeds he has done."
Psalm 150 closes out with 6 verses commanding us to praise him. verse 6 says, "Let everything alive give praises to the Lord! You praise him! Hallelujah!"
Proverbs ends with many verses talking about wisdom and the awesome joy of a godly wife.
Do you see a link with all of these? The thought that goes through my mind is, "What are you doing with what you have?"
Both Malachi & Revelation speak of Jesus coming and our works being tested by him. What are our works? They are what we've done with the resources we have.
Proverbs causes me to realize that I need to highly value one of the greatest resources in my care. My awesome wife.
The Psalms cause me to understand that with all that is within me I need to be praising God.
This is for real. I need to use everything at my disposal for the glory of God. He's coming soon! He longs to pour his blessings out on his people who obey his commands and bring him glory.
Lord, I commit all of this to you, for your glory in the year to come.
The last 2 verses of the bible say "He who has said all these things declares: Yes, I am coming soon! Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen!"
You may or may not be a person who looks at the new year with the "resolution" mindset, but we should be consistently setting goals for progress in our Christian walk. Most of the time our resolutions come across as big drastic changes, and therefore only last a few days or weeks. But really, most also have to do with an increase in discipline in some manner. If we make a huge goal in the area of discipline, we can get discouraged and give up, but I want to encourage you to pray about what areas of discipline the Lord may be desiring you to grow in for 2010.
I'm pretty sure for all of us, the Lord would love to see us spend more time with him. It's been great going through the One Year Bible again this year. Even though they may be the same words read last year, when ignited by the Holy Spirit, they bring fresh life for every day.
Make it your goal to spend time in God's word EVERY DAY of 2010. It will tremendously equip you to do all that he has called you to do. Allow His Spirit to work in you so that you can become all He has created you to be.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Saturday, December 26, 2009
12.26.9 "Beyond Discovery!"
"Beyond Discovery!"
Zechariah 9:1-17
Revelation 17:1-18
Psalm 145:1-21
Proverbs 30:32
How great is your God? Have you ever met someone who marvels about God in a way
that makes you say, "I want to know God that way!" Today's reading in Psalm 145 has that same effect.
"I will praise you, my God and King, and bless your name each day and forever.
Great is Jehovah! Greatly praise him! His greatness is beyond discovery!"
I love that line! God's greatness is beyond discovery! I think we like to "conquer"
things, "figure them out". Now matter how "advanced" our knowledge might become,
We will never be able to grasp the greatness of our God! He can't be put in a box.
He's got something fresh and new every day!
"Let each generation tell its children what glorious things he does."
As I read that verse today, my thoughts were on how I need to make sure that as I
recount my experiences to my family that I always tell them about "what God did
today". My daughter needs to hear that God is at work in my life.
"I will meditate about your glory, splendor, majesty and miracles. Your awe-
inspiring deeds shall be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. Everyone
will tell about how good you are, and sing about your righteousness."
Wouldn't it be great if you could tell a Christian a mile away because that's how
they acted? What an impact it would make on my world if proclaiming his
greatness was a part of my normal conversation.
"Jehovah is kind and merciful, slow to get angry, full of love. He is good to
everyone, and his compassion is intertwined with everything he does."
Do you know why his compassion is intertwined with everything he does? It's
because it's a part of who he IS. I want my praise to be intwined with everything I
do because it's a part of who I am. I want to have a LIFESTYLE of worship.
"All living things shall thank you, Lord, and your people will bless you. They will
talk together about the glory of your kingdom and mention examples of your
power. They will tell about your miracles and about the majesty and glory of your
reign. For your kingdom never ends. You rule generation after generation."
Our God is "Beyond Discovery"! Our praise, prayer, thanks, and acknowledgment of His greatness
all need to be evident in our lives each and every day. He IS in an incredible God.
As we keep him the center of our focus and center of our attention, how can anything else
lead us off course? There's no circumstance that can dwarf the greatness of our God!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Zechariah 9:1-17
Revelation 17:1-18
Psalm 145:1-21
Proverbs 30:32
How great is your God? Have you ever met someone who marvels about God in a way
that makes you say, "I want to know God that way!" Today's reading in Psalm 145 has that same effect.
"I will praise you, my God and King, and bless your name each day and forever.
Great is Jehovah! Greatly praise him! His greatness is beyond discovery!"
I love that line! God's greatness is beyond discovery! I think we like to "conquer"
things, "figure them out". Now matter how "advanced" our knowledge might become,
We will never be able to grasp the greatness of our God! He can't be put in a box.
He's got something fresh and new every day!
"Let each generation tell its children what glorious things he does."
As I read that verse today, my thoughts were on how I need to make sure that as I
recount my experiences to my family that I always tell them about "what God did
today". My daughter needs to hear that God is at work in my life.
"I will meditate about your glory, splendor, majesty and miracles. Your awe-
inspiring deeds shall be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. Everyone
will tell about how good you are, and sing about your righteousness."
Wouldn't it be great if you could tell a Christian a mile away because that's how
they acted? What an impact it would make on my world if proclaiming his
greatness was a part of my normal conversation.
"Jehovah is kind and merciful, slow to get angry, full of love. He is good to
everyone, and his compassion is intertwined with everything he does."
Do you know why his compassion is intertwined with everything he does? It's
because it's a part of who he IS. I want my praise to be intwined with everything I
do because it's a part of who I am. I want to have a LIFESTYLE of worship.
"All living things shall thank you, Lord, and your people will bless you. They will
talk together about the glory of your kingdom and mention examples of your
power. They will tell about your miracles and about the majesty and glory of your
reign. For your kingdom never ends. You rule generation after generation."
Our God is "Beyond Discovery"! Our praise, prayer, thanks, and acknowledgment of His greatness
all need to be evident in our lives each and every day. He IS in an incredible God.
As we keep him the center of our focus and center of our attention, how can anything else
lead us off course? There's no circumstance that can dwarf the greatness of our God!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Monday, November 9, 2009
11.9.9 "Speak Out!"
"Speak Out!"
Ezekiel 20:1-49
Hebrew 9:13-28
Psalm 107:1-43
Proverbs 27:11
The study of the word is such an incredible way to get to know God. As we look at the full expanse of scripture we learn so much about his character. Too often we grab a "verse-for-the-day" to ease our conscience instead of taking the time to get into the word and get to know him! The only way you can get to know anyone is to spend time with them. What can be greater than spending time with God? Psalm 107 is a great chapter of encouragement to praise the Lord.
"Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies." vs 2
"He brought the exiles back from the farthest corners of the earth. They were wandering homeless in the desert, hungry and thirsty and faint. "Lord, help!" they cried, and he did! He led them straight to safety and a place to live. Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness, and for all of his wonderful deeds! For he satisfies the thirsty soul and fills the hungry soul with good." vs. 3-9
Have you been there? Thirsty of soul? Has God heard you?
"Who are these who sit in darkness, in the shadow of death, crushed by misery and slavery?... Then they cried to the Lord in their troubles, and he rescued them!... Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all his wonderful deeds! For he broke down their prison gates of brass and cut apart their iron bars." v.10,13-16
Have you been in the prison of bondage? Are you free?
"Others, the fools, were ill because of their sinful ways... then they cried to the Lord in their troubles, and he helped them and delivered them. He spoke, and they were healed - snatched from the door of death. Oh that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds! Let them tell him "Thank you" as their sacrifice, and sing about his glorious deeds." vs. 17-22
Have you been in trouble because of your sin?
"And there were the sailors sailing the seven seas, plying the trade routes of the world. They, too, observe the power of God in action. He calls to the storm winds; the waves rise high. Their ships are tossed to the heavens and sink again to the depths; the sailors cringe in terror. They reel and stagger like drunkards and are at their wit's end. then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and he saves them. He calms the storm and stills the waves. What a blessing is that stillness, as he brings them safely into harbor! Oh that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds! Let them praise him publicly before the congregation, and before the leaders of the nation." vs. 23-32
What's your story? What has God done for you? Anything? If so, Speak out! Have you ever heard a testimony that just made you wanna shout? Have you ever thought the fact that there's someone in your world who needs to hear your testimony? Your words could build their faith.
I was thinking that too often we think the "normal" thing is an easy-going life. Things should be all ok. Therefore, we don't rejoice in times of blessing. Trouble comes and we cry out to God, but the fact that we subconsciously think we deserve the blessing, or the freedom, or whatever, we don't rejoice the way we should. The truth is that in a life without God, TRIALS are normal! Stormy seas and bondage are a way of life.
If we would only open our mouth and declare how God has delivered us, others could turn to him! One of the Resources of our life is our testimony. What are we doing with that resource? Think of your blessings today. Your home. Your family. Your children. Your job. Which one of those things did not have a crisis at some point? Did God come through? What did you do with that testimony? Did you bury it in the ground? If you put it to work by praising the Lord and telling of his greatness, it WILL come back with a return. God will use your testimony for his Glory. "Good men everywhere will see it and be glad, while evil men are stricken silent." vs.42
Think of the heathen of this world. Our silence gives them ammunition. It gives them voice. It drives me crazy every time I hear one of those "billions of years ago..." type of statements on TV. Were anybody to speak up to refute it, they seem weird. Why? Because it's not normal to hear of the greatness of God.
"Say 'Thank you' to the Lord for being so good, for always being so loving and kind. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies."
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Ezekiel 20:1-49
Hebrew 9:13-28
Psalm 107:1-43
Proverbs 27:11
The study of the word is such an incredible way to get to know God. As we look at the full expanse of scripture we learn so much about his character. Too often we grab a "verse-for-the-day" to ease our conscience instead of taking the time to get into the word and get to know him! The only way you can get to know anyone is to spend time with them. What can be greater than spending time with God? Psalm 107 is a great chapter of encouragement to praise the Lord.
"Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies." vs 2
"He brought the exiles back from the farthest corners of the earth. They were wandering homeless in the desert, hungry and thirsty and faint. "Lord, help!" they cried, and he did! He led them straight to safety and a place to live. Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness, and for all of his wonderful deeds! For he satisfies the thirsty soul and fills the hungry soul with good." vs. 3-9
Have you been there? Thirsty of soul? Has God heard you?
"Who are these who sit in darkness, in the shadow of death, crushed by misery and slavery?... Then they cried to the Lord in their troubles, and he rescued them!... Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all his wonderful deeds! For he broke down their prison gates of brass and cut apart their iron bars." v.10,13-16
Have you been in the prison of bondage? Are you free?
"Others, the fools, were ill because of their sinful ways... then they cried to the Lord in their troubles, and he helped them and delivered them. He spoke, and they were healed - snatched from the door of death. Oh that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds! Let them tell him "Thank you" as their sacrifice, and sing about his glorious deeds." vs. 17-22
Have you been in trouble because of your sin?
"And there were the sailors sailing the seven seas, plying the trade routes of the world. They, too, observe the power of God in action. He calls to the storm winds; the waves rise high. Their ships are tossed to the heavens and sink again to the depths; the sailors cringe in terror. They reel and stagger like drunkards and are at their wit's end. then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and he saves them. He calms the storm and stills the waves. What a blessing is that stillness, as he brings them safely into harbor! Oh that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds! Let them praise him publicly before the congregation, and before the leaders of the nation." vs. 23-32
What's your story? What has God done for you? Anything? If so, Speak out! Have you ever heard a testimony that just made you wanna shout? Have you ever thought the fact that there's someone in your world who needs to hear your testimony? Your words could build their faith.
I was thinking that too often we think the "normal" thing is an easy-going life. Things should be all ok. Therefore, we don't rejoice in times of blessing. Trouble comes and we cry out to God, but the fact that we subconsciously think we deserve the blessing, or the freedom, or whatever, we don't rejoice the way we should. The truth is that in a life without God, TRIALS are normal! Stormy seas and bondage are a way of life.
If we would only open our mouth and declare how God has delivered us, others could turn to him! One of the Resources of our life is our testimony. What are we doing with that resource? Think of your blessings today. Your home. Your family. Your children. Your job. Which one of those things did not have a crisis at some point? Did God come through? What did you do with that testimony? Did you bury it in the ground? If you put it to work by praising the Lord and telling of his greatness, it WILL come back with a return. God will use your testimony for his Glory. "Good men everywhere will see it and be glad, while evil men are stricken silent." vs.42
Think of the heathen of this world. Our silence gives them ammunition. It gives them voice. It drives me crazy every time I hear one of those "billions of years ago..." type of statements on TV. Were anybody to speak up to refute it, they seem weird. Why? Because it's not normal to hear of the greatness of God.
"Say 'Thank you' to the Lord for being so good, for always being so loving and kind. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies."
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Sunday, October 25, 2009
10.25.9 "Take the Time to Praise"
"Take the Time to Praise"
Jeremiah 48:1-49:22
2 Timothy 4:1-22
Psalm 95:1-96:13
Proverbs 26:9-12
Many times it's easy to get entrenched in the routines of life and we forget the most important thing: Taking time to praise the Lord. Let's take the time today.
"Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord! Give a joyous shout in honor of the Rock of our salvation! Come before him with thankful hearts. Let us sing him psalms of praise. For the Lord is a great God, the great King of all gods. He controls the formation of the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains; all are his. He made the sea and formed the land; they too are his. Come, kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God. We are his sheep and he is our Shepherd. Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him!" Ps:95:1-7
I wrote a song a couple years ago similar to this Psalm:
I'm amazed that the One who made the mighty oceans roar,
Placed the stars in the heavens, formed the mountains of the earth,
Gave the infant breath of life, turned the sea into dry land,
Is the One who carries me.
Think about that. The creator of the universe is carrying you! I love the last part of verse 7. "Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him!" We get so distracted by the stress we try to carry on our own that we lose track of his voice.
Come to him in worship today. "Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing it everywhere around the world! Sing out his praises! Bless his name. Each day tell someone that he saves." Ps 96:1-2
This Psalm shows that worship isn't just between us and him! His worship should be made known to unbelievers as well. "Publish his glorious acts throughout the earth. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. For the Lord is great beyond description, and greatly to be praised. Worship only him among the gods! For the gods of other nations are merely idols, but our God made the heavens!" Ps 96:3-5
I love Ps 96:9: "Worship the Lord with the beauty of holy lives." What a great way to worship God: Living a holy life. You can only imagine what that means to God when we live that way. When you live that way, your lifestyle is an expression of praise for others to see how great your God is. Notice it's not a "holier than thou" life. When we worship properly, it puts us in our proper place. It doesn't exalt me, it humbles me. Living a holy life is living a humble life. When speaking with a co-worker about why we don't party the way they do it should not be a conversation of condemnation. It should be a revelation of how great God is, not how great WE are!
Take the Time to praise today! Live the Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship. Take note of what it does inside of you. Then take note of what he does through you!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Jeremiah 48:1-49:22
2 Timothy 4:1-22
Psalm 95:1-96:13
Proverbs 26:9-12
Many times it's easy to get entrenched in the routines of life and we forget the most important thing: Taking time to praise the Lord. Let's take the time today.
"Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord! Give a joyous shout in honor of the Rock of our salvation! Come before him with thankful hearts. Let us sing him psalms of praise. For the Lord is a great God, the great King of all gods. He controls the formation of the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains; all are his. He made the sea and formed the land; they too are his. Come, kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God. We are his sheep and he is our Shepherd. Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him!" Ps:95:1-7
I wrote a song a couple years ago similar to this Psalm:
I'm amazed that the One who made the mighty oceans roar,
Placed the stars in the heavens, formed the mountains of the earth,
Gave the infant breath of life, turned the sea into dry land,
Is the One who carries me.
Think about that. The creator of the universe is carrying you! I love the last part of verse 7. "Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him!" We get so distracted by the stress we try to carry on our own that we lose track of his voice.
Come to him in worship today. "Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing it everywhere around the world! Sing out his praises! Bless his name. Each day tell someone that he saves." Ps 96:1-2
This Psalm shows that worship isn't just between us and him! His worship should be made known to unbelievers as well. "Publish his glorious acts throughout the earth. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. For the Lord is great beyond description, and greatly to be praised. Worship only him among the gods! For the gods of other nations are merely idols, but our God made the heavens!" Ps 96:3-5
I love Ps 96:9: "Worship the Lord with the beauty of holy lives." What a great way to worship God: Living a holy life. You can only imagine what that means to God when we live that way. When you live that way, your lifestyle is an expression of praise for others to see how great your God is. Notice it's not a "holier than thou" life. When we worship properly, it puts us in our proper place. It doesn't exalt me, it humbles me. Living a holy life is living a humble life. When speaking with a co-worker about why we don't party the way they do it should not be a conversation of condemnation. It should be a revelation of how great God is, not how great WE are!
Take the Time to praise today! Live the Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship. Take note of what it does inside of you. Then take note of what he does through you!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Saturday, March 14, 2009
3.14.9 "Copyright Infringement"
"Copyright Infringement"
Numbers 21:1-22:20
Luke 1:26-56
Psalm 57:1-11
Proverbs 11:9-11
Copyright has become a big deal in this day and age. A copyright is intended to protect an author, songwriter, advertiser, or other creator and their "work". Basically, it's so the "idea" isn't stolen and someone else makes money off of it. There's big FBI warnings at the beginning of videos to make sure you don't show them to a bunch of people or make copies of it, because to do so would in essence keep the creator from making money from their creation. The intent is to make sure to give credit where credit is due.
This may seem like a bizarre train of thought, but I guess it wouldn't be my first! As I read today's Psalm, I was realizing the damage we cause when we infringe the "copyright" of God.
"Rouse yourself, my soul! Arise, O harp and lyre! Let us greet the dawn with song! I will thank you publicly throughout the land. I will sing your praises among the nations. Your kindness and love are as vast as the heavens. Your faithfulness is higher than the skies. Yes, be exalted, O God above the heavens. May your glory shine throughout the earth." Ps 57:8-11
You're thinking... "OK, Copyright infringement??" Well let's look at it this way. What is God's Goal? To draw all men to him. How does that happen? By them seeing his glory. How is he glorified? By his people declaring his praises. How do they declare praises? By giving credit where credit is due.
We need to be in the habit of giving praise to the Lord for EVERYTHING. We take so much for granted to begin with, and when we do think to praise him, it's mostly in our personal quiet time, or in our homes, or in the corporate worship setting.
It's great that we do it in those places, but if we don't go beyond that we are in danger. We are in danger of taking credit for his blessings. "I have this because I worked hard." "I did this, or that".
We are also in danger of robbing the world of the opportunity to see his greatness; to see his glory. In essence we are robbing God of the objective of his creation.
I have a friend who can hardly say a sentence without the phrase, "...by the grace of God" or "because of his goodness..." Do you know what he's doing by these statements? He's singing God's praises to the nations!
Imagine how different things would be if giving God praise was a constant part of our day. Too often we wouldn't want to go this route because it's "weird". We'd be labeled as "one of those..." We have the wrong mindset. We NEED to be one of those. We need to be his workmanship for his purpose.
We have a Mission to Reach Our World for Christ. When we praise the Lord publicly for what he has done we are fulfilling our mission.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Numbers 21:1-22:20
Luke 1:26-56
Psalm 57:1-11
Proverbs 11:9-11
Copyright has become a big deal in this day and age. A copyright is intended to protect an author, songwriter, advertiser, or other creator and their "work". Basically, it's so the "idea" isn't stolen and someone else makes money off of it. There's big FBI warnings at the beginning of videos to make sure you don't show them to a bunch of people or make copies of it, because to do so would in essence keep the creator from making money from their creation. The intent is to make sure to give credit where credit is due.
This may seem like a bizarre train of thought, but I guess it wouldn't be my first! As I read today's Psalm, I was realizing the damage we cause when we infringe the "copyright" of God.
"Rouse yourself, my soul! Arise, O harp and lyre! Let us greet the dawn with song! I will thank you publicly throughout the land. I will sing your praises among the nations. Your kindness and love are as vast as the heavens. Your faithfulness is higher than the skies. Yes, be exalted, O God above the heavens. May your glory shine throughout the earth." Ps 57:8-11
You're thinking... "OK, Copyright infringement??" Well let's look at it this way. What is God's Goal? To draw all men to him. How does that happen? By them seeing his glory. How is he glorified? By his people declaring his praises. How do they declare praises? By giving credit where credit is due.
We need to be in the habit of giving praise to the Lord for EVERYTHING. We take so much for granted to begin with, and when we do think to praise him, it's mostly in our personal quiet time, or in our homes, or in the corporate worship setting.
It's great that we do it in those places, but if we don't go beyond that we are in danger. We are in danger of taking credit for his blessings. "I have this because I worked hard." "I did this, or that".
We are also in danger of robbing the world of the opportunity to see his greatness; to see his glory. In essence we are robbing God of the objective of his creation.
I have a friend who can hardly say a sentence without the phrase, "...by the grace of God" or "because of his goodness..." Do you know what he's doing by these statements? He's singing God's praises to the nations!
Imagine how different things would be if giving God praise was a constant part of our day. Too often we wouldn't want to go this route because it's "weird". We'd be labeled as "one of those..." We have the wrong mindset. We NEED to be one of those. We need to be his workmanship for his purpose.
We have a Mission to Reach Our World for Christ. When we praise the Lord publicly for what he has done we are fulfilling our mission.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Monday, December 29, 2008
12.29.8 "What it's all about"
"What it's all about"
Zechariah 14:1-21
Revelation 20:1-15
Psalm 148:1-14
Proverbs 31:8-9
Today's Psalm is a great reminder of why this world exists.
"Praise the Lord, O Heavens! Praise him from the skies! Praise him, skies above. Praise him, vapors high above the clouds. Let everything he has made give praise to him. For he issued his command, and they came into being; he established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked."
When we look at the greatness of creation, we need to acknowledge that it all came from his spoken word. The fact that the sky exists declares his praise!
"And praise him down here on earth, you creatures of the ocean depths. Let fire and hail, snow, rain, wind and weather, all obey. Let the mountains and hills, the fruit trees and cedars, the wild animals and cattle, the snakes and birds, the kings and all the people with their rulers and their judges, young men and maidens, old men and children - all praise the Lord together. For he alone is worthy. His glory is far greater than all of earth and heaven. He has made his people strong, honoring his godly ones - the people of Israel, the people closest to him."
We are a product of the spoken words of God. It's time to rejoice & praise his name!!!!
"Hallelujah! Yes, Praise the Lord!"
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Zechariah 14:1-21
Revelation 20:1-15
Psalm 148:1-14
Proverbs 31:8-9
Today's Psalm is a great reminder of why this world exists.
"Praise the Lord, O Heavens! Praise him from the skies! Praise him, skies above. Praise him, vapors high above the clouds. Let everything he has made give praise to him. For he issued his command, and they came into being; he established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked."
When we look at the greatness of creation, we need to acknowledge that it all came from his spoken word. The fact that the sky exists declares his praise!
"And praise him down here on earth, you creatures of the ocean depths. Let fire and hail, snow, rain, wind and weather, all obey. Let the mountains and hills, the fruit trees and cedars, the wild animals and cattle, the snakes and birds, the kings and all the people with their rulers and their judges, young men and maidens, old men and children - all praise the Lord together. For he alone is worthy. His glory is far greater than all of earth and heaven. He has made his people strong, honoring his godly ones - the people of Israel, the people closest to him."
We are a product of the spoken words of God. It's time to rejoice & praise his name!!!!
"Hallelujah! Yes, Praise the Lord!"
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Sunday, November 9, 2008
11.9.8. "Speak Out!"
"Speak Out!"
Ezekiel 20:1-49
Hebrew 9:13-28
Psalm 107:1-43
Proverbs 27:11
The study of the word is such an incredible way to get to know God. As we look at the full expanse of scripture we learn so much about his character. Too often we grab a "verse-for-the-day" to ease our conscience instead of taking the time to get into the word and get to know him! The only way you can get to know anyone is to spend time with them. What can be greater than spending time with God? Psalm 107 is a great chapter of encouragement to praise the Lord.
"Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies." vs 2
"He brought the exiles back from the farthest corners of the earth. They were wandering homeless in the desert, hungry and thirsty and faint. "Lord, help!" they cried, and he did! He led them straight to safety and a place to live. Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness, and for all of his wonderful deeds! For he satisfies the thirsty soul and fills the hungry soul with good." vs. 3-9
Have you been there? Thirsty of soul? Has God heard you?
"Who are these who sit in darkness, in the shadow of death, crushed by misery and slavery?... Then they cried to the Lord in their troubles, and he rescued them!... Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all his wonderful deeds! For he broke down their prison gates of brass and cut apart their iron bars." v.10,13-16
Have you been in the prison of bondage? Are you free?
"Others, the fools, were ill because of their sinful ways... then they cried to the Lord in their troubles, and he helped them and delivered them. He spoke, and they were healed - snatched from the door of death. Oh that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds! Let them tell him "Thank you" as their sacrifice, and sing about his glorious deeds." vs. 17-22
Have you been in trouble because of your sin?
"And there were the sailors sailing the seven seas, plying the trade routes of the world. They, too, observe the power of God in action. He calls to the storm winds; the waves rise high. Their ships are tossed to the heavens and sink again to the depths; the sailors cringe in terror. They reel and stagger like drunkards and are at their wit's end. then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and he saves them. He calms the storm and stills the waves. What a blessing is that stillness, as he brings them safely into harbor! Oh that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds! Let them praise him publicly before the congregation, and before the leaders of the nation." vs. 23-32
What's your story? What has God done for you? Anything? If so, Speak out! Have you ever heard a testimony that just made you wanna shout? Have you ever thought the fact that there's someone in your world who needs to hear your testimony? Your words could build their faith.
I was thinking that too often we think the "normal" thing is an easy-going life. Things should be all ok. Therefore, we don't rejoice in times of blessing. Trouble comes and we cry out to God, but the fact that we subconsciously think we deserve the blessing, or the freedom, or whatever, we don't rejoice the way we should. The truth is that in a life without God, TRIALS are normal! Stormy seas and bondage are a way of life.
If we would only open our mouth and declare how God has delivered us, others could turn to him! One of the Resources of our life is our testimony. What are we doing with that resource? Think of your blessings today. Your home. Your family. Your children. Your job. Which one of those things did not have a crisis at some point? Did God come through? What did you do with that testimony? Did you bury it in the ground? If you put it to work by praising the Lord and telling of his greatness, it WILL come back with a return. God will use your testimony for his Glory. "Good men everywhere will see it and be glad, while evil men are stricken silent." vs.42
Think of the heathen of this world. Our silence gives them ammunition. It gives them voice. It drives me crazy every time I hear one of those "billions of years ago..." type of statements on TV. Were anybody to speak up to refute it, they seem weird. Why? Because it's not normal to hear of the greatness of God.
"Say 'Thank you' to the Lord for being so good, for always being so loving and kind. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies."
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Ezekiel 20:1-49
Hebrew 9:13-28
Psalm 107:1-43
Proverbs 27:11
The study of the word is such an incredible way to get to know God. As we look at the full expanse of scripture we learn so much about his character. Too often we grab a "verse-for-the-day" to ease our conscience instead of taking the time to get into the word and get to know him! The only way you can get to know anyone is to spend time with them. What can be greater than spending time with God? Psalm 107 is a great chapter of encouragement to praise the Lord.
"Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies." vs 2
"He brought the exiles back from the farthest corners of the earth. They were wandering homeless in the desert, hungry and thirsty and faint. "Lord, help!" they cried, and he did! He led them straight to safety and a place to live. Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness, and for all of his wonderful deeds! For he satisfies the thirsty soul and fills the hungry soul with good." vs. 3-9
Have you been there? Thirsty of soul? Has God heard you?
"Who are these who sit in darkness, in the shadow of death, crushed by misery and slavery?... Then they cried to the Lord in their troubles, and he rescued them!... Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all his wonderful deeds! For he broke down their prison gates of brass and cut apart their iron bars." v.10,13-16
Have you been in the prison of bondage? Are you free?
"Others, the fools, were ill because of their sinful ways... then they cried to the Lord in their troubles, and he helped them and delivered them. He spoke, and they were healed - snatched from the door of death. Oh that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds! Let them tell him "Thank you" as their sacrifice, and sing about his glorious deeds." vs. 17-22
Have you been in trouble because of your sin?
"And there were the sailors sailing the seven seas, plying the trade routes of the world. They, too, observe the power of God in action. He calls to the storm winds; the waves rise high. Their ships are tossed to the heavens and sink again to the depths; the sailors cringe in terror. They reel and stagger like drunkards and are at their wit's end. then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and he saves them. He calms the storm and stills the waves. What a blessing is that stillness, as he brings them safely into harbor! Oh that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds! Let them praise him publicly before the congregation, and before the leaders of the nation." vs. 23-32
What's your story? What has God done for you? Anything? If so, Speak out! Have you ever heard a testimony that just made you wanna shout? Have you ever thought the fact that there's someone in your world who needs to hear your testimony? Your words could build their faith.
I was thinking that too often we think the "normal" thing is an easy-going life. Things should be all ok. Therefore, we don't rejoice in times of blessing. Trouble comes and we cry out to God, but the fact that we subconsciously think we deserve the blessing, or the freedom, or whatever, we don't rejoice the way we should. The truth is that in a life without God, TRIALS are normal! Stormy seas and bondage are a way of life.
If we would only open our mouth and declare how God has delivered us, others could turn to him! One of the Resources of our life is our testimony. What are we doing with that resource? Think of your blessings today. Your home. Your family. Your children. Your job. Which one of those things did not have a crisis at some point? Did God come through? What did you do with that testimony? Did you bury it in the ground? If you put it to work by praising the Lord and telling of his greatness, it WILL come back with a return. God will use your testimony for his Glory. "Good men everywhere will see it and be glad, while evil men are stricken silent." vs.42
Think of the heathen of this world. Our silence gives them ammunition. It gives them voice. It drives me crazy every time I hear one of those "billions of years ago..." type of statements on TV. Were anybody to speak up to refute it, they seem weird. Why? Because it's not normal to hear of the greatness of God.
"Say 'Thank you' to the Lord for being so good, for always being so loving and kind. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies."
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Saturday, October 25, 2008
10.25.8 "Take the Time to Praise"
"Take the Time to Praise"
Jeremiah 48:1-49:22
2 Timothy 4:1-22
Psalm 95:1-96:13
Proverbs 26:9-12
Many times it's easy to get entrenched in the routines of life and we forget the most important thing: Taking time to praise the Lord. Let's take the time today.
"Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord! Give a joyous shout in honor of the Rock of our salvation! Come before him with thankful hearts. Let us sing him psalms of praise. For the Lord is a great God, the great King of all gods. He controls the formation of the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains; all are his. He made the sea and formed the land; they too are his. Come, kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God. We are his sheep and he is our Shepherd. Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him!" Ps:95:1-7
I wrote a song a couple years ago similar to this Psalm:
I'm amazed that the One who made the mighty oceans roar,
Placed the stars in the heavens, formed the mountains of the earth,
Gave the infant breath of life, turned the sea into dry land,
Is the One who carries me.
Think about that. The creator of the universe is carrying you! I love the last part of verse 7. "Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him!" We get so distracted by the stress we try to carry on our own that we lose track of his voice.
Come to him in worship today. "Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing it everywhere around the world! Sing out his praises! Bless his name. Each day tell someone that he saves." Ps 96:1-2
This Psalm shows that worship isn't just between us and him! His worship should be made known to unbelievers as well. "Publish his glorious acts throughout the earth. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. For the Lord is great beyond description, and greatly to be praised. Worship only him among the gods! For the gods of other nations are merely idols, but our God made the heavens!" Ps 96:3-5
I love Ps 96:9: "Worship the Lord with the beauty of holy lives." What a great way to worship God: Living a holy life. You can only imagine what that means to God when we live that way. When you live that way, your lifestyle is an expression of praise for others to see how great your God is. Notice it's not a "holier than thou" life. When we worship properly, it puts us in our proper place. It doesn't exalt me, it humbles me. Living a holy life is living a humble life. When speaking with a co-worker about why we don't party the way they do it should not be a conversation of condemnation. It should be a revelation of how great God is, not how great WE are!
Take the Time to praise today! Live the Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship. Take note of what it does inside of you. Then take note of what he does through you!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Jeremiah 48:1-49:22
2 Timothy 4:1-22
Psalm 95:1-96:13
Proverbs 26:9-12
Many times it's easy to get entrenched in the routines of life and we forget the most important thing: Taking time to praise the Lord. Let's take the time today.
"Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord! Give a joyous shout in honor of the Rock of our salvation! Come before him with thankful hearts. Let us sing him psalms of praise. For the Lord is a great God, the great King of all gods. He controls the formation of the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains; all are his. He made the sea and formed the land; they too are his. Come, kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God. We are his sheep and he is our Shepherd. Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him!" Ps:95:1-7
I wrote a song a couple years ago similar to this Psalm:
I'm amazed that the One who made the mighty oceans roar,
Placed the stars in the heavens, formed the mountains of the earth,
Gave the infant breath of life, turned the sea into dry land,
Is the One who carries me.
Think about that. The creator of the universe is carrying you! I love the last part of verse 7. "Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him!" We get so distracted by the stress we try to carry on our own that we lose track of his voice.
Come to him in worship today. "Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing it everywhere around the world! Sing out his praises! Bless his name. Each day tell someone that he saves." Ps 96:1-2
This Psalm shows that worship isn't just between us and him! His worship should be made known to unbelievers as well. "Publish his glorious acts throughout the earth. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. For the Lord is great beyond description, and greatly to be praised. Worship only him among the gods! For the gods of other nations are merely idols, but our God made the heavens!" Ps 96:3-5
I love Ps 96:9: "Worship the Lord with the beauty of holy lives." What a great way to worship God: Living a holy life. You can only imagine what that means to God when we live that way. When you live that way, your lifestyle is an expression of praise for others to see how great your God is. Notice it's not a "holier than thou" life. When we worship properly, it puts us in our proper place. It doesn't exalt me, it humbles me. Living a holy life is living a humble life. When speaking with a co-worker about why we don't party the way they do it should not be a conversation of condemnation. It should be a revelation of how great God is, not how great WE are!
Take the Time to praise today! Live the Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship. Take note of what it does inside of you. Then take note of what he does through you!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Saturday, June 7, 2008
6.7.8 "This Life"
"This Life"
I Kings 2:1 - 3:2
Acts 5:1-42
Psalm 125:1-5
Proverbs 16:25
The book of Acts tells the story of the birth of the Christian church. Things are quite interesting from the get-go for these early believers.
"The High Priest and his relatives and friends among the Sadducees reacted with violent jealousy and arrested the apostles, and put them in the public jail. But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail and brought them out. Then he told them, 'Go over to the Temple and preach about this Life!" (Acts 5:17-20)
"Preach about this Life!" What a great phrase! Do you realize that everyday you preach about this Life? What's your story? What's your life? If people were to look at you, and listen to your words and watch the way you live, what would they see?
I take this as a personal challenge. What does my life look like? Is it motivated by the circumstances around me? Are my "moods" influenced by minor occurrences or do my words and actions reveal an inner strength that has been developed by the working of the Spirit in me?
Peter had a "Life" to tell about. "Sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow would fall across some of them as he went by! And crowds came in from the Jerusalem suburbs, bringing their sick folk and those possessed by demons; and every one of them was healed." (Acts 5:15-16)
So "this Life" that Peter had... is it available to us? You bet it is! We have been given the Holy Spirit, and he is as ready and able to work through us today as he was then. What's the difference? Us.
I think one of the biggest hinderances to the full experience of "This Life" is shown in Psalm 125:1, "Those who trust the the Lord are steady as Mount Zion, unmoved by any circumstance." I think too often the people of God have this story to tell: "George 'says' he trusts the Lord, but is kicked around by every circumstance."
The apostles of the early church knew God in such an intimate way that they could see the big picture. They weren't affected by what was seen on the outside. The beatings they received not only did not push them off course, it gave them motivation to live the Life! "The [Jewish] Council... called in the apostles, had them beaten, and then told them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and finally let them go. They left the Council chamber rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer dishonor for his name." (Acts 5:40-41)
Did you catch that? It does something inside of me to realize that the "beating" and the "rejoicing" are intertwined. Too often for us, it's "I'm not in the mood to worship today because I had a flat tire." When we are truly full of the Holy Spirit, and we walk in surrendered lives, we can experience "This Life" in an incredible way. The Holy Spirit can only be hindered by each one of us. When he moves on our heart and leads us to lay down areas of our life that are sinful, we quench his power when we cease to surrender. We must walk in daily surrender. We must be consistent in the word and in studying together. This is what it means to be Empowered through Biblical Training.
"And every day, in the temple and in their home Bible classes, they continued to teach and preach that Jesus is the Messiah." (Acts 5:42)
You wanna live this Life? Then LIVE it! When we have the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us, and we put scriptural application of the DREAM principles to our lives each and every day, we are positioning ourselves for the miraculous. God desires to heal and deliver, and bust out of prison, and move mountains. He's just waiting for us to let him.
Go preach about this Life!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
I Kings 2:1 - 3:2
Acts 5:1-42
Psalm 125:1-5
Proverbs 16:25
The book of Acts tells the story of the birth of the Christian church. Things are quite interesting from the get-go for these early believers.
"The High Priest and his relatives and friends among the Sadducees reacted with violent jealousy and arrested the apostles, and put them in the public jail. But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail and brought them out. Then he told them, 'Go over to the Temple and preach about this Life!" (Acts 5:17-20)
"Preach about this Life!" What a great phrase! Do you realize that everyday you preach about this Life? What's your story? What's your life? If people were to look at you, and listen to your words and watch the way you live, what would they see?
I take this as a personal challenge. What does my life look like? Is it motivated by the circumstances around me? Are my "moods" influenced by minor occurrences or do my words and actions reveal an inner strength that has been developed by the working of the Spirit in me?
Peter had a "Life" to tell about. "Sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow would fall across some of them as he went by! And crowds came in from the Jerusalem suburbs, bringing their sick folk and those possessed by demons; and every one of them was healed." (Acts 5:15-16)
So "this Life" that Peter had... is it available to us? You bet it is! We have been given the Holy Spirit, and he is as ready and able to work through us today as he was then. What's the difference? Us.
I think one of the biggest hinderances to the full experience of "This Life" is shown in Psalm 125:1, "Those who trust the the Lord are steady as Mount Zion, unmoved by any circumstance." I think too often the people of God have this story to tell: "George 'says' he trusts the Lord, but is kicked around by every circumstance."
The apostles of the early church knew God in such an intimate way that they could see the big picture. They weren't affected by what was seen on the outside. The beatings they received not only did not push them off course, it gave them motivation to live the Life! "The [Jewish] Council... called in the apostles, had them beaten, and then told them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and finally let them go. They left the Council chamber rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer dishonor for his name." (Acts 5:40-41)
Did you catch that? It does something inside of me to realize that the "beating" and the "rejoicing" are intertwined. Too often for us, it's "I'm not in the mood to worship today because I had a flat tire." When we are truly full of the Holy Spirit, and we walk in surrendered lives, we can experience "This Life" in an incredible way. The Holy Spirit can only be hindered by each one of us. When he moves on our heart and leads us to lay down areas of our life that are sinful, we quench his power when we cease to surrender. We must walk in daily surrender. We must be consistent in the word and in studying together. This is what it means to be Empowered through Biblical Training.
"And every day, in the temple and in their home Bible classes, they continued to teach and preach that Jesus is the Messiah." (Acts 5:42)
You wanna live this Life? Then LIVE it! When we have the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us, and we put scriptural application of the DREAM principles to our lives each and every day, we are positioning ourselves for the miraculous. God desires to heal and deliver, and bust out of prison, and move mountains. He's just waiting for us to let him.
Go preach about this Life!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Thursday, April 17, 2008
4.17.8 "Ain't No God Like Mine!"
"Ain't No God Like Mine!"
Joshua 15:1-63
Luke 18:18-43
Psalm 86:1-17
Proverbs 13:9-10
As kids there was always a "my dad's tougher than yours" conversation at some point or another. My dad was a hockey coach, so I had a lot of clout in that area. Of course those conversations are motivated by pride, and not the healthiest thing to get involved in as they usually lead to a fight in some form or another, which proves today's Proverb true: "Pride leads to conflict..." (Prov. 13:10)
Reading today's Psalm, we get that "my God's tougher than yours" feeling. "Where among the heathen gods is there a god like you? Where are their miracles?" (Ps 86:3) What a great line! Where are their miracles? There is no god like our God! He is awesome his power is unending. As much as we've experienced, we can only comprehend a portion of his greatness.
Everyone's going to know it, though. "All the nations - and you made each one - will come and bow before you, Lord, and praise your great and holy name. For you are great, and do great miracles. You alone are God." (Ps 86:9-10)
We serve an awesome God! We need to think about that. We need to acknowledge his greatness. We need to respond in worship. How do we worship? With our lives.
"Tell me where you want me to go and I will go there. May every fiber of my being unite in reverence to your name. With all my heart I will praise you. I will give glory to your name forever, for you love me so much! you are constantly so kind! You have rescued me from deepest hell." (Ps 86:11-13)
I love that line "May every fiber of my being unite in reverence to your name." What would our day be like if we lived like that? If every fiber of my being united in reverence to his name, I would obey his commands, I would walk in unity, I would study his Word, I would use the gifts he's given me for his glory.
I would Live the DREAM!
Today's reading from Joshua is one that you probably don't have memorized. It lays out the allotment for the tribe of Judah in the promised land. It lists the boundaries on all sides, and then goes on to list the hundreds of cities & surrounding villages that were conquered, and allotted to them.
Ok, be honest... did you read each name of each city? I caught myself skipping over a few verses because i caught the "gist" of what was going on. As I was doing that, I realized I was skipping over answered prayer. The cities that are listed are the result of the unbelievable trials and miracles that God's people went through. This was the promise.
It made me stop to think if I'm doing the same thing in my life. Do I skip over the "details" of the great things God has done for me. "yeah, yeah, yeah... my God is better than any other... I got the gist...." That's not how we should be! We should be listing the great things God has done!
In Luke 18:35-43 the blind man is crying out to Jesus, and Jesus asks him, "'What do you want me to do for you?' 'Lord,' he said, 'I want to see!'" Jesus healed him, and verse 43 says, "Instantly the man could see, and he followed jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too."
The healing of the blind man is a bit more exciting to us than the list of cities. Yet both are a sign of an awesome God. What do you have to praise God for today? I have health! I have provision.
God is GREAT! There ain't NO god like mine!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Joshua 15:1-63
Luke 18:18-43
Psalm 86:1-17
Proverbs 13:9-10
As kids there was always a "my dad's tougher than yours" conversation at some point or another. My dad was a hockey coach, so I had a lot of clout in that area. Of course those conversations are motivated by pride, and not the healthiest thing to get involved in as they usually lead to a fight in some form or another, which proves today's Proverb true: "Pride leads to conflict..." (Prov. 13:10)
Reading today's Psalm, we get that "my God's tougher than yours" feeling. "Where among the heathen gods is there a god like you? Where are their miracles?" (Ps 86:3) What a great line! Where are their miracles? There is no god like our God! He is awesome his power is unending. As much as we've experienced, we can only comprehend a portion of his greatness.
Everyone's going to know it, though. "All the nations - and you made each one - will come and bow before you, Lord, and praise your great and holy name. For you are great, and do great miracles. You alone are God." (Ps 86:9-10)
We serve an awesome God! We need to think about that. We need to acknowledge his greatness. We need to respond in worship. How do we worship? With our lives.
"Tell me where you want me to go and I will go there. May every fiber of my being unite in reverence to your name. With all my heart I will praise you. I will give glory to your name forever, for you love me so much! you are constantly so kind! You have rescued me from deepest hell." (Ps 86:11-13)
I love that line "May every fiber of my being unite in reverence to your name." What would our day be like if we lived like that? If every fiber of my being united in reverence to his name, I would obey his commands, I would walk in unity, I would study his Word, I would use the gifts he's given me for his glory.
I would Live the DREAM!
Today's reading from Joshua is one that you probably don't have memorized. It lays out the allotment for the tribe of Judah in the promised land. It lists the boundaries on all sides, and then goes on to list the hundreds of cities & surrounding villages that were conquered, and allotted to them.
Ok, be honest... did you read each name of each city? I caught myself skipping over a few verses because i caught the "gist" of what was going on. As I was doing that, I realized I was skipping over answered prayer. The cities that are listed are the result of the unbelievable trials and miracles that God's people went through. This was the promise.
It made me stop to think if I'm doing the same thing in my life. Do I skip over the "details" of the great things God has done for me. "yeah, yeah, yeah... my God is better than any other... I got the gist...." That's not how we should be! We should be listing the great things God has done!
In Luke 18:35-43 the blind man is crying out to Jesus, and Jesus asks him, "'What do you want me to do for you?' 'Lord,' he said, 'I want to see!'" Jesus healed him, and verse 43 says, "Instantly the man could see, and he followed jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too."
The healing of the blind man is a bit more exciting to us than the list of cities. Yet both are a sign of an awesome God. What do you have to praise God for today? I have health! I have provision.
God is GREAT! There ain't NO god like mine!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Friday, March 14, 2008
3.14.8 "Copyright Infringement"
"Copyright Infringement"
Numbers 21:1-22:20
Luke 1:26-56
Psalm 57:1-11
Proverbs 11:9-11
Copyright has become a big deal in this day and age. A copyright is intended to protect an author, songwriter, advertiser, or other creator and their "work". Basically, it's so the "idea" isn't stolen and someone else makes money off of it. There's big FBI warnings at the beginning of videos to make sure you don't show them to a bunch of people or make copies of it, because to do so would in essence keep the creator from making money from their creation. The intent is to make sure to give credit where credit is due.
This may seem like a bizarre train of thought, but I guess it wouldn't be my first! As I read today's Psalm, I was realizing the damage we cause when we infringe the "copyright" of God.
"Rouse yourself, my soul! Arise, O harp and lyre! Let us greet the dawn with song! I will thank you publicly throughout the land. I will sing your praises among the nations. Your kindness and love are as vast as the heavens. Your faithfulness is higher than the skies. Yes, be exalted, O God above the heavens. May your glory shine throughout the earth." Ps 57:8-11
You're thinking... "OK, Copyright infringement??" Well let's look at it this way. What is God's Goal? To draw all men to him. How does that happen? By them seeing his glory. How is he glorified? By his people declaring his praises. How do they declare praises? By giving credit where credit is due.
We need to be in the habit of giving praise to the Lord for EVERYTHING. We take so much for granted to begin with, and when we do think to praise him, it's mostly in our personal quiet time, or in our homes, or in the corporate worship setting.
It's great that we do it in those places, but if we don't go beyond that we are in danger. We are in danger of taking credit for his blessings. "I have this because I worked hard." "I did this, or that".
We are also in danger of robbing the world of the opportunity to see his greatness; to see his glory. In essence we are robbing God of the objective of his creation.
I have a friend who can hardly say a sentence without the phrase, "...by the grace of God" or "because of his goodness..." Do you know what he's doing by these statements? He's singing God's praises to the nations!
Imagine how different things would be if giving God praise was a constant part of our day. Too often we wouldn't want to go this route because it's "weird". We'd be labeled as "one of those..." We have the wrong mindset. We NEED to be one of those. We need to be his workmanship for his purpose.
We have a Mission to Reach Our World for Christ. When we praise the Lord publicly for what he has done we are fulfilling our mission.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Numbers 21:1-22:20
Luke 1:26-56
Psalm 57:1-11
Proverbs 11:9-11
Copyright has become a big deal in this day and age. A copyright is intended to protect an author, songwriter, advertiser, or other creator and their "work". Basically, it's so the "idea" isn't stolen and someone else makes money off of it. There's big FBI warnings at the beginning of videos to make sure you don't show them to a bunch of people or make copies of it, because to do so would in essence keep the creator from making money from their creation. The intent is to make sure to give credit where credit is due.
This may seem like a bizarre train of thought, but I guess it wouldn't be my first! As I read today's Psalm, I was realizing the damage we cause when we infringe the "copyright" of God.
"Rouse yourself, my soul! Arise, O harp and lyre! Let us greet the dawn with song! I will thank you publicly throughout the land. I will sing your praises among the nations. Your kindness and love are as vast as the heavens. Your faithfulness is higher than the skies. Yes, be exalted, O God above the heavens. May your glory shine throughout the earth." Ps 57:8-11
You're thinking... "OK, Copyright infringement??" Well let's look at it this way. What is God's Goal? To draw all men to him. How does that happen? By them seeing his glory. How is he glorified? By his people declaring his praises. How do they declare praises? By giving credit where credit is due.
We need to be in the habit of giving praise to the Lord for EVERYTHING. We take so much for granted to begin with, and when we do think to praise him, it's mostly in our personal quiet time, or in our homes, or in the corporate worship setting.
It's great that we do it in those places, but if we don't go beyond that we are in danger. We are in danger of taking credit for his blessings. "I have this because I worked hard." "I did this, or that".
We are also in danger of robbing the world of the opportunity to see his greatness; to see his glory. In essence we are robbing God of the objective of his creation.
I have a friend who can hardly say a sentence without the phrase, "...by the grace of God" or "because of his goodness..." Do you know what he's doing by these statements? He's singing God's praises to the nations!
Imagine how different things would be if giving God praise was a constant part of our day. Too often we wouldn't want to go this route because it's "weird". We'd be labeled as "one of those..." We have the wrong mindset. We NEED to be one of those. We need to be his workmanship for his purpose.
We have a Mission to Reach Our World for Christ. When we praise the Lord publicly for what he has done we are fulfilling our mission.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
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