Gratitude: A Call to Worship

Gratitude: A Call to Worship

by | Aug 8, 2024 | Kingdom Finance, Kingdom Principles, The Pattern

The American essayist and poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once gave the following advice: “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

In Psalm 23 David makes it clear that even though we may walk through the valley of the shadow of death we need not fear – in all our trials and tribulations Jesus remains our friend.

In the valley low, and on the mountain top – through oceans deep and rivers wide – God remains faithful. He is God in the good times and in the bad times.

Romans 5:1-5: teaches us that even in the storm God is faithful. He is always busy molding us, shaping us – in every situation He is with us. In the good times and the bad times He is faithful, and therefore in both the good times and the bad times we can praise Him for His goodness and His love.

The fact of the matter is that some days are better than others, but every day can be the best of your life when you adopt an attitude of gratitude.

As Christians we realize that through the Spirit of Adoption we have become sons and daughters of the Most High God. We are no longer enslaved by the bondage of fear and sin – but crying ‘Abba Father’. We are justified by faith and at peace with God through Christ. Through Jesus, also, we have access, by faith, to His grace – the marvelous, amazing Grace of God in which we stand, alive and rejoicing, in the hope of glory of God.

We are blessed and highly favored. We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. He is our deliverer. He is our healer. He is the provider.

In Psalm 103 David declares aloud: Bless the Lord, O my soul.

The word used for soul is the Hebrew ‘nephesh’ which does not just refer to our conventional understanding of a ‘soul’ as some sort of component of being, but rather a word that encapsulates all of his life – consciousness and the whole of life itself.

He is, in essence, saying: Let others praise you with their tongues – with their words – but as for me… Everything I am, all of me will honour you. All that is withing me – physically, emotionally and intellectually – will praise you, glorify you, magnify, bless and exalt you Lord – with everything I have – every faculty and resource I have to my disposal.

In verse 2 David repeats this phrase. Bless the Lord, O my soul!

As a guitarist I have to often tune my instrument before playing. The tuning peg needs to be turned until it is in tune. Often it has to be turned more than once.

David repeats this phrase on purpose. Deliberately and with good reason. It is not vain repetition – how can it be when your pen is guided by the Spirit of God?

David is thirsty. He is hungry. He is seeking the face of God – ardently and in all earnestness. With the repetition of these words he is stirring up a chorus within himself – a chorus in which all his faculties, emotions and capacities are joined in harmonious rapture.

The prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon, notes the following in his beautiful exposition of this psalm: These first verses are a tuning of the harp, a screwing up of the loosened strings, that not one note may fail in the sacred harmony.

David’s repetition is deliberate – for emphasis. Our praise must never be half-hearted. Our thanksgiving must always be intentional. Although our praise is often spontaneous and emotional, it must also be intentional, and to a degree rational.

Psalm 103:2 encourages us to not forget His benefits. More than wealth or prosperity, God gives His children TRUE benefits.

The theologian, VanGemeren said: Praise is the response of awe for God, while reflecting on what the Lord has done for the people of God – throughout the history of redemption, for creation at large, for the community and for oneself.

If praise is a response to the awe of God, and David is calling his whole soul – all he is – to bless the Lord, it means that our thanksgiving is never just in word but also in deed. Our praise and thanksgiving becomes something tangible.

As author Amy Leigh Mercree said: Thanksgiving is a joyous invitation to shower the world with love and gratitude.

The vanGemeren quote expresses this as well – our praise is not just about what God has done for the individual, but extends outwards.

And as David is led in writing the Psalm, his invitation to praise, starting with himself – the stirring up of his heart and soul – extends outwards to eventually include all of creation. All the earth and even the host of heaven is invited to bless the Lord.

All of creation. All of Heaven and Earth is invited to take their place in the sacred symphony of praise.

In Psalm 103:6 we see that God’s heart beats for the oppressed, the poor – the broken, lost and in need. God’s heart beats for the sinner, outcast and orphan. From reading the Gospels and about the Apostles, we see how God wants to use us as His hands and feet. We are to advocate for and actively pursue and effect justice for the oppressed, the weak and weary, the burdened. and heavy laden – we are called to make a difference. As the light of God’s love becomes alive in us we are to become a light – a beacon of hope – for those still in darkness.

The Psalms often make mention of an offering of thanks, or a sacrifice of thanksgiving. This was always a physical offering. I would argue that all our offerings, all of our praise and thanksgiving, are to be expressed physically.

We have so much to be grateful for today. He has saved us from death itself. He has paid for our healing and restoration. He gives us joy and peace – the kind that surpasses understanding. His grace carries us. His love enfolds us. His goodness and mercy follows us. He is our Shepherd and we shall not want. He is the Good Father who cares for His children. If His eye is on the Sparrow, surely He watches over you and me as well.

Let us stir up our souls to worship God today – in Spirit and in Truth. Let us call ourselves to worship and bless the Lord with more than just words.

This is the invitation.

Someone out there needs Jesus today.

This is the invitation, an invitation to shower the world with love and gratitude.

An invitation to bless the Lord by doing something.

To bring a physical, tangible offering to the Lord, as a living sacrifice to Him (Romans 12:1-2).

What is your sacrifice of praise today?

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Beauty of the Cross

Beauty of the Cross

by | Jun 19, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“Oh wondrous love that called me out by name 
The one who made it all died to make a way
And every earthly gain I will count as loss 
I am redeemed, that’s the beauty of the cross” 

Beauty of the Cross, The Prestonwood Choir 

“ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 

1 Corinthians 1:18, NIV 

Jesus came to die so that we might live. 

It is easy for us to get sidetracked by the complexities of Scripture, End-Time thinking, promises of prosperity and the more mystical aspects of our Christian walk. While all of these things are important to consider it means absolutely nothing without a basic, foundational understanding of the Cross of Jesus Christ. 

We were lost to sin. We were counted as casualties of our own transgressions. We were distant and far away from God our Creator. 

Some of us still are. As much as we pray, prophesy or cast out demons – as much as we prosper in the Name of Jesus – many of us are still not truly rooted in Jesus. 

Jesus said the following: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practise lawlessness!’ 

The fruit of our Christian walk is not measured by the practice of power – even heathens and unbelievers can cast out demons – but the one thing they cannot do is give you Jesus to fill the gap left behind. 

Even unbelievers can ‘prophesy’ – but the Spirit of true prophecy is the Testimony of Jesus. 

Even unbelievers can prosper – the Bible teaches us this – but only a proper understanding of Christ and His Cross can give you true prosperity: the shalom of God, contentment in every circumstance and situation. 

We have in many ways been measuring our fruit according to the wisdom of this world – but the wisdom of this world is foolishness. 

The Cross offers us a paradigm shift – a change of perspective. We now count the world and its wealth, earthly gain and esteem as loss. 

The Cross of Christ offers us the opportunity to crucify the flesh, die to self and the world, sin and unrighteousness – and gives us new life as we stand up in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.  

You are called out by name! Called out of the grave of your transgressions – by name! Called out of the grave of spiritual loneliness and poverty – by name! 

When you were in darkness God saw you. God loved you! 

The fruit of our Christian walk is not measured in power, but in presence – the presence of God in your life. The presence of His peace, His love, His mercy, His grace, His capacity for forgiveness – the presence of the fruit of His Spirit in our lives – that is how we measure our spiritual growth.  

We do not measure the fruit of our Christian walk by our capacity to own – but in our capacity to give away without expecting returns and without agenda – our finances, our resources, our time, our love – sacrifice is the operative word! 

The grave is a solitary place – we put our dead in a coffin in the ground – there is no community. Jesus calls us out of the solitary and lonely graves of our selfishness into life – into community and fellowship – we measure the fruit of our Christian walk by looking at our selflessness. We do not measure our Christian walk by what or who we are but rather by what and who we are not – by what and who Christ is in and through us. The goal of the Christian life is to become less so that He might become more – so that we might be conformed in every way to Jesus.  

We strive for righteousness and holiness. We avoid sin like the plague. We keep our garments clean. We tend to the garden of our Christian walk through prayer, meditation and study, fellowship and community. We reach out to others with the same Hand that Jesus extended – love and mercy, goodness and grace.

The Christian walk is not about the practice of power – but the power of Christ in us is the practice of His Presence in a world that does not know Him.

Let us die to self so that others might find life in Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, let me become less so that You might become more. Help me die to self so that You might reign and rule in me. Show me the areas of my life that need to be surrendered for You to increase. Help me pursue presence more than power – Your presence in and through me. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Breathe

Breathe

by | Feb 25, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence
Living in me”

This Is The Air I Breathe, Hillsong

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.“

Genesis 2:7, NKJV

Jeremiah 29:13-14:  “You will seek (baqash) me and find me when you seek (darash) me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.”

As a former addict and alcoholic I spent a lot of time in 12 Step Meetings. One of the hardest hitting ideas in the Twelve Steps to me personally is step 11: “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”

CONSCIOUS CONTACT. When we look at the Word spoken through Jeremiah in the passage above we see that the Lord does not hide Himself from us – He isn’t hard to find – but it takes a sort of effort from our side.

Looking at the Hebrew words BAQASH and DARASH in this passage we find that the Lord requires two things of us.

“Baqash’ is also translated as ‘desire’, to ‘plead’ or ‘beg for’ and to ‘aim’. 

‘Darash’ is to get up and go looking, to ‘ask’, to ‘study’, to ‘call’.

What God is saying is: “I WILL BE FOUND BY YOU when you DESIRE ME, set your sights on Me – HUNGER AND THIRST for Me – and then ACT ON THAT DESIRE by LOOKING, by ASKING, by STUDYING, by CALLING.”

Our ‘contact’ with God needs to be ‘conscious’ – born of desire and pursued with action. Our ‘contact’ or ‘finding God’ should be intentional – an exercise in mindfulness.

I would like to add the word ‘constant’ to the mix.

Scripture encourages us to ‘pray without ceasing’ (1 Thes. 5:16-18, Luke 18:1:), to pray about everything (Phil 4:6:), to meditate on His Word day and night (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1-2:) – Scripture encourages us to be consistent in our efforts for ‘conscious contact’. Scripture calls for CONSTANT CONSCIOUS CONTACT.

The Psalmist in Psalm 116 proclaims: I will praise Him as long as I live –  as long as I have breathe in my lungs – I will praise Him!

In Genesis 2:7: we read that God breathed life into Adam – and his lungs reacted – expanded, inhaled, exhaled… 

If worship is our response to our Creator, our response to the goodness and glory of God (Psalm 116) then Adam’s response to his Creator was the first act of worship.

If we meditate on this a little bit we might come to realize that our worship, our prayer, our meditation – our seeking out the Lord should be as breathing to us.

Just like breath is life to the body, so also prayer, meditation, the study of His Word, and our worship is life to our souls. 

God wants to dwell in our midst – He doesn’t want to come and visit once in a while. He doesn’t need a holiday home. He wants to tabernacle here among us. He wants to establish His throne here and now in our hearts and in our lives. He desires to be with us.

And all we have to do is breathe.

All we need to do is start being present in His presence. Being mindful of maintaining that constant conscious contact with the Lord.

Worship should become a lifestyle. Prayer should become a lifestyle. His presence should be the air we breathe. His Word should be the daily bread that feeds and sustains us.

God is not hiding. He is just waiting for you to make a move

God is still breathing life into dry bones. It is time you let your lungs respond.

Prayer: Lord, right now I invite Your Holy Spirit to come and invade my life. Let Your love and presence flood my soul. Hear the longing and the thirsting of my heart as I acknowledge that I am lost without You. Bring water to dry places Lord, feed me and restore me. Give me the wisdom to seek You, and as I seek You let it become like breathing to me. Ignite a fire in my heart that burns for You – awaken and stir up a longing that desires You above all else – and as I seek You Lord, I know You are faithful. As I seek You Lord, do not hide Your face from me, but allow me to see and experience the beauty of Your presence in my life today. Amen.