From Praise To Presence

Have you ever noticed how the presence of God seems greater during times of praise and worship? I think we probably all have noticed this at one time of another. There seems to come a time when we get to a place of being very close to God when we praise Him. The scriptures speak of this.

Psalms 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

The literal translation here means says that God is enthroned upon or sits on the praises of His people. Somehow when we give praise to God, He shows up in those airwaves in some way. He is committed to us, to hear our cries.

Psalms 22:22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
23 Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

We can also see this when David sang a psalm to God. An interesting example appears in Psalms 95. It begins with David saying calling out to the people to join him in praising God. Through the first seven verses we see David encouraging us to praise God, telling us why we should praise God, and finally a way in which we should praise God.

Psalms 95:1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,

Then in verse eight, things change. In the first seven verses it is written (and sung) from the perspective of the people about and then to God. From verse eight to the end it is written (and sung) from the perspective of God speaking to us, His people.

Psalms 95:8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

During the time of the singing of this song, God shows up and begins to speak to us. This is that same feeling we have when we spend time with God and have Him show up in some greater way. We are to be the ushers. We usher in the presence of God with our praise.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. You alone are worthy to be praised. We love You and want You with us. We long for those times when You are seated on our praises. Forgive us when we forget to praise You and go our own ways. Help us to overcome these shortcomings. Please send us today Your strength, Your power, Your provision, healing, and deliverance. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Wanting And Doing

Like Paul, I think we all have had moments where we do what we think we should not do and we don’t do what we think we should be doing.

Romans 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

This is the same Paul that told us to work out our own salvation.

Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

This always made me feel like I had to be right all of the time. However, if we read on Paul says something more interesting.

Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

What I did not understand until this morning is that God is working in us to give us the desire to follow him. Then He also helps us to do it. Paul spoke to this in his letter to the Galatians.

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

So there is a war in us, our flesh that has sin in it and our renewed spirit where God is working. Working this out seems top mean focus on God to work with Him, letting Him do His work in us. For me, this means spending time reading scriptures, praying, and singing praise.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. You have given so much to us. We thank You. Please forgive us when we do not cooperate with You to change our lives. We need You in our lives to change our lives. Please send ministering spirits to the aid of your people today. Send us Your healing, deliverance, and abundant provision today. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Olive Trees

We all likely have felt there was a time when someone spoke something about us to other people that was untrue. It may have even made us feel badly about ourselves. Over the years I have spoken to many people that have had this experience, and I have had it myself. It can be difficult to overcome these feelings because these wounds can go deep. David had this experience and wrote a song about it. He said that people that do this will experience their own destruction, and the righteous will laugh at them for trusting in their riches. His conclusion was an interesting one.

Psalms 52:8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
9 I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

David says he will experience the mercy of God for ever and ever, and he will praise God for ever. He did this because God delivers Him from these people. David used this song to help him wait on God, and it was good to do this in the presence of the other believers.

If you find yourself hurting from the words of others, you may want to try praying for them and yourself. You may also find it helpful to sing praises to God, and wait on His deliverance in the presence of the believers.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Thank You for all You have done for us and for a day of deliverance. We trust in You alone to be our deliverer. Please forgive us when we hold on to hurts and help us to heal. Please send us the deliverance we need Father, and the abundant, overwhelming provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name.

Holding On

Growing up I was a big fan of roller coasters. We would go every year to a place called Rocky Glenn, and they had many different coasters. Even now I enjoy roller coasters at big name amusement parks. They can be both fun and a little scary at the same time. In many ways our lives can be like that. We can ride the ups and downs of the good and bad in life. The real key is to remember in the down times is that we serve a God that promises to take us to the end of the ride. Paul spoke of this.

Philippians 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

We can make it through tough times. We can make it through life to the end when we will be with our God. The challenge is not to focus so much on life. Good and bad comes and goes, but Jesus never fails. He never quits. He will carry us through to the end if we let Him. If we focus on the ups and downs, then we will feel the impact of those ups and downs more than we need to feel them. However, if we keep our eyes on Jesus who never changes, then the ride will level out. We need only reach out to Him and hold on with everything in us. We just have to hold on.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the King we serve. You alone are the one we need to keep us afloat in life. Help us to keep our eyes on You and Your kingdom. Help us endure to the end. Forgive us when we fall short and become afraid, doubting if You will rescue us. Help us help others to know Your great love and caring. Use us to help people know You alone are the One True King. Please send us today Your mercy, Your deliverance, Your healing, and Your overwhelming provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Morning Dawns

Just before dawn this morning I heard a familiar springtime sound. There were many birds chirping and singing in the forest as they woke up, calling to the dawn. There are many patterns in life, and this is one of them. Even the birds know that after the night comes the dawn. Scriptures speak about how being fixed upon God we experience this same thing.

Psalms 57:7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.
10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.

Psalms 143:8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

There are many records of believers, and even Jesus, rising early in the morning to pray and seek God. I think God built this into us as a part of creation. We long for the light, the day, and we will seek that when we are seeking God.

Even the birds know that after the night comes the dawn.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High, the Creator of all things. You bring us to the light, to the dawn after the morning. Please forgive us those areas that are still darkened within us. Deliver us into the light in every part of our being. Please send today You healing and abundant provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Love Letters

This morning I was speaking with a friend of mine about praise and worship and life in general. We both have had both good and bad experiences in our walks with God. The discussion moved to how we sometimes get into what we call a “funky mood” (yes, we are both old enough to remember when that phrase was used often) where we are upset or displeased or depressed – something just not right. As we talk it occurred to me that we read the scriptures – say all the letters that Paul wrote – we get this image of how strong these people were and all the great stuff and miracles going on in their lives. However, what about all the days in between? My guess is Paul had down times as well.

Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

James also wrote about this same thing, where believers are just people like everyone else.

James 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

We all go through both good times and times of struggle in our walks with God. The goal is to focus on God, not the good and bad times. When we focus on God, then we see God in these times. Perhaps the good times are the most difficult because we can tend to forget to focus on God in those times. The interesting point to our discussion came in what my friend said that he had started the day before to help get him in a better place. Yesterday he started to journal about what was going on with him first thing in the morning and then again in the evening, just communing with God. And it was beginning to show fruit. It reminded me of the way life has changed for me since I began writing here more than a year ago. There are still ups and downs, but now I know that if I just focus on God, then it will be God I see, not the things around me. We can all write love letters to God.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High. You are so wonderful to us in our everyday lives, yet sometimes we forget to look to see You. Please forgive us for that, and all that we do not in Your ways. Please send the joy of Your presence into our lives today, Father. Send us Your deliverance, healing, and very abundant provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

What Dreams Can Tell Us

Have you ever had a dream that had a big impact on you when you woke up, like there was something different about that dream? I had one last night. Essentially the authority figure in the house in the dream admonished me to do good. What do the scriptures say to us about dreams?

Acts 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

This scripture is the story about Shavuot (Pentacost) when God poured out His spirit on everyone in the room. Peter stood up and spoke to the people gathered who heard these people speaking in many languages. If we look at what Joel said that came before this, I believe we see some additional direction.

Joel 2:12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
18 Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people.

Here is what I am getting from all of this. God speaks to us and calls us to Him. He calls to us to do the right thing. He can do it through scriptures. He can do it through other people as in the case of the people in Acts speaking in languages unknown to them. And he do it in visions and dreams. One thing is for sure, God is calling His people to Him. I believe God is calling us to fast and pray and ask for His mighty deliverance from oppression. Spiritual things come before physical things. Here is an interesting fact.

In the years 2014 – 2015 there will be four times when the moon will turn to blood. These four events will happen on Jewish feast days known as High Holy Days or Sabbaths or sometimes solemn assemblies.

Perhaps God is calling us to pray and call out to Him?

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High King. Please forgive us when we get it wrong. Please help us to find our way. Please deliver us from the oppressors. We ask that today You have mercy on Your people and destroy the enemies that attack us. Please send today healing, deliverance, and abundant provision that all may know that You alone are God. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Who Are We Really?

Today a friend of mine and I spent some time talking about life with God, praise and worship, and various points of fellowship interest. Our discussion made its way to talking about who we are in God. We both shared how at some point in our lives we were looking for that big moment, that something major that we would do and be successful at, and that would make life matter. However, is that who we really are in God, or to God?

Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Here Jesus was not commending people for doing some great work, but for being peacemakers. And who are the peacemakers? Probably those that both declare and act on peace, right? That peace may or may not be with man, but it will definitely include bringing peace spiritually. How?

Nahum 1:15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.

Here we see that Nahum the profit said that those that publish peace (the peacemakers) keep the solemn feasts doing what they said they would do. The result is the enemy is driven from their midst and exists no longer.

We are the sons and daughters of God. If we will just follow after God passionately, singing His praises and doing what He calls us to do, we are the peacemakers. We become His ambassadors in the earth. We make a difference because we become reflections of Him.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Thank You for another day with You in Your earth. Thank You for always watching over us. Thank You for loving us. You are great and powerful, able to overcome all our enemies. Please forgive us our transgressions. Please drive our enemies out before us. Crush them like a powder and scatter them in the wind. Please send us Your healing, deliverance, and abundant provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Talking Things Over

There are many decisions and choices and questions in life. Trying to sort it all out can be overwhelming. For me, I know that there are times when I just cannot seem to figure out what’s next. It is good to know in those times that we do not have to do this by ourselves.

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

We can ask God for wisdom and He will not hold back. That is just who He is. He wants us to know what to do of the many things there are to do. He wants us to spend time with Him. God has always provided wisdom.

Proverbs 7:1 My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:

God is always available to us. Perhaps the best way to do things is to ask even when things seem obvious. God wants to be a part of our lives. He loves us and just likes talking things over so we can know what to do next.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are the Most High King, and a very smart Adviser. Please help us when we rush about to slow down and seek Your face. Help us to remember to ask for Your wisdom. Forgive us when we run off and do something other than what we should be doing. Help us to follow Your ways. Please send today healing, deliverance, and abundant prosperity that men might know that You alone are doing these things and that You alone are God. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Making Our Way

We are not alone. Growing up I often heard this said about life in other parts of the universe but no, that is not a UFO reference. I am speaking of the One that created all things, our God. Some say that God created the world and then just stood back, taking a hands off approach. But this is not what the scriptures tell us. Quite the opposite. God is forever active in our lives at all times. The psalmists spoke about this often, crying out to God. They expected God to hear and to act.

Psalms 59:1 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men.
3 For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Lord.
4They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold.
5Thou therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah.

David acknowledged that he was not perfect and did wrong things in his life in verse 3, but that the evil in the world did not attack him for that reason. The evil attacked because they thought that there was no God.

Psalms 59:6 They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?

We must ask ourselves why would David cry out to God? From early in his life he knew God was with him. God helped David defend the sheep when he watched over the flocks, helped him defeat Goliath, and he knew God was always there for him. God did not do this because David was perfect, but because God was God. It is His desire to deliver his people, and David knew and trusted in God being that loving and merciful One that watches over us. He knew he could call and God would answer. It is the reason he chose to sing, knowing God would show up to defend His people.

Psalms 59:8 But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision.
9 Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.
10 The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies.
11 Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield.
12 For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.
13 Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah.
14 And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
15 Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.
17 Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.

Often we may think that bad things happen to us because we are not worthy of the good. We are not worthy, but that is not why God defends us. God defends us because He is God. He alone is worthy. He will bring His kingdom forth in the world. And He will always come to the defense of His people when they cry out.

Today, if you are facing what seems to be evil, cry out to God, and sing to Him for His defense and His mercy. We are not alone, and God will show up for You in His mercy to defend you because He is God. That is what He does. Praise God!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God. You alone are worthy to receive praise and glory and honor. There is evil in this world Father, and it is after Your people. Come to our defense. Forgive us our wrongs, and do not hold those against us. Do not slay our enemies, but scatter them so that all men might know that You alone are God. Please send us today Your healing, Your deliverance, and Your provision in a visible and powerful way that men may know that we are not alone, that You are our King, and that You alone are God. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.