TRANSFORMING WORSHIP

“Let Spirit-filled worship be a blend of our highest thoughts and our deeper feelings so that one of the goals of true worship be reached: the reshaping of our lives . . . Let us learn to meditate on God’s power, His love, His wisdom, His holiness, His changelessness, His mercy, His glory . . . An increased deepening of praise, worship, thanksgiving is inevitable where worshippers are led to think on the manifold splendor of the Holy One, our God. Let us kneel to worship . . . let us rise to praise Him – –

the Almighty and Self Sufficient One,
the Entirely Holy Three-in-One,
the Merciful, Righteous and the Just,
the All-Knowing and All-Wise,
the Essence and Fountain of Love,
the Creator and Lord of Hosts,
the Absolute and Changeless One,
the Transcendent and Immanent One,
the True and Faithful One,
who, in all His wonder, grandeur and excellence,
has chosen to love us,
has sought to redeem us,
has sent His Son to us:
JESUS CHRIST THE ONE AND ONLY SAVIOR . . .
He has become our Father through the new birth He has made possible in Christ,
who was born of the virgin, lived sinlessly, taught truthfully, died vicariously for mankind,
whose blood and death are the ransom paid for me, providing completely for my eternal salvation.

HE IS THE SON OF GOD,
who literally and physically rose from the dead,
who has ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high and
who has poured out His Holy Spirit of power upon us,
that we might live in grace both now and forever.
Let the Father be praised!
Let His Son be worshipped!
Let His Spirit be manifested among us!” from WORSHIP HIS
MAJESTY by Dr. Jack Hayford, writer/composer of “MAJESTY”

And here is the bottom line, my friends — this kind of worship is not just for Sunday! It is for every day of our lives! Be a worshipper today in all you do! Good words to consider and apply.

GOD OUR SHEPHERD

“I must remember that while POSITIONALLY God sees me perfect in Christ, PRACTICALLY He sees me as a sheep, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, sometimes obedient and some times vacillating. I see that in the sheep’s psalm — Psalm 23.

While God the Shepherd is portrayed as competent and capable in the psalm, the sheep is not. Often the sheep is obedient and follows closely by the Shepherd’s side and so enjoys green pastures and quiet waters. But sometimes I am a disobedient sheep and so must be ‘driven’ in the right paths. I sometimes need the rod and the staff and their discipline, which is painful at the moment, but it ultimately brings its ‘comfort’ (vs. 4). Sometimes I am fearful, especially at the approach of any cavern, cleft or valley. While every valley has its fears, the valley of death has the greatest fear of all, and so I need the extra assurance of my Shepherd’s presence, which enables me to ‘fear no harm.’

Sometimes I am surrounded by my enemies, but even then God arranges things so that in THEIR sight I am provided a table, a provision, and an oversight by my thoughtful, concerned Shepherd. He wants to show my enemies that I made no mistake in putting my trust entirely in Him.

There are also times when my cup simply overflows. Those are times when I cry out with wonder, ‘Why me, Lord? Why me?’ When I receive those overwhelming times of joy, it is not because I am good, but because my Shepherd is and He simply desires to share His goodness with me. In fact, He pursues me with ‘goodness and mercy (vs. 6) until He brings me safely into His eternal home.

What shall I say of a God who understands me so fully and provides for me so completely? ‘Great is the Lord, and greatly [deserves] to be praised.’ (Psalm 96:4)”

from DAILY WITH THE KING by W. Glyn Evans published by Moody Press

Good words for today. Read Psalm 23!

IN TIMES LIKE THESE . . .

What is God doing? Is He trying to get our attention? Thousands left homeless by the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita? Thousands of lives lost in South America this weekend as a result of landslides? Over $25,000 killed in Pakistan with 40,000 injured from the earthquakes yesterday?

The prophet Habakkuk said: “Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days — You would not believe if you were told.” (Habakkuk 1:5)

Is He giving us a wake-up call — to the church? To the nation? To our world? I believe He is. While these are difficult days — these are days that we who love the Lord can shine as bright lights in the darkness. In fact, it could very well be that things could get worse. Habakkuk
painted a pretty bleak picture in the three chapters of his prophecy. But listen to how the book ends — it ends with PRAISE! “Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail, and the fields produce no food, Though
the flock should be cut off from the fold, And there be no cattle in the stall — YET I WILL EXALT IN THE LORD, I WILL REJOICE IN THE GOD OF MY SALVATION. THE LORD GOD IS MY MY STRENGTH, AND HE HAS MADE MY FEET LIKE HIND’S FEET, AND MAKES ME WALK ON HIGH PLACES!” (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

These are not times for us to live in despair. As you gather with brothers and sisters today — Rejoice! HE IS YOUR STRENGTH! HE IS YOUR JOY! LOOK UP! YOUR REDEMPTION DRAWETH NIGH!

Good words to ponder on this rainy Lord’s Day. Thank You, Lord for reviving the parched ground with your refreshing rains. Do the same today for our dry souls. Send your rains of revival on our parched, dry, barren hearts.” Amen.

REST IN GOD

“Virtue starts to grow in a heart that desires the will of God. It is not a question of knowing a lot, or be talented, or even doing great deeds. All that you really need is to long to belong completely to God. But how does your will come to this place? By conforming little by little, but without reservation, to what God wants. You must learn to bring your weak will in line with God’s all-powerful one. Here you will find inexhaustible and never-ending peace and joy.

Adore, praise, and bless God for everything! See Him in ALL things. There is never anything truly evil in your life for God uses even the most terrible sufferings to work for your good because you love Him. Can the troubles God uses to purify your life be called evil? Think of what these troubles accomplish in your life.

Rest all your cares on the bosom of the Father. Be content to follow His will in all things, and to let Him bring your will into harmony and oneness with Him. Do not resist Him as he works within you. If you feel resistance rising up inside of you, turn to Him and take His side against your own rebellious nature. He will know what to do. Learn not the grieve the Holy Spirit within you, for He watches over your inner life. Learn from the past mistakes you have made without getting discouraged.

How can you better glorify God than by renouncing your own desires and letting Him do what pleases Him? He is truly your God when you see nothing but the hand of God ruling over things in your life, and you worship Him with not outside pressure and even with no inward comfort.

To want to serve God in some conditions, but not others, is to serve Him in your own way. But to put no limits on your submission to God is truly dying to yourself. This is how to worship God!
Open yourself to God without measure. Let His life flow through you like a torrent. Fear nothing on the road you are walking. God will lead you by the hand. Let your love for Him cast out the fear you feel for yourself.” from THE SEEKING HEART by Fenelon.

TRUSTING HIM TO KEEP YOU

“I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12)

“‘Abide in me’: These words are no law of Moses, demanding from the sinful what they cannot perform. They are the command of love, which is only a promise in a different shape. Think of this until all feeling of burden, fear, and despair pass away, and the first thought that comes as
you hear of abiding in Jesus is one of bright and joyous hope: It is for me; I know I will enjoy it. You are not under the law which is demanding DO, but under grace with its blessed BELIEVE what Christ will do for you. And if the questions is asked, ‘But surely there is something for us TO DO,’ the answer is, ‘Our DOING and WORKING are but the FRUIT of Christ working in us.’ It is when the soul becomes utterly PASSIVE, looking for and resting in what CHRIST will do, that its energies are stirred to their highest activity, and we work most effectively because we know that He works in us. It is as we see in the words ‘REMAIN IN ME’ (John 15:4) the mighty energies of love reaching out after us to have us and to hold us, that all the strength of our will is awakened to abide in Him.

This connection between Christ’s work and our work is beautifully expressed in the words of Paul: ‘I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.’ It was because he knew that the mighty and the faithful One had grasped him with the glorious purpose of making him one with Christ that he did his utmost to grasp the glorious prize.

Fix your eyes on Christ. Gaze on the love that shines in those eyes and asks whether you can trust Him, who sought, found, and brought you near, now to keep you. It is because Jesus has taken hold of me and because He keeps me that I dare to say, ‘Savior, I abide in You.'”

from the pen of ANDREW MURRAY — THE ANDREW MURRAY DAILY READER IN TODAY’S LANGUAGE published by Bethany House Publishers (Murray [1828-1917] was born in South Africa. After receiving his education in Scotland and Holland, he returned top South Africa and spent his life there as a pastor, missionary, and author of many devotional books. He
and his wife, Emma, raised eight children.)

THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” — Psalm 37:4

“Your relationship with God ought to bring you more joy, satisfaction, and pleasure than any other relationship, activity, or material possession you have. Scripture exhorts you to delight yourself in the Lord, finding your greatest pleasure in God and the things dear to His
heart.

How can you find pleasure in what God enjoys? Only as you spend time with Him will you begin to take delight in the things God loves. As you spend intimate time with God allow Him to show you your situation from His perspective, you will begin to see things as God sees them. As you
adjust yourself to God, your heart will begging to desire the same things God’s heart desires. When you pray, you will find yourself asking for the very things God desires. Matters foremost on God’s heart will be preeminent in yours. Your first request in prayer will not be for yourself, but for God’s name to be exalted and His kingdom to be extended. (Matthew 6:9-10)

Have you been asking God to give you the desires of your heart without first seeking to understand what is on His heart? God places this important requirement for those who pray: that we will seek HIS priorities and make them our own. This great qualifier prevents us from
asking out of selfishness. As we find joy in the Lord, we will see what is truly important, and we will long for these things as the Father does.” from EXPERIENCING GOD DAY-BY-DAY by Henry Blackaby — Broadman & Holman

Good words to ponder.

MORNING NEEDS

From the book — THE VALLEY OF VISION — Prayers of the Puritans — published by Banner of Truth

O God, the Author of all good,
I will come to You for the grace another day will require for its duties and events.
I step out into a wicked world,
I carry about me an evil heart,
I know that without You I can do nothing,
that everything with which I shall be concerned
however harmless in itself,
may prove an occasion of sin or folly,
unless I am kept by Your power.
Hold me up and I shall be safe.
Preserve my understanding from subtitly (skill) of error,
my affections from love of idols,
my character from strain of vice,
my profession from every form of evil.
May I engage in nothing in which I cannot implore Your blessing,
and in which I cannot invite Your inspection.
Prosper me in all lawful undertakings, or prepare me for disappointments;
Give me neither poverty or riches;
Feed me with food convenient for me, lest I be full and deny You
and say, Who is the Lord?
or be poor, and steal, and take Your name in vain.
May every creature be made good to me by prayer and Your will;
Teach me how to use the world, and not abuse it,
to improve my talents,
to redeem my time,
to walk in wisdom toward those without,
and in kindness to those within,
to do go to all men,
and especially to my fellow Christians.
And to You be the glory. Amen.

Good words to ponder as you pray through today!

IT’S LATER THAN YOU THINK . . .

Here is one more snippet from THE CRIMINALIZATION OF CHRISTIANITY for your consideration:

“A survey released by the Society for Adolescent Medicine indicates that ‘about 84 percent of parents do not believe that their teenage children have ever had sex, but CDC data show that almost 50% of ninth through 12th graders age 14-18 are sexually active.’

Parent Lisa Gallego said that when her 15-year old daughter balked at putting a condom in her mouth, instructor Tony Escudero told her, ‘Come on, sweetie, have a little fun.’ The New Mexico Health Department is standing behind a sex education teacher in Santa Fe who encouraged ninth graders to taste flavored condoms . . . Also, Gallegos quotes her daughter as saying when a male student expressed his disgust with homosexual activity, Escudero said, ‘Never say never, because you never know. Someday you might like it that way.’

Tennessee Sexuality Information and Education Council urged educators to prepare children to step into a new world: ‘to do this they must pry children away from old views and values, especially from biblical and other traditional forms of sexual morality.’

The Center for Disease Control produced a book entitled REDUCING THE RISK for the public school system. Here is how they present the option of abstaining from sex:

“You could become a hermit, or so unpleasant that everyone stays clear of you. Or you could never become involved in a romantic relationship.””Abstinence-only programs force-feed students religious ideology that condemns homosexuality, masturbation, abortion, and contraception. In doing so, they endanger students’ sexual health.” — Planned Parenthood

“No matter how much we guide our children within our families and within our churches, we are not stranger than the power of sexuality. The solution is to have parents of teens buy a box of 200 condoms and put them at a little-used location of the house . . . but where the teens
can find them. That way the kids won’t be afraid to ask, and the parents won’t know.” — Sharon Stone — United Nations Conference on AIDS “Social workers in Winnipeg have begun handing out ‘high-quality’ crack pipes and instructions to addicts on the city’s streets, part of a
harm-reduction strategy put in place by local health officials . . . The kits are not handed out to just anyone who asks, she stressed, but are given to crack cocaine users who have been assessed by trained social workers, who in many cases have had multiple interactions with those users . . .” According to the story, your “Safe Crack Use Kit” comes complete with metal screens, alcohol swabs (for those who do end up sharing), pipe cleaners, matches, lip balm, at least one condom, and information about where an addict can get help. Yes, smoking crack is illegal and dangerous. But some people are going to do it anyway . . . so why not help them commit illegal, self-destructive acts.”

from “THE CRIMINALIZATION OF CHRISTIANITY . . . READ THIS BEFORE IT BECOMES ILLEGAL!” by Janet L. Folger, published by Multnomah.

The prophet Ezekiel warned: “If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life on one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.” —
Ezekiel 33:6

I strongly urge you to get a copy of this book so that you will be aware and informed of what is taking place in our country. We cannot afford to be ostriches with our heads in the sand. It is not too late — we can make a difference. The book sells for $19.95 — but I am making it available to our Freedom Fighter family for $15. To order a copy, respond to this email. We will mail your book and you can mail your check to my attention.

IS HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF?

“On April 7, 1933, laws were passed in pre-World War 2 Germany . . . 400 hundred separate pieces of legislation enacted between 1933 and 1939 that defined, isolated, excluded, segregated, and impoverished German Jews.

Does this sound familiar? “Hitler turned Christmas and Easter into pagan holidays. Christmas became a pagan festival, and at least for the SS troops, its date was changed to Yuletide. Crucifixes were eliminated from classrooms, and Easter was turned into a holiday that heralded the arrival of spring. Carols and nativity plays were banned from schools. Sound vaguely familiar?

Signs saying ‘Jews Unwelcome’ were posted in public facilities, shops, theaters, restaurants, hotels, and pharmacies. Jews were forbidden to sit on public park benches and relegated to benches marked ‘FOR JEWS ONLY.’ . . . Christians today are becoming the subject of negativity.
A political cartoon pictures Christians as rats pulling the Republican elephant into the ‘faith mission’ with the quite, ‘You’re becoming saved, like it or not.’ If only those pesky Christian rats would leave the Republican Party alone. Ted Turner refers to people of faith as ‘one of the great world evils, comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to eradicate.’

Historically, after ridicule, deionization, censorship, and discrimination comes persecution. In Germany, the call came for a final solution. There are lots of ways to implement a final solution. Gas chambers are one. Lions are another. Here is a chilling comment by Reggie Rivers of the Rocky Mountain Times: ‘I can periodically understand the frustration and general fatigue that compelled the Romans to throw select Christians to the lions. Its not just that the lions were hungry; it was that the Romans were tired of listening to the self-righteous babbling of Christians who claimed to be experts on everything and had egos the size of . . . well, God.'” from THE CRIMINALIZATION OF CHRISTIANITY by Janet Folger.

We need to be men and women like the children of Issachar who had “an understanding of the times.” (1 Chronicles 12:32). That is why you need to be a student of THE BOOK — GOD’S WORD.

I have copies of this compelling book for our Freedom Fighter family. It is a must read for every Christian. Regular price $19.95 — for our FF family $15. To order a copy, respond to this email.

THE ONE WE WORSHIP AND ADORE

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light in accessible hid from our eyes.
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious — Thy great name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains, high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all, life Thou givest — to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest — the true life of all.
Thy wisdom so boundless, Thy mercy so free,
Eternal Thy goodness for naught changeth Thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All praise we would render — O help us to see
‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee!

This morning as you gather to worship — we worship our great God! Worship is all about Him!