The whole Law can be summed up in this one command: 'Love others as you love yourself.'
Galatians 5:14
Jesus tells us that our love for each other - not our doctrinal beliefs - is our greatest witness to the world. He said, "Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples." (John 13:35) God wants us to be together with other believers since we can not learn to love in isolation.
Love needs to be our highest priority.
Let love be your greatest aim.
1 Corinthians 14:1
Relationships need to be a priority because life without love is worthless, love will last forever and we will be evaluated on how we loved on this earth. The essence of love is not what we think or do or provide for others, but how much we give of ourselves. How will you explain those times when projects of things were more important to you than people? Who do you need to start spending more time with? What do you need to cut out of your schedule to make that possible? What sacrifices do you need to make?
Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone.
Galatians 6:10
Use every chance you have for doing good.
Ephesians 5:16
Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it. Never tell your neighbor to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now.
Proverbs 3:27
Friday, 28 November 2008
Saturday, 1 November 2008
When God Seems Distant
The deepest level of worship is praising God in spite of pain, thanking God during a trial, trusting him when tempted, surrendering while suffering, and loving him when he seems distant.
God promises repeatedly that he will never leave us or forsake us. But he did not promise that we will always feel his presence. Sometimes he may even hid his face from us.
Sometimes it is sin that disconnects us from God but more often it is a test of faith. Will we continue to love, trust, obey, and worship God, even when we have not sense of his presence?
We need to tell God exactly how we feel. He loves us no matter what we tell him. We need to focus on who God is: He is good, he loves me , he is with me, he knows what I am going through, he cares, and he has a good plan for my life. We need to trust him to keep his promises and we need to remember what God has already done for us. Even if he never did another thing for us he would still deserve our praise. God's Son died for us!!! And this is our biggest reason to worship.
2 Corinthians 5:21
Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God.
God promises repeatedly that he will never leave us or forsake us. But he did not promise that we will always feel his presence. Sometimes he may even hid his face from us.
Sometimes it is sin that disconnects us from God but more often it is a test of faith. Will we continue to love, trust, obey, and worship God, even when we have not sense of his presence?
We need to tell God exactly how we feel. He loves us no matter what we tell him. We need to focus on who God is: He is good, he loves me , he is with me, he knows what I am going through, he cares, and he has a good plan for my life. We need to trust him to keep his promises and we need to remember what God has already done for us. Even if he never did another thing for us he would still deserve our praise. God's Son died for us!!! And this is our biggest reason to worship.
2 Corinthians 5:21
Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God.
Worship That Pleases God
God wants all of us. All our heart, soul, mind and strength. We please God when our worship is accurate, authentic, thoughtful and practical. We have to make sure our worship is based in the truth of Scripture not our opinions of God. We have to mean what we say and engage our minds. We need to worship God with thanksgiving, praise, humility, repentance, offerings of money, prayer, serving others, and sharing with those in need.
When you praise God even when you don't feel like it, when you get out of bed to worship when you're tired, or when you help others when you are worn out, you are offering a sacrifice of worship to God. That pleases God.
Mark 12:30
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
Heart of Worship by Matt Redman
I'll bring You more than a song,
because the song in itself is not what you have required.
You search much deeper within
than the way things appear.
You're looking into my heart.
When you praise God even when you don't feel like it, when you get out of bed to worship when you're tired, or when you help others when you are worn out, you are offering a sacrifice of worship to God. That pleases God.
Mark 12:30
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
Heart of Worship by Matt Redman
I'll bring You more than a song,
because the song in itself is not what you have required.
You search much deeper within
than the way things appear.
You're looking into my heart.
The Heart of Worship
Once we know that worshipping God is our #1 purpose we need to figure out how to do that. What's at the heart? Surrender.
Surrendering means that we trust him fully. Fear will keep us from knowing him better and pride keeps us from accepting our limitations and realizing that we aren't God. One of the most difficult areas to surrender is finances.
When we fully surrender our lives to God we will experience peace, freedom and God's power in our lives.
So how do we surrender? It's not a just one time event of accepting Christ and choosing to follow him. It is a moment-by moment, lifelong choice. When we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice it is easy to get up and walk off the altar. We need to make surrender a daily habit.
Luke 9:23
If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing to give up their lives daily to follow me.
God deeply desires that we know him intimately.
Jeremiah 9:24
If any want to boast, they should boast that they know and understand me...These are the things that please me.
To develop this friendship we need to choose to be honest with God (anger, frustration, happiness, sorrow), choose to obey God in faith, choose to value what God values, and desire friendship with God more than anything else. We are as close to God as we choose to be.
Jeremiah 29:13
When you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed.
God wants to be included in EVERY activity, conversation, problem and thought. We need to take time to spend alone with God but that is only a small part of our waking hours. This may mean putting things in our lives to remind us throughout the day so that we train ourselves to remember God.
We also need to reading his word and thinking about his word throughout the day. It is impossible to be God's friend if we don't know what he says.
Job 23:12
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
Psalm 119:97
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
Psalm 77:12
They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about them.
Prayer lets you speak to God; meditation lets God speak to you. Both are essential to becoming a friend of God.
Surrendering means that we trust him fully. Fear will keep us from knowing him better and pride keeps us from accepting our limitations and realizing that we aren't God. One of the most difficult areas to surrender is finances.
When we fully surrender our lives to God we will experience peace, freedom and God's power in our lives.
So how do we surrender? It's not a just one time event of accepting Christ and choosing to follow him. It is a moment-by moment, lifelong choice. When we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice it is easy to get up and walk off the altar. We need to make surrender a daily habit.
Luke 9:23
If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing to give up their lives daily to follow me.
God deeply desires that we know him intimately.
Jeremiah 9:24
If any want to boast, they should boast that they know and understand me...These are the things that please me.
To develop this friendship we need to choose to be honest with God (anger, frustration, happiness, sorrow), choose to obey God in faith, choose to value what God values, and desire friendship with God more than anything else. We are as close to God as we choose to be.
Jeremiah 29:13
When you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed.
God wants to be included in EVERY activity, conversation, problem and thought. We need to take time to spend alone with God but that is only a small part of our waking hours. This may mean putting things in our lives to remind us throughout the day so that we train ourselves to remember God.
We also need to reading his word and thinking about his word throughout the day. It is impossible to be God's friend if we don't know what he says.
Job 23:12
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
Psalm 119:97
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
Psalm 77:12
They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about them.
Prayer lets you speak to God; meditation lets God speak to you. Both are essential to becoming a friend of God.
Purpose #1 - Planned for God's Pleasure
Revelation 4:11
You created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.
We were created to bring enjoyment to God and to live for his pleasure. By worshipping him we bring him pleasure.
Psalm 147:11
The Lord is pleased only with those who worship him and trust his love.
Anything we do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship, it's a lifestyle. Every activity can be transformed into an act of worship when you do it for the praise, glory, and pleasure of God. We can accomplish this by doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus and by having continual conversation with Him. We seem to think that worship is just about music but how could those who are non musical ever worship? I think it's easy to get caught up in how worshipping the Lord makes us feel (for me it's especially in music) but it's not about me and how I feel! It's not for my benefit it for God's!! How many times haven't I walked away from church and said "I didn't get anything out of church/worship today." When we realize that it's for God's benefit not ours we should never be able to say this.
Colossi ans 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
Romans 12:1
Take your everyday, ordinary life---your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life---and place it before God as an offering.
So the smile of God becomes the goal in our life. More than anything I want to meet Jesus one day and see a big smile on his face as he tells me how much pleasure I brought him. God smiles when we love him over anything else, when we trust him completely, when we obey him wholeheartedly, when we praise and thank him continually, and when we use the abilities he's given us.
Hosea 6:6
I don't want your sacrifices---I want your love; I don't want your offerings---I want you to know me.
Hebrews 11:6
Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Psalm 119:33
Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord. As long as I live I'll wholeheartedly obey. (spoken by David)
Psalm 69:30-31
I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord. (spoken by David)
Psalm 37:23
The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives.
The fact that every thing I do, except sin can be done for God's pleasure if it's done with an attitude of praise has been a very freeing experience. When we realize this we can use every task, every conversation, every moment to please God. It's about continually living our lives like He is right beside us. It's not spending time with Him for 1 hour a day, it's walking with Him all day. I often have felt guilty for not spending time with God each day but I am when I include Him and talk to Him constantly throughout the day.
Our focus has to change from "How much pleasure am I getting out of life?" to How much pleasure is God getting out of my life?"
You created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.
We were created to bring enjoyment to God and to live for his pleasure. By worshipping him we bring him pleasure.
Psalm 147:11
The Lord is pleased only with those who worship him and trust his love.
Anything we do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship, it's a lifestyle. Every activity can be transformed into an act of worship when you do it for the praise, glory, and pleasure of God. We can accomplish this by doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus and by having continual conversation with Him. We seem to think that worship is just about music but how could those who are non musical ever worship? I think it's easy to get caught up in how worshipping the Lord makes us feel (for me it's especially in music) but it's not about me and how I feel! It's not for my benefit it for God's!! How many times haven't I walked away from church and said "I didn't get anything out of church/worship today." When we realize that it's for God's benefit not ours we should never be able to say this.
Colossi ans 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
Romans 12:1
Take your everyday, ordinary life---your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life---and place it before God as an offering.
So the smile of God becomes the goal in our life. More than anything I want to meet Jesus one day and see a big smile on his face as he tells me how much pleasure I brought him. God smiles when we love him over anything else, when we trust him completely, when we obey him wholeheartedly, when we praise and thank him continually, and when we use the abilities he's given us.
Hosea 6:6
I don't want your sacrifices---I want your love; I don't want your offerings---I want you to know me.
Hebrews 11:6
Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Psalm 119:33
Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord. As long as I live I'll wholeheartedly obey. (spoken by David)
Psalm 69:30-31
I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord. (spoken by David)
Psalm 37:23
The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives.
The fact that every thing I do, except sin can be done for God's pleasure if it's done with an attitude of praise has been a very freeing experience. When we realize this we can use every task, every conversation, every moment to please God. It's about continually living our lives like He is right beside us. It's not spending time with Him for 1 hour a day, it's walking with Him all day. I often have felt guilty for not spending time with God each day but I am when I include Him and talk to Him constantly throughout the day.
Our focus has to change from "How much pleasure am I getting out of life?" to How much pleasure is God getting out of my life?"
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