A Day Of Praise

by Don Merritt

I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.

Psalm 145:1-2

Have you ever just sat back and considered everything God has done in your life? For most of us, we don’t take the time to do this often enough; I know I don’t.  It may be hard to get started, as thoughts about the here and now rush though our minds, as the distractions and demands of everyday life make so much noise that it’s hard to think. Yet as we continue to ponder, as we begin to relax, God’s doings begin to enter our thoughts, and before too long, they push the distractions away.

We might even move on to ponder and reflect upon what God has done in His Creation; the wonder of all of it, its grandeur so magnificent.

When we invest a little time and attention in this way, it isn’t easy to remain silent, is it?

Read more: https://lifeprojectblog.com/2021/06/28/a-day-of-praise-2/

10 Thoughts About Worship I Wish I’d Known Earlier

http://chucklawless.com/2021/06/10-thoughts-about-worship-i-wish-id-known-earlier/

Why Does God Require our Love, Worship, and Praise? Is God Insecure?

https://leewoof.org/2016/02/23/why-does-god-require-our-love-worship-and-praise-is-god-insecure/

Feeling Defeated? (Thinking Through 1st John 5:3-5)

by Clarke Dixon

Do you ever get that defeated feeling? Like you are fighting a losing battle or are on the losing side? It might be your health or a relationship gone sour. It might be your parenting skills or your relationship with God. We try to be Christlike and loving, but there we go again with a rather unloving attitude, words, or actions. Or there we go again, being inpatient or lacking in gentleness or self-control. Or there we go again, another drink, another look. We are losing the battle, again.

We feel defeated, yet John says that we are conquerors!

Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

1 John 5:5 (NRSV)

Perhaps we think that John is thinking of the Christians in his day and wonder if only we could be like those earliest Christians, going from victory to victory in Jesus! But were they going from victory to victory in life and faith?

The earliest Christians would have have sometimes felt like they were fighting a losing battle.

We can think of Paul never being deivered from his “thorn in the flesh.” We can think of how the family of James, the brother of John, would have felt when their loved one was executed while Peter was miraculously rescued by an angel. You win some and you lose some. Some battles were indeed lost.

While there were very positive moments and very good things happening among the young Christian communities, there were reasons these earliest Jesus followers would have felt defeated collectively.

They would have felt like they were losing the battle for the hearts and minds of God’s people, the Jews, who had a great hope that God would come and intervene on behalf of His people. God did, through Jesus. But the good news largely fell on deaf ears.

They were also losing the battle for the hearts and minds of non-Jews in the Roman world. For example, why didn’t Paul and the other apostles ever speak out directly against slavery in their letters? Well, what would be the point? Who would have listened? Paul did tell the Christ followers that their relationships could and should be different, as we read, for example, in his letter to Philemon. The way of Jesus was working its way into all relationships, but mainly relationships within the commuity of Christians where there “is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 NRSV). However, among those calling the shots in society, the Christians were just a small insignificant sect. They were like an insect the authorites would try to squash time and again. Like us, they experienced victories, and crushing defeats. The winds of change were indeed blowing, but at times the battle would have seemed to be lost. We are not alone if we sometimes feel like we are fighting a losing battle and not on the winning team.

Yet John calls us conquerors. John, who would have seen the highs and lows, the ups and downs, the wins and the losses, has the audacity to call us conquerors. How so?

And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.

1 John 5:3-4 (NRSV)

Read more: https://clarkedixon.wordpress.com/2021/06/23/feeling-defeated-thinking-through-1st-john-53-5/

How to Know You’re Growing

Ephesians 4:11-16 ¹¹ Christ gave gifts to men. He gave to some the gift to be apostles, some to be prophets, others to beevangelists who go from town to town. He gave others the gift to be pastors and teachers. ¹² These gifts help His people work well for Him. And then the church which is the body of Christ will be made strong. ¹³ All of us are to be as one in the faith and in knowing the Son of God. We are to be full-grown Christians standing as high and complete as Christ is Himself. ¹⁴ Then we will not be as children any longer. Children are like boats thrown up and down on big waves. They are blown with the wind. False teaching is like the wind. False teachers try everything possible to make people believe a lie, ¹⁵ but we are to hold to the truth with love in our hearts. We are to grow up and be more like Christ. He is the leader of the church. ¹⁶ Christ has put each part of the church in its right place. Each part helps other parts. This is what is needed to keep the whole body together. In this way, the whole body grows strong in love.

We all want to grow in our faith, but how can we measure progress toward spiritual maturity? Here’s a short list of benchmarks to look for. We know it’s spiritual fruit when:

We become increasingly aware of our sinfulness and weakness. When I read biographies of godly men and women, it’s clear that they don’t “get better” with age and spiritual maturity. Instead, they become ever more sensitive to their dependence upon the Lord.

We respond to sin with quick repentance. Failure to deal with sin is rebellion against God. Growing believers turn away from wrongdoing and embrace righteousness. As we begin to see the good results of dependence and repentance, our desire to obey intensifies, and the attraction of sin lessens.

We recognize the potential benefit of struggles. Faith is often developed through hardship. So we’ll see maturity in our relationship with God when we view trials and temptations as opportunities for growth.

But remember, the list above is just a starting point. Spending time in the Word and in prayer is the best way to get closer to Jesus. And be assured that no matter what, for those who wait on God and trust in Him, He acts in their behalf (From long ago no ear has heard and no eye has seen any God besides You, Who works for those who wait for Him. Isa. 64:4).

The Atonement

A Broadcast with R.C. Sproul

What happened on the cross? Why did Jesus need to die? Today, R.C. Sproul continues his exposition of the gospel of Mark, expressing why Christ’s death was required to bring reconciliation between the holy God and His sinful people.

LISTEN NOW

When We Say Yes to God

Luke 5:1-7 While Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, many people pushed to get near Him. They wanted to hear the Word of God. ² Jesus saw two boats on the shore. The fishermen were not there because they were washing their nets. ³ Jesus got into a boat which belonged to Simon. Jesus asked him to push it out a little way from land. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat.

⁴ When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Push out into the deep water. Let down your nets for some fish.” ⁵ Simon said to Him, “Teacher, we have worked all night and we have caught nothing. But because You told me to, I will let the net down.” ⁶ When they had done this, they caught so many fish, their net started to break. ⁷ They called to their friends working in the other boat to come and help them. They came and both boats were so full of fish they began to sink.

Teaching people to swim begins with a simple lesson—they must put their face in the water. That first little step helps a person get comfortable in the water and is critical for all swimming skills. In the same way, following God begins with a small act of obedience. It may seem insignificant or unrelated to the task at hand, but that’s where God wants us to start.

When Jesus asked to borrow a fishing boat, it must have seemed like just an ordinary request. Peter had no idea it would open the door to ministry and a remarkable adventure with the Lord. Saying yes to God in the small things is essential to discovering His purpose for us, and what’s more, our obedience will also often cause others to benefit. Peter’s compliance with Jesus’ next small request—to let down his nets one more time—resulted in two boatloads of fish, which was more than enough for all those with him.

Obedience to God may appear unreasonable at times—like a carpenter asking a professional fisherman to try once more, even though he had been fishing without success all night. But obeying the Lord can lead to divinely ordained opportunities and blessings for us and others. How do you respond to God’s requests? Does the word “yes” come quickly?

How to Encourage Yourself in the Lord

We all can use some encouragement at one time or another. Church attendance should be an important source of encouragement to believers. But you also need to know how to encourage yourself in the Lord.

Sometimes, the time at which you need to be encouraged can’t wait until the next gathering at church. Or that may not be the kind of message you will hear the next time you attend church. If you don’t know how to encourage yourself in the face of circumstances that threaten to overwhelm or depress you, you are going to have a problem standing during times like that.

There came such a time in David’s life. When he and his men returned to their city, they found that “it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives” (1 Samuel 30:3, KJV).

David and his men were devastated:

“Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep” (verse 4).

But David’s trouble didn’t stop there. The people who were with him talked about stoning him (verse 6a)!

Why would they go there? David did not burn down their city. He did not take their wives and children captive. He was with them. He was feeling the same loss they were.

Perhaps they felt he was to blame because he was the leader. Or maybe their thinking was that it was his fault because the enemy came while they were following David’s lead.

Imagine that you are in David’s shoes. Everybody’s pointing the finger at you. Nobody has anything positive to say to you to encourage you because are the problem. It’s all your fault.

At that point, you have two general choices. You can go somewhere and hide and have a pity party or you can find a way to move forward.

How did David respond? “David encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (verse 6b).

Three Ways to Encourage Yourself in the Lord

Finf thema at: https://frankking.net/2021/06/how-to-encourage-yourself-in-the-lord/

Imagine If, We Loved Like Jesus (“Shrunk Sermon” on 1st John 2:7-11)

Imagine if, Cain had walked a path of love. Imagine if Cain had loved Abel instead of hating him. Imagine how things would have been different, for Abel, for Cain, and for Adam and Eve.

Imagine if, the people of Noah’s day had walked a path of love. They were known for their violence and that violence led to the flood. Imagine if they had love for each other instead of hatred. Imagine how things would have turned out different.

Imagine if, Pharaoh had walked a path of love, loving the Hebrew people instead of making them slaves. Imagine how the exodus story may have turned out differently.

Imagine if, the inhabitants of the promised land had walked a path of love. They were in the habit of sacrificing their children among other atrocities. Imagine if they had more love for their children than their false gods.

Imagine if, the people of God in the Old Testament had walked the path of love, loving God and each other. They were called to be a light shining in darkness. Imagine if they had kept God’s commandments and had taken care of the poor, sought justice for the oppressed, and had refrained from following the practices of the former inhabitants, like worshipping other gods by sacrificing their children. Imagine how things would have have turned out differently in so many ways including the avoidance of the consequence of their behaviour, the fall of Jerusalem and the exile.

Read more: https://clarkedixon.wordpress.com/2021/05/12/imagine-if-we-loved-like-jesus-shrunk-sermon-on-1st-john-27-11/

The Priority of Life

Matthew 6:31-33 ³¹ Do not worry. Do not keep saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘What will we wear?’ ³² The people who do not know God are looking for all these things. Your Father in heaven knows you need all these things. ³³ First of all, seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. All these other things will be given to you also.

What is the priority of your life—the one thing around which everything else revolves? Jesus tells us that God’s kingdom and righteousness should be our highest aim. This isn’t achieved through passivity; Matthew 6:33 uses the word “seek,” which implies activity and persistence. God’s kingdom must be pursued every day, moment by moment.

Life on earth takes place amidst two opposing realms that are in constant conflict—one under the control of this world and the other under God’s kingship. To seek the Father’s kingdom is to submit to His rule over every area of our life. The bottom line is obedience.

To seek God’s righteousness means cooperating with His process of transforming us into Jesus’ image. An integral part of this process is the renewing of our mind with Scripture. The Word of God keeps the Father’s viewpoint and instructions fresh in our thinking. 

Take a moment to evaluate who or what dominates your thoughts and affections: Where do you invest time and money? What desires govern your choices? Making Christ top priority requires submission to God, obedience to His Word, and trust in His ways. And He promises to supply whatever you need in pursuing that goal (And my God will supply everything you need because of His great riches in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:19).