Come and Worship

Psalm 65:8 Message

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As morning dawns and evening fades
You inspire songs of praise
That rise from earth and touch Your heart
And glorify Your name 

YOUR NAME
sung by Phillips Craig and Dean 

Jeremiah 33:3

I often hear Jeremiah 33:3 quoted, but I sometimes forget that God said this to Jeremiah while he was still a prisoner.

While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the Lord gave him this second message: “This is what the Lord says—the Lord who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the Lord:  

Ask me 

and I will tell you remarkable secrets 

you do not know 

about things to come.

Father God,

You know all that lies ahead, and all that You are working out even now for Your kingdom and for our good.

May we have ears to hear your Voice, and eyes to see how You see those around us. 

Eyes that find the good in things
When good is not around
Eyes that find the source of help, 

When help just can't be found
Eyes full of compassion, seein' every pain
Knowing what you're going through, 

And feelin' it the same 

My Father's Eyes - Amy Grant - You Tube 

What Does Your Daddy Do?

When I was a child, a question I was often asked was, "What does your Daddy do?"

Well, for years, our Dad was a mechanic on the city buses in Atlanta. From going out on service calls to repair disabled buses, he came to know the city streets like the back of his hand. When I grew up and began to drive downtown, I knew I could call Daddy for directions to anywhere in Atlanta.

As children of God, we need to know exactly what it is that our Father does. We also need to be CONFIDENT that He is on our side and He will help us when we call.

What does my Heavenly Father do? He's a doctor, a lawyer, a righteous judge, a builder, a warrior, a singer/dancer, first responder, counselor and best friend - just to name a few!

He knows which way I should go. His perfect love casts out fear. It is the only thing that does.

And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way; walk in it, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left. Isaiah 20:21

God's Not Dead!

When my son Cameron was in fifth grade, his public school teacher asked the students to write about the living person that had most influenced their lives. Cameron wrote about Jesus Christ. After he had read his essay to the class, a little girl raised her hand and complained to the teacher that Cameron did not follow the directions because his subject is dead.

Cameron explained that Jesus was crucified, but rose from the dead, and then ascended to heaven fully alive. He also told her, "Jesus is God and He lives in my heart."

The little girl continued to argue until the teacher gave her an assignment to go to the library and research to find out if Jesus is dead or alive.

Thank God for childlike faith!

Refuge

We can rest in the fact that God has spent our whole lifetime preparing us for the days in which we are living. Jesus tells us we need not panic in the midst of worldwide turmoil.

Instead of looking for a place of refuge in the storm, God wants us to BE ONE!

People will have needs in the coming months and years that He will enable us as Christians to meet. When people start asking us how they can know the Savior, we need to be prepared to answer them. People will be watching us to see how we handle crisis and loss. Not only will we make it through, but God will enlarge our sphere of influence.

I'm sure you can remember some older saint that you knew who had deep abiding joy, hope, and peace in the middle of adversity. Only Christ gives us a peace that the world cannot give and the world cannot take away.

God speaks to us through the prophet Isaiah...
You who have been borne by Me from your birth, carried from the womb; Even to your old age I am He, and even to hair white with age will I carry you. I have made, and I will bear; yes, I will carry and will save you. Isaiah 46:3-4

Our Heart

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There is no power that for one hour

Can withstand the greatness

Of Your Word on tongues of faith,

So we're bold in intercession,

Claiming all of Your possession

Praying now that every heart will bow

Before You Lord in praise.

Heavenly Father,

Our heart, our desire

Is to see the nations worship.

Our cry, our prayer

Is to sing Your praise to the ends of the earth,

That with one mighty voice

Evey tribe and tongue rejoices.

Our heart, our desire

Is to see the nations worship You.

 -John Chisum

The Pearl of Great Price

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“The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,  who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Matthew 13:45-46 

I never quite understood the meaning of the parable of the pearl of great price. I knew it had to do with our salvation through Jesus Christ....Then recently, I "got it": The most valuable treasure of all is
God's presence in my life.

When my son died, I felt the presence of God so strongly that I could smell a sweet fragrance.

No matter what else we lose, no matter what trials we face, no one can take away the presence of God.

What else could be so precious?

HELP!

Where's the strength to keep my hopes up?

What future do I have to keep me going?

Job 6:11

I love God because he listened to me,

listened as I begged for mercy.

He listened so intently

as I laid out my case before him.

Death stared me in the face,

hell was hard on my heels.

Up against it,

I didn't know which way to turn;

then I called out to God for help:

"Please, God!" I cried out.

"Save my life!"

God is gracious—

it is he who makes things right,

our most compassionate God.

God takes the side of the helpless;

When I was at the end of my rope, he saved me.

Psalm 116:1-6 Message

Dance!

The three granddaughters who live near me were in a dance recital recently. I was one proud Nana as I watched them on stage.

Jesus is the Way

It seems that in America, some are embarrassed to acknowledge our Creator God or His Son, Jesus Christ. Is there any other God who is a God of love? Is there any other Savior who willingly laid down His life for us?

"The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It's written,

I'll turn conventional wisdom on its head,
I'll expose so-called experts as crackpots.

So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn't God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb—preaching, of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation."
1 Corinthians 1:18-21 Message

Lord, I pray that we will wake up to the fact that You first loved us and gave yourself for us. May we once again welcome you for You are worthy of praise and honor. May we never be ashamed to name the name that is above all names - Jesus.
Jesus said , 

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; 

no one comes to the Father but through me.

John 14:6 

No Eye Has Seen

No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.

But it was to us that 

God revealed these things by his Spirit. 

For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
1 Corinthians 2:9-12 NLT

Holy Boldness

I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.  Philippians 1:20

I praised God when saw a news report about a valedictorian, Roy Costner IV, who discarded the school board "approved" speech he was to give at graduation ( after all prayer was banned as to not offend the atheists) and expressed his thanks to God for his Christian parents. Then he quoted the Lord's Prayer from Matthew 6:9-13.
 
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom 
and the power and the glory forever. 
Amen.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. Psalm 8:2

When the religious leaders saw the outrageous things Jesus was doing, and heard all the children running and shouting through the Temple, "Hosanna to David's Son!" they were up in arms and took him to task. "Do you hear what these children are saying?"

Jesus said, "Yes, I hear them. And haven't you read in God's Word, 'From the mouths of children and babies I'll furnish a place of praise'?" Matthew 21:15-16

Is there anything sweeter than a baby's laughter or first words, a child's bedtime prayer?

I can still remember my son Caleb's wonderful laugh. Because he was never able to walk, my other children would carry him in their arms as they ran and played basketball in the driveway.

When the ball was going flat one day, Cameron started kicking it around and it made the funniest noise. So Kathren picked him up and ran around the yard kicking the ball as she went and every time she kicked that ball he would just cackle!

I thought of that flat ball when I was reading a quote by Steve Sampson. He wrote that in our minds as believers, we often imagine God too small and satan too big. "Although we must rebuke and resist the devil, we also must acknowledge that he is under the feet of every believer and should only be somebody we kick around. A football-size devil."

 

That helped me put things in perspective. The devil had the wind knocked out of him when Jesus died for our sins, arose from the dead, and ascended to His Father. He is in worse shape than that pitiful basketball and he knows it.

When I was involved in women's prison ministry, Enemy's Camp was the ladies' favorite song, "I went to the enemy's camp and I took back what he stole from me!". They would raise the rafters, drumming on the desktops. When they got to the part, "He's under my feet!" they would start stomping their feet until all the guards would gather smiling and clapping along.

Encouraging Word

I was reading back through some of my prayer journals. This is what the Lord impressed on me back in 2009 during my quiet time:

You cannot live in the past or the future, but when you do look back, you see that I have been FOR YOU, never AGAINST YOU! In every storm you have weathered, NOTHING has ever snatched you out of My hand.

Don't get sucked into worldly sorrow over lost jobs, houses, cars or things. Many are having to downsize. Your family is not the only one. There is a pruning process right now, not because you have done anything wrong, but because I am preparing you for greater fruitfulness in the next season. Realize that I have hidden riches in secret places tucked away for you.

If only you knew how very soon you would stand before me in glory and bask in the light of My presence, you would not waste a moment in worry and frustration now.

I am exalted. Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. I am Victorious. Satan is under my feet. He bruised My heel, but I crushed his head.

How very rich you are, My child. You have ME. There are entire nations of people who have never heard of Me, never heard a scripture promise, or a worship song, have never been shown the love of Christ, or seen the power of Holy Spirit.

Your tank is full and overflowing. Start your engine! Get going.

Give your grown children to ME. I am their God as much as I am yours. I will care for them. I will also enlarge their borders.

Debt and worry, obligation and feeling responsible for "everybody" is not my plan for you. Take my burden upon you. My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

I have called you "friend". I have called you to walk alongside Me, arm in arm. Why would you want to do anything else?

Sing Praises

It is good to give thanks to the Lord
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning
And Your faithfulness by night

 I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.

Psalm 92:1, 2, 4b