Why Praise and Worship?

Do you ever wonder why we have praise and worship?

I have to tell you that worship is my favorite part of church, yet sometimes I wonder why do we have time set aside for praise and worship? Was this some rule that someone made up? Is it just a way to make church longer? Well, Let's find out!

1 Chronicles 29 starts with David telling the people what he had contributed to the temple. He gave things like gold and silver. Then he proceeds to ask the people to do the same, and they do so willingly. Then David prays. He starts by giving thanks to God and then follows by asking God to keep their hearts loyal and devoted. Here's what I'm getting to:
1Chronicles 29:20 - Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the Lord your God." So they all praised the Lord, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the Lord and the king.

So, why would they praise God after they had just given their gold, silver, and precious stones (things that were important to them) to help build the temple? Simple really. When they gave of themselves and their time to make a place for the Lord to dwell, they were filled with joy and thankfulness. How do you think they expressed this? They did it through their praise. In my bible, the footnote says: To "praise the Lord" is to adore and worship him. When believers praise God, they begin by recalling God's goodness, righteousness and glory, and then respond in praise and adoration.

Has God been good to you? Think about it. He gave you a family that loves you, a roof over your head, food to eat, an opportunity for education, friends to lean on..need I go on? So, don't you think since God has been so good to us, we should praise him?

The next time you step into church, and the music starts, or you're starting your quiet time, think about what God has done for you and thank him for it in your own words, then go from there. You might surprise yourself!

Birthdays...

So, as you may already know... today is my birthday!!! Woo Hoo!!!

I was thinking this week about how much God loves us and how well He knows us. He loves us so much that He gave His son, Jesus, to die for our sins. How fitting that last week was Easter Sunday, when we celebrate Jesus' rising from the dead!!!

I want to share one of my favorite chapters of the Bible. It explores so much of our lives. Check it out, let me know what you think. Any thoughts???

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David.
A psalm.

1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, [a] you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to [b] me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.

21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?

22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Running on Empty

Routine maintenance. Lots of things require it. Cars, skateboards, computers, backyard gardens, teeth, our spiritual lives - That's right, our spiritual lives need regular maintenance as well. But our faith just can't be put off. We have a responsibility to refuel daily. If we don't, we run the risk of serious attck from Satan.

Most of us have heard the same old story - A friend becomes a Christian at youth camp, then, within a week, they're back in their old lifestyle - as if nothing happened. This kind of person believes that if she/he acceptsJesusasmypersonalLordandSavior, his ticket has been paid. Next stop eternity!

It's true that if a person's commitment is sincere, Jesus is faithful to come in, cleanse them, and change their life. But what some people forget is the responsibility each Christian has to grow their faith.

This means:

Acting on the messages we hear in church... James 1:22-25 MSG

Living daily by God's awesome power... Ephesians 1:17-23 MSG

Allowing God to help us fight off the old, sinful nature and build a new, spiritally buff body, one that's in the image of Christ... Philipians 3:17-21 MSG

FUEL UP

Those who don't make the effort to grow in the Lord usually want eternal life; they just don't want to give anything in return. They operate on their own fuel, not God's - and eventually conk out. "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned" (John 15:6)

But check out the rewards of fueling up daily: "if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples" (John 15:7-8)

God has all the joy, love, hope and peace we need to face life. But He won't give it to us if we don't spend time listening and talking with Him. Turning our lives around is God's responsibility. Making time for Him is ours.

Credit goes to Micheal Ross, Jeff Edmondson, and Breakaway Magazine

Let me guess, you're "stayin busy."

Mark 2:23-24
23) One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.
24) The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"

So, here they are walking through a field when the disciples break the law. Yes, that's right. They were criminals, at least according to the standards of the Pharisees. What were they guilty of? Work. More specifically, working on the Sabbath.

You might be saying, "what's the Sabbath?". I'm glad you asked.

Sabbath is a Hebrew word that means "to rest from labour". God set up Sabbath in Genesis & intended it to be a day that people didn't work. Traditional Jewish teaching said that any form of labor was work, so it was a day to do, well, nothing. When the disciples broke the law, they were breaking rule #5. Better known as the 5th commandment. Check this out in Exodus.

Exodus 20:8-11
8) Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9) Work six days and do everything you need to do. 10) But the seventh day is a Sabbath to GOD your God. Don't do any work--not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. 11) For in six days GOD made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore GOD blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.

The question after reading this is not how to "observe the Sabbath", but how to "keep it holy". See, I think we've got observing the Sabbath down. I think we've become masters of observing the Sabbath. I just think we stink at keeping it holy. How many times have you been physically present at church, but spiritually or mentally, you were a million miles away. You're guilty of not keeping the Sabbath holy.

The heart of rule #5 wasn't for you to not work, or not go to school, but for you to not be distracted. I think God knew that in 2006, in Austin Texas there would be some teenagers who were over-stimulated, over-committed, & under-rested. The point of Sabbath is to free your mind of junk so you can find true rest in Jesus. I know that sounds churchy, but Jesus knew what He was talking about when He said in Matthew 11:28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest."

We're a society that takes pride in the fact that we're "stayin busy", & we seem to brag daily that we can't stop breaking rule #5. Would you take a Sabbath, even if it's not the seventh day? Would you have a day without cellphones, emails, or text messages? Would you have a day where you don't think about work, deadlines, or meetings? Would you have a day & rest in God?

May your soul pause long enough to take a deep breath. May your storms be calmed in the silence. And may the Lord cause you to know what it means to find true rest.