In my last post I revealed an embarrassing incident that God used to speak to me about how we let things hinder our worship. That particular day it was an article of clothing for me. God let me know that worship has everything to do with the condition of my heart and I alone am responsible for my worship experience. God is always the same. I'm the one who gets distracted.
For the past few days, worship has been on my mind. The Holy Spirit kept bringing up the word circumstances. We are to worship God regardless of our circumstances, not just when things are going well and we feel like it.
In Genesis 22 we find Abraham on the way to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his only son Isaac. He tells his servants that he and Isaac were going to worship and they would come back to them. Abraham was facing the most difficult thing a parent could ever imagine, giving up a child, and yet he still trusted God enough to worship Him. He didn't let his circumstances keep him from worship.
In 2 Samuel 12 we know that after David learns of the death of his son, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Difficult circumstances.
Daniel 6 finds us in Babylon. The government officials were determined to get rid of Daniel for good, so they convinced the king to issue an edict that anyone who prayed to any god or man other than King Darius should be thrown into the lions' den. Even though Daniel knew about the decree, he got down on his knees and prayed to his God as always. Daniel knew that this could land him in the lions' den. Death is a pretty dire circumstance. He worshiped anyway.
In Acts 16 we find Paul and Silas. They had been severely beaten and thrown in jail. We see them in their chains, yet they were praying and singing hymns to God. Worship in the worst of circumstances.
This past weekend we learned of some difficult circumstances that someone close to our family was experiencing. It rocked our world. We were heartbroken for them and my husband and I shed many tears for them. We had a choice to make; we could stay home from church on Sunday and wallow in grief, or we could go to church and worship our God who is bigger than any circumstance. We chose to worship. We were able to give the circumstances to Him and in return we had His assurance that He had everything in the palm of His hand. We came away refreshed, with lighter hearts.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; Psalm 29:2
8 comments:
A wonderful reminder to worship--even when it is a sacrifice--we offer Him a sacrifice of praise.
Love ya,
Leah
Beautifully written and so true. We're headed out this morning to worship with my mom and dad in Suches,
Love this post and love your blop design.
So glad to have a little blog hopping time....enjoyed your blog tonight.....
Teresa
http://teresa-grammygirlfriend.blogspot.com/
If you died today, are you 100% sure you would go to Heaven ?
The Bible says in I John 5:13, that we can KNOW we are saved eternally and going to Heaven.
"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." I John 5:13
1. First, you must realize that you are a sinner.
The Bible says in Romans 3:23, that everyone is a sinner.
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23
2. You must realize what yours sins earn you.
The Bible tells us the penalty for our sin in the first part of Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death;" Romans 6:23a
Because we sin, we earn wages just like when we earn wages for working. Our wages for our sins is death. Because we sin, we deserve to die.
But that's not all, because we sin, we deserve to die a second death as well ...
"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Revelation 20:14
Because of our sins, we also deserve to die the second death: to be cast into the Lake of Fire ( Hell ).
3. Jesus paid the price.
God wants us to go to Heaven, so He sent His only begotten Son to die for us on the cross, so we can go to Heaven !
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
4. What must I do to be saved ?
God only asks one thing of us to be saved.
"And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:31
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Romans 10:9
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Romans 10:13
If you believe that Jesus died for you and rose again so that you can be saved, and you simply ask Jesus to save you, He will :)
I just wanted to make sure you knew 100% sure :D
God bless you and your family !
Ashley,
Thank you for your concern for my salvation. I am absolutely, positively one hundred percent certain that I a a sinner saved by grace. I am without a doubt, going to reside in Heaven when I die.
I believe that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. I believe that He was put to death on the cross, bearing all my sins and then rose again three days later and now He sits at the Father's right hand.
If we admit that we are sinners (Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God), and we believe in Christ (Acts 16:31 says, "believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved") and then confess that Jesus is Lord( That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord", and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Romans 10: 9,10) And Romans 10:13 tells us that "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." And Ephesians 2:8 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. And, In him we have redemption through his bloo, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. ( Ephesians 1:7,8)
I believe that the Holy Bible is the unfailing, unerring word of God. But I do not believe that people that do not use the King James translation of the Bible are not saved. All the above Scripture is from the NIV. I think it spells out beautifully God's perfect plan of salvation.
Scripture is clear, If you believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead and you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. We aren't saved because we read a particular Bible translation or belong to a particular denomination.
Respectfully,
Cindy
Worship is worship.... acknowledging who God is and who we are NOT. I agree, circumstances do not dictate worship....
Chris has used a phrase that I have taped up in the bathroom so I can remind myself each day of this very thing.
"My circumstances do not change God's character." (author unknown to me)
No one said it was always EASY to worship through tough times, etc. The worship may not be the same in all situations. There are times that it may be through bittersweet tears (as it was in the home going of my sweet mama. I would not take her broken, sick body back for one minute~) Or it could be the elated feelings of a mountain top experience (such as the salvation of a loved one; or the birth of a baby or anything else we as humans deem as 'good').
A friend of mine recently was present as her mother went home to be with the Lord. Just days before this, her father, who had remained without Jesus into his 90's received this salvation that Ashley outlined!!! What a week of worship for this precious family. I would think it would be polar opposite 'styles'~ all the same, acknowledging God is Who He says He is......
Cindy,
I love the Scripture references and examples you shared. God has been speaking the same theme to my heart about gratitude and being thankful and praising Him in every situation. Catherine Marshall referred to praise as the golden bridge to God. I love that picture of the sacrifice of praise bringing me to God.
Blessings dear one.
Life is VERY good. Delighted to meet you today. I hope you don't mind if I splash around to get to know you more. You have a delightful and cheery spot.
Splashing,
Sara
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