Power in Praise

Yesterday, I asked God what he wanted my readers to hear this week. Immediately I thought of a book that I read many years ago, “The Power in Praise”  by Merlin Carothers.  Though I have forgotten many details, I remember the shining premise of the book, that there is power in praising God in all situations.

It is not always easy to praise God no matter what happens. The world with its problems can be exceedingly cruel. Life certainly is not fair. It is too easy to give up and surrender to despair.

 We can read in Acts about what Paul endured from preaching the gospel of Christ.  Soldiers bound him with two chains. People followed after him with threats to kill him.  Even when thrown in prison, he never stopped praising God.

Acts 21: 33 Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done. 34 And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle. 35 And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people. 36 For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him.

Job praised God even when his whole life collapsed and he lost everything. Job lost all that was dear to him, his buildings, herds, his children, and his health.

 He continued praising God even when he was covered with terrible oozing sores and his wife demanded he curse God and die.  Job's faith held strong. He did not sin and God restored all that he had lost, and more. He had more children, bigger herds, and more property.

We sing a song in church that goes, “We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord,” written by Kirk Dearman. It is hard to sing that

when your life is spinning out of control.  When we sacrifice our hurt feelings and raw emotions to praise, power follows. God gives us strength, courage, and the ability to carry on.  He restores us. Praise Him in all things and let Him give you power to overcome. Praise Him because He is worthy to be praised.

www.BibleGateway.com 

Image in public domain

Happy Mother's Day

A Godly Mother

Being a mom is one of the highest callings of womanhood. She protects, cares for, and loves her children more than any other person in the world could.

She nurtures and protects. If you want to get her mad, just mess with her children. She is always there morning and night. A godly mother teaches them fear of and reverence for the Lord.  She helps her children become strong and to learn all the skills they need when they become adults.

In Proverbs 22:6 we find that she trains up a child the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Her job never ends. It only moves into different phases of life. When they are infants, they rely on her for the basic necessities of life.  She makes sure they have food to eat, a bed for rest, and a safe place to grow.

When they reach school age, she must let go a little.  They feed themselves and take care of their needs. They still need guidance and assurance of her love as they run off to explore their little section of the universe. This is when the discussions on values become more important.  A godly mother reads the Bible and helps her children hide the words in their hearts.

As teens, they become more independent and make decisions about careers, jobs and relationships. They need her guidance more than ever before.

 

It is never too late to become a godly mother.  Just start where you are and go from there. God accepts us the way we are and can use us at any time.

Wishing a Happy Mother’s Day to all of you women around the world. Whether you have children of your own, or are caring for a grandchild or someone else’s child, you deserve recognition and praise.

Image-Mother and Baby-

public-domain-images.com

Flowers-public domain
BibleGateway.com
paraphrase of Proverbs 22:6

We Need Each Other

¹¹ And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

¹² But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. Exodus 17:11-12 KJV.

The Israelis were in battle with the Amaleks, enemies who attacked them whenever they got a chance. God told Moses to hold his hands up. When he held his arms up, the Israelis prevailed. When he grew tired and lowered them, the Amaleks started winning.

Try holding your hands and arms up in the air How long does it take to get tired and put them down? Think of Moses doing this for a whole day.

They put down a stone that Moses could sit on to save his strength. When he still had trouble holding up his hands, Aaron and Hur stood on either side of him and held his hands up so the Israelis kept winning.

Moses needed Aaron and Hur to help him.  Aaron and Hur needed Moses to help the Israelis to prevail over the Amaleks. People need each other. Cooperation is necessary to achieve a goal, a win over the enemy.

We need to hold each other up. When one falls the rest need to pick him up and restore him.  When faith wavers, others must remind him of God’s greatness and the eternal reward. When anyone is sick or discouraged, he needs others to pray for him. When tragedy strikes, we need each other as Christians and as people. 

Every person is a child of God whether he/she likes or acknowledges it, or not.  Each Christian  is part of the body of Christ and each serves in an unique way. We need each other. 

BibleGateway.com

Image- Friends Public-Domain-Images.com  via Wikimedia Commons

         

Dreams and Visions

Acts 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

How important are dreams and visions?

Joel 2:28 says about the same thing, And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

 God uses dreams and visions to speak to and instruct people. He considers them to be vital. He used one to protect his son and announce that He was special.   

In Matthew 1:18-25 He speaks to Joseph in a dream that an angel tells him that it is all right to marry his espoused wife Mary.  She did not cheat on him by becoming pregnant.  He told him that the Holy Spirit conceived the child.

He shows us things in dreams too.

The other night I had a dream that I believe came from God. In my dream, hundreds of people jammed our little country church.  There were at least a hundred people on stage playing instruments and singing.

I have never seen that many people there at once. Why don’t I just discount that dream as due to the pizza I ate too close to bedtime?

It is because other people in the church also had similar dreams that I heard about.  God will build His church. If necessary, he will cause events that make people eager to get back to God.

Chernobyl

I remember when the world held its breath while a nuclear plant in Russia melted down. I reached for my Bible and started reading Revelation. I heard that Chernobyl meant wormwood and was sure that the name was in there somewhere. I dreamed of people flocking into churches everywhere. I did not belong in any church at the time. The specter of a common disaster brought people together and closer to God.

Your dream.

We all have many dreams every night. Some are silly. Others are built around things you heard and saw during the day.  Most do not matter and are easily forgotten.

We remember dreams sent by God. They are different from the zany ones that race through the night.  They are dreams that stay with you and push you to do something about them. 

Most people do not experience a lot of God dreams. I do believe that mine foretells future events. When you have such a dream, pay attention. It may be God trying to tell you something.

BibleGateway.com KJV

Joseph's Dream created circa 1790

by Gaetano Gandolfi (1734-1802)
Public Domain via Wikemedia Commons.
This work is in the public domain in the United States, and those countries with a
copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less.

Boston Bombs, Texas Terror

The world is exploding with evil forces all around. Bombs made blood run in the street in Boston.  An explosion brought terror and destruction to the town of West Texas. Letters brought Ricin, a lethal substance, intended for leaders in our country. Off site personnel intercepted them.  Every day seems to bring a new horror.

 

Why are these evils flourishing among us?

We can look to the Bible for warnings. They tell of consequences of turning away from God. Our country is becoming more Atheistic in the demeanor and policies of our government. There is an “anything goes” feeling in the country now. God notices.

We can find warnings in the Bible.

  

For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the Lord. Ezekiel 28:23

In Ecclesiastes 28, He tells of the many blessings to come to those who put Him first at all times and honor Him always. He will prosper them in their fields, their homes, their storehouses and in everything they do.  

But, in the next part of the chapter, God gives dire warnings of what will befall them if they disobey Him. Everything they do will fall apart, nothing they do will make their lives better. They will be hungry and destitute. Their lives become meaningless and they have no power to change it.

You can find a happy promise in 2nd Chronicles 7:14

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. King James Version (KJV)

It is not too late to turn our nation around. Are you ready for the challenge?

BibleGateway.com 
Image: Wikipedia Commons Public Domain-- Emergency worker comes to the rescue

Believe with your Heart, not your Head

What the Heart Knows

God is not very popular in some quarters and with some crowds today.  It is fashionable to intellectually state that there is no God. This attitude tempts you by saying it is okay, anything goes.

Atheists state that life started with the Big Bang, and that we are related to some primitive beast that slithered from the murky ooze of ocean waters onto the shore.

The Christian knows that God created the Earth and populated it with plants, fish, birds, and animals. He created a garden, breathed life into the first man and made him a helpmate he called woman.

The man and woman showed their sinful natures and free wills when they disobeyed God. He told them to eat from all trees in the garden but commanded them not to eat from the Tree of Good and Evil.

With these two conflicting stories, how do you choose? Your head tells you one thing and your heart tells you another.  When the trauma of living strikes causing distress and anguish, you wonder how your Heavenly Father could let that happen.

The head starts telling you that God is a myth and invites you to hang out with the popular people, the ones who feel superior.  After all, it is just a story, isn’t it? I wish the head believed what the heart knows.

Which will you believe, the heart that knows the truth, or the head telling your heart Satan’s lies? I choose to believe what I know in my heart and ignore the babble of the popular people in the world and the noise in my head.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  Psalm 139 KJV

 BibleGateway.com

 Image Public Domain

We Come Broken

People often say that they don’t want to go to church because it is full of hypocrites. Well guess what! Christians are not better than other people. Everyone is born with free will and a sinful nature. We all make mistakes.

Even people who physically followed Christ here on earth were far from perfect. They had ordinary occupations, fishermen, tax collector, and mostly unschooled men except for Luke, a doctor and historian.  Judas betrayed Him and Thomas doubted Him.

As Christians we gather together to worship and fellowship with each other.    We bring our human problems, fears, and doubts just like the people on the outside looking in and judging. We have trouble letting go of the past even as we experience a new beginning in our walk with Christ.

A Christian’s only claim to fame is that Christ laid down His life for him. We are the forgiven, the imperfect, and the ones who want a deeper relationship with the person Himself.

He calls and we come. Broken and battered by life’s battles we run to Him, weary and forlorn.     He transforms and restores us, but we often backslide down a slippery slope. No, Christians are not perfect but seekers of truth just like the non-Christian.

We found our truth in Jesus Christ.  He is the way, the truth, and the life.  We are made perfect in Him, not in ourselves. Do you hear Him calling you?