Recognizing the Master's majesty

Greetings:
Psalm 100 is a beautiful reminder of God's majesty for which we owe Him much honor and praise.
The passage reads: “Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”
We thank for who God is and from God flow all blessings.
The goodness of The Lord is that attribute of God that allows us sinners to have an opportunity to hear the Gospel and be saved.
The goodness of God is what preserves each of every day.
Though we have sinned against the Lord, the goodness of God is what gives us food, water and a roof over our heads.
God's goodness can be seen in the eyes of a small child.
God's goodness is seen in the beauty of farm fields, gardens, forests, lakes, and wetlands.
God's goodness is seen in a sunrise and a sunset.
God's goodness is seen when it rains, even when it storms.
God's goodness is the common blessings that we all have and too often take for granted.
Thinking about the goodness of God affords us the opportunity to return thanks to Him in the form of praise and worship.
The psalm doesn't say we have to be a great singer or even be able to carry much a tune at all. The psalm doesn't say our praise and worship has to be confined inside the walls of the church.
We are simply asked to come to worship The Lord with gladness in our hearts and joy on our lips for this is the day that the Lord has made.
Be blessed.

Thank you, Lord, for another day

Greetings:
Life has a way of coming at us very quickly and in an unpredictable fashion.
Many times good things do happen, and other times we face a terrific onslaught of difficulty after difficulty and it seems like we just can't catch a break.
When the waves of strife drive our faces into the dirt, we must not give up, lose heart, or stop trusting God.
Instead, we should get up, dust off and be thankful.
The Apostle Paul did not learn contentment overnight, but it was over time through a great deal of suffering that he learned not to overlook the basic, small provisions of God, but to be thankful for them.  With mere food and body covering, he could be content. 
Sometimes, God allows suffering to help us be mindful of all of the many smaller graces that He has given us in our lives. It is easy to overlook things and take them for granted.  We should be thankful to God for them, as insignificant as they might seem.  Just comparing our life to somebody who is in a worse state does not necessarily make us feel better. But if we thank God that we have the things, then we realize that others might not be so fortunate.  Our thanksgiving can change our perspective and bring us contentment. 
We need to maintain Paul’s attitude of thankfulness for all things and even in the direst and unfair of circumstances. We need to make a point to thank God for the blessings that He gives us each and every day. 
We ought to wake up every morning and our first thoughts ought to be 'Thank you, Lord, we have another day to serve you'.
Be blessed

Let us always be thankful for the 'Son'

Greetings:
One of the first steps into spiritual decay is to refuse to or neglect to give God thanks after experiencing his goodness and seeing his power manifested on our behalf.
If we fail to acknowledge God, we can begin to feel proud and self-sufficient, which is a dangerous road to walk on.
Rather, we need to acknowledge God’s provision in everything.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (Amplified Bible) we read, “Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].”
This verse says that it’s God’s will for everyone who believes in Jesus to be thankful. There are some things that happen in our lives that we are truly thankful for. But some things that happen are really difficult.  Let’s look really closely at the verse. Some might think that this verse says to be thankful for all of our circumstances. But the verse actually says to be thankful in all circumstances. The original Hebrew word for 'in' that is used here means 'in the middle of' or 'during'.
In other words, no matter what is happening in our life, we can be thankful.
We must remember most of all, we should be thankful because God gave His Son, Jesus, to save us from the punishment of our sin, and give us new life.
If only we could see through God's eyes, we would have more mercies than we could ever account for. Let us not let the missiles that the devil fires at us knock us down so much that we forget that we have Christ and the many blessings of God. We should never lose our hope, and we should always have reason to truly be thankful.
Be blessed.

Being humble is bold

Greetings:
The Bible says a humble heart trembles before God’s Word.
Look at Isaiah 66:2 (NLT). It says: “My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine.  I, the Lord, have spoken! 'I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word'.”
Are we trembling as we read God's Word or just reading it and not truly understanding what God is telling us?
Those with humble hearts don’t read God’s Word carelessly, but rather with hearts that are tender and open to hear what God’s Word might have to say to them to convict them or teach them.
When we are humble we take God’s Word seriously and soak it up like a sponge and the act of hearing it with great reverence and persistence.
When we are humble we actually believe God's Word rather than just read it.
There is a love and value for what God says that clearly sets apart the humble from the proud.
Humility must be the object of special desire and made a part of our character through prayer, faith, study, and discipline.
We must acknowledge that there‘s nothing good in ourselves, except as we are made a servant unto God.
We must let our natural self-die in order to become a vessel to the glory of God.
The humble heart values the welfare of others ahead of its own.
Philippians 2:3(NLT) says, “Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself."
Humility leads us to admit our need for God.
Humility will lead us to appreciate God, trust God's will for our lives, and give God the glory for all we are and all we will be in the future.
Be blessed.

We are The Church

Greetings:
You and I are the gospel.
You and I are the hands and feet of Jesus on earth today.
We are the Church.
Let us wake up and step out and do all we are called to do. The job of the church is much more than preaching, teaching and explaining the words in Holy Scripture.
The church in us is to be lived out in our communities where we live and around the world. We are the hands, feet, and mouthpieces for the Word of God.
The mission of Christ is in each of us as Christians. The gospel is the things that we do, who we are, and how we display the love of Jesus Christ to the world around us.
Let us reflect this morning and discover our personal mission field, which does not necessarily involve packing up our things and moving to some far off country. The mission field that we might be called too could be right here in our own backyards if we just look around and listen to what God is telling us.
Pray before doing anything. Please know that God has a plan for each of us to shine the truths of the gospels to someone, somewhere, at some time.
Be blessed.

If we are not thankful, the fault rests with us

Greetings:
Many times we are selfish with God and fail to take time to just thank him for blessings.
On our worst day, we still have plenty of reasons to offer up thanksgiving to God.
Our morning routine ought to be to open our eyes with the new dawn and shout thanks to God for granting us another day of life on this earth. If we are thankful, we don't have time to get weighed down the troubles of the world. God has all of those things under control.
Look at what God's Word says about being thankful.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (The Amplified Bible) we read: “Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].”
Thankfulness is a sign of a changed life.
Even in simple things we should be thankful. We should not reserve our praise to God for only the big things in life. Recognize that God is the giver of all good gifts in our lives, great or small.
A thankful heart can change the whole way we view life. It is a flood-gate opener to blessings, joy peace and all sorts of goodness. With thankful hearts, we can even touch the very heart of God, and King David even told us that when we approach God, enter into His gates with thankful hearts!
Psalm 100:4-5 (The Amplified Bible) reads: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.”
On this day, thank God for what his son Jesus did on the cross for each of us. Healing, prosperity, joy, peace, and deliverance are all parts of what Jesus accomplished for us.
If we find no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies with us.
Be blessed.

Finding your alone time

Greetings:
There are times when I just need to get alone with God to be refreshed.
My spiritual relief valve or recharge place is to take a drive alone through the beautiful countryside and just look around. The spring season is great. We hear the sound of songbirds, enjoy the smell of fresh flowers and newly-sprouted grasslands.
I've most generally got my camera close at hand and I love to capture images of God's beautiful things. I look for the things we see on many days, but pass by without much thought. Those are the images I like to record and etch into photos for others to enjoy.
I'm blessed to live in an area of southern Indiana  where the work of God's majestic hand is abound.
Look at Psalms 19:1-6 (NLT). It reads: “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word;  their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race. The sun rises at one end of the heavens  and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat.”
How can one deny the majesty of God's creation when you simply look around and see all of the splendor and beauty?
For me, it is necessary to slow down and look around and get alone for that prayer time, that time of reflection. I find joy and satisfaction, It's a place for me to know his closeness, to hear his voice and sense His smile.
It's priceless.
Be blessed.