Praise is integral in the life of every believer.

Psalms 100 tells us that how we are to come to God. Psalms 150 gives us the command to praise with details.

Let’s take a look:

Psalms 150

“1. Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

2. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

4. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

5. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

6. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

The command to praise was given in verse 1 and reiterated in the latter portion of verse 6.

Verse 1 tells use where to praise him. Verse 2 tells us why we praise him. Verses 3-5 tells us what to use to praise him. Finally. Verse 6 tells us who should praise him.

Taking a closer look: by definition “firmament” is the heavens or the sky, especially when regarded as a tangible thing. A sphere or world viewed as a collection of people.

1. We are commanded to praise. We are instructed where to praise him. Not just in the sanctuary (or church), but everywhere (the world).

2. We are told why we should praise him – for the things he has done; because he is a great God.

3. We are told what we should use to praise him. Notice that among the instruments listed your body is also included (dance). Praise is a very physical thing and requires the use of your whole body. Your mouth, your mind, your heart, your arms, legs, and feet – you are a powerful weapon of praise.

4. Finally we are told who should praise him. Everything that has breath. That encompasses everybody. We are all to give God praise. No one is excluded from the command.

Praise is probably the most overlooked weapon every believer has at their disposal. And it is a mighty weapon at that. Praise accomplishes 2 very important things immediately: it brings God’s presence in the middle of your situation (Psalms 22:3), and it confuses the enemy (2 Chronicles 20:22). The enemy will not be able to understand why you are joyous when you are going through tests, trials, persecutions, etc. with a praise for God on your lips and in your heart. Praise will cause the enemy to defeat himself when he comes against you.

Praise magnifies God in your situation and diminishes the enemy. Praise works to lighten your load and eases every burden. Your praise brings the God’s presence. Where light is darkness has to flee. Peace abides.

It is a weapon that can be used at any time. You can always take a praise break in your heart and mind. Especially when you are in a situation where verbalizing the words are not in order. But we can praise God in our hearts at all times.

Praise is essential for every believer. If you don’t classify yourself as a “praiser “ give it a try. Not only is it a command of God, but is is a stress reliever, a faith strengthener, and a peace bringer. There are only benefits to praising God, no draw backs.

Romans 8:28

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

We are built to withstand pressure, not to buckle underneath it. Yes, there are times when the thing you fear or dread happens. Times when friends and loved ones betray us. Causing so much pain that you feel you can’t make it. But you must remember there is always purpose behind the pain.

Many suffer horrible childhood traumas that may carry into their adult life. But we serve a God who has an anointing that can break and destroy every yolk. There is nothing you can ever good through that God cannot heal you from. We do not have a complete “why” for the things we go through. Suffice it to say we live in a world where sin has a hold on. But God is so good that we are not left with our hope. We have a way through it. And it is in God.

As you serve God, we must learn to give all these things to God. We must learn to pour out all these feelings to God- be open and expose them to God. Be transparent before God. Yes, he already knows. But in your “telling God about it” you are able to remove the burden of secrecy. Continuing to keep the secrets of your past also keeps you in bondage to it. It also gives power to the person, place, or thing that caused your wound. When we are honest before God we make it possible for Him to salve and heal your wounds, to mend your broken heart.

In the end you are made whole. You have a deeper and stronger relationship with God. Most importantly, you are in a position to be a catalyst for someone else’s healing and deliverance. You are free now to share your testimony to the glory of God. Making what satan designed to destroy you, be the very thing that God uses to propel you to the place where he can use you.

Romans 8:28, does not say that everything that you face, have gone through or will go through are good. It simply says that they will work together FOR your good. You just have to have a survivors attitude, not a victims attitude. What is the difference? The survivor does not focus attention on what happened, they realize that the made it through. Yes, there are scars and wounds, but they made it. While the victim chooses to relive the trauma and cover they wounds and scars, hiding them from the opinions of people. Either way, God is able to heal, deliver, and set free. However, your attitude reflects where you are. You must be willing to be set free.

Realize that there is a purpose behind your pain. In the end God will get the glory out of your life.

Galatians 6:9

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. “

Sometimes, life is hard. We face challenging situations or times that are so hard that you don’t think you will make it through.

But remember there are also good times. Times when things are going great. It is during these good times where the seeds we sow are so important. The fruits from these seeds sustain us when times are so tough it seems hard to even pray.

Remain faithful to God, and do what he has give you to do to the best of your ability. God knows and understands you. Your seasons and times are in his hands. He has blessed your seeds that are sown in obedience.

Hard times come to show you God’s goodness and grace. Trust God through the bad and tough times just as you do during the good and easy times. His faithfulness is always sure and true. He will never fail.

It is your season. Trust God for the manifestation of it. Don’t run, don’t hide, and don’t be fearful. There is light in your tunnel. Move towards it.

Have a blessed day!!

John 1:4

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”

Throughout the book fo John we see that Jesus is the life giver.

⁃ John 5:26 shows that God is life. When Jesus came he put this same life in him, to be the source of life to all who would receive him.

⁃ John 10:10 tells us that Jesus came to give us abundant life.

⁃ John 11:25 tells us Jesus is the resurrection and the life-he can bring life to things that many believe to be dead.

⁃ John 14:6 Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life – life that leads to God is in him only.

So what is life? Life is the difference between living and dead. It includes the Capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change. It is vitality, vigor or energy.

When Jesus saves us, he transforms us from death to life. He infuses us with the life that the father gave him according to John 5:26.

GROWTH

From the life that Jesus gives us, we are built continually grow in him. Only living things can grow. Where there is no growth, there is no life.

There is no limit on our growth. The more we seek him, the more we will grow in him.

REPRODUCTION

We are built to reproduce – make disciples of men. From that which God has poured into us, we are to pour into others. This should be a never ending cycle. When we stop pouring out, we tie the hands of God.

How? Because our cup remains full. It is not until we share what is in our cup that we make room for more. If you ever get to the point where you can not get a word from God, check your cup. It may be too full. You may need to give out what you have so you can get a fresh word from God.

Functional Activity

We are built for a purpose and we are built to work. The life that God gives us creates purpose in each of us. As God reveals his purpose for our lives we are then required to work in the purpose. We are designed to be useful, not just to sit on the seat of do nothing. Knowledge is nothing until it is practically applied to life. We must fulfill our purpose.

If you don’t know your purpose, seek God. He will reveal himself. Generally speaking if you have a passion for a thing, that may just be your purpose. But you will not know for sure until God reveals it to you. Seek him!!

CONTINUAL CHANGE

God designed us to change, continually. We need to be who God needs us to be, when he needs it. As we walk in our purpose, we may find that the way we were doing things is no longer effective under the current circumstances. That is okay, God designed you to change. Alter the way you do things to fit into the current flow of the spirit of God.

There is nothing sadder than a man or woman of God who is unable to move with the flow of the spirit. To be stuck in the traditions of men, rather than follow God as he leads. The word remains the same – unchanged. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. This will never change. However, the flow of ministry will. Be obedient to the voice of God. Don’t worry about the opinions of man. Move as God does.

VITALITY, VIGOR, ENERGY

Everything we do for Christ should be done with excitement. We are lively stones. Who wants to be bored? No one. If you are not excited about what God is doing, who do you expect to be drawn? Excitement is contagious. Allow the life of God to flow from your body and infuse the work he has given you to do. Fulfill your purpose or the work of God with vitality, vigor, and energy.

— — — —

We only get one life to live on this earth. The life that God gives equips us to do it big, and in a manner that fulfills us individually and pleases him. We are to live a life that will impact nations long after we are gone. All we have to do is to submit to God and let his will be done through us.

This is the life that God gives!

Have a blessed day.

This is the perfect time to look back on the year’s successes and failures

But in all of your reflecting don’t forget about God.

Take a look at how far you have come, ground you have gained, battles you fought. Understand that even if you did not count yourself a victor through everything you have faced this year, God still sees you as a winner.

Encourage yourself to do better. Strive a little harder. Make room in your schedule to spend more time with God in daily devotion (reading the Bible and prayer). Attend church regularly.

Most importantly, just do what God gave you to do. No more excuses. Just take a step of faith and do. God will meet you there, you will be successful, as long as you are in his will.

Remember the promises of God…

In your obedience to God, make 2019 the best year of your life (so far).

2019…Here we come!! We are going to do it big!!

Be blessed my friends.

Matthew 2:13-23 full text

“20. Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.

21. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.”

Psalms 119:105

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. ”

We all face difficult or down right hard time at one point or anther in our lives. So much so it may seem practically impossible to find our way through. It is at these times that our faith in God is most needed. It also seems at these times, that our faith is failing.

What we must strive to do is shut out the voice of the world and focus on God. He WILL NOT FAIL!

The voice of the world encompasses every voice that is not God. There are times when those closest to us will give us bad advice. Not intentionally or maliciously. Or our own doubts will lead us away from what God is trying to do in us or for us.

In difficult times, the safest place to find your self in the word of God and prayer. The wait until God leads the way. He will. He is ever faithful. He cannot be rushed. He is always on time. We must exercise our faith and patience be waiting on him.

The enemy likes to make us feel desperate. People rarely make good decisions when they are desperate. Your enemy knows this. He counts on your ability to sense a deadline is near. If you do not have what you need by this deadline the you deal with the situation on your own. By doing this (9 times out of 10), we make the situation more difficult. Or we find a temporary fix, not a solution. We need to learn not to settle for a temporary fix, but to trust God for the complete solution.

Joseph was dealing with a life or death situation. He chose to be obedient to the leading of the voice of God. In his obedience the prophecy of old was fulfilled.

Just as God had a plan in Joseph’s life, he has one for ours too. We must follow the same example and move as God directs. God is light. His word is light. We must allow the word to illuminate the way in which we should go.

We must spend time reading the word of God. We must pray to word of God. Then we must trust God to do what he said he would. We must be willing to wait on him. We must understand there is ALWAYS light in dark times.

Be blessed!!

Romans 1:17

“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

Do not let fear of the unknown (or fear of any kind) keep you from going where God leads. Use your faith to build the bridge that will carry you over.

Faith is awesome in that the more you use it the greater it becomes. We go from one level of faith to another. With each faith level increase we experience a deeper walk with and more knowledge of God. God begins to trust us with more. That is amazing!!

Build your bridge and become the child that God can invest in greater. You can build the bridge to greater- it’s a faith thing!!

Have a blessed day!!

Please your comments below. They are always welcome.

By definition, Excuse is attempt to lessen the blame attaching to (a fault or offense); seek to defend or justify.

Pastor Oney D. Fitzpatrick, use to always say “if you look for an excuse you will find one.” I have come to see the truth in this statement. Romans 2:1 “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. “

We judge many things, but what I am referring to is how we tend to judge a thing too difficult, too hard, to simple, etc. Or we judge ourselves: I am not educated enough, not quality, brave or out going enough, or I don’t speak well enough, etc. We can go on and on with this type of negative thinking that is designed to keep us from fulfilling God’s will for us.

However, we must remember God. If God has called you, he has also qualified you. God sees more in us than we see in ourselves. We must trust that his judgment is true and right.

Back to excuses. If God called you, we cannot make excuses that will diminish or lessen that call. Making excuses is really saying you are afraid of the weight of God’s call. The excuse is the attempt to escape the responsibility of the call.

What we can do instead is to strive to live up to the call. The disappointment felt when we fail, or let God down is nothing compared to the joy felt when we please him.

We must see things as God sees (or at least strive to). This requires faith and trust in God. We have to be persuaded that what God said he is able also to perform (Romans 4:21). Trust in the call and stop making excuses. Just do what is in front of you. God will send more your way. As your faith in him increases, you will find him leading you on your path. You will be walking the path that pleases God. After a while we will be able to testify like Enoch, we pleased God.

There are times when you need to encourage your self.

A time when you need to get back to basics.

A time to walk the walk that God put before you without apology.

If you find yourself straying from that path, shake yourself and get back to work.

We must work (and walk) while it is still day. Because night is coming, and no man will be able to work.

Have a blessed day.

Galatians 1:15-18

“15. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,

16. To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

17. Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

18. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.”

Most of the time when God is calling you deeper, it is human nature to want to discuss it with someone. However, this is not always the best move.

Taking the example from Paul, we must turn to God. Generally speaking, people mean well and want to offer guidance or good advice. The only problem is they are not the one who called you and they are unable to guide you to where God is taking you. It makes more sense to seek the God who called you.

To walk in this deeper calling, you will need to separate yourself in consecration to hear from God. This is that sacrifice we always talk about. Fasting. To be what God has called always requires a sacrifice on our part. But any sacrifice we make is worth it because the reward is greater. There is no greater feeling than knowing we pleased God. Fulfilling our call pleases God.

Once God reveals himself or his will to you it is then okay to share with people. But doing so prematurely can hinder your progress. Many times people will want to burden you with their lack of faith or what they feel your next step should be. Or they may even doubt your call. This sort of distraction is something we cannot afford. Stay focused and Keep your own secrets. Seek God, trust God.

Enjoy the journey.