"Sing to the Lord, all the earth; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day." - 1 Chronicles 16:23
Sunday mornings are great, aren't they? We go to church, we sing the songs, we listen to the message, and we have fellowship with our fellow believers. We like to praise God on Sundays.
What about when that alarm goes off Monday morning and it's time to get ready to go back to work? Are you still praising God? What about on payday when you're looking at your paycheck and your bills and wondering how you're going to make it work? Are you still praising God? How about when your car breaks down, are you still praising God? When it's winter and the heat stops working in your house, are you still praising God? When disease strikes your family, are you still praising God? How about when your family and friends laugh at your faith, are you still praising God?
There are many situations in life where we find it difficult to praise Him. In fact, in some situations, rather than praise Him, we blame Him.
Why do we contradict ourselves? Why do we only get excited to praise Him on Sunday mornings? Why do we not continue to praise Him throughout the week?
We don't need to be in church to praise God. A church is just a building, THE church is all the people who claim to be followers of God. We need to be praising God every moment of every day. When we're alone and no one is looking, we still need to be praising God.
Our worship of Him is not just something we go to church and do on Sundays. Worship does not just come from our voices as we sing, true worship comes from our hearts. When our hearts are praising God, it will show through our actions and we will be publicly proclaiming our love for Him.
If our actions are not showing how much we love God, then perhaps we might want to re-examine our hearts. We say we love God, but then we ignore Him half the time, or we only talk to Him when we need something or have something to complain about. Is that love? Where is the praise?
If you love God, praise Him, trust Him, lean on Him in all those difficult situations, and let your actions proclaim that love to the rest of the world each and every day.
We need to let our light shine. The world should never have to ask if we are Christians. That is something that they should be able to see in our everyday lives, through our constant prayer and trust in Him. Our attitudes need to reflect the love that Jesus had for the world. Our words need to lift people up and encourage them. Even our private thoughts need to glorify God, as they will effect our lives whether we realize it or not.
"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!" - Psalm 150:6
Live your life, every day, in a way that is pleasing to God, in a way that glorifies God. You can shout out your love for God with words, but when you back it up with your actions, people will see that and know you speak the truth.
Monday, August 24, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
Priorities
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." - Matthew 6:24
Close your eyes for a moment and think about something, anything. What's the first thing that pops into your mind?
Did you think of a person? Someone you love, perhaps? Did you think of an object? How about an activity? Favorite song or TV show? Perhaps you thought about what you're going to do later, or what you would be doing if you weren't reading this.
Did you think about God?
The things we spend our time thinking about and doing are the things that take top priority in our lives. How often does pleasing and serving God make that list? Is that your number one priority, right up there at the top? Is it number two on your list? Does it even make the top ten? By placing anything before God, we make those things out to be idols. We worship them, we care about them more than God. We let those things (objects, activities, people, money, worries . . . anything) become other gods to us.
God needs to be number one in our lives. Our purpose is to serve Him. Proverbs 3:6 says, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." When God is number one, when we serve Him day and night, in both our thoughts and our works, when we are living one hundred percent for Him, He will lead us through the complicated and treacherous path of life. That doesn't mean our situations will always be perfect, but He will help us handle and get through anything that gets thrown our way.
If we made a list of everyone and everything in our lives that is most important to us, I wonder how many lists would have God at the top? There are some who would and some who would not even have Him on the list at all. However, if you are a Christian, then God should be on your list. If God is on your list, He should be at the top. If He is not at the top, then what do you consider more important? What other gods do you serve? Read Matthew 6:24 again.
You can only serve one God.
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Luke 12:34
What or who is number one on your list? What is the treasure of your heart?
"Therefore by their fruits you will know them." - Matthew 7:20
If God is your number one, then let His light shine through you. The world shouldn't even have to ask you Who you serve. Let them know that God is at the top of your list.
Close your eyes for a moment and think about something, anything. What's the first thing that pops into your mind?
Did you think of a person? Someone you love, perhaps? Did you think of an object? How about an activity? Favorite song or TV show? Perhaps you thought about what you're going to do later, or what you would be doing if you weren't reading this.
Did you think about God?
The things we spend our time thinking about and doing are the things that take top priority in our lives. How often does pleasing and serving God make that list? Is that your number one priority, right up there at the top? Is it number two on your list? Does it even make the top ten? By placing anything before God, we make those things out to be idols. We worship them, we care about them more than God. We let those things (objects, activities, people, money, worries . . . anything) become other gods to us.
God needs to be number one in our lives. Our purpose is to serve Him. Proverbs 3:6 says, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." When God is number one, when we serve Him day and night, in both our thoughts and our works, when we are living one hundred percent for Him, He will lead us through the complicated and treacherous path of life. That doesn't mean our situations will always be perfect, but He will help us handle and get through anything that gets thrown our way.
If we made a list of everyone and everything in our lives that is most important to us, I wonder how many lists would have God at the top? There are some who would and some who would not even have Him on the list at all. However, if you are a Christian, then God should be on your list. If God is on your list, He should be at the top. If He is not at the top, then what do you consider more important? What other gods do you serve? Read Matthew 6:24 again.
You can only serve one God.
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Luke 12:34
What or who is number one on your list? What is the treasure of your heart?
"Therefore by their fruits you will know them." - Matthew 7:20
If God is your number one, then let His light shine through you. The world shouldn't even have to ask you Who you serve. Let them know that God is at the top of your list.
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