MANY TIMES IN LIFE WE ARE FACED WITH CIRCUMSTANCES THAT OVERWHELM US AND MAKES US WANT TO COWER IN FEAR. WHAT TO DO?
I'm borrowing some thoughts from an old friend of mine, George Magdalany, Pastor of Hope Chapel Hawthorne, CA. George and I, about the same time, went out from Hope Chapel Hermosa Beach to plant churches, he to Hawthorne, CA., and I started Hope Chapel Albuquerque, NM.
Turn to 2 Chronicles 20:1-30, the whole chapter. There was a vast army coming against Judah. King Jehoshaphat did some things that we can do when facing overwhelming odds, or a situation that seems impossible.
First he called for all of Judah to fast, then he went into the temple of the Lord and prayed.
In that prayer he first saw God exalted above everything: "O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you"(v.6). When I am (we are) faced with threatening circumstances, I (we) must see God as He really is - mightier and more powerful than the enemy. My faith will rise when I meditate on the fact that the Lord is far above all "rule and authority, power and dominion". (Eph 1:21)
Next, Jehoshaphat stood on God's promises and remembered His past faithfulness: "Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?"(v.7) We MUST see and believe and act on the fact that God is a promise keeper. If He says it in His Word, it WILL come to pass. God, who has delivered me in the past WILL deliver me now, because He doesn't change. (Mal 3:6)
Then Jehoshaphat prayed specific prayers without mincing words (vv. 10-11). He poured out his heart and trusted God to deal with the specific problem. Our prayers need to be specific and aimed directly at the problems we face. God knows our heart, so we should be honest and tell Him. Then, when we receive answers, we can give the glory to God.
Last, Jehoshaphat, admitted the situation was too much for him to deal with on his own: "For we (I) have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us (me), nor do we (I) know what to do, but our (my) eyes are upon You" (vs 12). We, men especially, think we are competent enough to deal with any situation or circumstance. However, like Jehoshaphat did, we (I) must confess our (my) dependence on the Lord, who is well able to deal with every situation we (I) face.
God provided a plan that was far above any plan that Jehoshaphat could have thought up. What was that plan? Face the enemy, praise God, whose love endures forever", and watch Him work in our (my) behalf (v21).
We (I), too, can experience victory as we (I) pray to and praise the One who is able to deliver us (me)!
This came to me while I am in what could be an overwhelming, costly, situation. I will face it, praise my heavenly Father, who loves me, and I will watch Him work and carry me through. Praise His holy name!
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Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
WHAT IS PRAISE?
Isn't what we do on Sunday mornings Praise and Worship? Isn't the title Praise and Worship the thing we sing? Isn't Praise the fast upbeat songs we sing first and worship the slower songs we sing last? If Praise and Worship are two different things, what is the difference? Many people like the fast upbeat songs because it gets them excited and moving, however, we do not get past praise and move into worship which is where praise should take us.
Is Sunday morning church the place that we Praise God? In answer to that turn to Psalm 150:1-6 and see where all we are to Praise God.
The English language has only one word for praise....PRAISE. However, there are 7 Hebrew words for praise -- and each give a different definition for praise. Look at these:
Hallal: "to laud [to give praise or express devotion to], boast, rave, to celebrate" - This word is used approximately one hundred times in the Old Testament.
Yadah: "to worship with extended hands, to throw out the hands" - Used over ninety times in the Old Testament. (Yad means "hand")
Barak: "to bless, to declare God the origin of power for success, prosperity, and fertility" - Used approximately seventy times in the Old Testament as praise to God.
Techillah: "to sing or laud" - It is derived from hallal and is generally accepted to mean "the singing of hallals." Used over fifty times in the Old Testament.
Zamar: "to pluck the strings of an instrument, to praise with song" - Used almost exclusively in the Psalms and occurs approximately forty times in the Old Testament.
Todah: "to extend the hands in thanksgiving, a thank-offering" - Used only a few times when translated "praise" but occurs many other times in connection with thanksgiving.
Shabach: "to commend, address in a loud tone, to shout" - This is the exclamatory form of praise in a special sense and is found only about seven times in the Old Testament.
When we look at the difference in Praise and Worship in a worship service setting Praise seems to be more of an outward thing that we do, hands raised, clapping, dancing, bowing and singing. In other words, Praise is what we do outwardly.
When we praise Him we exalt Him ("1. to raise in position, character, status, or the like; elevate 2. to glorify; praise; honor; extol). Psalm 34:1-3. When you say "Praise God," you mean "Exalt Him." You cannot put Him too high. He is the most high above all.
Also, when we praise Him we rejoice in Him. Psalm 5:11
When we praise Him we are to boast in Him. Psalm 34:1-2, again.
Another aspect of praise is that we give thanks to Him. Psalm 18:49.
Again, when we praise God we please Him. Psalm 69:30,31.
And, when we praise God we bless His name. Psalm 34: and Psalm 63:3-5
This sure is a lot of information, isn't it? Well, to be honest, I haven't shared half of what I have been studying. You could and should be reading for yourselves.
Come on, people, let's Praise the Lord God Almighty and thank Him and bless His name!
More to share and not sure exactly what will be next. This is a journey and as some of you have said, let's travel this road together.
PRAISE THE HOLY NAME OF THE LORD!
Troy, a fellow traveler
By the way, each word for praise in Psalm 150 is Hallel. Look again at the meaning of hallel.
Is Sunday morning church the place that we Praise God? In answer to that turn to Psalm 150:1-6 and see where all we are to Praise God.
The English language has only one word for praise....PRAISE. However, there are 7 Hebrew words for praise -- and each give a different definition for praise. Look at these:
Hallal: "to laud [to give praise or express devotion to], boast, rave, to celebrate" - This word is used approximately one hundred times in the Old Testament.
Yadah: "to worship with extended hands, to throw out the hands" - Used over ninety times in the Old Testament. (Yad means "hand")
Barak: "to bless, to declare God the origin of power for success, prosperity, and fertility" - Used approximately seventy times in the Old Testament as praise to God.
Techillah: "to sing or laud" - It is derived from hallal and is generally accepted to mean "the singing of hallals." Used over fifty times in the Old Testament.
Zamar: "to pluck the strings of an instrument, to praise with song" - Used almost exclusively in the Psalms and occurs approximately forty times in the Old Testament.
Todah: "to extend the hands in thanksgiving, a thank-offering" - Used only a few times when translated "praise" but occurs many other times in connection with thanksgiving.
Shabach: "to commend, address in a loud tone, to shout" - This is the exclamatory form of praise in a special sense and is found only about seven times in the Old Testament.
When we look at the difference in Praise and Worship in a worship service setting Praise seems to be more of an outward thing that we do, hands raised, clapping, dancing, bowing and singing. In other words, Praise is what we do outwardly.
When we praise Him we exalt Him ("1. to raise in position, character, status, or the like; elevate 2. to glorify; praise; honor; extol). Psalm 34:1-3. When you say "Praise God," you mean "Exalt Him." You cannot put Him too high. He is the most high above all.
Also, when we praise Him we rejoice in Him. Psalm 5:11
When we praise Him we are to boast in Him. Psalm 34:1-2, again.
Another aspect of praise is that we give thanks to Him. Psalm 18:49.
Again, when we praise God we please Him. Psalm 69:30,31.
And, when we praise God we bless His name. Psalm 34: and Psalm 63:3-5
This sure is a lot of information, isn't it? Well, to be honest, I haven't shared half of what I have been studying. You could and should be reading for yourselves.
Come on, people, let's Praise the Lord God Almighty and thank Him and bless His name!
More to share and not sure exactly what will be next. This is a journey and as some of you have said, let's travel this road together.
PRAISE THE HOLY NAME OF THE LORD!
Troy, a fellow traveler
By the way, each word for praise in Psalm 150 is Hallel. Look again at the meaning of hallel.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
PRAISE VS WORSHIP
For years I have wondered about the phrase, "PRAISE AND WORSHIP". What does that mean? Praise and Worship Band...Let's enter into Praise and Worship...Praise and Worship Music...the Praise and Worship part of the service...etc. Are they the same thing or are they two different actions? Do we do both at the same time or do we do each separately during our Sunday morning service? And do we do them only during Sunday morning service?
I'm doing some studying on this and I haven't even scratched the surface. This will be an ongoing Post as the Lord leads me deeper into His Word. And to let you know, I do not have all the answers.
WORSHIP: Everything you think, everything you say, and everything you do, reveals that which you treasure and value most in life.
You can Praise God with sin in your life, but you cannot Worship God with sin in your life.
By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, this is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15
Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. 1 Chronicles 16:8-10
Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD your God." So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king. 1 Chronicles 29:19-21
The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang; "He is good; His love endures forever." Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud. 2 Chronicles 5:12-14
Can you see how large the scope of what praise really is? And this only 4 verses, there are many more we can look at.
Next I want to look at the different words used in the Bible for these words. Later I want to look at the seven steps to Worship using the Tabernacle as an illustration. There are seven Hebrew words in the Old Testament for Praise and each one is a different definition for praise. Our English language has one word, praise.
Come visit again and we will continue on this Journey looking at Praise and Worship.
I'm doing some studying on this and I haven't even scratched the surface. This will be an ongoing Post as the Lord leads me deeper into His Word. And to let you know, I do not have all the answers.
WORSHIP: Everything you think, everything you say, and everything you do, reveals that which you treasure and value most in life.
You can Praise God with sin in your life, but you cannot Worship God with sin in your life.
By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, this is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15
Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. 1 Chronicles 16:8-10
Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD your God." So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king. 1 Chronicles 29:19-21
The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang; "He is good; His love endures forever." Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud. 2 Chronicles 5:12-14
Can you see how large the scope of what praise really is? And this only 4 verses, there are many more we can look at.
Next I want to look at the different words used in the Bible for these words. Later I want to look at the seven steps to Worship using the Tabernacle as an illustration. There are seven Hebrew words in the Old Testament for Praise and each one is a different definition for praise. Our English language has one word, praise.
Come visit again and we will continue on this Journey looking at Praise and Worship.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
I WANT TO KNOW HIM...REALLY KNOW HIM
A couple of months back I was teaching in Phil 3:7-11. A moving message, for me and for others. When Paul talks about everything being loss he is saying that there is nothing he wants to keep or even remember. Think about this...if you were to lose everything in your life, everything, nothing left as was with Job, would you still love and serve the Lord? Jewell Probasco shared how the Lord lead her into this test. Powerful testimony.
When Paul says he counts everything as loss he is graphic in the picture. One translation says he counts it as "Dog Dung". Another way to look at this loss is like this...when our bodies pass off waste stuff that is stuff that has no nutritional value! Our bodies can't use the stuff. That is what Paul is talking about...stuff that can do us no good.
He goes on to count it as all loss compared to knowing Jesus. The Amplified Version puts it this way: the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth and supreme advantage of knowing Jesus and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly. He continues this view in verse 10.
As I was winding up my message it became a cry of my heart - I WANT TO KNOW, TO REALLY KNOW HIM! For days, weeks, that has been the cry of my heart.
After a few days, I ran across the worship chorus ... Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up, Lord. Come and quench the thirsting of my soul. Bread of Heaven feed me till I want no more. Fill me up and make me whole.
Couldn't get that out of my mind for days, still there, in fact. Still along the lines of I WANT TO KNOW HIM!!
A few weeks ago, on a Sunday morning while I was suppose to be making announcements, the Holy Spirit took me over and we had a great time of quietly hanging out in His presence for about half an hour. All being preceded by the song, You are the air I breathe. I am desperate for you, I am lost with out you. Still for me the same thought, I WANT TO KNOW HIM!
I am on a journey into His presence in a way that I have never been before. It is exciting and humbling.
I want to share more as time goes on how my Lord is leading me into a closer love relationship with Him.
My next posting, I think, will be on my journey into the difference between Praise and Worship. As my friend, Jewell Probasco puts it, You can Praise God with sin in your heart. You cannot Worship God with sin in your heart.
Stay tuned and come back again soon.
I am desperate for you, Lord. Fill my cup, Lord.
Love y'all.
Troy
When Paul says he counts everything as loss he is graphic in the picture. One translation says he counts it as "Dog Dung". Another way to look at this loss is like this...when our bodies pass off waste stuff that is stuff that has no nutritional value! Our bodies can't use the stuff. That is what Paul is talking about...stuff that can do us no good.
He goes on to count it as all loss compared to knowing Jesus. The Amplified Version puts it this way: the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth and supreme advantage of knowing Jesus and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly. He continues this view in verse 10.
As I was winding up my message it became a cry of my heart - I WANT TO KNOW, TO REALLY KNOW HIM! For days, weeks, that has been the cry of my heart.
After a few days, I ran across the worship chorus ... Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up, Lord. Come and quench the thirsting of my soul. Bread of Heaven feed me till I want no more. Fill me up and make me whole.
Couldn't get that out of my mind for days, still there, in fact. Still along the lines of I WANT TO KNOW HIM!!
A few weeks ago, on a Sunday morning while I was suppose to be making announcements, the Holy Spirit took me over and we had a great time of quietly hanging out in His presence for about half an hour. All being preceded by the song, You are the air I breathe. I am desperate for you, I am lost with out you. Still for me the same thought, I WANT TO KNOW HIM!
I am on a journey into His presence in a way that I have never been before. It is exciting and humbling.
I want to share more as time goes on how my Lord is leading me into a closer love relationship with Him.
My next posting, I think, will be on my journey into the difference between Praise and Worship. As my friend, Jewell Probasco puts it, You can Praise God with sin in your heart. You cannot Worship God with sin in your heart.
Stay tuned and come back again soon.
I am desperate for you, Lord. Fill my cup, Lord.
Love y'all.
Troy
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
THE TORNADOS IN OUR LIVES
Some years ago I was traveling down the east side Oklahoma in what is known as Tornado Alley, during tornado season. The following was given to me by the Lord. I have never shared this and only just recently found the paper I wrote it all out on. Kind of hard as you drive down the road. I hope and pray that you will be blessed by it.
Tornado's happen. You don't wish for them, you don't ask for them, they happen. Not up to us. Something in the air occurs and we are victims. One takes off half the house. We call the insurance company and they come out an assess the damage and the damage is fixed. It is after all my house, I own it.
OR we can build a wall to hide that half and sit around being angry about the damage the tornado did. Blaming the tornado for half our house being unusable. Choosing to ignore. And we can be mad at God for allowing it to happen. After all, isn't He always with us? How could a loving God allow that tornado to destroy half my house.
Tornadoes happen (not our fault) and they usually happen to what belongs to us. We can only repair, rebuild, restore what belongs to us. In our lives pain, suffering, abuse, etc., happen. Not our fault, not of our choosing, didn't ask for it. We can wall off that part of our lives and act as if it doesn't exist. But it does. We can blame the tragedy for everything that happens to us afterwards. We blame it for the way we are. We can blame a person for everything that has gone wrong. And we can be mad at God (though we would never confess to that) for not being there to stop it; for not loving us enough to step in; for not making that person pay for what they did to me.
Now the hard part. No one can repair or restore what does not belong to them. No one can heal or deliver us from what is ours.
Tragedy happens. Not of our choosing.
God love us, He cares for us, He wants to deliver us, heal our hurts, our bruises caused by others. Only when we come to Him and ask Him to forgive us for not coming to Him sooner can He start the restoration of our lives. Also, He will teach us to forgive. Forgive those who caused the hurts. Only then can the restoration project be completed.
Just like a rebuilding or restoration project on a house takes time, just so His restoration project, us, will take time. The verse comes to mind in Ecclesiastes 3:11a, "He has made everything beautiful in its time...".
A home rebuilding project takes a comparatively long time. God's rebuilding project in our lives can take a long time. No one else can rush it, or demand we get over it and act as if it never happened. Others can hold our hands, support us with love and prayers, but only God can do the rebuilding.
God is the Master Craftsman. He will do the work with love and an eye to detail. Isn't it thoughtful that Jesus was a carpenter? A Master Craftsman.
Tornado's happen. You don't wish for them, you don't ask for them, they happen. Not up to us. Something in the air occurs and we are victims. One takes off half the house. We call the insurance company and they come out an assess the damage and the damage is fixed. It is after all my house, I own it.
OR we can build a wall to hide that half and sit around being angry about the damage the tornado did. Blaming the tornado for half our house being unusable. Choosing to ignore. And we can be mad at God for allowing it to happen. After all, isn't He always with us? How could a loving God allow that tornado to destroy half my house.
Tornadoes happen (not our fault) and they usually happen to what belongs to us. We can only repair, rebuild, restore what belongs to us. In our lives pain, suffering, abuse, etc., happen. Not our fault, not of our choosing, didn't ask for it. We can wall off that part of our lives and act as if it doesn't exist. But it does. We can blame the tragedy for everything that happens to us afterwards. We blame it for the way we are. We can blame a person for everything that has gone wrong. And we can be mad at God (though we would never confess to that) for not being there to stop it; for not loving us enough to step in; for not making that person pay for what they did to me.
Now the hard part. No one can repair or restore what does not belong to them. No one can heal or deliver us from what is ours.
Tragedy happens. Not of our choosing.
God love us, He cares for us, He wants to deliver us, heal our hurts, our bruises caused by others. Only when we come to Him and ask Him to forgive us for not coming to Him sooner can He start the restoration of our lives. Also, He will teach us to forgive. Forgive those who caused the hurts. Only then can the restoration project be completed.
Just like a rebuilding or restoration project on a house takes time, just so His restoration project, us, will take time. The verse comes to mind in Ecclesiastes 3:11a, "He has made everything beautiful in its time...".
A home rebuilding project takes a comparatively long time. God's rebuilding project in our lives can take a long time. No one else can rush it, or demand we get over it and act as if it never happened. Others can hold our hands, support us with love and prayers, but only God can do the rebuilding.
God is the Master Craftsman. He will do the work with love and an eye to detail. Isn't it thoughtful that Jesus was a carpenter? A Master Craftsman.
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