God wants us

He wants all of us.

Whole heartedly.

He wants our time.

Our money.

Our talents used for Him.

Our resources.

He wants our worship.

Our praise.

Our friendship.

Our love.

He wants conversations with us.

He simply wants us.

There are no regrets when you give your life to Jesus.

You were created to Praise

A few months back my Pastor, Randy Hand of Celebration Church had been teaching on PRAISE. To me, this is so important and critical in our relationships with God. We were created to worship and praise and if we don't even the rocks will cry out.

"After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden, Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say, 'The Lord needs it.' Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt the owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" They replied, "The Lord needs it." They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to PRAISE God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest" Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" "I'll tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." Luke 19:28-40

If you look closely the disciples weren't just praising but they were praising LOUDLY! HALAL!

As you may not know is that worshipping and praising aren't the same thing. Worshiping is the condition of the heart and praising is out actions towards God. Let's take a look at the different types of Praise broken down in Hebrew.

Halal- Cheer, shout, twirl, jump, loudly boast about and to God
Yadhah- Throw hands up in surrender, confess the name
Towdah- Extend hands, confess your agreement with the word of God
Barak- Kneel down
Tehillah- Sing a song from the heart, not rehearsed
Shabach- To shout with triumph
Zamar- To praise God with musical instruments

When is the last time you stopped and thanked Jesus?

You access God's miracles by praising Him and the key to miracles is PRAISE! It unlocks the door, it opens the windows of Heaven. Declare His name, confess His greatness. He is worthy to be Praised!!

Here are some thing I learned about Praise...

The enemy is silenced
It brings increase
Your faith will be strengthened
Heaviness is lifted
Thievery is stopped
Situations and circumstances begin to change when you start praising
God will set other free because of YOUR praise

In Acts 16:23-25 Paul and Silas had just been flogged and thrown into prison. Their cell was guarded carefully. Their feet were fastened in stocks. In the middle of the night Paul and Silas began praying and singing to God as other prisoners were listening. SUDDENLY there was a violent earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison. All at once the prison doors flew open and EVERYONE was set free, chains were loosened. This is how important praising God is. As soon as they started praising, and not just silently but sounds coming from their mouth proclaiming the goodness of God it SUDDENLY changed their situation. They were no longer prisoners. Can you imagine what God will do for you when you start doing the same? Your chains will be loosed! And not just you but the people around you too!! Instead of trying to change people just start praising and God will loose their chains too. If God did it for Paul and Silas then He can do it for you!

So remember, give back to God by worshipping and praising and see how your life changes. He is so good, He is faithful. Have faith. Keep fighting the fight. Also, remember we can pray and ask God for help all we want but we do need to just simply come to him to tell Him how good He is!

At the feet of Jesus

 

 

Everything we ever need is at His feet. In His presence. Worshiping, praising, taking all the expensive oil that you have and washing His feet. That expensive oil represents what means the most to us and laying it at His feet.

 

What would you give up for Him? Would it be the last drop of your perfume?

 

I have found that by constantly being at his feet, there is peace and a love that you cannot explain. Understanding and revelation. You cannot find these things anywhere else.

 

At His feet there is forgiveness, healing and miracles.

 

 

What is so important about being at his feet? By living at His feet you are positioned for success and God does not let anyone miss their mark when they are at the feet of Jesus.

 

 We can learn so much from Mary of Bethany.

 

She positioned herself at Jesus' feet and gave her most fragrant expensive oil that she had.

 

When you read the story of Martha & Mary in Luke 10: 38-42 you notice 3 things.

 

1. Martha hears & listens

2. Martha asks

3. Martha gives.

 

When Martha gave she gave what was costly and broken for her. She gave a very fragrant offering so that meant everyone had to smell it. This costly offering was prized by Jesus.

 

She sits and hears

She sits and asks

She sits and gives

 

These are the 3 things we should be doing at His feet.

 

Jesus wasn't as concerned with what she was giving him but the time she was spending with Him. Yes it was costly but it's not what you give but the time you spend with God.

 

People rebuked her for giving such a costly thing... Mark 14:4

They didn't understand and thought it was wasteful.

Jesus got on to them saying, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me." Matthew 26:10

 

When we give something to God like our time, praise, worship and money, many people do not understand. They see it as too costly... but when you are at the feet of Jesus nothing is too good for Him! We are willing to do anything because we know he will always take care of us.

 

We can stay at the feet by worshiping, praising, worshiping and seeking his face all the time. Be in a state of constant communion. Remember it's about a relationship with Him.

 

So I remind you to LIVE AT THE FEET OF JESUS because at the feet of Jesus that is where we find our strength.

 

 

 

Let Praise be the problem to YOUR PROBLEM!

Friends!

I have been praying over this post all day. Praying that God will lead me in the right direction with what I have to say. Originally I had another idea of what I wanted to talk about

 (maybe next week)...but after this weekends life changing experience...God had other plans.

See, this weekend I had the opportunity to attend a local Fall Conference. As Tiffany talked about on Mondays post. There were amazing Pastors from all over the country who spoke.  

Quite frankly...it was life changing!

I am talking, walking in one way...and leaping and turning cartwheels for Christ when we left.

My heart was beating out of my chest. I was and still am on a spiritual high.

I would like to consider this conference a Prayer, Strength and Renewal.

I prayed my little heart out, strengthened my relationship with Christ and I am renewed!

The church was standing room only, the alter was flooded with people refilling and giving themselves to Christ. It was so AMAZING! *gooseies just thinking bout it*

 

One Pastor who really touched me was Carl Lentz from Hillsong NYC.

 

 His words...well Gods words that flowed through him...

they took hold of my heart and literally whip lashed it. Shaken and stirred.

A message that is worth sharing. I will do my best to portray what Carl Lentz said...or how the Lord spoke to me through this message. I promise to be short and to the point...Stay with me.

 

"A problem called Praise"

(source) Sorry no original creditor to link to

 

Funny how we only praise God when our life is good. What about all those other times when life's storms are weighing us down? Are our arms outstretched towards the heavens giving praise?

 Easier to say "yet will I trust and praise him" right?

How are we supposed to praise God when we are dwelling in sickness,

financial strain, relationship troubles...Come on...

What if we praised him through the storm?

Your PRAISE can be a problem for your PROBLEM.

Do you hear what I am saying...

All those problems and tribulations the enemy is throwing at you...

Praising God through them will cause a problem for your problem.

See Satan wants you to feel like there is NO HOPE. There is NO light at the end of tunnel.

You can not worship God when you are burdened down with trials. This is why he bombards our life.

Don't ask God to pull you out of the storm...ask God to push you through it! Praise him!

 

Paul and Silas were thrown in prison after being badly beat...

Acts 16:25-26 (NIV)

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.

 

Rejoice in the Lord always...Paul and Silas were in such a bad situation...what did they do...praising and singing...through their prayers, ALL...chains came loose. Our prayers and praise are SO POWERFUL...not even the chains of life can stand a chance. Our God is THAT ABLE! Not Limited! Awesome in Power!

 

Psalms 34:1 (AMP)

¹ I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

 

An old hymnal that comes to mind with this scripture...

I will bless Thee, O Lord, I will bless Thee, O Lord, With a heart of thanksgiving,

I will bless Thee, O Lord. With my hands lifted up, And my mouth filled with praise,

With a heart of thanksgiving, I will bless Thee, O Lord.

 

Christ wants to bless us abundantly. Christ is using our PRESENT storms in life to STRENGTHEN us for the future. He is testing our will...our faith in him. Yet I will praise him in the storm.

 

I too have fallen prey to Satan and allowed him to seduce me in with problems. Causing me to fall off my walk with Christ. Dwelling on my problems got me no where. I lost out on a great blessing. Christ was trying to teach me something...to TRUST him. Praise him at all times. When all resolve seemed lost...he was there, waiting for me to reach out. Did I seek him and praise him, thank him for everything else that was positive in my life? Sadly I have to shake my head in shame. This message really got to me. I am human...I make mistakes and I too have problems. But from here on out...I will praise him in the storm. I am so thankful for strong Christian women that I have in my life. These 3 ladies here on GOGH...I know I can count on them to intercede for me in prayer if I ever need it.

 

This is what our Blog is about...Praying and Praising God right along with you...even in the storm. If you need prayer please just contact one of us...private message us. We would love to speak with you. We are about encouraging each other. On Christ the solid rock we will stand...but it is also nice to have a pillar to lean on.

 

XX

Andrea