Reverence In Worship August 31, 2017

Psalm 95:6-7(NIV)

6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture,
    the flock under his care.

Today, if only you would hear his voice,

Worship is more than our heart, soul and words offered to God. It also involves our posture. When we understand the grace God has given us to be called his children, what else can we do but bow down or kneel before him in his majesty and might. We come to him, a conquering ruler, offering ourselves in full submission. God chooses, however, to treat us tenderly like a loving shepherd who longs to care for us. Such grace leads us to bow and kneel in heartfelt worship.

Thought for today: Do I completely yield to the authority of God or do I stay all up in His business?

Citizenship August 30, 2017

Ephesians 2:19 (NIV)

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,

Those of us who have been Christians a long time sometimes forget that we have no claim or right to the grace we have received. When we feel we deserve it, that it is ours by right, it is no longer grace and we no longer live in it. To be a part of God's family is grace. For the Holy One who spoke into existence the universe (in which we are a submicroscopic speck), grace is simply and magnificently a gift from the One who knows how to share and love in ways we can't even imagine.

Thought for today: Have I experienced the fullness of grace?

Spiritual Identity August 29, 2017

Galatians 3:28 (NIV)

28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Wouldn't it be great if we could tear down all the walls that divide us — racial, social, economic, and gender. The apostle Paul spent his entire life trying to do just that: to tear down the walls that divided people by bringing them to Jesus and the cross. There are no positions of superiority or inferiority at the foot of the cross, only a place for those who discover God's might displayed in sacrifice and God's love displayed even when under attack at the hands of human cruelty. While the forces of culture and human selfishness are always finding ways to divide us, we must remember that in Jesus, and only in Jesus, can we be one.

Thought for today: What walls do I have restricting me?

BELIEVE ?!!!! August 28, 2017

John 6:29 (NIV)

29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Do you believe in Jesus? Do you really believe? Shortly after Max Lucado came back from his mission work in Rio, Brazil, he shared with a group of his closest friends that his theology was pretty simple. He didn't have a handle on a lot of the big difficult theological problems that divide folks. But Max said he came to the firm and deep conviction that God loves us and he showed that love by really sending Jesus to live among us, to die for us, and to be raised from the dead so that we could be raised from death, too. This is the work of God — amazingly simple and awesomely powerful.

Thought for today: Do I give lip service to my faith or is real and viable?

Worry August 27, 2017

Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)

3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust in you.

While it is naive, on one hand, to think that trusting in God makes all of our problems go away — Christians have many of the same problems that unbelievers do because they share the same mortal flesh, on the other hand it's true. If we trust in God, we believe our work stands or falls in his hands and that ultimately we will share in his victorious and glorious presence. It means our lives will not be lived in vain. That's not just confidence; it's the foundation of true peace — life lived to its fullest and richest, knowing that every moment of life matters and we don't need to be anxious about its results when we rest our life in the hands of the LORD.

Thought for today: Do I surrender my problem Knowing God will solve them or do I continue to worry?

Membership August 26, 2017

Romans 12:4-5 (NIV)

4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

One of the key realities of Christianity is belonging. I belong! I belong to God. I belong to Jesus. I belong to Jesus' body, the Church. I have a place and a purpose in that body. I belong! I am needed! I have a job to do! I belong!!

Thought for today: Do I fully utilize my membership?

He’s Got Me August 25, 2017

Psalm 119:165 (NIV)

165 Great peace have those who love your law,
    and nothing can make them stumble.

As someone who had a very clumsy stage of life, this promise is almost beyond believing — nothing can make me stumble! But when it comes to living life, if I know God's will, love it, and do it, then nothing can make me stumble. There is great peace knowing that the Father loves me and doesn't want me to fall.

Thought for today: Can I focus on what I need to do and not what I think I can’t do?