Friday, February 28, 2014

Praise!

How many times have you said or heard someone say “That was some good praise and worship this Sunday morning.” But praise is not just for the church services. You can praise the Lord anywhere – in your car, at work or at home. Psalms 34:1 states: I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Praise can be done anytime and anywhere. There’s no correct or incorrect way to do it. There is no time limit it should be done. When you have a song in your heart, it can be sung aloud or hummed. Do you know why we have praise and worship at the beginning of church service? Praise and worship “charges” the atmosphere, it prepares the heart to receive, and more importantly, it brings you closer to God. It is what I like to call “loving on God.” We all know that God loves us, and praise is another way, besides our obedience to His Word, to show God how much we love Him. Praise helps us do away with those things, sin or hardship, which so easy besets us (Hebrews 12:1); those things that keep us from running this race, and it brings us to a place of repentance. We all go through things and yes, prayer is good and should be done, but as you walk through the valley it helps to have a song of praise in your heart. When the devil is messing with me or those in my family, I love to listen to Dorothy Norwood “Shake the Devil Off.” I love that song. Thinking about this song too, we don’t hear about rebuking the devil in the name of Jesus anymore. We use to sing a song in church a long time ago that went like this: I rebuke you Satan in the name of the Lord, to put down your weapons and flee. For the Lord has given me authority to stomp all over you. (Repeat) - Powerful! When the devil starts messing with you and yours, start sing this song; get it down in your spirit where you believe in that God given authority! POWERFUL! Praise is powerful! Or when situation or circumstances try to have me weighed down, I love to listen to Yolanda Adams’ “I’m Still Here.” No matter what I’ve gone through and have had to endure in my life, I am still here, and it’s only the because of the Word of God in my life and that I have Jesus as Lord and Savior. When I have people lying and talking about me, even cheating me, I put on Vicki Winans’ “As Long as I have King Jesus”; I cannot sit still. She says in the song that she been lied on, cheated, talked about, miss treated, but as long as she has King Jesus, she doesn’t need anybody else, and this is so true. In our life we will have things happen to us, and it would seem as though we are going under, that we have already lost, but as long as we know who we are in Christ Jesus and that as long as we have Him in our lives, we don’t need anybody else. Praise will put you in that place where you know who you are, and you know whom you serve, and that One you serve is MORE than able to perform His Word! There have been times while I was praising in my truck; I’ve gotten so “caught up” in the Spirit; that while I’m worshiping and praising and praying in the Spirit (I’m coming out of the outer court and into the Holies of Holies ) that I arrive at my destination without knowing – Thank you Jesus for keeping me! Some of my favorite groups and artists are: Petra Yolanda Adams White Heart Shirley Caesar Dottie Peoples Carmen Russ Taff Degarmo & Key – Yes, I’m a child of the 80’s. If you need to dance on the devil’s head and put him under your feet where he belongs, then I recommend Shirley Caesar – can’t sit still! Praise should happen every day, even if it’s only on your commute to work. It will change and charge your atmosphere, your life – your outlook on life with encouragement of the Word of God. If you can, do it in your home; no atmosphere needs a “God charge” more than the home. Praise – Do it! It does a life good! Did You put your armor on today??? Be Encouraged Today!!! Remember there's a sinner's prayer on this site. If you have back-slid or haven't tasted and seen that the Lord is Good, say this prayer. You don't have to be in a church building to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. There is a moment that will happen, and it will happen in a twinkling of an eye (as fast as you can blink), and those who have confessed Jesus as Lord and have walked according to the Word of God will be raptured up to be with Him forever and ever. Yes, it sounds too fantastical to be real, but don't take the chance that it's not and be left behind. So don't put this off. No one knows the hour or the day when this will take place, but it is for us to be ready when it's time to go. The first step is to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. If you say this prayer, contact me; let me welcome you and personally encouraged you in your new life with Jesus!