Praise with Sincerity 

"Every part of our being should join in praising God. The song of praise we sing, should not be a solo, or a duet–but a full chorus the feelings, affections, mental powers, tastes, desires–all mingling in praise.

There are some who praise with their voice–but not with their heart. Others give intellectual worship, while their affections are not engaged. Others give emotional praise–but their will and conscience do not join heartily in the song; they have good feelings–but lack in practical obedience. Some sing missionary hymns with zest–but give nothing to missionary work! Or they sing consecration hymns–but then live for themselves! The true way to praise God–is to rouse every faculty, energy, power, and affection–to hearty, enthusiastic, practical praise, all that is within us, joining in glad and holy songfulness!"

From Daily Comfort Devotional 

 

Are You Where You Belong?

Just the other day, as I read a brief devotional, a seven-word phrase literally jumped off the page at me and has stuck in my mind ever since.

I have felt frustrated often lately, at well-meaning people telling me that I’m too busy. I have been discouraged at others misunderstanding my season of life and deciding that they need to remind me of the crazy schedules I currently run, the work I do, the hours I have in a day etc.

Now, I know that their comments are often well-intentioned, but they get old very quickly.

“You’re so busy.”

“I know that you have your hands full”

“I didn’t want to bother you as I knew you’d be busy”

“I just didn’t think you’d have time”

So often, it’s easy for us to point out what we may see as failings in others lives, while not realising we are in the same boat, or have been in the past.

Yes, I am currently living in what seems a very busy season of life. I seem to need my running shoes on 24/7. But if I stop and really think about it, I remember, that as a young mum of 5 little girls, under 7, I was super busy then too. It was just a different busyness.

The days were long and hard, with home-schooling, keeping house, babies, toddlers, being a good wife and mother and all that goes along with raising little ones. Learning about getting along with my husband in the new and amazing season of life I found myself in not long after walking down the aisle, with babies coming along one after the other, and all of life’s new challenges.

Those years were very busy ones, and I wouldn’t change them for anything. They were hard, but they were rewarding. They were challenging, but they were a time of learning and growth.

There were days when I felt just as I do now. Tired. Exhausted. Weary. Frustrated. Busy. Yes, busy.

So, let’s go back to that seven-word phrase I mentioned that made such an impression, that I had to write about it.

“I’m not busy – I’m where I belong”

When I read this, it was as if I finally had an answer. An answer to the “you’re too busy” statements.

I realised, that although others see me as being too busy, we are all in our own way, busy. Everyone has a certain amount of busyness that they live in. And each one of us has a unique busyness.

But I know I’m where I belong.

I know that God has put me here, in this season, doing this line of work, with no predictability of any sort, on call 24/7 for my husband’s current work schedule, enjoying beautiful little grandbabies and a large group of extended ‘adopted’ family, ministering as I need to, to other women in the church, whether through text, or Bible Study or a simple coffee break.

God has me where I belong.

“I’m not busy – I’m where I belong”

And whatever God has me doing and for however long, I need to do it wholeheartedly.

Colossians 3:23-24 KJV - And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Who are we to judge what busyness looks like? I think that there is often a misunderstanding of another’s calling to do and to be.

When we look at another person’s busy life and it looks vastly different to our own, we can be quick to judge or criticize and point out the need to take time out, rest, do less, be less.

Now, I do want to say that I think it’s good to remind one another of the need to rest, especially if we see someone hurtling down the slippery slope to burnout. But I also think that we need to take the time to listen to their side of the story first.

Take the time to sit and let them explain the reason for the season they’re in and how they are dealing with it and what they have set in place to protect against burning out.

Don’t be quick to judge. Be quick to listen. Slow to speak. (I’m definitely still working on this one!)

James 1:19 KJV - Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

Can I encourage you to stop the words before they come out of your mouth? Stop the “you’re too busy” phrases. Don’t fear inviting that friend over or out for coffee, thinking that they’re just too busy.

Go ahead and show you care. Show that you want to make time for them and that you’re happy to listen to their reasons for what you see as a hectic season. It could be just what they need. A reason to stop and take a break, and just breathe and be calm for a short time.

I have found that when you really want to do something, you will make time for it. You will find ways around things in order to put them into your schedule.

I have also found, over and over, when I am having a super crazy week, but my heart’s desire is to sit at Jesus’ feet and study and learn from him, that he allows little slots of time to open up, little windows of opportunity that I can choose to hold on to and use for him.

He always manages to rearrange my days and helps me with my priorities, so that I am able to make time for a friend, or get to that appointment, or lie on the couch just listening to worship music because my soul needs it.

So, if you’re busy today, take a step back and just assess the situation. Are you busy? Yes. But are you where you belong?

If you know you are right where you belong, doing the will of the Lord, then keep on. Forge ahead. Soldier on. Take time out to rest when you need it, learn to listen to your soul when it needs refreshing and do everything heartily as to the Lord.

Don’t fear the judgement of others. Walk in the will of the Lord and he will see that you have time for the important things.

 

Don’t be afraid to Sing It Out

 

Well, I was reminded tonight of the declining state of my singing voice. I decided to sit at the piano and sing while no one was at home, and after a few minutes, I realised, that although in my younger days, I had a large vocal range and could carry a tune quite well, over the years, through bad technique, lack of practice or maybe just old age, I had become woefully inadequate in this department.

Now, if you come along to our church, you may well wish that I would realise this and sing a little quieter, but no, I don’t. I happily belt out the old hymns and praise God with my whole heart, not caring in the least what others may think of my warbling and sometimes slightly off key, voice.

Along the west bank of the River Nile, in Egypt, sit two massive statues. They are 18 metres tall and represent a Pharoah who lived almost 3500 years ago. These statues are known as the Colossi of Memnon and have been called the singing statues.

It is told, that back in 27 BC, a large earthquake shook the area, which resulted in one of the statues collapsing from the waist up and cracking the lower half. After this happened, that statue began to produce strange musical sounds, almost always at dawn and most likely due to the rising temperatures and the evaporation of the dew in the cracks of the statue.

It was given the name Memnon, by early Greek and Roman tourists, but that’s another story.

Why am I telling you this bit of interesting ancient history? Because as the morning light began to fall on the statue, as the sun rose overhead, and the dawn came, the statue began to sing. A strange musical sound was heard, some say like the sound of striking brass or the sound of whistling.

And as one devotional writer puts it so well, “Just so, when the light of the gospel falls upon a darkened heart, it begins to sing.”

If we have been saved from a life of eternal damnation, and God has washed our sins away in his precious blood, we have been rescued from an horrible pit, we have had our feet placed firmly on the rock, and it should give us cause to sing! The light of the gospel falling upon our hearts should be reason to sing.

Psalm 40:3 KJV - And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

We are reminded in Psalm 40 of where God brought us from and where we are headed. The Psalmist tells us that God put a new song in his mouth. A song of praise to his Saviour. His Redeemer.

And so, I believe, every Christian should be a singer! Now, I don’t mean that you have to have an amazing voice and be up front leading the time of worship in song, but I firmly believe that if you have the Lord Jesus living inside of you, you should sing about it. And you should have a desire to sing. And you should want to sing with feeling and meaning and sincerity.

There are too many verses in the Bible on the subject of singing and praise and worship, to list here, but please believe me when I say, singing is important to God.

If you really find it difficult to carry a tune, you can sing and make melody in your heart to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:19 KJV - Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

God wants to put a song of joy in the heart of every Christian, and nothing should be able to stop that song.

If Paul and Silas could sing, with their feet bound fast, while sitting in a dungeon-like prison cell, not knowing whether they would live to see the next morning, then what excuse do we have for not raising our voices in song and praise and worship to the Lord?

Nothing that comes into our lives, pain and trouble, should hush the song in our heart.

Can I encourage you to let go of your fears? Let go of the pressure that tells you that in order to sing you have to sing flawlessly and perfectly in order to sound wonderful. Free yourself from feeling inadequate and incapable. Let your heart sing. Let your soul rejoice.

If you are singing from a sincere heart, unto the Lord, with all your might, your song is beautiful in God’s eyes. And it is a sweet sound to his ears.

I know, that often in Christian circles, there is judgement when it comes to the way one sounds as he/she joins in the congregational singing in the time of worship. I have often had eyes rolled in my direction, and stares and whispers. But who is it I’m singing for? My song should not be for my glory, it should be as unto the Lord.

If you are singing unto the Lord, and for his glory, lifting your voice in praise unto him, then it really doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.

To say I’m a little passionate on this subject, is putting it very mildly. I really believe that if we, in our churches, really took notice of the words we were singing, we would sing them loudly, unashamedly, fervently, excitedly and with all our might.

Or maybe, at times, we would stand, head bowed in humility, in utter amazement at what God has done for us, unable to lift our heads, eyes filled with tears, mouthing the words through trembling lips, as we silently worshipped.

Whatever the case, we need to sing unto the Lord. We are commanded to sing unto the Lord.

Psalm 96:1-3 KJV - O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.

Psalm 100:1-2 KJV - [A Psalm of praise.] Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

And one of my favourite verses:

Psalm 33:3 KJV - Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

(I love to play the piano with all my heart. But that’s another topic altogether. The instruments mentioned and used in the Bible. Study it and be amazed!)

The word noise, at the end of the verse, has the idea of a shout for joy. Has anyone ever felt like you could shout for joy while singing to the Lord? Yes. It’s frowned upon in our churches, so sometimes I have to be content with sending up a silent shout of joy and at other times, I just add in a few extra words into the song that are slightly louder and emphasize the meaning of the words.

I encourage you, the next time you are singing praises to God, to really think about what you’re singing, and then let the words flow from your lips without fear and with all sincerity.

Sing with your whole heart. Close your eyes if it helps you focus. Sing with joy in your heart. Let your song be unto the Lord and lift up your voice in praise and adoration for God has redeemed you and you are his. What a reason to sing!

 

“But, when we sing psalms, we make no melody unless we sing with grace in our hearts, unless we are suitably affected with what we sing and go along in it with true devotion and understanding. Singing of psalms is a teaching ordinance as well as a praising ordinance; and we are not only to quicken and encourage ourselves, but to teach and admonish one another, mutually excite our affections, and convey instructions.” Matthew Henry

 

*Remember, God tells us to sing, but I want to let you in on a little secret, God sings too! He rejoices over you with singing. Think about that. Let it soak in. And see if it doesn’t put a spring in your step and a song on your lips!

Zephaniah 3:17 KJV - The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

 

 

 

 

 

 Do you know the Saviour?

Let me introduce you

Both now and forever

He's faithful and true

His name is Jesus

He died to give you life anew

Do you know the Saviour

Oh, how He loves you

He pardons the debtor

With nothing to pay

He offers forgiveness

To those who've gone astray

He stands there waiting

At the door of your heart

And the moment you open

His peace He'll impart

 

The Need to Move from Fear to Faith

 

As I sit here tonight, after a busy day of friends, family and fellowship in God’s house, I wonder why it is I am so tired. Not physically tired, although that is present also, but emotionally tired. Mentally tired.

 

What is this pensiveness, this melancholy? I really can’t complain about my day. Being with other believers in God’s house, worshipping together in song, listening to God’s Word being expounded upon, enjoying the company of family and friends, feasting on the provisions of the Lord, physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally. There is no logical reason for this feeling of malaise.

 

As I read over some of my notes in an old notebook, I am reminded of something that loves to rear its ugly head every so often. Something that revels in bringing discontent, dissatisfaction, frustration and even unbelief.

 

What is this horrible little thing? Worry. Yes. Worry.

 

The dictionary defines worry as ‘the state of being anxious and troubled over actual or potential problems’.

 

Interesting isn’t it how it’s not just anxiousness over ‘actual’ problems, but it’s also being troubled over ‘potential’ problems. As in, the problems that may never happen. The circumstances that may never eventuate. Those dreaded sleepless nights of fear and worry, fretting over possible outcomes, that may never even come to pass.

 

Basically, worry is a lack of faith. Unbelief. Worrying about tomorrow is looking at the future as if God will not be there to care for us. We know full well, if we read our Bibles, that God promises to never leave us or forsake us. He will be there tomorrow, and the next day, and the one after that. He is not a fair-weather friend. He doesn’t leave when the going gets tough. He doesn’t leave because he finds someone more likeable than us.

 

I am in need of this gentle reminder, and I trust that if not today, then another time, when you find yourself teetering on the brink of faith or fear, about to fall into a downward spiral of worry, you will find strength in some of what I want to share.

 

How is it that we can trust God and count on his provision in our lives? How do we know we can trust him and cease worrying, and grab hold of faith?

 

Let’s look at a passage in Matthew.

 

Matthew 6:25-26 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

 

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

 

One of the reasons you can trust God, is that you are valuable to him. In verse 26, we read that God takes care of the birds, he feeds them, he provides for them, and if he can do that for them, then he can do it for us. We are even more valuable to God than the birds. We are God’s priceless treasure.

 

Another reason you can trust God is that your situation is under God’s control. Aren’t you glad that God has your circumstances in hand and knows all things and controls all things and not you? If it was left up to us, we’d make a terrible mess. We can be at peace, knowing that God is in control. We don’t need to worry that he will make a mistake. A perfect, all-knowing, all-loving God, who holds the world in his hands, is not going to mess it up.

 

You will be taken care of. We don’t have to worry that God will not take care of our future and our day-to-day needs.

 

Matthew 6:28-30  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

 

God provides for the flowers, and he clothes the grass of the field. You are so much more to him than these things.

 

Your needs are known to God.

 

Matthew 6:31-32 - Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

 

As I read these verses, tears come to my eyes. I realise that my thinking is all wrong. In worrying over the future, I have let unbelief rise in my heart. For some reason, I have begun to think that God doesn’t know my problems and that he doesn’t understand the situation. But the last part of verse 32 hits me hard with the truth. “Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things”.

 

God knows. He is aware. He understands. He knows what I need. He knows the desires of my heart.

 

Why is it we worry about what we need? Why is it we fret and stress over our needs being provided?

 

I read this quote many years ago and when I feel worry welling up inside me, it comes to mind and it’s like being hit over the head with a lump of wood, jarring me back to my senses.

 

“Worry is allowing problems and distress to come between us and the heart of God. It is the view that God has somehow lost control of the situation and we cannot trust Him”

 

How is it that we can get to the place that we feel God has lost control of the situation and is now untrustworthy, and we need to grab hold of the reins and take matters into our own hands?

 

Sad. But it’s what we do. There is no way that worry will fix our problems. All we do is empty today of its strength.

 

             Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow.                       It empties today of its strength.

Corrie Ten Boom

So how do we stop this endless cycle of worry? Swinging back and forth from fear to faith, then back to fear, then back to faith and so on.

The answer is found in Matthew 6:33.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

A very well-known verse, but not a very well-practiced one, sadly. If we make the choice to seek God first, before anything or anyone else, pursuing God with all our heart, seeking to please him and obey him, then he will take care of everything else.

We don’t need to worry over the future. God says that if we seek him, ‘all these things shall be added unto you’. What things? The things that were mentioned in the verses before.

The things that your Heavenly Father knows you need.

What a blessed promise to remember.

I didn’t consciously start out to fill my mind with worry and thoughts of tomorrow. But it happened. There is a lot going on at present and we are currently living with a lot of uncertainty. But I needed to be reminded that although life is uncertain and the future is unknown, I can trust God. He knows my future and he knows what I need. He will provide.

My job is not to worry, my job is to seek God. Seek God first. With my whole heart. With my every being. With each waking moment. Trusting him. Relying on him. Disciplining my mind to think on good things. Right things. Praying without ceasing. Casting my cares on him. Taking my burdens to the foot of the cross and leaving them there. Letting God deal with them.

If I fill my days with worry, all I’m doing is blinding myself to all the blessings he has given me today. I am choosing to shut my eyes to his goodness, love and mercy, and every good thing he has blessed me with today, and I am being consumed by tomorrow’s issues before they’ve even arisen.

All I’m doing is adding to my burden. Trying to carry today’s burden as well as tomorrows, resulting in more weight than I can bear.

God, help me to trust you. Help me to move from fear to faith. Help me to seek you with my whole heart. Forgive me for my unbelief. Help me not to be anxious and fretful but trusting and believing and submissive to your will. Amen

 

 

Grace for Today

 

After what has seemed like a never-ending, tortuously long, season of uncertainty and unanswered questions these past couple of years, I sit here at my computer, reading over devotions, articles, study material, Bible verses and notes I’ve written down over the years, trying to find what God would have me share, knowing the burning desire that is in my heart to write and encourage others in their Christian walk.

There is so much in the Word of God, a treasure trove of wisdom and comfort, guidance and help, and yet, at times, it seems, with the abundance comes an overwhelming uncertainty as to which part of God’s Word is the part I need for today. For this season. For this moment.

We are all in different seasons of life, all facing a different set of circumstances, different trials, different blessings, but thankfully, the Word of God is able to cover it all. There is something for everyone, in every season of life, in every storm, in every moment of sadness or joy.

Right now, I feel a little worn. Weary. Uncertain. Confused. I have questions that are not being answered. I have prayers that feel unheard. I have wounds that remain unhealed. And although I know God is with me and hears every prayer I pray and sees every tear that falls, I still have a sense of melancholy washing over me.

I feel a little like the Psalmist.

Psalm 42:5 - Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me?......

I wonder why it is my soul is disquieted. What is this restlessness that pervades my very being, threatening to overwhelm me at any given moment?

There is discontentment trying to rear its ugly head and lies of the Devil whispering in my ears.

Unfortunately, Satan knows how to hit us hard when we are at our weakest. Stress, weariness, sickness and confusion are just some of his favourite playgrounds.

But I am so glad that we have a weapon to use against him. We have something to throw back in his face. We have something to silence his whispers. We have Grace. God’s grace. We have God’s grace upon our lives. We have grace for each and every day. Grace for today.

I am reminded of God’s people, the Israelites, wandering in the wilderness, waking up each and every morning to manna, sent from Heaven. Grace for each day.

Exodus 16:4 KJV - Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

They were given undeserved kindness. It didn’t matter that they were a complaining, miserable, unthankful lot. They were given Grace.

When we are overwhelmed by our lot in life and the current season we find ourselves in, when the questions abound, but the answers are not forthcoming, when we exhaust ourselves in striving and struggling, there is a God who has grace for each day.

There is a God who shows mercy and love to us, although we are undeserving. There is a God who knows how to give us just enough grace for each day and he tells us how we can attain it.

Hebrews 4:16 KJV - Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

And that God is our God. Our Redeemer. Our Saviour. Our Sustainer. Our Protector. Our Life-Giver.

I don’t understand all that is going on in my life at present, and I certainly have questions and I feel frustrated at not knowing the way forward right now, but I can rely on God’s timing and His ways to be perfect, and I can rest assured in knowing, that he will give me just enough grace for each day. Not more and not less. Just enough.

How he does it is up to him. I need to come boldly to him and ask for it. I just need to stretch out my hands and receive it.

Just like the Israelites so many years ago, they had to reach out and take hold of the precious manna from Heaven. They had to step out in faith and take hold of God’s goodness to them. They had to accept God’s grace to them and be satisfied with what he supplied.

And we too, need to take hold of God’s grace. We need to come to him boldly, asking for grace and mercy in our time of need.

I love that we are able to come boldly. With confidence. Not timidly. Not fearfully, but boldly! Throwing open the doors exuberantly and running straight into his waiting arms.

God doesn’t always reveal what lies ahead, but he does give us just what we need for this very moment.

Sometimes I get greedy, and I want more than my days quota of grace, when in reality, I should be grateful for just a crumb. Just a hint of it. We are so undeserving of God’s favour upon our lives and yet he pours out his blessings so abundantly and so freely.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee:

He tells us that his grace is sufficient. What he allows is enough. What he grants is just what we need.

Let me go back to the verse in Psalms again and read the last part.

Psalm 42:5 KJV - Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

When we are disquieted in our souls, we can hope in God. We can patiently wait on him. He will see us through. He will give grace for today.

And that grace is all you need. Take hold of it and be content with what he gives. Praise him and rejoice in his goodness.

 

Why are you cast down, my soul?
And why have you no song?
Hope thou in God;
He is your tower strong.
God is my salvation strength
And He is now my song.
Hope thou in God;
He is your tower strong.

There's no valley,
There's no place,
There's no danger you must face alone
For He walks with you
And cries your tears before you do.
And there's no valley,
There's no place,
Nowhere that's beyond His grace.
Be strong
For he walks with you
And knows your steps before you do.
He is there.
He is here.
Don't you fear.
He is there.
He is here.
Don't you fear!