Praise The Lord; Psalm 146

Psalm 146; Praise Him for all that He has done for us.

Rejoice And Be Glad

Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 

                                                      Rev 19:6b-8 KJV

We have a lot to rejoice in. St. John was exiled on Patmos for his faith; but, he did not give up hope. St. Paul spent a great deal of time in prison and even on his way to his death; he did not give up hope. The many saints before us never gave up hope. In faith that they have been washed by the blood of the lamb; they looked to the day when they would be reconciled to God our Father and our Lord Jesus the Christ in the very home that Christ has prepared for us.

Life can be pretty confusing and tough at times. In those times we remember that today will pass and tomorrow will come whether we are here in this world or in the Kingdom prepared for us. For all who believe in Jesus and his gifts of forgiveness and salvation for us, life will go on. It is eternal.

By the blood of Jesus we have been cleansed and reconciled to God and to one another even now. So, rejoice and be glad and give God the glory! Give God the glory in all that you say and think and do. Whatever you do, do it as if to the Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

All Glory And Honor

Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. (1 Chron 29:11 KJV)

Thine is the glory, O Lord!  

It is God and God alone to whom all glory belongs. We often lift up personalities in this world as being savior-like. It is a lie to depend on any man or woman to save us. Only by faith in Christ can we be saved. He has the authority and the power to save. 

As a pastor, I was always a bit leery about lifting up any one person's good works. That is because only God is truly good. It is also because most Christians try to do the best they can to serve God and the community of saints. One individuals' attempted good works is not better than another person!  God gives each of us gifts. We serve according to His will and the gifts that He has given us. So, also, we must be careful about lifting up and showing preferential treatment to those who give materially more than others. The faithful will give according to their ability. Because someone seemingly gives much because they have much does not necessarily mean they are giving generously in proportion to the their actual ability. I refer you to the story of the widow's mite and how Jesus pointed out that though she gave little, she gave everything she had.  (Mark 12:41-44)

Our habit of lifting up individuals for special honor whether they are in the congregation or not is often done to gain personal favors or special favors for the church or other organizations. It is also a very sad form of idolatry. It is important to thank people for their service. But, we are not to be discriminatory in giving that thanks for service rendered by lifting up one individual over another when all that they have done is what they have been called to do. 

Remember, that whatever is done ought to be done for the glory of God not for our own glory and not for the glory of people we have decided to personally hold in high esteem. 

All glory and honor belongs to God. We can do nothing that deserves that glory. St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31) 

Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. (1 Chron 29:11 KJV)

Trust in the One who can do all things. Trust in the Lord, your Savior and King!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Worship In Spirit And Truth

The Samaritans worshiped God at the mountain in Samaria. The Jews worshiped Him in Jerusalem. But, Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well:

"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

                                                (John 4:23-24 KJV)

It does not matter where we are or who we are, we are to worship God in spirit and in truth. God is bigger than the temple in Jerusalem and the mountain in Samaria. According to St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians there is: "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Eph 4:6)

There is no place that God is not. We are to worship and give Him glory whenever and wherever we are. All things are done for His glory!

It is not about a certain place or a certain such as Sunday morning. It is not about bricks and mortar or even mountaintops. It is about worshiping Him at all times and in all places in spirit and in the truth.

May God help us to worship and to give Him glory in all that we say and think and do.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Servants Of All

For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.

And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;

To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. 

                                                                                (1 Cor 9:19-23 KJV)

As servants of Christ we become servants to all. Servants of God do not lift themselves up above others. The only one they lift up is God. When we lift ourselves up over others, we make ourselves into a god; a false. Christians do not idolize or worship any man or woman. 

Paul did not consider himself to be above others; although he could have as he had stature in the world of that time both as a Jew and as a Roman citizen. He considered himself a servant of God; a servant sent to deliver the message of Jesus Christ who died and rose from the dead for all who would believe in him.  He delivered the message of forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah.

We are created equal, each with his own gifts. None is greater than another. We do simply what we are called to do, use those gifts for the gospel's sake. In order to share the Gospel it is most helpful not to be lording our lifestyles over another's. It is most helpful to humble ourselves and meet people where they are.

There is only one God. He is the only one that we lift up. We do not idolize politicians, media celebrities, sports figures, religious personalities, or anyone else. That would be idolatry. And, we definitely need to ensure that no one is making a false idol out of us!

So save the applause and say Hallelujah, all praise to the living God, Amen!

God's Peace - Pr. J

He is Risen! Have you?

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” Matthew 28:5-7 NIV

Hallelujah! He is risen! What good news for us this morning and every morning. Jesus lives! I can hardly imagine what joy the women at the tomb felt to hear that Jesus had risen from the dead. 

Jesus has risen from the dead! Have we? Jesus has told his followers before his death:  Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. (John 14:19) Because he lives so shall we. Well, the new life, that resurrected life does not begin only after we die physical deaths. Because he lives we can live fuller lives today in him. But, alas, so often we choose to live in darkness rather than the light of Christ. So often we seek the passing pleasures of this world rather than the most awesome life lived in the presence of Almighty God now and forever. Forever does not begin after death. Forever includes today. Because Jesus lives so shall all who believe in him!

Now, is the time. Today is the day. He is risen. It is time.

  “Arise, shine, for your light has come,

  and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
  See, darkness covers the earth

  and thick darkness is over the peoples,
  but the Lord rises upon you

  and his glory appears over you." 
                                         (Isaiah 60:1-2)

He Is Risen! Because he lives so shall we. Arise and shine!

God's Peace - Pr. J 

Rejoice!

"Hallelujah!
    For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
    and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
    and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
    was given her to wear."
                                          Rev 19:6b-8

We have a lot to rejoice in. St. John, exiled on Patmos for his faith, did not give up hope. St. Paul did not give up hope. The many saints before us never gave up hope. They looked to the day when they would be reconciled to God our Father and our Lord Jesus the Christ in the home that Christ prepared for us.

Life can be pretty confusing and tough at times. In times like those, remember, that today will pass and tomorrow will come whether we are here in this world or in the Kingdom prepared for us. For all who believe in Jesus and his gifts of forgiveness and salvation for us, life will go on. It is eternal.

By the blood of Jesus we have been reconciled to God and one another even now. So, rejoice and be glad and give God the glory! Give God the glory in all that you say and think and do. Whatever you do, do it as if to the Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Glory To God Alone!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.  (Eph 3:20-21 NIV)

All the glory, all the praise, all the thanks, all the credit goes to God.

One day, maybe, we will realize that we can truly do nothing good without God. It is His power alone that created the heavens and the earth. He can do all things for He is who He is. He is Almighty God. He is merciful and gracious to us even though we keep thinking that we can live without Him. He alone has saved us from our own stinking thinking by sending His only begotten Son to die for our sins.

All glory and honor belongs to God alone. Thanks be to God for He is our help and our salvation!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Hallelujah! Our God Reigns!

 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:

“Praise our God,
    all you his servants,
you who fear him,
    both great and small!”

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

“Hallelujah!
    For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
    and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
    and his bride has made herself ready.

Revelation 19:5-7

I often (daily) pray for crabby Christians. It can be difficult to be around people who are always so negative so I pray that they might rejoice in the multitudes of gifts that God has given them. We have so much to be thankful for; so much to be positive about, that I fail to understand why there is not more rejoicing within the church on earth, except (maybe) on Sunday mornings. As Christians, we ought to be rejoicing for our King is above all kings. This King loves the world so much He was willing to give His utmost so that we might be reconciled to Him and to one another; reconciled in His peace. He has overcome sin, death, and the power of the devil for us. So what's there to be crabby about? The biggest obstacles ever have been overcome.

Let the whole multitude of God's people should "Hallelujah! Our God reigns!" 

God's Peace - Pr. J