Tag: Sunday rest and reflection
Sunday rest and reflection–worship.
Greetings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus Christ, the object of our worship! When many people think of worship, they think of singing hymns or spiritual songs. Some people think of a church service with a choir, instruments, and people following a worship leader. Some people just want to sit outside on a nice day and enjoy nature. Whatever your worship ideal, spend time today honoring God in worship.
Psalms is the temple worship book of the Old Testament Jew. This was compiled over 1000 years of time and represents a variety of authors and different worship styles. Most is poetry set to music and was accompanied by instruments. There were several kinds of musical instruments mentioned in the Psalms. The sounding trumpet was to praise the Lord! There was the harp which King David played. The lyre was a stringed instrument, similar to the guitar or mandolin. (Psalm 150:3-4) The flute and resounding cymbals are also mentioned as well as the tambourine. (Psalm 149:3; 150:5)
During times of worship, people might kneel or bow down. Sometimes they stood to honor the Lord and His Word. Sometimes they would raise their hands or clap their hands. They would sing the Psalms or they might sing a “new song” to the Lord that came from their hearts by the Spirit. At times, they would dance and shout or sing before the Lord with loud voices and passionate dance. David was judged to have made a fool of himself by dancing before the Lord! He vowed that he would get even more undignified than that for the Lord, thus rebuking his embittered wife Michal. Sometimes they would be still and simple recognize that God was God. However you want to express your honor and devotion to the Lord will be accepted if it is done in a spirit of humility and true worship. God is always looking at the heart of the worshiper. He desires honest worship from a pure heart!
May you have a wonderful life of worship, beginning today! God is truly worthy of all our worship. We can lovingly give Him our full attention, devotion and love! When we worship, we join the hosts of heaven!
In His Glorious Worship, Pastor John
Sunday rest and reflection–Pentecost!
Greetings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus Christ! Today is Pentecost Sunday and a time to celebrate the precious gift of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and is the personal gift of the Father who was sent to dwell in followers of Jesus Christ. (Luke 24:49) Jesus told His followers to wait for this promise and that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. (Acts1:8) This power would be a divine enablement to be witnesses for the Lord. God’s command was for these believers to go into all the world and preach the Gospel message with signs that would follow! (Mark 16:15-20)
On the day of Pentecost, 120 believers were gathered in a room of the temple praying and waiting on the Lord when suddenly the room was filled with the sound of a rushing wind. Visible tongues of fire descended on this company and they all began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4) These believers went out into the temple area and caused quite a stir among those Jews gathered from around the world for the Feast of Pentecost. Each one heard them glorifying God in their own language! (Acts 2:8-10) What a miracle! Peter preached that day and many came under conviction through the power of the Holy Spirit! (Acts 2:37) They were told to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit! (Acts 2:38-41) Three thousand were baptized and added to the church that day!
Today, nearly 2000 years later, God is still empowering believers to be witnesses for Him. He is still pouring out His Spirit on all flesh. He is still sending His Church to be witnesses to the nations. He is still baptizing people in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues! He is still confirming His Word with supernatural signs! God shows no partiality and wants all to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth! (1st Timothy 2:3-4) If you are not filled with the Holy Spirit, why not pray and ask the Jesus to baptize you with power to be His witness? You can become even more effective as a witness with power! God bless you this Pentecost Sunday! May you be filled with power again and again. (Ephesians 5:18-21)
Pastor John
Sunday rest and reflection–suffering!
Greetings on this day of rest! As we study Job, we come to understand that God’s ways are different than ours. He allowed suffering even in the life of his finest servants. God, Himself, had declared Job to be blameless. God knew that Job was a righteous man who feared Him and tried to please Him. Job sacrificed to God and prayed for his children. Why would God allow this suffering to come into Job’s life?
Isn’t life better and more satisfying if we never have to suffer? What possible benefits can come from suffering? What did Job gain from this gruesome experience? We have many questions and few answers. Jesus declared that trouble was to be part of life in a fallen world. (John 16:33) He told his disciples that if they wanted to follow Him, they must take up a cross, implying suffering and death. (Luke 14:27) He warned them that because of Him there would be division and strife in families and between friends. (Matthew 12:51-53) Jesus also warned of great turmoil and wars in the last days and that His followers must be watchful and prayerful in order to escape and stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:23-24) (Luke 21:36)
Jesus, Himself, faced sorrows, suffering and death while He was here on earth. Although He was righteous and truly blameless, He was falsely accused and treated unfairly. Peter declares that when Jesus suffered unjustly, He entrusted Himself to the Father who would judge justly! (1st Peter 2:23) He never retaliated or answered harshly to those who mistreated Him. He simply fulfilled the purpose of the Father by offering His body as a sacrifice for our sins. (1st Peter 2:24) Peter also states that since Jesus suffered in His body, we should also be prepared to suffer with the same attitude. (1st Peter 4:1) When we suffer in our body, Peter says we cease from sin and focus on living for the will of God. (1st Peter 4:2) Peter also states that we should rejoice when we suffer because of identification with Jesus Christ. We are blessed when we suffer for Him and the Spirit of Grace and Glory will rest on us! (1st Peter 4:12-14)
These thoughts on suffering run counter to the attitudes of the world we live in. Job was suffering because of His righteous trust in God. God’s grace sustained him and in the end he was truly blessed! May you develop the attitude of Jesus Christ towards suffering! May that same attitude work in me as well! In His Love, Pastor John
Sunday rest and reflection–prayer
Greetings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus Christ, our coming king and eternal savior! “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:24) It is a choice to rejoice in the Lord each and every day! Each day is a new day with new understanding of how great our God is! As we begin another week, set aside time to reflect on God Himself. Take time to commune with Him! Take time to be with others of like-precious faith who gather to worship, study, and thank Him in community! We especially need this as we see the day of the Lord approaching! (Hebrews 10:25)
We have been reading this past week about Ezra and Nehemiah, two great men in the history of Israel who relied on God and lived lives of prayer and obedience. Ezra offered praise and thanks to the Lord for granting him favor to rebuild the temple. (Ezra 7:27-28) Ezra prayed for traveling mercies for his party with all the gold and silver articles for the temple. (Ezra 8:21-23) After God brought them safely to Jerusalem, they met with others and offered sacrifices and thanked the Lord. Ezra heard about the unfaithfulness of those who had married outside of the faith and he again humbled himself to pray and fast and confess the sins of his countrymen. (Ezra 9:5l-15) Others gathered with him and they sought the Lord. God brought repentance and cleansing as they prayed together.
Nehemiah carried a burden for Jerusalem and it’s broken walls. He began to pray to the Lord about his burden. (Nehemiah 1:5-11) He had opportunity to speak with the Persian king, Artaxeres, and prayed again. (Nehemiah 2:4) God granted him favor and he was sent by this pagan king to rebuild the walls. He was given materials and money as well as willing workers. As he arrived, God gave him a vision and plan to put the people to work by families, assigning them personal responsibility near their own homes. He shared his vision and God granted favor! Prayer was offered to combat discouragement and stop opposing forces. (Nehemiah 4:4-5) Nehemiah armed the workers and encouraged them to work and fight for their own children, homes and families! (Nehemiah 4:14) He had a trumpeter near him at all times to sound a call to fight (or pray) when an attack might come. (Nehemiah 4:20) Prayer was important for Nehemiah and those who worked together to rebuild the walls. It brought a focus on God as the source of all help and a vision of God’s plan and purpose!
Take time today to praise the Lord, thank him for who He is, and enjoy sweet communion with Him. Do this for yourself and for your family! Meet with God’s people and pray and praise Him in community! He is coming soon!
Sunday rest and reflection! The mercy of God
Greetings on this day of worship and reflection! God is to be praised for His mercy and long-suffering! As I think back on the nearly 500 years of history in the Kings and Chronicles, God surely was patient with His people! He suffered long with their stubbornness. He waited patiently for them to respond to His prophets and Word. He punished them, but still His mercy was extended to those who would listen and respond. They endured wars, captivity, famines, internal bickering and strife while God kept continually offering them His amazing grace! They only needed to turn to Him in repentance and call on His name and He would hear and answer! Wow, how long our God bears with us!
As I think about the day we live in, God is still offering the amazing grace of forgiveness! He is still suffering long and ready to extend His cleansing grace. All who call out to Him are heard! He still saves and delivers. He forgives sin, rebellion and strife when His people repent! He has sent His people out with a message of good news! God’s wrath has been satisfied with the blood of His own Son! Whoever believes can get in on it! What an amazing display of mercy available to all who will come to Him!
After the trials and tests of this life are over, God promises us full life with Him forever! This is extreme mercy! We who were His enemies are now brought near and given a full inheritance! The same God who foretold the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple, tells us of a new heavens and new earth where we will dwell in righteousness with Him forever! Go and tell the Good News of God’s amazing mercy! Have a great week in Jesus Christ! Love in Him, Pastor John
Sunday rest and reflection: seeking God.
Greetings! Today is another day of rest and reflection and a time to catch up if you have fallen behind. There is to be no condemnation if you fall behind! Sometimes things do happen and we have things that keep us from doing what we ought to do. The “tyranny of the urgent” often intrudes in our schedules. Sometimes it is the “drooping eyelids” of the weary that also slips up on us. God is understanding and gracious. We need not feel condemnation!
From the past week of reading, I want to reflect on the idea of seeking the Lord. Solomon built a temple for the Lord as a place where God’s people could come and seek the Lord. At the dedication of the temple, Solomon’s prayer petitioned God to let His eyes be on the temple and asked that God’s ears would be attentive to the prayers of His people. (2nd Chronicles 6:20-21) God answered Solomon by appearing to him and answering his petitions. God promised that His Name would always be there and that His eyes and heart would also be there. (2nd Chronicles 7:15) God also warned Solomon not to forsake seeking Him and turn away to other gods. The consequences would not be good!
What factors are involved in seeking the Lord? I believe that the first thing needed is faith. Anyone who comes to God, must believe that He is. Since God is Spirit, we can not see Him with our physical eyes. So if we are seeking to contact God, we must approach Him as if He is really there and can hear and see us. Solomon’s approach was this kind of approach. How did Solomon know that God was there? God actually appeared to him after he had prayed and petitioned God. As we approach God in faith, He reveals Himself to us.
We must also believe that God wants to reward us for seeking Him. (Hebrews 11:6) It wouldn’t do much good to seek out God if we did not feel that He would actually hear and understand what we needed. Our God not only understands us, but has compassion on us and loves us. He desires our highest good and wants to bless us. We understand these truths by faith through believing God’s Word. We must choose to believe because we hear the Word. The Word of God has spiritual life and power in it to bring faith to the hearts of those who hear and believe, not just listen.
As the living stones of the new Temple of the Lord, we have direct access to the Lord at any time. We have fellowship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We can walk in the Spirit daily. We can pray without ceasing. We do not need to go to a designated place to seek the Lord. God’s heart and eyes dwell within us and are always watching to show us support and answer prayer! What a great God we’ve found!
It was said of Rehoboam that he did evil in the sight of the Lord because he failed to seek the Lord. (2nd Chronicles 12:14)
Sunday rest and reflection–Resurrection Sunday!
As we rest today and reflect on the reading of the past week, we can’t help but remember what a special day this is! This day is a day that has forever changed history in a number of ways! First, the calendar went from “BC” to “AD” marking a turning point for all mankind. Secondly, Jesus Christ so loved us and all of mankind made in God’s image, that He willingly gave his life for us. He took our sins in His own body on the cross and became a curse for us in order to remove from us the curse of sin (Galatians 3:13-14) and it’s resulting penalty, death. (Revelation 1:17-18) His last words, “it is finished”, (John 19:30) marked the end of all that was necessary for us to have the gift of the Father, the Holy Spirit. (John 14:25-26) The Holy Spirit marks us with an invisible mark telling the Father that we are now His. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
Christ was buried in a tomb and it was sealed over and guarded by tough Roman soldiers. (Matthew 27:65-66) Early in the morning on the first day of the week, however, the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty! The women coming to embalm the body heard the glorious and puzzling angelic announcement: “He’s not here; he has risen just as he said. Come see the place where he lay. Go quickly and tell his disciples: He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him. Now I have told you.” (Matthew 28:6-7) Jesus was alive and showed himself to those who were close to him. Eyewitnesses touched, handled, and examined his resurrected body. Over 500 saw him at one time. (1st Corinthians 15:3-6)
Jesus is alive today! He is seated at God the Father’s right hand. He is waiting for all his enemies to be made a footstool for his feet. (Hebrews 10:12-13) He is waiting for the command of the Father to come back again for those who are His! All who are ready and watching for His return will be taken to be with Him forever! (Matthew 24:42-44) Those who have died in faith will rise first and we who remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we will always be with the Lord! Comfort one another with these words! (1st Thessalonians 4:11-18) Now that will be a “resurrection day” for us all to prepare for! Jesus is alive and coming soon!
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen, Come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20
Sunday rest and reflection–praise!
Greetings on this day of rest and reflection! This happens to be Palm Sunday, a day to celebrate and praise the Lord for Jesus Christ, our King! On this day we celebrate his triumphant entry into Jerusalem and the temple. He came riding on a donkey colt surrounded by people waving palm branches and shouting “hosanna”! He came to the temple to be examined by the religious officials because He was the final “lamb” sacrifice for the sins of all people!
This is an interesting tie to Solomon, the great and wise King of Israel. Solomon was a King of peace! He was exceedingly wise! He ruled Israel, but made ties of peace with many other nations. He took wives and concubines, 1000 in all, from many lands! His splendor and wisdom were told of throughout the known world! The wealth of nations were brought to him. God’s favor rested on him to build a “house for God’s Name”.
Jesus Christ is Solomon’s greater son! He is wisdom to us! (1st Corinthians 1:30) He is the Prince of Peace! He will rule over the world from Jerusalem and the nations will serve and worship Him as King of Kings! To God be the Glory forever and ever! Amen! Have a great day of praise and worship to our great King! In Adorationof Him, Pastor John
Sunday Rest and Reflection: A House for God!
Greetings on this day of rest! May the peace of Jesus Christ fill your heart today as you rest in His love and kindness!
As I stopped to ponder the reading of this past week, I thought of King David’s desire to build a house for the Lord. (2nd Samuel 7:1) This is one of the most important conversations found in the Old Testament pointing to Jesus Christ. King David had rest from his battles and had built himself a palace of cedar. He realized that God was living in a tent and wanted something better for God. He shared his desire with Nathan the Prophet who encouraged him to do whatever was on his heart.(2nd Samuel 7:3)
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart”. (Psalms 37:4) David was a man who delighted himself in the Lord. As he put his faith and trust in God, God gave him desires that flowed from His heart! God did want to build a house for Himself. The house God desired was not made of wood or stone. It was not overlaid with silver and gold. The house that the Lord wanted built would have to come from the most precious of materials: His own Son’s Blood and Body! David was granted grace to become a part of God’s greater plan to build the ultimate house–a people from every tribe, tongue and nation who would believe on Him!
As you gather today to worship the Lord with others of like precious faith, remember that you are the living stones of that House for the Lord! (1st Peter 2:4-10) You are a royal priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices to the One who gave His own son as the foundation–God your Father! Delight yourself in Him today, and He will surely give you the desires of your heart!
Sunday Rest and Reflection–Religion in 2009!
“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” Judges 21:25
As we have read through this book of Judges, I am impressed with how much this book describes our contemporary culture and the world view of secular humanism that is so prevalent. When people have no king or supreme authority in their life, they end up being the authority themselves. The result is catastrophic! Society becomes full of sin, immorality, and rebellion. That’s all that is in the human heart apart from God’s grace! Let’s think about these records from history we have just read.
First, without strong leadership to keep the people focused on the Lord and His Word, people always drift into evil and rebellion. Our land has lacked leadership morally. Men have forsaken their job of training children and mentoring younger men. Women have had to take leadership and responsibility for providing for families because men are not stepping up and the children have suffered from lack of parenting. The home is broken down and idolatry has replaced the family altar and accountable relationships in the family. Each person is seeking self-fulfillment in ways that are harmful to godly relationships. Our land has drifted into sexual immorality and personal spirituality that more often than not does not have a biblical base. In Scripture, idolatry and immorality always go together! The parents end up letting the children choose what they want, thinking that this is best. How can a sinner choose what is best when they have no “king” but self?
In the time of Judges, the ministry of the priesthood was also corrupt. Ministers were often hirelings. It is often true today that the same thing is true of ministry people. (John 10:11-13) Many are in ministry just as a job. They have positions and go through the motions, but are not really caring for the people. They tickle ears and tell their people what they know that they want to hear. (2nd Timothy 4:3-4) There is also a group that have a love for money and use God’s people to line their own pockets. We must be discerning of the same idolatry and religious scams in our world today!
God’s remedy for these conditions in religion has always been the same. He listens for His people to cry out to Him in prayer! When they do, He begins to act. (Psalm 50:14-15) He raises up a person who will walk with Him by faith and live and preach the Word of God. When these people preach the uncompromising Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit, then healing, restoration, and deliverance takes place. (see Judges 4:1-11 for an example) How God longs to be our King and lead us into doing what is right and a blessing for us and those we love! Allow Him to touch your heart today! God bless you and your family! Pastor John