Praise...What is it?

How do you praise God?  Are you conservative in your worship?  Meaning, is your praise to God in worship more of a private moment?  Are you more of the expressive type?  Do you publically share your emotional praises as you verbally speak out, dance, lift up your hands, etc.?  When you are praising God what do you praise Him for?  What do you think about when you praise God? Where is your mind at when you praise God?  Emotionally, where are you at upon praising God?  Here are some other questions for you - Who are we praising and why are you doing it?   In other words, Why are you praising God?   These are all questions that should be asked as you learn to praise God.  Too often the praises we lift up to God are not really praises, instead they are more of a thank you.  To praise God is not to simply thank him for what He has done for you.  To praise God is to lift Him up.  To praise God is to recognize and be reminded of His nature and character.  To praise God is to praise Him for who He is and not necessarily what He does.

Repentance and Forgiveness is process.  It is a process that begins when you are willing to be humble.  In our humility we will be able to recognize God.  To repent keeps our heart soft.  To repent is to in essence have a change of heart and mind.  It is to realize that the way you have lived has brought great distance between you and God.  We are responsible for creating that distance.  We are also responsible for closing that distance as well.  To do so is to first humble yourself and admit your ways are not the ways of God.  You must come face to face with the cross and the blood that has been spilt on it for you.  You must come to realize that the law of God or guidelines are meant to keep us close to Him and safe.  They are meant to hold you accountable, so that you experience the fullness of God.  Too often the commandments or guidelines given to us by God our pushed aside and overlooked.  They are overlooked because their worth is no greater than the paper they were read from.  To come to repentance is to come to a point in which we lessen our trust for ourselves and gain trust for God.  To repent, we must come to a place in which we want to please God more than ourselves.  To do so we must recognize the value of the law.  Even more important is to learn that the value Christ's death is greater than any material possession, relationship, or job we may have.  The death of Christ is the single greatest gift given to us by a God who does not want to push you away, but instead draw you close.    

Second, you must begin a journey through the cross.  Your sin has and will bear fruit of its own. Repentance is the first step.  The second step is the journey of up rooting the sin that has taken a hold in your life.  For some, the humble act of repentance is a enough for God to remove all temptation. For others, it is a process for our benefit. To create change in our thoughts and behavior we must give them to God daily (Luke 9:23-24).  To up root sin we must recite and claim the truth found in scripture and begin living by the guidelines given to us by God as a gift.  As it is said in John 15, God is the vine dresser, Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches.  To claim truth and repent is to begin that process in which God will begin trimming the parts of our life that keep us from Him.    

Something to think about...

• The law is apart of who God is
• If we love God we must love his law and guidelines
• God's grace rules us so we can have right standing with God
• It shows us where we have gone wrong and displeased God
• We are safe because of a relationship with God
• Romans 5:20-21
• The law was given so we can see how sinful we are
• We are saved through a relationship with God
• The law / word is God
• We follow the law / word because we want to please God
• The law / word shows us where we have fallen short in pleasing Him
• If we become causal about God and his law, spiritual death is certain
• We must live in a place in which we are consistently paying attention to how we are displeasing God
• Sin is like disease that continues to grow
• Sin tempts us
• Sin steals from us
• Sin gives us something (feed your selfish desires)
• Sin  leads to spiritual death

How hungry are we for God?  Too often when we claim to be hungry for God's word when we are not.  There may be a mild grumbling, but not a hunger.  At least the hunger is not strong enough to do something about it.  To say you are hungry and to be hungry for God's word is different.  We tend not to take action until we move from a hunger to a sense of starvation for scriptural truth.  We need not simply desire God, but rather ache for God.  To ache is to starve for his attention.  To ache and starve drives a desperation and need to hear and recognize the voice of God.   

Are you hungry enough to take action?  Are you starving to hear, see, and recognize God?   

Jeremiah 33:3 states, "Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."  If you call upon the name of God He will answer you.  It might not be in an audible voice, but it will be in a way that will force you to listen, to see, and to experience Him.  

Below is a list of ways in which God could speak to you (not a comprehensive list).  Remember, He is always talking.  The question is whether you are truly listen.  

=Ex 3:4 - verbally/audibly, physical indicator (action)/through creation/sign

=Ex 5:1 - spoke to and through Moses and Aaron to others

=Ex 25:10-15 - audibly, very detailed

=Judge 6:37-38 - super natural/everyday sign

=Nu 22:28   - speaks through animals

=1 Sam 14:6-7 - speaks to our hearts/speaks to our inner feelings/senses

=1 Kings 19:11-13 - in a whisper (gently)/ inner voice

=Ps 19:1-3 - creation

=Ps 29:3 - creation/nature and power

=Ps 119:105 - his word (scripture)

=Is  6:1-3 - visions

=Is 30:21 - audibly/inner voice/gives instruction

=Jer 32:8 - speaking through Jeremiah/through others

=Daniel 9:2 - through prophecy/ a prophet

=Matt 2:13-15 - dream/prophecy

=Luke 1:26-30 - Angels/Gabriel

=John 14:26 - Holy Spirit

=John 14:27 - inner peace/feelings

=Acts 9:10-13 - vision

=Rom 1:20 - creation

=Rev 1:12-17 - vision/dream

Do you know how God speaks to you?  God is always speaking, however we train ourselves not to hear.  We are more focused on listening to the world around us than we are listening to the one who created the world.  Take time this week to listen to God.  

Here are a few principles to follow as you search out God's voice.  

=Thanksgiving and Praise (Ps 100:4).  To be thankful and praise God will open your eyes and take them off our self and places them on God.

=A clean heart (Ps 66:18, Is 59:2, Ps 51).  To repent keeps your heart soft so that you will be sensitive to the voice of God

=Die to our own thoughts ( Is 55:6-9, Pro 3:5-6, 2 Cor 10:4-5).  Too often our thoughts get in the way of God.  We we must give God our thoughts and exercise disciple to stay focused. 

=Resist the enemy (2 Cor 10:4-5).  The enemy will make his presence known.  He will attempt to distract you and cause mayhem.  You must resist his attempts.  Our weapons are of divine power and not of flesh.     

=Invite the Holy Spirit (I Cor 2:6-16 (11)).  The Holy Spirit is ready to impart the wisdom of God to you.  

=Wait for God.  We must wait with an expectant heart.  God will answer.  The question is whether you can hear him, and whether you are ready to receive the answer.  

John 10: 2-5, 

"2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.   3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.   4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.   5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."

Everyone has a unique voice.  A question to think about is what type of "voice"  do you have.  Do you have a "voice" that conveys: 


=power
=security
=purpose
=fear
=hate
=anger
= etc.

The sheep learn to know and recognize the voice of their shepherd.  This is done like a child who learns to recognize their parents.  A child learns the sound of their parents as they verbally and physically share themselves with the child (born or growing in the womb).  A sheep learns to recognize the shepherd as the shepherd shares his life serving and taking care of their needs.  Jesus, as our shepherd, shared His life with us to the point of death.   Matthew 20:28 reminds us that Jesus did not come to be served but to serve.  Hebrews 4:14-16 states that Jesus, as High Priest, went through temptation as we do now.  Because of this fact He is able to sympathize with us, and understand the weight of that temptation.  Philippians 2 teaches us and reiterates that Christ limited Himself to take on the role of a servant to the point of death.  In this limitation, Christ could be like us, as well as sacrificed for us  This limitation allows us to know God on a personal level.  God made it personal because He is love (1 John 4:8).  It is personal because we are made in His image (Gen. 1:26).  By sending His Son and our Shepherd, God made it clear that there is nothing He will not do to reconcile with us.  Reconciliation with humanity means so much that he sent Jesus to be sacrificed so we may have eternal life  (John 3:16).  


The voice of our shepherd is one that is filled with love, compassion, sacrifice, courage, purpose, understanding, security, and provision.  We can recognize His voice because His voice speaks with understanding and experience.  His voice stands out because with its sound comes forgiveness, mercy, grace, justice, peace, joy, and hope.  The voice of Jesus gives life and does not take it.  


God is always communicating with us.  Do you hear the bold and subtle words of Christ?  Do recognize His voice?  Do you know and believe that God is always reaching out to you?  Unlike other religions, Christianity claims a two way form of communication.  We speak, as does God.  Other religions do not speak of communication like this.  Other religions are not founded on relationship.  In those cases, only one voice is heard by others, and that voice is their own.  For Christ followers, God is always at work attempting to foster and develop a relationship with you. 


To hear God you must not be selective.  You must repent.  Repentance will soften your heart and open your eyes and ear.    
              

Philippians 4:5b-7, "The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Living in peace has been my mantra the last few days, however I have listened very little to it.  Some have been blessed with peace as they wade through life that will inevitably impede forward motion.  This guy has peace only when things completely leave my hands.  Because of which I welcome to some degree crisis situations because crisis tends to breed a bit of chaos.  In chaos, control is never total.  It at best is partial.  The only thing you have total control of is yourself.  And, that is hard enough.  For me, in moments of "people crisis" my goal is to wade the waters of that chaos with a servant heart.  To do so keeps me focused on loving and caring for the person or people no matter how gentle or bold I must be.  In the end, I want God to win in the lives of the people involved, and not drive them farther away.  If I don't serve out of love and with flexibility, and attempt to control the situation due to what seems logical, my efforts become a thorn of hurt instead of a healing agent.  

These past few days, as we waited to have my visa (and the children's) to come through peace was my mantra, but not my reality.  Instead of approaching the situation with flexibility, grace, and love,  a fire was fueled inside by anger, frustration, stress, and whatever else annoyed me at the time.  I knew in my heart (spirit) that we would be in Australia, however that didn't matter because of all the frustration we were facing.  I knew, but I didn't listen.  My fleshly (sinful) response meant more to me than what I knew deep in my heart.  In the end, I knew we would get to Australia at some point, which brought me comfort.  However, my faith was weak because of my need to control.  My frustration with the mistakes I made, lack of overall communication, and in essence, the job performance of others set ablaze my flesh.  Peace was my mantra, but doubt was my platform.  

The Lord is at hand!  Regardless of our outcome as we journey to Australia, whether we left tomorrow (crazy) or another day, my heart was not peaceful. It was not peaceful because of my need to control.  It was not peaceful because of mistakes I made and the difficulty of others following through in a timely fashion (still working through a bit of frustration on that).  I was not peaceful because control was more important than flexibility.  I understand that to much of either will be costly. However, in this situation both were crucial.  I needed to be in the sweet spot: flexible control.  What I really needed was to LET GO and LET GOD.  I needed to trust that God was at hand.  I needed to trust that I can give Him my anxiousness.  I needed to rest in the peace of God because He is God.  His timing is never late.  It is always on time, although I may not like it at times.  

To live in peace is to trust that God is of His word.  He can be trusted.  We have to be responsible and do our part.  For many of us we need to have a better understanding and grasp of what our part really is.  We need to learn to be comfortable with that role as well.  We can attempt to control, but to much control without peace, flexibility, love, and trust will lead a fiery furnace fueled by our flesh.  God is a god of trust.  At the end of the day we need to rest in that very fact and not be anxious.