Praise God in Song - First

 When you prayer what do you start with first?

My life isn't what it seems, for some reason I have slipped into a depression. Sadly, the worst part is my selfishness. I don't see God moving so I feel unloved. To matters worse, I stopped seeking God. So every time I hear this song it convicts me to seek God
before I give him a list of what I think I need.

Seeking God first helps me to not focus on the selfish desires. So this week let us focus on God and praise Him first.

Becoming a thankful Job; when things are falling apart

It is November. The thankful month, but what if you have nothing to thank God for?

My falling apart

My life feels like it has been in shambles the last few years. We moved out of the house I had lived in throughout high school. We moved to an awesome house in the middle of nowhere. Then we found out that the house didn't have a septic tank and everything was backing up. Luckily we were only renting, but that meant we had to move right back out. 

With nowhere to go we spent a week at my grandma's house, while we looked for a new place to live. My mom found an apartment, but my sister and I couldn't move in with them. Which is fine in the fact that we are adults, with good jobs, but sad in the fact that we still would had nowhere to go.

Job's life falling apart

This stories reminds me of Job from the Bible. Job was blessed, he had great wealth, a large family, and literally God's blessing.

One day the angels and Satan came before God. God and Satan had an exchange. This led to Satan being allowed to take everything from Job except his body and health.

Wealth gone. Family, gone, except his wife. Servants, mostly gone, except the few who brought word of these trials. 

Do you know what Job did? 

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. - Job 1:20-22

May the Name of the Lord be praised! What great faith. 

A Christians fight mode should start with praise and prayer.

What a great example. I wish I could tell you that I was as good of an example through my trials. But I didn't even come close.

Falling into Place

My parents took that apartment. The landlord had an apartment across the hall for rent. So we stayed with my parents for a month, while he finished getting the apartment ready. 

That was the beginning. I know that what I felt was horrible at the time, moved me closer to where God wants me. My trials are far from over, but lucky for me I am learning to Praise God throughout. It isn't easy, I fail at it all the time, especially when I don't see God moving on my timetable.

God's timing is never our own, and his plan isn't always what we want. Even Jesus dealt with this.

Have you come through great trials and testings? I would love to hear about how God used those moments to help you grow. If he blessed you even more afterward, I would love to hear that as well. Maybe it will help my faith grow.

If you are looking for what to praise God for, check out my post from last week. 

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5 Reasons to Praise God everyday

Thanksgiving is coming upon us. Are you prepared to stand or sit around the table and say what your thankful for? Some people are getting a head start with 30 days of thanks. But why is thanking God important? Do you do it because everybody else is doing it?

I decided to compile a list of 5 reasons to praise (thank) God.

5. Connection

I don't know about you but I love to get my worship on with music. It puts me in a better mood. It gives me some of that joy unspeakable. Most of all it helps me to connect to Him.

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. - Psalm 22:3 (KJV)

This verse reminds us that God inhabits his people's praise. I know He lives within me everyday, but I guess the communion between God, the Holy Spirit and me are amazing. They remind me that I am never alone, the Holy Spirit is in me.

4. Creative

God is creative. Do you need proof? Look out the window, see the beautiful colors of the leaves. If your looking at forest the colors meld together. God has to be creative to have been able to put together the colors, and the different types of animals.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. - Genesis 1:1-2

God took the time to create everything we see out our window, from nothing. Praise Him for this awesome gift.

3. Giving

We should praise God for all the blessings He gives and all the things He has done. God does so much for me, I'm sure he does the same for you. Sometimes I fail to see all that He has given me. So when I count my blessings it puts my life into perspective and humbles me.

Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits - Psalm 103:2

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. - Philippians 4:8

These verses remind us to not forget all God has done for us. It also reminds us that we should think on the positive stuff. Do you know why? I know when I focus on everything that seems to be going wrong my day goes slow and is just a bummer. 

Flip that around and when I think about the good and spend my day praising God, my day goes so much better. So let's not forget what God has done for us. 

2. Salvation

Another gift that God has given us is His own son. He sent Jesus to this earth to show us His love. 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16

He wants a relationship with us, and Jesus is the link that brings us that relationship. 

God deserves our praise for this. Plan and simple. 

And the number one reasons to praise God! 

1. Who he is!

God is God! God is good! He is great and to be praised! 

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.  - Psalm 96:4

No matter what God does. No matter what God doesn't do. No matter what God allows us to go through. He is still worthy of our praise. 

Join me this week. I would love to hear your praise. Maybe if someone is struggling counting their blessings.  Your praise will help them to focus on the good. 

What is God doing in your life?

3 Tips to Surviving when you're Waiting on God

This weekend I watched as my grandma cried out in prayer for God to take away her pain. Watching her in agony, hurt me. Grandma was waiting on God. Watching this all happen; I learned 3 things you should do while waiting.

While my grandma was laying down it finally came time to put on a cream pain reliever. We had already tried different positions in bed to no avail. So after my mom put the pain reliever on her shoulder, I laid down next to grandma.

Grandma relaxed, you might be thinking it was the pain reliever. It may have been but part of me believes it was because she didn't feel alone anymore. She wasn't in her room by herself. She had company.

Don't avoid Community

I've been waiting on God to open multiple doors for me. I'm trying to be patient, but it is hard. Why, because I feel alone. I see others around me who have what I've been praying for and asking God to give me. Yet here I stand, hands open, but still empty.

So the first thing I learned is that we need community. I have a tendency to want to lock myself away in my apartment. The Bible reminds us that it is better to be in community.

Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.- Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Praise God

Before Grandma finally relaxed and drifted off to sleep. She did something that I know was hard for her. Despite her pain and that God wasn't answering her prayer for the pain to go away. Grandma praised God for his goodness.

As I was replaying the weekend in my head, I started wondering how often I have praised God, while waiting. How often have I actually praised God because he is good and worthy of our praise? The thing is, I know that when I praise God I feel better. Even more so when I put my whole heart into it. I love singing "You are Holy", it just reminds me of how great God is.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. - Psalm 48:1

 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. - Psalm 136:1

Don't give up

You know something else that happened this weekend. We prayed and we prayed, but we didn't give up. We did finally talk grandma into going to the hospital. They gave her pain medicine and checked her out.

I don't believe that was giving up. I believe God wanted grandma to have some relief and that is the way he choose to give it to her. We are still praying that the pain stays away and that the doctors can continue to help her. (She has a torn rotary cuff, please keep her in prayer).

This reminds me of Hebrews 11.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. - Hebrews 11:1

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. - Hebrews 11:39-40

The faith chapter is full of people who stuck it out. Even when they never had the opportunity to see God's promise's revealed on earth. We must trust God's timing and never give up.

Can you relate to waiting on God? What do you find helps you through the wait?

He is strong when we are weak

Confession time.

 I haven't sung in front of the church for over a year. I hate it, my heart just hasn't been in it and then there are times were I am doing it for the wrong reasons; so I just stopped.

Thursday one of my biggest cheerleader pointed out that we don't sing anymore and he misses it. So

fast forward a little

During my Lent Scripture journal time I was reading the story of the talents. I realized I didn't want to be the one to not invest, or use my talents.

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷ So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
²² “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
²³ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ³⁰ And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 

The "Balmorals" composing songs

 Fast forward to Sunday.

My sister and I had not made time to practice, and I was in the office, which is at the front of the sanctuary, with no way out. Out of the blue I get a text messages.

Sister: Do you want to sing 'You are Holy'.

Ona: I guess, but not sure I have enough breath in me. Can we not split at the end?

Sister: That is fine.

So I start praying.

Dear Lord this is for your glory not my own. Please use this song

They ask if there is anything else and my sister says yes and starts walking up. Everyone gets excited and they haven't even realized I'm already on the stage. My sister explained that we didn't think we had enough air to split at the end ( our weakness). God sure did show up, and his strength carried us through. All the way through, it was beautiful, not because of anything we did but purely because God inhabits the praises of his people. We weren't doing it for the wrong reasons and God used us to bless the congregation.

Now I just have to remember not to hide my talent, but to use it for his glory.

Dear Lord, I give all of my talents to you. Please use then for your glory not my own. In Jesus glorious name, Amen

I would love to hear about a time you were weak and relied on God?

The Early Church & today

In the church adult bible study we are working through the book of Acts. This is very interesting because we are learning about the early church. I have found a band or experiment that embodies the ideas of the early church. Remember everything I tell is from an out outside / hearsay position, but everything I have heard about this band just screams early church.

Why, because they aren’t just friends. They have decided to live their faith together. Together they rely on God, write songs, and just live life. One of their songs in particular has really struck me, because of our study through Acts. The song "Build Your Kingdom Here" is almost a prayer. A prayer asking God to inspire and light the church on fire, much like what happened in Acts.

Miracles were happening, people were sharing their faith, and people were following God in droves. This is something that we want. I know I want to see people saved, I want to see revival in me, my church, and this nation I live in. Wow, could you imagine if we came back to God. Loving each other so much that no one had a need. The widows and orphans would be taken care of not forgotten, and we would see lives changed.

Add to that the idea of learning with new ears, and actively searching God while working with our fellow Christians. Sadly, this is not what we see today. We see parents and children being pulled apart and worshiping in different areas of the church. Disagreements in churches over color of the carpet, or music being played. We see children coming to church without their parents and then when they are older not coming at all. God please strengthen us. Revive our land, our churches, and our families. Bring us together for your glory with a vision of what the church should be. We praise you.

Come set Your rule and reign In our hearts again Increase in us we pray Unveil why we're made Come set our hearts ablaze with hope Like wildfire in our very souls Holy Spirit come invade us now We are Your Church We need Your power In us

 

We seek Your kingdom first We hunger and we thirst Refuse to waste our lives For You're our joy and prize To see the captive hearts released The hurt, the sick, the poor at peace We lay down our lives for heaven's cause We are Your church We pray revive This earth

 

Build Your kingdom here Let the darkness fear Show Your mighty hand Heal our streets and land Set Your church on fire Win this nation back Change the atmosphere Build Your kingdom here We pray

 

Unleash Your kingdoms power Reaching the near and far No force of hell can stop Your beauty changing hearts You made us for much more than this Awake the kingdom seed in us Fill us with the strength and love of Christ We are Your church We are the hope On earth - Build Your Kingdom Here by Rend Collective Experiment

 My favorite part is "We seek your kingdom first, we hunger and we thirst, refuse to waste our lives ...
Why is this my favorite part. Because if we seek God he promises he will be found, and if we hunger and thirst he promises we will be filled. I'm not talking about earthly hunger, I am talking spiritual hunger and thirst. So search for God, and his will in our life. Refuse to waste your live, your breath and give God your all.

Dear Lord, please help me and others to seek you. Bring Revival to our spirit, our churches, families, and most of all to our nations. Fill us up. Draw them closer to you. In Jesus Name, Amen

Extremely long time

I know it has been an extremely long time since my last post. A lot has happened, sickness for me and my sister. Church duties arose when in my mind I wasn't ready to take them on. I'm still struggling with keeping my focus on God and not allowing Satan to scare me away from this new task.

I still struggle with God's grace, as I start to believe it is sinking in I fall backwards 10 steps and wonder if I am even lovable. Today, I know God loves me, he has great plans for me. Today, I know this.

My sister send me the following quote which is one of my favorites probably because I allow fear to dictate me life. I also have a really bad habit of not letting my light or potential fully shine for fear of making others feel inferior. But in hiding what God has made me, I am hiding the light he has put in me. The light that points back to Him, my great maker.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” - Marianne Williamson

Take a note for the day.  Don't fear who God made you. Don't fear that you are inadequate, and most of all don't fear your power. Because God is the one who gives you the power you have. Great power, power to make mountains move both real rocky mountains and figurative little mole hills that you find yourself dealing with every day. So accept your power and know that it points back to the one who created you. So many people in the Bible shouldn't have been able to do what they did, but when they did what God called them to do, it pointed back to Him.  We are still talking about these people (Little David comes to mind immediately).

Thank you Dear Jesus, for creating me not to be my own stumbling block, but as a hill so my light may shine bright. Thank You for allowing my light to shine so brightly it can only point back to You.  Thank You for the power You have put inside of me, the Holy Spirit that guides me. Thank You dear Lord, for desiring to use me. Help me to not shrink back so others don't feel the warmth of Your light, give me courage to be what You have called me to be, and do what You have called me to do. Liberate me from my fear and in doing so may You use me to liberate others from their fear.

In Jesus Name,
Amen