Worship

Photo courtesy: www.myoneresolution.com

WORSHIP according to New International Version (NIV) Life Application Bible Study is "to express praise and devotion."

NIV's concordance:

1 Chronicles 16:29

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

Psalm 95:6

Come, let us bow down in worship,
    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;

Psalm 100:2  

Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.

When Daddy God Gives Pinky Promise

Photo credits: 1000awesomethings.com

Hello Tuesday! Thank You, God, for a good morning! I expect good things to happen today. If this day won't bring me any good (if that were possible), it's okay. I am still one day closer to seeing God's promises being fulfilled!

Seen From a Distance

All these people were still living by faith when they died.  They did not receive the things promised; they only save them and welcomed them from a distance.  And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

- Hebrews 11:13 -

Noah. Abraham. Isaac. Jacob. Joseph. Moses. These are the few people mentioned in this chapter.  They are commended by their faith, holding on to the promise God had given them.  When I read the line, "They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,"  I remembered mama.  She knew that God gave her a promise that her husband will be saved.  She knew and believed in her heart that God will do as He promised in Acts 16:31 and 1 Cor 7:14.  She had that kind of faith, persistently believing and not doubting that it will come to pass. God promised. Mama believed; she saw it only from afar.

Encouraged by the Spirit of God

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

- Hebrews 12:1-3

Father God,

Thank You for Your encouragement today through Your Word.  Yes, Lord, I decide today to run with perseverance the race You have marked for me.  I will fix my eyes on Jesus and not on my circumstance.  Jesus has been before me, and He knows what I am going through and am feeling right now.  I may be in  a situation where my relationship with my father is in tension (well, it has always been that way), but by faith, I declare that there is full restoration in our relationship in Jesus' name. Thank You, Jesus!