Worship & Trust

The Lord is pleased with those who worship Him and trust His love. Psalm 147:11

WORSHIP is coming to God and inviting His presence to dwell with you in greater measure than ever before.

When you love God, you want to express it. That is called Worship. Worship is far more than praying or singing in church. You worship when you trust God completely; love Him supremely; obey Him wholeheartedly, thank Him and praise Him continually. Anytime you bring pleasure to God, you are worshipping Him! Worship is the first purpose of your life!

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever. Psalm 138:8

Your most imtimate experiences of worship will likely be in your darkest days when your heart is aching, when you feel rejected, when you are out of choices, when the pain is great, and you turn to God alone. The deepest level of worship is PRAISING God in spite of pain, trusting God during times of trouble and loving God when He seems apart.

Why does God uses our weakness? Because when He does, he gets all the glory. When God uses you in spite of your weakness, it gives people hope. They realize "God could use me too." Your weakness is not an accident. God deliberately allowed them in your life for the purpose of demonstrating His power through you.

If God made you to love you and He values you enough to keep you with Him for eternity, what greater importance could you have?

So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us. I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Romans 12:1

But the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way. John 4:23

Jesus is Lord.

Life Changing PRAYER

Regardless of your age, the rest of your life can be the best of your life if you start living on purpose today.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Roman 8:28

The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith. 1 Timothy 1:5

Father,

More than anything else I want to live for you and the five purposes that you created me to fulfill.

I want to become like Jesus in the way I think and feel and act.

I want to use the shape you have given me for a ministry to other beleivers in the Body of Christ.

I want to be used to build the fellowship of your family, the church.

I want my life to bring you pleasure as I live a lifestyle of worship.

I want to fulfill my mission in the world by telling others about your love. Help me to reach one more for Jesus. Help me to pass on the message of your purposes to others.

David...served the purpose of God in his generation. Acts 13:36

God called David "a man after my own heart". He dedicated his life to fulfilling God's purpose on earth. Imagine it chiseled on your tombstone: You served God's purpose in your generation! It's my prayer that people will be able to say that about you.

Dear Lord,

I want to serve your purposes in my generation so that one day I may hear you say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

In Jesus' name,
Amen

MEDITATIONS on the Purpose-Driven Life By Rick Warren

Jesus Emphasize Three Things

So don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. Matthew 6:31-33

What's most important to you? Jesus emphasizes all throughout his ministry that three things are of supreme importance:

1) Loving God with all our heart.
2) Loving our neighbor.
3) Seek after God's Kingdom.

If we do those things, everything else will fall into place. The hand of the Creator will be there helping each thing find its proper place. He knows what we need. He has a plan for our lives. He will meet our needs. Does this mean things will be easy or always go well for us? No. But God does assure his Kingdom seekers that we will ultimately get what we seek; we will share with the King in his Kingdom in all of his glory. In seeking after Kingdom values, we will bless those we love, we will have influence on those around us, and we will have all that we really need in life.

Dear Father,

Please help me keep my eyes focused on your Kingdom, my heart centered on you, my mind brighten by your Word, and my spirit empowered and cleansed by your Spirit. Father, please forgive me when I am distracted by things that don't really matter. Please bless me as I make your Kingdom and your righteousness my passion.

In Jesus' name,
Amen

Don't Worry About Everyday LIfe

So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. Matthew 6:25-26

What allows you to go to bed at night and not worry about tomorrow? Jesus does not want us overly concerned with things that are not of ultimate value to God. In fact, he wants us to know that we are of ultimate value to our Father, so we can trust him for the basics. We should not be overly troubled with the basic needs of life. This does not mean we are to be irresponsible or freeloaders, it does mean that we should develop our sense of values so that the focus of our life is not on material needs. As God has declared us of ultimate value by sending his Son to redeem us, we commit to pursue what is of ultimate value -- the Father and his Kingdom. When we do that, the necessities will fall into place.

Need evidence? Want proof? Look at the birds which regularly receive God's care and we are worth a whole lot more to him than they are!

Prayer..
Father,
You have poured your blessings into my life so richly. Forgive me when I worry about things that are not important, especially the material things that distract me. I do believe You will provide all I need as I seek your will, your face, and your Kingdom. Pray your name will always be holy!

In Jesus name I pray.
Amen.

Jesus' Model Prayer

In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left {the house,} and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. Mark 1:35

It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples." Luke 11:1

Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. Give us our food for today and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. And don't let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
Matthew 6:9-13

This is a short guide for disciples on how to pray. The prayer easily divides into two parts:

First, we recognize the enormous greatness of God, and then we recognize our dependency upon him. God is our Father whom we can approach freely as Father, while at the same time revering his holiness.

The second three acknowledge our need for nourishment, forgiveness, and strength to face the rigors of daily spiritual and physical life.

Bottom line, prayer doesn't need to be fluent, but worshipful of God, repentant before God, and dependent upon God while approaching him with confidence as children of God.

Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him. Colossians 3:17

Dear Lord,

May my life be used in your service to accomplish your will. I trust you to fill my daily needs as I depend upon your mercy and grace to forgive me and empower me to forgive.

In Jesus name I pray.
Amen.
Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Mark 14:38

Seeking The Father In PRAYER

Seeking the Father "And now about prayer. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you." Matthew 6:5-6

Jesus is reminding us that God has sent us an invitation to visit with him in prayer. Prayer is about developing a relationship and dependency upon God as Father.

In almost every place you go and visit with Christians, there is a deep, underlying conviction: Our walk with the Lord, our life of discipleship, our power over sin, and our love for God would all be greatly enhanced with more time in prayer. Without realizing it, a culture obsessed with privacy finds its most intimate and private gift, prayer, lived out in public more than in private.
Prayer is about developing a relationship and dependency upon God as Father, not about being seen. To give up that for the approval of the crowd is not only shameful, Jesus says it's damning.

Brothers and sisters, when we get together to pray, do not let it become more of a "gossip/critic arena" rather than a "discipline and solemn time of prayer to God". We should not be looking for something "interesting" instead of a feeling of coming into the "throne room of God" where we can awesomely pray to Him!

Please read Mark Lowenstein's IMMEASURABLE PROPORTIONS.
How often do we kneel before God in prayer for His church? To kneel before God shows your humility before God.
http://marklowenstein.blogspot.com/2005/03/immeasurable-proportions.html

Thank you, Mark!

My House Will Be Called A House of Prayer for All Nations. Isaiah 56:7
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16-18

PRAYER:
Father,
I want to know you and experience your attending presence. Forgive me for the times I have prayed in ways that drew attention to me instead of focusing on my relationship with you. Time in your presence is such a gift! Thank you. Thank you for hearing me. Thank you for giving me such an awesome gift. Thank you for your Holy Spirit who intercedes for me when I pray. Thank you that I can pray with confidence knowing that I will be heard because of the mighty name of Jesus, through whom I pray.

Amen.

Jesus Teaches His Disciples About Prayer

Notice the order in this prayer. First, Jesus praised God, then he made his requests. Praising God first put us in the right frame of mind to tell him about our needs. Too often our prayers are more like shopping lists than conversations.

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, " When you pray, say:

"Father, hallowed by your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation." Luke 11:1-4

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he made forgiveness the cornerstone of their relationship with God. God has forgiven our sins. We must now forgive those who have wronged us. To remain unforgiving shows we have not understood that we ourselves deeply need to be forgiven. Think of some people who have wronged you. Have you forgiven them? How will God deal with you if he treats you as you treat others?

But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. Mark 11:25

Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. Stop criticizing others, or it will all come back on you. If you forgive others, you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37

Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32

Persistence in prayer overcomes our insensitivity, not God's. To practice persistence does more to change our hearts and minds than his and it helps us understand and express the intensity of our needs. Persistence in prayer helps us recognize God's work.

"Ask, and God will give to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will open for you. Yes, everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And everyone who knocks will have the door opened." Keep Praying! - Matthew 7:7-8

We cannot bear sin - when it is near us, we feel like a wretchchained to a rotting carcass; we groan to be free of the hatefulthing. -- C. H. Spurgeon