Psalms 63:3 - 4

Psalms 63:3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. 4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

Psalms 134:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord.

John 4:22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. (NKJV)

As I was getting ready to come in and finish my last Bread I popped into my husband's bedroom to visit. What I saw on television sent chills down my spine as it always does. He was watching some musical show. On stage was a man sitting at a piano and singing. Every time they panned to the audience, the majority of them had their arms raised and were waving them toward the singer. As I watched them "worshipping" their idols, this weeks earlier discussion of television and the prevailing spirits came back to me.

While truly not even knowing what he was watching, I'm guessing most people would not see anything wrong with the show. The music was not crude or dissonant. The man was not scantily dressed and my guess is that it was some sort of reality series where someone will end up with lots of money and a new career.

So what's my problem? The audience is worshipping that man and they don't even realize it. I'm sure the vast majority of them would deny "worshipping" anything. But the point is, just as ignorance of the law in juris prudence is no excuse, not knowing that you are worshipping doesn't keep it from happening.

God wants us to raise our hands to Him, not some music group. God wants us to worship Him, not some sports star or movie idol. Just as it bothers us as parents when we see our youngsters "playing" at smoking cigarettes or other negative social behaviors, it must break God's heart to see His children "playing" at worshipping things other than Him.

As someone who had no problem raising my hands, jumping up and down, screaming and yelling or otherwise showing my adoration at concerts, sporting events, bars or other coliseums of the world, I am now honored to raise my hands only to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Just as I would bow to no other, I will raise my hands to no other. Satan is always looking for that counterfeit. Be sure that you know what is worthy of your praise.

In His service for His glory,

Deborah

Matthew 24:6

Matthew 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Matthew 24:32 "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

As I was reading Matthew 24, I was tempted to put the entire chapter in here. Talk about relevant reading! It talks about how all things continue as the in the days of Noah and that if we knew when the thief was coming we would be sure to have our house locked up.

While the Bible is clear that the time of Christ’s coming is not to be found in the Book, He does leave us clues. If you pay attention to the news, not only are we at the beginning of birth pains, it seems like we are several centimeters dilated! Now, more than ever, it is time to get serious about your faith. It will soon become very difficult to discern truth amongst the competing voices. It’s going to be only by having a strong relationship with Jesus Christ, shored up by knowledge of the Word and prayer, that we will be able to remain steadfast till the end. And make no mistake, that end is coming sooner than a lot of people think!

In His Service, For His Glory

Deborah

Romans 12:12

Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.

Ephesians 6:18 With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and stay alert in this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.

1 Peter 4:7 Now the end of all things is near; therefore, be clear-headed and disciplined for prayer. (CSB)

I've had a busy summer. Since I was not working in June, I was able to go for two weeks to help at both our Youth and Children's camps. They were both awesome and while I worked very hard, I was also abundantly blessed.

While at camp, I did lots of praising and worshipping, but not a lot of solid prayer. When I got back, I was praying. I told God how I had missed my intimate time with Him and got a rather shocking reply. "It's not about you." When the message got through I cried. You see, I had been telling Him that I missed the clarity, the peace, the power and the presence that I get when I spend honest time in prayer every day. That I missed the benefits it gave me. What He impressed upon me was that this was a very selfish attitude. You see, more important than the fact that I loose my personal benefits if I slack on my prayer time is the fact that my pastor doesn't get one more prayer for protection. My prayer team doesn't get one more prayer for unity. My church doesn't get one more prayer for revival and my city doesn't have one more warrior coming against the strongholds that have it bound. It's not that I have the ability in myself, but when I become a willing vessel in prayer, God can work mighty things through me.

Unfortunately, working two jobs, six days a week as I have been since I returned from camp, I'm still struggling to return to the awesome schedule I had in early summer. I won't give up though. Too much is riding on it.

James 5:56 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful. (CSB)

In His service for His glory,
Deborah

Psalms 101:3

Psalms 101:3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Phillipians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

I like to listen to Randy Carlson on Family Life Radio's Parent Talk. Through the years he has given me a lot of sound, scripturally based advice on relationships. The other day, his show was on controlling media in your household. As someone who is strongly against television, I was pleased to hear several callers respond that they had made the decision to remove it completely.

My ex-husband struggled with this many years ago. For several days I would watch him turn on the TV, flip through the stations (usually in a matter of moments) and turn it off. I finally asked him what he was doing. He said he would watch a channel until something unGodly came on. After a week of this, the television went.

My experience, which was echoed over and over again with the callers was that the sense of calm and peace in the house was immediate. When you realize that satan is the prince of the air (a fact which he does little to hide these days) and that visual images are very profound, it becomes easy to understand that you are allowing spirits into your household that you would not otherwise allow. As one who unfortunately has a television in my house again, I am sorely vexed by the spirits of anger, violence, negativity, lust and greed which invade my home. Even if I am not physically sitting there watching, I can feel and be affected by the sounds.

A pastor of mine used to put it this way "Would you allow a couple to come into your home, lay down on your living room floor and make love in front of you? Would you allow a man with a gun to come in and chase your family around?" Of course not. Yet, that is exactly what we do when we allow that to come into our houses via the media!

It was pretty well a given during these calls that even if the show itself you were watching was not bad, the commercials were. Some callers had managed to use TIVO or other filtering devices to pretty good effect, but basically acknowledged that there was not much you could do other than stay away from it completely.

If you have never done a television fast, I challenge you to try one. Even if it is only for a week, you will be amazed at the difference in your home and in your soul. Spend the time reading, playing games with your family or working on a project. You will see that it is time well spent.

In His service for His glory,
Deborah

Isaiah 55:9

Isaiah 55:9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (NIV)

We get so tired of hearing this scripture and frankly, I sometimes feel rather helpless when this scripture is all I can fall back on. When a pastor's wife is diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in 90% of her lymph nodes. When a deacon is run over by a tractor in a freak accident and is fighting for his life. When those in the church are dealing with daily pain and infirmities. Why God!? Don't you care?!

All you have to do is look at the Psalms to know that from time eternal men have felt overwhelmed with their circumstances and have cried out to God for comfort.

Psalm 34:17 says "The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles." (KJV) There are 17 Psalms alone in the King James Version that reference "my cry". God never promised us that we would walk through this world without troubles. He did promise us, however, that we would reap the reward if we did not give up.

As the end nears, it is easy to see the devil walking around like a roaring lion and the pain is hard to take. Just remember; this is not our home, what happens to our bodies is temporal, and the reward is worth the wait.

Be strong. Be of good courage.

In His Service, For His Glory

Deborah