Christmas, Confidence, Encouragement, Faith, God's Glory, God's Promises, Healing, Hope, Joy, Our Identity, Praise, Prayer, Relationship to Christ, Restoration, Salvation, Sin, Struggles, Thankfulness, Trust, Victory, Worship

Being Intentional in Worship and Praise

Jesus came to this earth to be the sacrifice for our sins, pay the penalty we should have paid, and give us hope for eternity. The book of Revelation gives us a glimpse of what that eternity will look like. As the elders, angels, and the four living creatures are around God’s throne, this is what we will be hearing in Heaven, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:11 ESV) The Bible tells us that constant praise and worship will be heard around the throne room. “And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8 ESV)

When we go through difficulties it can be so hard to give God praise or to worship Him. You may say, “I don’t feel like giving Him praise…this is what happened to me.” In our human strength praising God and worshipping Him IS hard. But we can be overcomers through faith and have hope that those who are unbelievers don’t have. We know that God is in control, and even though life is hard, at the end of our story, we win! Satan and all his demons will not win out.  

This Christmas was not a fun time for me because I was sick with the flu for about a week, right during the celebration of Jesus’ birth. But even though I felt miserable, I could still pray, ask for healing, and receive comfort from Jesus. I could still give Him glory because I knew He had His hand upon me, and He would heal me. I have friends who are going through a very difficult time right now. In October, their daughter, who is in her 40’s, was diagnosed with a brain tumor that turned out to be cancer. As the doctors were doing the surgery to remove it, she had a stroke during surgery. Her left side, which controls her speech, the vision in her left eye is compromised as are her left arm and leg. She still has the most amazing attitude I have ever seen of someone going through such trauma! Her faith is planted firmly upon Jesus, and she can speak a promise that she is clinging to, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 NASB 1995) She and her family are giving praise to God for the progress she is making. She is learning to walk and use her left arm again, her therapy is very extensive, but she is making amazing progress. Despite her circumstances, she is worshipping and praising God with all her might. She is being intentional about her praise and worship. She has made up her mind that regardless of what it looks like, God gets the glory!

So, how do we come to that same position as my friend’s daughter? By putting our full faith and trust in what Jesus did for us on the cross.  “’He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’” (1 Peter 2:24 NIV) That healing can be physical, emotional, and spiritual. Jesus took the stripes to heal our spirits, in that He paid the death penalty for our sins. That alone is a reason to praise Him! His stripes also heal our physical bodies and our emotional issues. As I’m writing this, the song by Elevation Worship, “Trust in God”, is playing. The chorus says, “I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered!” That lyric resonates with me so strongly! I know without a shadow of a doubt that anytime I go to Him, He will hear me, and He will answer my prayer. Another part of the lyric to that song says, “I trust in God, my Savior, The one who will never fail, He will never fail, I trust in God, my Savior, The one who will never fail, He will never fail.” Even during trials, God will never fail us! Praise His Holy Name! He is worthy of praise, honor, and glory, and has power over every circumstance!  

Today, instead of looking at your circumstances, look to Jesus and praise Him, even for the hard times, because He is bigger than what you are going through, and will help you and cause you to be victorious in the middle of your trial.  That is one way we can be intentional in our worship and praise.

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Donna Knuth Rice

I am trying a blog for the first time in my life, and frankly, I feel like I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing! But, here goes. I work at a Christian Television network in the Correspondence Department, where I write letters and emails to our viewers, pray with them for their needs, and send materials they request. I am a Christian. I was saved at the age of 11 during a youth meeting at my church. My pastor led me to the Lord, and to say the least, my life has been an adventure. I am a widow. My late husband, Allen, passed away after 34 1/2 years of marriage. He had been sick the last seven years of his life, and it was a struggle, for him and for me. We met as part of a singing group that was affiliated with a Christian Radio station, and we sang together all through our lives together. We both worked in television and radio all through our married life, mostly for Christian stations. Besides singing I also play flute. I had the luxury of having parents who started out as music teachers...so music was in our house constantly. Some people describe me as being a loud-mouthed lime type...can't disagree with that. I have a tendency to put my foot in my mouth more times than I can count! I also have a tendency to say exactly what's on my mind...which is why I get myself in so much trouble! LOL! Trust me, that's something me and God have been working on for a very long time. I have no children here on earth, although I have a baby in heaven. My baby here is my dog Jack. He's a black lab/ chow mix. He's a big boy....thinks he's a lap dog! Can't think of much else to say. The reason I started this blog is because a few months ago in church, a guest pastor came and delivered a message, and when he asked for those of us who wanted prayer to come forward, I did. When he came to me he asked me if I did any journaling. I told him no 'cause I wasn't very good at it. He told me to start, and prophesied over me that my journal thoughts would impact other people. I wasn't sure just how I was to go about doing this. In fact, I was a little hesitant at first. I started journaling at home, and our assistant pastor's wife asked me to submit something for our Senior newsletter. I didn't the first edition, but something I had heard on Christian radio a long time ago and has stuck with me all these years, came to mind so I submitted an article. That article will be my first post. I don't claim to have all the answers, and my thoughts may seem a little "out there", but I feel God has been prodding me to do this, and so here I am. I hope what I post will bring encouragement, and "Something to Think About".

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