Heart for Worship

I can remember growing up in the home of a preacher and pastor that getting ready for Sunday worship services was a big ordeal.  Preparing for worship always started on Saturday.  First, we prepared spiritually by studying the Sunday school lesson.  Then we prepared the physical body making sure the hair and clothes were ready.  We went to bed to ensure adequate rest for the day of worship.  On Sunday morning we woke up to the sounds of the local radio station playing gospel music which always aided the heart in preparation.    In addition to all of that, just knowing that God had brought us through another week always increased the desire to worship.  It seemed to me now that the preparation was a “Big Deal”  By the time we made it to church, we were in obedience with Psalm 95:1-3 which says “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!  Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving.  Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.  For the Lord is the great God”.   

 Even to this day, I try to make it a practice to prepare for Sunday worship but on occasion I miss the mark.  Last weekend, I missed the mark for proper preparation and found that while in worship that I was so tired even to the point of yawning.  While I sat listening to the Pastor preach from the depths of his heart, I forced myself to listen and stay alert.  Then I became shameful because I thought about the hard work that he must have put into prayer and preparation that I was barely able to receive because I was too tired.  I also thought about how when I need God, I surely wouldn’t want him to be as tired I was at that moment.  When I cry out for him for blessings, I don’t want Him to say “Give me a minute, I’m too tired”.

When we have not properly prepared our hearts for worship, it is difficult to have a true worship experience.  When we don’t have a true worship experience, we tend to blame it on many things including the preacher and the choir or the music.  We become quick to offer the many suggestions why worship is not fulfilling.  So I ask the question “Is your heart prepared for worship”?

Oftentimes people bring a tainted heart to worship and expect to be entertained into a spiritual moment.  When we have a heart to go and worship the true and living God then nothing should prevent our worship.  Our focus should be on Christ.  Make up your mind today to prepare your heart for worship.  Declare today to prepare your heart for true worship.  David said in Psalm 96:9 “Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” 

I am going to work hard to make sure I keep a heart prepared for worship.  Will you join me?

God Provides

For the past four years, I've had the pleasure of watching squirrels run, play and eat in my backyard almost every morning.  But this morning, this close up look gave me a wonderful feeling in my heart.  This picture is a constant reminder to me that God provides!  Every morning these squirrels show up expecting to eat and they do.  They dig, they find, they eat because God provides.  Just like He provides for these animals every morning, He provides for His own.  Just show up every morning expecting!

How I Feel - True or False?

Often people tell us, “to follow your heart or feelings.”  The famous Isley brothers once recorded a very influential song titled “It’s your Thing, Do what you want to do” and in today’s society it seems that many people are doing just that.

Some feel the urge to kill innocent people because of envy, greed, bullying, and/or obsession.

Some feel sexual urges that leads to rape, molestation, fornication, adultery and/or homosexuality.

Some feel that they no longer love their spouses and choose to cheat and/or leave their families.

Some feel they no longer want to be a parent so they abandon their responsibilities.

Some feel that life is not worth living, so they take their own lives.

Some feel that it is okay to steal from others things they may need and/or desire.

Some feel that they are depressed and/or empty and choose let alcohol or drugs order their steps.

I’m sure, at some point in our lives; we have acted on false feelings.  I know that I have but God’s word tell us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding.”  I’m so thankful that God’s promises are real and His grace and mercy endures forever.

John 8:31b-32 “…”If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  So don’t be overcome by your feelings because we know that our feeling change moment by moment.  If your feelings or your actions don’t line up with the word of God then they are not true but in-fact false feelings and ones to be ignored!  God will not go against His spoken word by giving any of us the approval to indulge in sinful things because that’s what we feel and it feels right. 

2 Timothy2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  In other words, knowing God’s word will help you to know whether or not your feelings are True or False.  I pray that each of us will choose to live according to our true feelings today!

Prayers of blessings to each of you.

Love,

Benita

You’re a Christian…Really?

Many people go to church on Sundays and if you ask they will tell you that they are Christians. But if you didn’t ask you would have no way of knowing that they were. Douglas Meador once said, “A church membership does not make a Christian any more than owning a piano makes a musician.

The Christians in fact really have one foot walking with the Lord and the other foot walking with the world. They believe that the world’s way is the right way and strive harder to be more like the world than Christ. In fact, most Christian and churches are conforming to the world’s standards and are bringing those worldly standards into the churches. But we must heed the words of Fred Fisher when he said “It is not the business of Christianity to provide an organization for the world but to infuse the spirit of Christ into the organizations of the world”.

We must begin to live every aspect of our lives so that others may know that we are Christians and the light of the world. It’s not the fact that you are in the choir, usher board, pulpit, or various other ministries within the church that makes you a Christian. It doesn’t matter if you attend church on Sundays or even bible study on Wednesdays that make you a Christian. It doesn’t matter if you dad is the preacher or you grew up in church that makes you a Christian.

We must understand, “To be like Christ is to be a Christian”. The question of the day is, are you a Christian….really?

Be Blessed,

Benita

Loving Someone to Hell

In today’s society the phrases “Do You”, “Be true to you” or “Do what makes you happy” are very common and are often use to encourage or to validate that someone’s behavior is okay. We in today’s time have come to point where we believe that we are entitled to do whatever we want. In addition, there are people especially Christians who believe the same.



There are certain things (sin) that we as people may want to engage in that may make us feel good but will be detrimental for our salvation. Romans 6:23 warns us “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. When we as Christians, fail to tell the truth and be honest we others, then we are in fact loving them to hell while they are in the midst of their sins.


Now every individual will have to stand before the Lord and answer for their own actions. However, when we know that our friends and or love ones are doing something to cause death then we should try helping them out. Our love for that individual should trump their personal desires when it comes to telling the truth regardless of their final decision. Henry Ward Beecher says “It is one of the severest tests of friendship to tell your friend his faults. So to love a man that you cannot bear to see a stain upon him, and to speak painful truth through loving words, that is friendship.”


Our love for people should lead us to give them good and Godly advice and not worldly advice. If the advice “Do You”, “Be true to you” or “Do what makes you happy” was really good and true then it would be okay for robbers to rob, or molesters to molest, murderers to murder etc. because these individuals are doing what their hearts desire.


I’m so glad to have had parents and others who never upheld me in my sin but in fact spoke against it. I am raising my children the same way. I will not let any past sins or possible future sins keep me from telling the truth concerning God’s word. I am choosing not to love anyone to hell but in fact to give hope in a God who is able to take away sinful desires and or acts. Psalm 79:9 teaches us to pray for our sins “Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name’s sake”.


Shailer Matthews believes that “Love that seeks to do men good is cowardice when it refuses to prevent them from doing wrong”. It is my prayer that we will not allow our love for family and friends to encourage and or validate them in sin but rather our love will encourage them in the Lord.


Benita

Deuteronomy Chapter 6 Test: Are you Failing?

When I became pregnant with my first child, I immediately ran out and purchased the following books: “What to Expect While Expecting”, “What to Expect the First Year” and “What to Expect the Toddler Years”. These books provided me with a lot of great information to help me in being the best mom. I read these books almost daily or at least searched for an answer to a question in addition to consulting with my mom. I was so convinced that these books were just the best and used them so much my mom called me “the book mommy”.


I’m sure that I’m not the only women to have done this or at least relied on the wealth of knowledge from grandmamma or another elderly mom. We do this in effort to make sure that we providing the best care for our little ones. We want to give them the best of everything that we and life has to offer.

However; we have been commanded to give our children something else. Deuteronomy 6:6-8 tells us “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

In the midst of giving our children the best of the material possessions, clothes, and filling the trophy case full of ribbons and trophies we need to make sure that we don’t fail to teach them the word of the Lord. God’s word is what will help them to make the right decisions. God’s word helps them be convicted when considering or doing wrong. Children are born into sin and they need to know that they have a Savior who died on the cross to save them. They need to know why they need God and why they need to worship him so that it won’t become “just the thing to do”. They need to fear the Lord and love Him with all their hearts.

It is our responsibility as parents to ensure that their children are taught statues and judgments of the Lord. It is our responsibility to hold true to God’s word and not be bullied into letting and giving them the approval to do things that are contrary to God word.

The question today is, are you passing of failing the Deuteronomy chapter 6 test. If you need further guidance please read the entire chapter of Deuteronomy 6 and make an effort to be obedient by giving your child/children the best that life has to offer “the Word of God”.

I’m sorry that I can’t guarantee that your child/children will be little angels and perfect but we must be obedient and the best stewards that we can be and God will take care of the rest.

Be strong and be blessed,

Benita

Miserable Comforters

Can you think of a time when you went to friends or they came to offer you comfort but instead of receiving comfort you were made to feel mad, upset or hurt? Or better yet, have you ever instead of being a comfort to someone made them feel quite the opposite?



In Job 16:2; Job calls his three friends "miserable comforters" because they wrongly concluded that he iwas being punished by God for some secret and un-confessed sin. These three friends didn't necessarily misrepresent God's attributes; however, they did misrepresent His character! They didn’t provide Job with comfort as he suffered through his God ordained test but instead caused additional suffering when trying to figure out the purpose for the test.


When I reflected on the words “miserable comforters” I thought about the many times during my sufferings that I was made to feel worse by words of others who thought that they were doing right. But I also had to ask myself the question, “Had I ever been a miserable comforter”? With a sad heart; I would have to answer yes. I can remember a time where I’m sure I made this person feel really bad about a decision that she made against my advice. Even though the decision was made, that person was suffering and I should have been there for her instead of reminding her of how right I was. It didn’t change anything nor did it make it better.


Whether you’ve been a miserable comforter or have been in company of miserable comforters remember what Matthew 5:44 tells us "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,..."


We as Christians should remember that as comforters, we are to help those during their times of suffering and not make them feel worse or as Job wishing for death. We should at all time before opening our mouths, seek God wisdom on how we should act or what we should say. Remember always the wisdom of Proverbs 15:2 which says “The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.”


Don’t let it be said that you are a “miserable comforter”.

Be Blessed,
Benita