Worshiping God In My Daily Life

      I want to do as much as I can in my worship to God. I want it to be a daily worship. I want to thank him and praise him everyday. My mind will be thinking of God throughout my day. Psalm 66:4 "All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; They sing praises to your name." If the earth and the things upon it worships God and sings praises to God, I wish to join that chorus. Luke 19:39-40 "And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." He answered. "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." Revelation 5:13 "And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever." There is a sea of worship upon this earth that is going up to God and a lot of people are not even aware of it. If all of the things that God created glorifies him in their very existence, I cannot let my worship to be any less. 
     I must give glory to God in everything that I do. 1 Corinthians 10:31 "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." If I give honor to the Lord in all the things that I do, I would be in harmony with the nature that is around me. We both would be praising God with our whole being. Psalm 150:6 "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!" Psalm 95:1-6 "Oh come; let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!"
     In my daily worship I will honor God in my thoughts. I will think upon his goodness and righteousness. I will place his words within my mind and heart as a protection against sin. Psalm 119:11 "I have stored up your words in my heart, that I might not sin against you." In my daily life, when I am busy I will still keep the Lord upon my mind and I will stay within his presence and not drift away. I will always thank God in prayer for all the things that I do have in my life. Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
     When we meet with others, we must do what is right and good so to honor our Lord in heaven. The way we live our life is our worship to God. We want him to look down from heaven and be pleased in how we are living our lives. We want to be pleasing to the Lord by our works and actions. Whether or not the tasks is small or big, we will do our best in trying to accomplish them while bringing honor to our Lord.
     In my daily life, I will do my best to have more of the Lord's spirit than the world's. I want to feel united with all of God's creations. Just like those creations, I want my very existence honoring our Lord in heaven. I do not want to be standing in the wilderness and be the only thing that is not honoring the Lord. I do not want to be living contrary to the will of God while the earth glorifies him and obeys his voice.

Psalm 145:1-2 "I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.

Revelation 4:11 "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."

Psalm145:10 "All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you!"

Job 12:7-10 "But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; The birds of heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Whom among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind."
      

My Faith In God Is My Rest

     My faith in God is my rest. Psalm 62:1-2 "For God alone my soul waits in silence, from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken." Psalm 4:8 "In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety."
     My soul is at rest for God is my rock and my salvation. He is someone that I completely trust. He is someone that I believe in with my whole soul. My soul is at rest for God is in complete control over what is happening upon this world. My present and my future is in his hands. What is there to be anxious about? Why should I worry, if I have a faith without any doubts and I fully trust in the Lord.
     If I were to say to the Lord in prayer, "In to your hands I place my troubles." Then after praying I continue to worry and think to myself if God even heard my prayer or if he will even answer it. How would I find any rest if I have weakened my faith with doubts of worry? Would not God see within my mind in how little faith I had in him when I prayed? Our rest in God is so very important to our relationship with him. We should be at rest when we cast our burdens upon him that are to heavy for us to carry alone, in so doing we should feel much lighter and more at peace. If our faith is strong and has no doubts we should feel within our heart that God is not far away from us but standing close to us as our friend.
     If we believe God to be real then we will find comfort when we pray. We must talk to God as our friend and not as a stranger. We must wholeheartedly trust in him to answer our prayers. We can find our rest in our faith and our trust in God. We can live in peace knowing we have salvation through his son Jesus Christ. Through his resurrection, we have comfort knowing that death has no hold on us anymore. We can have peace knowing the Kingdom of God is drawing near. The chaos within our mind can be broken by the peace that Jesus Christ gives through his words. Our rest, our comfort and our peace that that we have through God's Holy Spirit sustains us through our day and it makes us feel closer to God.
     My relationship to God can be hinder by my lack of rest in the Lord. To much worry and anxiety can cause a distance between me and him. It can cause a lack of peace for my soul. If my goals in life are different from what God wants me to do, this will cause a distance in my relationship with him. My rest will be broken if I feel that I am not going in the same direction as God. There could be a thing that you are doing that is displeasing to God and preventing you to have your rest so you must be willing to let it go. A strong relationship to God is to receive what God wants us to receive and let go of the things that God wants us to let go of.
     My faith in God is my rest. It is my belief in him that brings comfort to my heart and soul. My rest is me doing what God commands so to be pleasing to him in his sight. I find comfort in believing that God sees me and hears me when I pray. I want to live in peace knowing that I will be accepted by him and be welcomed to live within his kingdom. My rest is lessening all of my worries by placing them within God's hands to help me solve. 

Philippians 4:6-7 "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

John 16:33 "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."

Isaiah 26:3 "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."

Psalm 3:5-6 "I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around."

     

My Surrender To The Lord

This is my surrender to the Lord:
      
     "I stand before the Lord without any distractions. My mind is only focused upon him. Within my mind, I can see clearly his presence before me. There is no resistance within my mind to make that view hard to see. I lay down everything that I have and that I am at his feet. I throw away that which has kept me away from surrendering my life to him. Through the Holy Spirit and his words, I will listen to his voice and do as he says. Before his throne, I bow as his obedient servant. I will refuse the things that he rejects and love the things that he loves. I will walk the path that he wants me to walk. I will live for him until the end."
     In our surrender to God. We are showing him our love. Jesus tells us what is the great commandment in Matthew 22:37-38 "And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment." We are showing God our love when we surrender our heart, soul and mind to him. If we give him our love from our hearts, we will draw near to God and he will find us, meaning we will make a spiritual connection to him. The LORD said in Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." Deuteronomy 4:29 "But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and all your soul." If we give to God our surrender of our heart, mind and soul, we will draw closer to him and find him. We will make a spiritual connection of our heart to his.
     In our surrender of our heart, mind and soul to God, we must follow Jesus and obey his words. Matthew 16:24-25 "Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." By denying ourselves and taking up our cross, we will be trying to live a spiritual life and not a fleshly one. Galatians 5:24 "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." This is our spiritual worship to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. Romans 12:1 "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."
     In our surrender to God, we want to be pleasing to him. We want to know if we are doing anything that he does not like and we want him to guide us in doing what is right. Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" The apostle Paul was worried to if he was doing anything wrong that would disqualified him from receiving praise from God. He wanted to make sure he was practicing what he preached. 1 Corinthians 9:27 "But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."
     Our surrender to God is more that just words, it is giving God our heart, mind and soul. With our mouth we will praise and thank him. We will openly declare him to be our God and with our heart we will love him. Our mind will be thinking about his words and how to put them to use in our life. Our body and soul will being doing the necessary work to support his church in spreading his Gospel to many others. Our commitment to God is with our whole being. We surrender to him wholly and completely. 

Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
     

Not Again

      How many times have we said those words, "Not again!" Sometimes life can be so cruel and unrelenting. You may have went through a bad experience over again. Like when your car breaks down and you fix it and then it breaks down again. You could have had a health problem that you thought you were over it and then you find out that it has returned. You might had to fix your house from either storm, water or fire damage and then sometime later you had to fix it again from the same kind of damage. Sometimes we have to deal with the same type of problem and we think to ourselves, "Not again." 
     We are only human and we can only take so much before we start to break. Our mind and our heart is not made out of stone. The problems we face in life can effect us mentally and physically. They can wear us down and make us feel tired from constantly trying to solve them and then having the same problem return again. Life makes you feel you have no control when you fix your house from storm damage and then you hear another storm is on it's way. What can you do but pick up the pieces over and over again. Not again we may say but life says yes, again.
     What can we do? We must continue on in our life, the best way we can. In the reality of life there will be good times and there will be bad times, we just have to endure the bad times to get to the good times. We can try our best to make sure that we experience more good times than we experience the bad. 
     How to face a problem that we have? We cannot linger on what should have been but on what we can do now to solve it. We must break down our problem into smaller steps that we can fix and then go step by step in solving it. Do not say, "It can only be done one way." but be flexible in your thinking and try another way if your original plan did not work. You do not have to go it alone you can seek out help if you need it. You can pray to God and ask for his strength and guidance and have faith that your problem we be solved.
     We must do our best to endure and persevere, even if the same problem keeps coming our way. We must not give up and give in to the hopelessness that we may feel. In time our life will be better. We just have to work through the 'Not again' times of our life knowing this will not last forever. We can trust in God to help us see through our problems and help us to find the answers that we need.

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

Philippians 4:6-7 "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

 

None Participation, Could It Be Hurting Your Life?

     I wanted to write this before you read this post so I would not be hypocritical. The things I am telling you to do in this post I should be doing as well. If you see a 'you' in this post it should read 'you and me'. If you feel you are living a sedentary lifestyle than an active one and if you feel you should be getting out more and meeting people, this is how I also feel about my life. I wrote this post for you and me so we can start to think about the changes that we might need to do so to make us feel better about our life.
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      Being only the watcher and not the doer could be hurting your life. Seeing people having fun and not being apart of it, you could be losing out in making a connection with others. Reading about love and not being around people who can love may make you feel lonely. Not being apart of a group that is working on something, you may lose out on an opportunity to develop a friendship. Not going out but staying in, the isolation could be making you feel sad.
     We need connection and the feeling of belonging. We need to find the people who we feel comfortable with. I know that being a Christian we are no part of this world but we still need to be around some people who are like us so to have some kind of support and fellowship. Being all alone in this world is not good for our mental health. I know that some people like being alone and if that is their choice then I am fine with it. I am saying that if you feel disconnected from life maybe it is time for you to become more active in life than sitting on the sidelines and watching.
     In doing things, going places and meeting people we will find out more in what we like to do and the people we like to be around. By becoming more active in our life, we might be able to find out what we are looking for. It could be the beginning in finding out what was missing in our life. Being more active in our life, we will benefit from the activity and be more healthy by doing it. We do not have to drastically to change our lifestyle but with the little changes that we do it could make a difference in our life.
     You could find a church that you would like to go to and participate in their activities. You would meet new people that may have the same beliefs that you have and maybe even make a new friend. You could find a community center that has activities that you like. You could find a group with the same interest that you have or even go to a book club that you like. You need to find a place that makes you feel comfortable and that you would not mind visiting again in order to make you feel like you want to be around other people.
     Do not put a high amount of pressure upon yourself fearing that you may say something awkward causing people to not to like you. We all seem to have some amount of social anxiety. The people that you meet may have the same anxiety fearing that you may not like them.  I am not trying to cause you more anxiety by suggesting to you to go out and meet with others. I am just suggesting that a lack of social interaction may have left you feeling a little bit lonely and sad. I know that some people may have a physical condition that has left them not able to get around. Some people may have a mental condition called social phobia that prevents them from going outside. I am just saying do what you can to interact with others so that you do not feel so isolated and alone.
     In the Bible it has many verses telling us to be together, to encourage each other, to love and to help each other. Jesus and the apostles did not live in isolation but they were interacting with the people who were around them. Here are some Bible verses telling us how we should live our lives.

Genesis 2:18 "Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him."
Hebrews 10:24-25 "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
Ephesians 4:2 "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love"
Galatians 6:2 "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."
Ephesians 4:32 "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."   
     

Lord, Help Me to Keep Moving Forward

      Have you ever been in a situation, where you feel that you cannot take one more step? You feel tired and exhausted because you cannot find any rest for yourself. You feel there is never any let up to the obstacles that you face. When you get past one then another takes it's place. This causes your energy to become depleted. You want to keep moving forward but your body has become to weak to move your feet to go on. Your faith in God is still with you and your hope in him is still alive but your body and mind has become so tired. You look up into heaven and say, "Lord, help me to keep moving forward do not let me to just keep standing still."
     It is like we are standing in three feet of snow and we still have a will to move forward but the wind is blowing so hard against us and every step we take is so hard to do. In our mind we ask ourselves when will this end and we pray to God to rescue us so that we can continue on.
     I am not a quitter but in my mind there is a question to what to do? How do I move forward if I can barely move my feet? I must think deeply within my mind in how did I get to this place of being stuck and not being able to move? How did I work so hard and tried my very best and still in up in a place like this? My mind aches at trying to find an answer. Who cares, you may say to yourself if I do not move forward and stay and die in this state of mind? I say that your family will care, your friends will care, your sons, daughters and wife will care. If you have anyone in your life at all, they will care and God most definitely will too. However I must say that the world in general may not care. In these things lies your power to move.
      I see that maybe there are some ways that you can move forward. One way is from the help of your friends and family by their support and love. You can get strength through your prayers and worship of God. You can also seek out professional help through a therapist. Another way is that you can get mad at the world and say, "If the world does not care if I stay here and die I will move forward in spite of them all." You can start by twisting and turning your torso. You can move your hands up and down and around. You can kick your feet in anger. You can still jump up and down. This is the beginning to moving forward again. Showing yourself that not all is lost that you can still move your body. By doing these things you are firing up your mind and your body to take a few steps forward. You can say to yourself, "I will not stay here and die in this hopeless state of mind." Then push with all your might to take a step forward.
     We must find a way to free our mind and not be locked up in hopelessness. The world is still going to continue on whether we are stuck in one place or not. We have to find a way to adapt and move forward. By changing the way we think and by changing the direction we are going in maybe we can bend like a reed and not break like a rigid stick to find a way around our troubles. 
     I maybe stuck right now but I been stuck before and figured my way out. I have used perseverance and endurance and even by pure will power alone I have made my way forward. I do not quit or throw up my hands in surrender to the troubles I am facing. I will push forward even at a slow pace until I find a solution, an answer, a way through or a way around my obstacles in life. When you stop trying you start to become hopeless inside but when you continue forward and do not give up you show yourself there is still hope and that you will find what you are looking for. You are playing for more time. As the saying goes, "Time heals all wounds." Maybe all you will need is some time to heal and rest.
     I will still keep on looking and praying to God for my answers. I will not give up on my faith no matter how hard my life may get. God said in Joshua 1:9 " Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Exodus 14:15 "The LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward." Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you." Isaiah 40:29 "He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength." Psalm 73:26 "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."     

Forgive Them

     Forgive them, Jesus said in Matthew 18:21-22 "Then Peter came up and said to him. "Lord how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times." Even when he was on the cross, Jesus said to his Father in heaven in Luke 23:34 "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do..." These are the scriptures I think about when someone that I am close to or that I know may say something very hurtful to me and I see it as a very different kind of verbal attack. They did not do it in anger but in a very casual way showing to me that it was not a purposeful attack on me. It did not really mean much to them when they said it. They even forgot what they said to me. However to me it was like a gut punch that took my breath away and I needed sometime to recover. They could sense my distress but they did not know what caused it. I just tell them that I am not feeling well and need sometime to rest.
     I knew exactly what it was as soon as my friend said those hurtful words to me. It was not a personal attack by my friend instead it was a well place attack by Satan to test me. He wanted to see how I will react and how much damage he can do to my friendship and to my relationship to God. I have experienced these kind of attacks before and they are so unexpected and they hit so hard. I usually need a few hours of prayer asking God for his strength and protection to recover. I will also use distraction like reading and watching television to get my mind off what was said. After a few hours of praying and using distraction I will start to feel better. I did not yell at my friend or caused him distress in anyway because I knew that Satan was just using him to get to me.
     Jesus went through something similar with the apostle Peter. Matthew 16:21-23 "From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord. This shall never happen to you." But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." Satan was using Peter to get to Jesus. Satan wanted Jesus to doubt his mission and not go through with it. However Jesus saw that Satan was using Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan!" He did not get angry at Peter but at the one that was using him.
     I find these verbal attacks by Satan so tiring to me. The more older I get the more more tiring they become. I sometimes think that Satan is trying to wear me down. These attacks can be designed to attack your faith, your self-worth and it can create doubts that you are even loved. Satan will use someone to attack any of your weaknesses and this attack will usually be from someone that you are close to so to make it unexpected and more damaging to your mental state. If it breaks up your relationship then so be it he is more than happy that it did. He wants to separate you from your friend and from your friendship with God. This is why you must use forgiveness for your friend because he was not the one that was verbally hurting you but being used by Satan to test your faith, your forgiveness and your love.