Give Him Your Praise
Worship is the act of praising God for who He is and what He has done for us. Throughout Scripture, worship is a central act of the Christian life.
As Christians, we have received so much from God. Through Jesus Christ, we have received salvation and grace. We now have a new life in Christ and are secure for eternity.
Our response back to God for all of these things should be worship. Praising Him for His goodness and mercy and thanking Him for the things He has done.
We often think of worship as singing songs to God. And within this form of worship, we can do things like clap our hands, pray to God, or raise our hands in awe of Him.
But, singing songs is not the only form of worship. We can worship God in every area of our life. We worship God through prayer and gratitude. We can also worship God by being in awe of His creation.
As the writer of Psalm 47 says, shouting out to God and worshiping God comes from the joy within our heart. As we consider the greatness and goodness of God, as well as everything He has given us, we worship Him out of the joy within us.
Consider during this Advent season how you can intentionally worship God. You can begin by thanking Him for His faithfulness and goodness or any of His other attributes. Express your gratitude for the things He has done in your life and the things He’s given you.
Author: vicklea
I love to read! I’m a retired teacher with a spouse of 45 years, three amazing children and nine wonderful grandchildren. I am blessed!
God Is Our Strength and Shield
Taking time to watch this video will be worth your time…we can depend on God because He protects us, delivers us and gives us confidence to move forward. I needed this today and I hope that it blesses you, too.
Sing Praises and Know That God Is Present
The Lord our Warrior
There are many different ways we can think about God. He is presented in Scripture as a God of love and mercy. He is also the Creator as well as our Rescuer. God is even spoken of as a Protector and a Warrior. Most importantly, God is the Protector of His people, those who trust in Him.
We don’t always consider God as a warrior, fighting on our behalf through the various trials and battles in life. Maybe you even remember a tough season when it seemed like God was absent or felt distant. Typically, in seasons of difficulty, it is us who draw away from God, not God drawing away from us.
Scripture says that God is our strength and shield. But it also says that we should trust Him, which means we have to believe He is present and working in the background even when we don’t think He is. Psalm 28:7 says that as we trust in Him, He will help us in our need.
In addition to trusting in God during seasons of difficulty, the Psalmist encourages us to find joy in God, not only through trusting Him but also through singing songs of praise and worship. Singing to God, especially in the midst of tough seasons, has the power to turn our hearts and minds toward God because singing to God is actually a way of building trust in God.
Songs remind us of who God is and what He has done for us in the past, so that we can trust Him in the present. All of this builds our trust and produces joy in our lives.
During this Advent season, and time of reflection, consider: Are you trusting God to be your strength and shield, or are you trying to manage life’s difficulties alone? What songs can you think of that can help build your faith and joy in this season? Every season of life provides a new opportunity to trust God as our Protector and praise Him for all He has done for us.
Abounding in Hope
Abounding in Hope
The good news of Jesus Christ is for all people and nations. This truth is something that Paul continuously reiterated in his letter to the Roman Christians. Paul wanted to make sure they knew that anyone who believes in Jesus Christ has been given access to God through Jesus Christ.
And so, as Paul neared the end of his letter, he encourages the Romans with this prayer: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13 ESV)
What a wonderful promise! God is doing the work of filling us with joy and peace, and as that happens, by His Holy Spirit, we will abound more and more in hope.
Hope for what? Hope in what?
In Romans 5:1-5, Paul describes how those who believe in Jesus are now at peace with God…
“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (ESV; emphasis added)
Because of our faith in God, we hope in God’s glory, and we hope in God’s love.
So right now, consider how God’s love might fill your heart with hope. In what ways can you hope in God during this Advent season?
Do You Have the Mark?
The Mark of a Disciple
Jesus says that everyone will be able to recognize us as His disciples by our love for one another. That means loving one another the way Jesus intended is a way of identifying ourselves as Christians. It is also one way to share the love of Jesus with others.
While culture promotes a selfish way of living, where we look out for ourselves first, God’s Word encourages us to be counter-cultural in how we love others.
We should be selfless instead of selfish.
We should do what we can to put others before
ourselves.
We should look for ways to help one another.When we choose to love others, we show them Jesus’ love. And through loving others, people will recognize that our lives differ from the world around us. We will be able to share the message and hope of Jesus through the love that we show.
Take time during this season of Advent, to reflect on your own life. Do people know you as a disciple of Jesus Christ through the way you love others? If not, what steps can you take to build a habit of love?
Do
Representative of Christ
I don’t know about you but I am a little fed up with people who say that they represent me in Congress or in the state legislature, but infrequently have they actually asked me how I feel about things and voted the way that I would vote. Maybe it’s because they don’t really know me?
As Christians, we are called to be representatives of Christ to a lost world. We can do that because we know Him through His Word and He knows us because we are His. If we are truly Christians, He communicates with us daily and we should be communicating with Him all day long. Then, we go out into the world and open our mouths and our representation of Christ may not be so obvious. In today’s world of technology, we can just sit at home and represent Christ, or not represent Him well, as the case may be.
Look at this verse carefully. It doesn’t say, “and when you know the Father is listening” or “when you are around other believers.” It says whatever you do or say. That means in person and online. I used to post a lot of things on Facebook that would offend some people because that particular meme or graphic represented my beliefs. Now, I post scripture and about books and family. Not politics to a random audience online who only sees what I post and judges me by what I am posting. I ask myself now before I speak (online or in person) if what I am saying is a good representation of Christ or if I should just keep my mouth shut. More often than not, the Spirit tells me to clam up and keep my personal opinions to myself because they are not edifying Christ.
How about you? Are you ready to make a commitment to be a good representative of Christ wherever you are and whatever you say or do? A new year is coming and it would be a great resolution to make, and one you could actually keep with the help and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We are called to be good representatives of Christ, not the ones whom He will one day turn His back on and say He never knew us.
God’s Covenant Is Forever
If you are reading this and think that you don’t know what a covenant is, I am almost sure that you do, but you may not have used that exact word. A covenant is another word for a binding agreement, a contract or a promise. Anyone who is married has entered into a covenant relationship with their spouse, for example. God entered into a covenant with Abraham when He promised that his seed would be as numerous as the sand. He entered into a covenant with David when He promised that someone from his lineage would be on the throne forever. And He entered into a covenant with us when He sent Jesus to die for our sins; our part of that agreement was to accept the sacrifice. God does not make promises lightly because he always keeps them. Always and in all ways!
God has promised us unfailing love…we cannot escape this promise if we just hold on to it. We have to listen to find life. To what do we listen? To God speaking to us in His Word. Within the cover of the Holy Bible is where all of His promises and His covenant agreements with us can be found. You cannot know what they are unless you read and study His Word. What if you suddenly discovered that you owned valuable property but had never been shown the contract so you were unaware of it? That is what it’s like to never claim the promises of God’s Word. They are meant for each of us, His children, but we have to know them and know that God’s love has provided them for us.
God is faithful. We look around at mankind and see few examples of faithfulness. Most people who call themselves public servants are actually just serving themselves and their own desire for glory, fame and riches. God doesn’t need our worship. We need Him because He is the One we can count on to always be faithful and to always keep His covenant. God is still working out His purpose in our lives every day. We need to help Him fulfill the best for our lives by getting in step with His plan, not insisting that He bless the plan that we have come up with ourselves. God is a faithful, covenant-keeping God and for that I am eternally grateful.
To Be Like Christ
Growing To Be Like Christ
We imitate those we love. As all of us grew up as kids, we imitated those around us so that we could learn and grow. During that process of growing, we naturally gravitate towards certain people we want to be like.
Jesus says something similar in John 14:21: those who love Him are those who obey His commandments.
Now, let’s be clear. Jesus is not saying you must obey Him before you can love Him. We see elsewhere in Scripture that Jesus loves us freely before we do anything for Him. But what this verse is saying is that the ones who love Jesus are the ones who will obey Him.
If we truly love Him, then we will desire to follow Him. More than that, we will strive to be like Him. Jesus never commands us to do something He wouldn’t do. Most of Jesus’ commands are grounded in His actions and character.
So, in order to grow into maturity and Christ-likeness, we should follow Him and obey what He says. And in order to obey what He says, we should start with loving Him.
As you spend time reflecting during this Advent season, how can you better love Jesus?
As we continue loving Jesus and keeping His commandments, our lives will be transformed.
Come, Because He Already Came To You
Come…
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or exhausted, come.
If you’re feeling grateful or expectant, come.
If you’re feeling joyful or grievous, confident or doubtful, encouraged or frustrated, come.“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!”
Psalm 95:6There’s something about falling on our faces before the One who created us—and everything that exists—that reminds us of who He is and who we are not.
When was the last time you stopped—in your car, in your kitchen, in your rushing, in your humanness—to simply come to God?
When you notice a gorgeous sunset, come.
When you can’t see through your tears, come.
When you’re captivated by a child’s smile, come.
When you’re overwhelmed by bad news, come.
When you’re motivated to make an impact, come.
When you’re deflated beyond words, come.Come to the Lord, your Maker.
He has already come to you.
Make a Lifestyle Change
Acknowledge Jesus
The average person makes over 35,000 decisions a day. That’s an average of 1,500 decisions an hour (if you were awake for 24 hours). From opening your eyes and getting out of bed to choosing to read this sentence, your life is composed of thousands of seemingly small decisions that shape the course of your day.
Every decision we make matters, but the most important decision we will ever make is whether we choose to follow Jesus Christ. Believing in Jesus not only changes our life on earth but also determines our life for eternity. Those who believe and follow Jesus will join Him in heaven one day.
Choosing to believe and follow Jesus changes everything. We are not only saved for eternity, but we also get to have a relationship with God today. We have this assurance because God lives in us, and we live in Him. God’s Word says that when we believe in Him, the Spirit of God lives within us, empowering us to live according to God’s will.
Wherever we go and whatever we do in life, God will always be with us. Since we have a relationship with Him, we can talk with Him anytime. His Spirit will grant us peace when we’re fearful and grace when we mess up.
This Advent season, as we prepare our hearts to celebrate His birth, let’s ponder the profound impact of acknowledging Jesus Christ in our lives. May our acknowledgment of Jesus not merely be a proclamation but a lifestyle—an embodiment of the love, grace, and hope He brings into our lives and the lives of those around us.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 