My Heart Sings Worthy // Christ For The Nations Worship

Holy Spirit Move - Klaus Kuehn & Marco Barrientos

Live from Ghana

Beneath the Surface.....

    Luke 16:19-22  Jesus said, "There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered in sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried."
     Jesus tells us a story about two men, who on the surface were as different as night and day. One man was so rich, that he was the envy of everyone and he had every imaginable luxury of life. Then there was Lazarus, a man so miserably poor that other people carried him and laid him at the rich man's gate. There they were hoping that there he might receive something. Yet, in all the time Lazarus lay there, only the dogs came and had pity on him.

    In the end, both men die. When everything temporary is suddenly stripped away, what was on the surface suddenly changed in value. The rich man lost every opportunity he once had. He had financial resources and He had power, friends and every comfort. Yet, in all his short life the rich man did nothing that was important enough for us to even know his name. God had given him a page to write something with his life, and he left that page blank...There was nothing of any eternal value!
    Right at the rich man's gate , God had put Lazarus. Lazarus could have been a part of the rich man's life, yet he did not even receive a single crumb. On the surface was hopelessness, yet, Lazarus had an eternal hope. He put his faith in God. God gave him a page to write on and he wrote his life's story, then signed his name!

   Every one of us is given a different page to write on. Some of us are rich and some poor. Some of us have every opportunity, every advantage and every encouragement. But when we finish the chapter that is ours to write, it will not matter how many things we had, but how many we gave away. It will not matter how many places we went, but what we did when we got there. It will matter little how many people we knew, but how many we loved.
    How amazing that Jesus came with every imaginable advantage and blessing of heaven, then gave it all away. He healed a man with a withered hand, then his own hands were nailed to a wooden cross. Jesus stood by to protect the woman the religious leaders wanted to stone, but as he carried His cross no one was able to protect Him. They took away everything Jesus had and then gambled for his last piece of clothing. Then as Jesus breathed His last breath he left behind, signed in blood, the name that will never be forgotten. His enemies were sure they had taken his life, but Jesus left behind an eternal treasure for everyone who comes and looks beneath the surface....

You are still Holy - Klaus K. & Kari Jobe

Kari Jobe - Run To You (I Need You) (with Lyrics) (Worship with tears 30)

Deluge - Worshiping You

I Praise Him because part two....

     2 Samuel 22:2-4 The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer, my God my Rock in whom I take refuge, my Shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord who is worth to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
     David was a guy who really knew how to praise God. He jumped in with both feet when He began to worship.  So much talk goes on today about how God is to be worshipped for who He is, and not for the things He has done. Though that does sound nice, all through the Bible we find men and women who are passionate about what God has done. They praise God for his help, his faithfulness, his miracles and His creation. Nowhere do we find God having problems with these people. In fact the Holy Spirit often makes sure that such expressions of praise are recorded in His word for us to know that it is not only okay with Him, but it is just awesome when we praise Him because...
      Sometimes when I tell my wife that I love her, she wants to know why. "What do you love about me?" She asks. She wants to hear it from my own lips. I cannot just say "Just because you are you.." It may sound nice but she needs more and so does our God. One leper out of ten came back and worshipped Jesus because He had healed him. The disciples worshipped because Jesus had stilled the dangerous storm. Mary magnified the Lord, when Gabriel brought her the message that she would give birth to the Messiah. They all came and worshipped because of what God had done in their lives.

     Maybe we are not worshipping God for what He has done in our lives, because we keep God in our own little box so much.  He has very little chance to come and do His work in us and with our real problems. It is way too easy to just close our eyes and say "I worship you because of who you are" and then pretend that our needs, desires and problems don't exist. That is not glorifying to God at all. Even when we do work our way through a battle we rarely stop to worship, because we think that God had nothing to do with our solution. Maybe we think God doesn't need to hear our praise for what He has done. Maybe we think He just wants us to keep showing up in church and putting money in the plate!

    Try to imagine living with a husband or wife who acted like that. You receive a gift or and act of unselfish love from that person and you just don't respond or you give some kind of lukewarm, "Hey thanks". Thank would fly like a lead balloon! The joy would be taken out of the moment and maybe the next time they might just figure it isn't really worth it to do things for someone who doesn't care!

    So when you go to praise God stop and remember the things He has done. Remind Him of how great He has been to you. Is He really your Rock, your Salvation, and the one giving you comfort in the middle of life's battles? God loves to hear His children praise Him for all He has done. He has joyfully given to us all we need. I know He longs to hear us praise Him with honest joyful hearts for what He has done!

Rita Springer - Holy is Our King

Our God - Steffy Frizzell, Bethel Church, Redding, CA

You Are Still Holy - Rita Springer

I Praise Him Because...

The Lord is my strength and my defense, He has become my salvation. He is my God and I will praise Him, my father's God and I will exalt him. Exodus 15:2
     Just in this one verse Moses remembers 5 reasons to praise...He is my strength..He is my defense...He is my God...He has become my salvation..He is my father's God! If we listen to King David over and over he tells us...God has heard my cry. The Bible is filled with reasons why we can praise God yet it seems our life is filled with moments when we doubt Him. Paul tells us in the famous chapter on Love, that love does not keep a record of wrongs suffered, yet it is not forbidden to make a list of reasons why in spite of any problem that we will praise God!
Psalm 59:17 O my strength I will sing praises to you, for you O God are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

    Throughout the Bible we find men and women exalting, magnifying, worshiping and praising God in all kinds of situations. When facing enemies, or when God has given victory we need to praise him. When we are afraid, or when He has stilled the storms, we need to praise him. When we are going through trials we need to count it all joy, and when the trials have passed and we are lead by quiet waters, He remains worthy of our praise. When we are young and filled with energy, and when we are older and facing times of weakness, we need to praise God. When we are beginning a new adventure in faith, or when we are nearing the end of life's journey we can say with David:
 Psalm 145:2 Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.
   With every and any instrument God has given us we can praise him:
Psalm 43:4 I will Go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy and I will praise you with the lyre, O God my God!
    One day our work will be over, our possessions will pass to someone else and our plans will come to an end, but our opportunity to praise God will never end. As long as we have breath we can praise him and with our last breath we will find our selves face to face with Him. When we finish the journey here on this earth we will just be beginning an eternal journey in His presence where we will find amazing reasons we had never known to continue to praise Him forever and ever.
Psalm 30:12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God I will give thanks to you forever... 

Praying for Pastor Youcef

Here is the link to read Pastor Youcef's letter in full.... http://aclj.us/ehdv

Today in Iran our brother Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani released a letter telling us he is well both in his spirit as well as physically. What a great blessing to know that after having prayed for him how God is sustaining and strengthening his faith. What a challenge to hear his words on praying for those in authority over him! Our words are so important, not because of the mere sound of them but because they are a reflection of our hearts. Jesus told us in Matthew 15:18 The words that you speak come from the heart... If our hearts are truly resting in God's word then they become planted in our hearts and they will bring a harvest one day for God's glory. So let us continue to put our words into prayers for Pastor Youcef. Let us also be cautious of how we express our own opinions about the leadership in Iran. God loves Iran and has a great plan to reach the hearts of men and women in that great nation. That is the same reason Pastor Youcef is suffering with grace and setting us an example. God bless each of you who prays and keeps alive the passion for God's heart both for Youcef Nadarkhani his family and for the nation of Iran. 

When The Stars Burn Down w/Lyrics (Blessing & Honor) Phillips, Craig and...

In Christ Alone - Brian Littrell (with lyrics)

Sidewalk Prophets - "Live Like That"