Live to Honor God

Is Anything too Hard for God?

“Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. … Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:  “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”  Jeremiah 32:17, 2627

This is an awesome verse that reminds us the same God who created everything—the heavens and the earth—also created a solution to the sin problem that we all have.  Jesus is the answer.  Jesus paid the price for all of our sins. 

The angel that came and spoke with Mary about Jesus says in Luke 1:37, “For nothing is impossible with God.”  /There is nothing impossible with God.  There is nothing too hard for God.  Think about it the God who created all there is also loves me so much he made a way for us to be friends.  That is amazing love. 

OK, so I am talking about how powerful God is to make a point.  We should always trust God no matter what the circumstances around us seem to indicate.  God is worthy of all our faith.  The Bible is filled with hundreds of examples of people who had incredible faith but there are also many who did not demonstrate great faith. We honor God when we trust him in all situations.  It’s not always easy but it gets easier as we grow in our relationship with God.  We need several things in our daily routine to help us:

1. Bible reading and studying
2. Daily prayer and meditation
3. Daily praise and worship (Sunday alone is not enough for most people)
4. Consistently making the conscious choice to trust God no matter what…
5. Repeating 1-4 every day.

Before you know it you will see growth in your Christian walk and your ability to trust God in all situations.

Remember really trusting God in all circumstances is a choice.

We honor God when you completely trust Him—no matter what.

Blessings

Tim

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Jesus Shall Reign

Here is an awesome arrangement of a hymn by Isaac Watts.  Arranged by Ryan Foglesong.  Here are a couple of links to see more about him:  his MySpace page and his Worship the Rock page.  Before you go to either of these sites give this song a listen.  I think you’ll enjoy it.  I know I did.

Jesus Shall Reign by ResolvedMusic

Blessings

Tim

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God Must Love Music

“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.”  Psalm 57:5-11

I think God must love music.  The Bible has so many verses that talk about people singing and playing music to God.  Have you ever thought about that?  There is no doubt in my mind about it.  I think God made music to be a powerful force in this world because He has such a love for it.  Think about, music touches people of all types and bridges what might otherwise be irreconcilable differences.  I know music reaches deep inside us and connects with us on the inside like few other things.

The Bible says God made man in His own image.  I think this is true in the way music has the power to move us.  When we sing our praises to God and worship Him with music I believe He is touched and feels the praise we are expressing in a powerful way. 

The next time you are singing your praises to God think about how He is being touched by your expressions of praise. 

I believe God must love music.

Blessings

Tim

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Names and Attributes of God

I found this list on another site: “And He Speaks To Me…”  It is nicely done.  I hope you enjoy it as I have.  The link to the original site is below.

He is Good (1 Chron. 16:34); He is Powerful (1 Cor. 1:24); He is Great (Ps. 86:10); He is Excellent (Ps. 8:1); He is Love (1 John 4:16).

He is Wisdom (1 Cor. 1:24); He is Holy (Ps. 22:3-4); He is Patient (Rom. 15:5); He is Changeless (Mal. 3:6); He is Merciful (Ps. 116:5); He is Almighty (2 Cor. 6:18); He is Glorious  (Ex. 15:11).

He is Righteous (Deut. 32:4); He is Just (Is. 45:21); He is Grace (John 1:14); He is Majestic (Is. 33:21); He is All-Knowing (John 16:30); He is All-Wise (Prov. 3:19-20).

He is True (Jer. 10:10); He is Pure (1 John 3:3); He is Sinless (1 Peter 2:21-22); He is Radiant (Heb. 1:3); He is Faithful (Deut. 7:9); He is Magnificent (Is. 28:29); He is Worthy (Ps. 18:3).

He is my Creator (Ps. 139:13); He is my Redeemer (Is. 59:20); He is my Strength (Is. 12:2); He is my Truth (John 14:6); He is the Lifter of my Head (Ps. 3:3); He is the All-Sufficient One (2 Cor. 12:9); He is my Savior (Luke 1:47); He is my Hope (Ps. 71:5).

He is the Son of God (Luke 1:35); He is my Resurrection (John 11:25); He is the Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:1-3); He is the Light of the World (John 8:12); He is the Lord of Lords (Deut. 10:17); He is the King of Kings (Rev. 17:14).

He is my Authority (Matt. 28:18); He is my Consuming Fire (Deut. 4:24); He is my Restorer (Ps. 23:3); He is my Comforter (John 14:15); He is my Stronghold in the Day of Trouble (Nahum 1:7); He is my Resting Place (Jer. 50:60).

He is my Refiner (Mal. 3:2-3); He is my Deliverer (Ps. 70:5); He is my Refuge from the Storm (2 Sam. 22:3); He is my Overcomer (John 16:33); He is my Peace (Eph. 2:14); He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35).

He is my Fortress (Ps. 18:2); He is my Everlasting Father (Is. 9:6); He is my Shade from the Heat (Is. 25:4); He is my Healer (Mal. 4:2); He is my Counselor (Ps. 16:7); He is the Author of my Faith (Heb. 12:3).

He is my Rewarder (Heb. 11:6); He is my Hiding Place (Ps. 32:7); He is my Shield (Ps. 33:20); He is my Purifier (Mal. 3:3); He is my Sustainer (Ps. 55:22); He is my Sovereign Lord (2 Sam. 7:28).

I found this list on a blog named “And He Speaks To Me…” You should check it out sometime.

Here is the link to the page with this list.

Blessings

Tim

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Let Everything That Has Breath

"Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him the harp and the lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD." Psalm 150

This is one of my favorite Psalms. As a musician I appreciate the opportunity to praise the LORD with my music—with something I love to do. Playing music gives me more joy than most things in this world. There is nothing like the thrill of playing for an audience that appreciates your music.

This Psalm points out that we should offer praise and honor to the LORD through our playing. He loves to hear us play. I remember when I dedicated my playing to God—I began playing with a confidence and a higher level of musicianship. Prior to that I had struggled with performing and being in front of a crowd and I never played with much confidence or freedom. But when I gave it all to God it was different—God began to use my music and touch people beyond my ability to play. I remember many times when I played at revivals or other services, people would come up after and say how God touched them through my music. It wasn't about me or my playing it was about it being given to God to let him do with it as he wanted. My playing didn't become perfect, I frequently made mistakes, but God used it regardless.

Offering it to God made the difference. I encourage you to offer to God the praise he deserves. Give your music to him and he will make it beautiful.

Remember what Psalm 150:6 says, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."

Blessings

Tim

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What Kind of Music Honors God?

I have thought a lot about this question.  Many say some styles of music don’t honor God at all.  Some believe some instruments are not useful in producing music that honors God.  Some say it is the beat of the music that makes it wrong or right.

I believe it is more about where the music comes from and the purpose of it rather than what it sounds like or what instruments are used.

Music that honors God comes from a heart that desires to honor God—a heart that is wanting to convey well deserved praise to a Sovereign God.  It’s not about how well you sing or if you play an instrument.  It’s about expressing your love and praise to God in the music you sing or play or hear.  It’s all about Jesus.

Is your heart filled with music of praise and adoration to our Savior and Lord?

This song, Be the Center, is about putting Jesus in his proper place in our lives and heart.  He must be the center.  We must put everything aside.

 

 

Blessings

Tim

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In Jesus We are Holy and Holy

Image via Wikipedia

While reading my Bible today I came upon something very interesting, and of course, I wanted to share it with you.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels* of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane, 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin* of olive oil. Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. Then use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. [29]You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.

[30]“Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. Do not pour it on men's bodies and do not make any oil with the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from his people.’”   Exodus 30:22-33

I included the whole passage because I wanted you to have the context.  God is giving Moses instructions regarding the Tabernacle and it’s furnishings.  In this passage, God is telling how to make the sacred anointing oil that will be used in the Tabernacle.

In verses 29 and 30 that I have marked for you we find something very interesting.  I am not a Hebrew scholar so I consulted my Strong’s Hebrew Old Testament.  We find two words in the Hebrew that are almost the same and yet different in meaning used in these two verses.

qodesh – which means set apart, sacred

qadesh – which means set apart, consecrated (dedicated to a holy purpose)

In some translations both of these words are translated as “holy.”  So, in these two verses we have this:

[29]You shall consecrate (qadesh) them so they will be most holy (qodesh), and whatever touches them will be holy (qodesh).

[30]“Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate (qadesh) them so they may serve me as priests.

OK, so what’s my point?  Both of these words have the basic meaning of being “set apart.”  Both of these words apply to us as Christians.  We are made holy (set apart, sacred) by our relationship with Jesus since he is holy.  Our connection with Him makes us holy—set apart from the world.  We become sacred in God’s sight through blood covering we have in Jesus.  In addition to that we are made holy (set apart, consecrated) for the purpose of God in our lives. 

One last thought – we are set apart for Him (sacred) by the blood of Jesus since nothing unclean and evil can be in God Almighty’s presence.  Think of it, we are able to worship in His presence because we are sacred through our “right relationship” with Jesus.  We are set apart by Him (consecrated) to do His good pleasure and purpose. 

In Jesus, we are holy and holy, we are set apart and set apart, we are sacred and consecrated.

Blessings

Tim

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