Praise Archives -

Do you sense the urgency to pray? I do. No matter what your position is in the political arena, there is a Kingdom above this one and He is ruling. It is He Whose Face we need to seek; and His will we’d best please. Even as our constitution—and this nation—was being establish, Ben Franklin enjoined the assembly:

I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that “except the Lord build the House they labour in vain that build it.” I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing Governments by Human wisdom and leave it to chance, war and conquest. I therefore beg leave to move-that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that Service. (Source: http://candst.tripod.com/franklin.htm)

He sensed the urgency then; do you today?

If you do, then join me on this National Day of Prayer to pray for our nation, her leaders, her people and her purpose. Pray the Lord of Heaven and earth for mercy and grace. Humbly seek His Face, and in seeking His face let us turn from our ways that are displeasing to Him.

Do you sense the urgency? Then…

…Let us be those of whom it is said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother,” and pray.

Main Text— Matthew 12:47–50 (NIV84)— ⁴⁷ Someone told Him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” ⁴⁸ He replied to him, “Who is My mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Additional Scriptures to Renew Your Thoughts

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.—(Ephesians 6:18 (NIV84)

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.—1 Timothy 2:1–2 (NIV84)

And we are confident that [the Lord] hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for.— 1 John 5:14–158 (NLT)

Heavenly Father, You are high in Heaven; we are on earth. You are Holy. We are not. You are Righteous. We have strayed from Your Paths. Forgive me for not faithful seeking Your Face in my daily tasks. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil. I fix my eyes on Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lord. Oh, Lord, hear. Oh, Lord act. In Your Mercies and Grace and In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Pastor Mike

“Tracing the Rainbow Through the Rain”

In his poem (which later became a hymn) “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go,” George Matheson writes, “O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee, I trace the rainbow through the rain and feel the promise is not vain.” What specific pain George was experience we do not know, but in his own words, out of “the most severe mental suffering,” the words poured forth as if “dictated to me by some inward voice.” We know this pain superseded any of his physical limitations of blindness or other maladies he endured. But in all of these he could trace the rainbow of promise through the rain.

Ironically, I haven’t been this sick in years, and I am coming up a total hip replacement in a few weeks. I have not had many dark days, though not a few cloudy ones have accompanied me. But what made them cloudy were not my own issues or concerns, per se, but the concerns for others, and the complete inability of helping relieve these concerns. In short, I am being made fully aware that I am not their rescuer. Worse yet, I have to stand by and watch matters become more complicated and entangle well before the Lord steps in and ‘fixes’ them. “Oh, if only I….” Ha, not even if….

In today’s main text, I see Paul and Silas in a rather dark place—literally. They knew nothing of earthquakes and loosed chains, but they did know a God who could deliver from the fire, through the fire or in the fire. So to this God, the Holy One, they sang and prayed and praised as they traced the rainbow through the rain.

They were imprisoned, limited to what they could do; feet in stocks but voices unfettered. So, too, you and I need to do what we can do in our cramped, limited situations where we can no longer “do” what we once did to help, relieve, or ‘fix’ or ….

Singing and praying and praising seems to be a great place to start tracing the rainbow in the rain knowing with full assurance that the Promise of His Presence is indeed not vain! Brothers and sisters, many of whom are in darker storms with heavier rains, lift high your finger of faith and trace with me His Rainbow in the rain! …

Main Text: — Acts 16:22-26 (NIV)— ²² The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. ²³ After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. ²⁴ When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. ²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.

Additional Scriptures to Renew Your Thoughts

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.— 2 Corinthians 4:17–18 (NIV84)

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.— Ps 42:11 (NIV84)

I remembered my songs in the night. My heart mused and my spirit inquired: “Will the Lord reject forever? Will He never show His favor again? Has His unfailing love vanished forever? Has His promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has He in anger withheld his compassion?”— Psalm 77:6–9 (NIV84)

Heavenly Father, I wait on You. You are my Hope. Expose the rainbow of promise, the Hope of my salvation. So I shall see Your Face. Lord Jesus, be my comfort and my Peace. In Your Name. Amen

Pastor Mike

“Miracles Leave an Impression”

Date: 02-24-15

The Big Idea: Lifestyle worshiper, do not be dissuaded. Do not discount the miracle, but rejoice in the miracle the Lord has blessed you with.

My Thoughts: When the Lord does something rather fantastic in your life, others do take notice. Oh, they might not see it the way you see it, and, in fact, they will attempt to dissuade you that the Lord had anything to do with it. Nonetheless, the miracle did make an impression on them. One such instance for me was in college. I was having a conversation with a witch regarding something that the Lord did in my life, and she slyly teased me, “Why can’t you give yourself some credit for this? Why do you always have to give the Lord credit?” Oh, she saw the miracle. It made a deep impression on her. She was just unwilling to give credit where credit was due….

Lifestyle worshiper, have you notice when something wonderful has happened in your life—something so miraculous it could only be classified a miracle—and you give glory to the Lord, there are those around you that do not share your view or enthusiasm. Oh, they definitely saw the same ‘miracle’ you experienced; it did make an impression on them, but they’d rather downplay it or discount it….

The miracle of the wall being built in 52 days, made a deep impression on the enemies of Nehemiah and they feared the LORD. But not all were permanently impressed. Nope, Tobiah insisted on pressing forward with his plan of intimidation…. You may have a ‘friend’ like this, too.

Lifestyle worshiper, do not be dissuaded. Do not discount the miracle. Do not let the enemy soil the miracle or steal your joy. The Lord has truly done a marvelous thing. Rejoice and be glad! (And turn a deaf ear to the naysayers.)

Main Text: — Nehemiah 6:15-16, 19 — ¹⁵So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul in 52 days.¹⁶ When all of our enemies—including the surrounding nations—heard this, they became very discouraged, since they saw that the work had been done by our God…. ¹⁹ Furthermore, they kept reporting Tobiah’s good deeds to me, and kept repeating what I told him. Tobiah kept sending letters to intimidate me. [ISV]

Additional Scriptures to Renew Your Thoughts

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

— John 10:10 (NIV84)

I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.

—Psalm 31:7-8 (NIV84)

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

— Matthew 5:11-12 (NIV84)

Lord Jesus Christ, I put You on as my Shield of Faith to quench the fiery darts the enemy hurls at me. Be my Defense so that I will remain steadfast in Your Joy. In Your Name, Amen.

Pastor Mike

“Confession: Positive & Negative”

Date: 01-10-15

Text: — Nehemiah 1:5-7 — ⁵Then I said: “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, ⁶ let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. ⁷ We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. [NIV84]

The Big Idea: Both “Positive & Negative Confession” need to be included in your prayers.

My Thoughts:

Many of my prayers contain either all praise or all self-loathing. The former I call “Positive Confession”: We confess who the LORD is and what He has done. Nehemiah calls Him “Awesome” and praises Him for keeping His covenant of Love (v. 5). The ‘self-loathing’ prayer can be beneficial when accompanied by a humble heart that realizes we are unworthy to come into the presence of a Holy God. This is what I call “Negative Confession,” but in a positive way….

Lifestyle worshipers, both aspects need to be included in our prayers. The “Positive Confession” of Who God is, what He has done, Who Christ is in us and Who we are in Him, are all critical aspects of this positive confession. No less important is what Nehemiah includes in his prayer (see vv. 6b-7), the “Negative Confession.” The LORD already knows we are unworthy. He knows the sins we have committed or omitted. He just wants us to admit it (the literal translation of ‘confess’).

With both these aspects included in our prayers, they make us available to humbly receive the LORD s grace. It transforms an “entitlement” attitude of “You owe me” into a humble attitude of deep, profound gratitude. Your thoughts.

Scriptures to Renew Your Thoughts

Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

— Matthew 7:11-12 (NIV)

He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

— Proverbs 28:13 (NIV)

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

— 1 John 1:9 (NIV)

Heavenly Father, I praise You. You are a forgiving God, slow to anger and abounding in grace and mercy to those who humbly seek Your face. I confess I have not lived up to Your Holy standards. I ask You by the Lord Jesus’ Christ shed blood to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I humbly receive Your Grace and mercy in my time of need. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Pastor Mike