Tag Archives: worship

Remember My works (Psalm 25), Feb 15, 2015

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Today’s Podcast


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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Psalms 25
Set – Psalms 25; Acts 22
Go! – Leviticus 25; Psalms 25-26; Acts 22

Psalms 25
1 ALWAYS I will lift up my soul to You, Eternal One,
2 BECAUSE You are my God and I put my trust in You.
Do not let me be humiliated.
Do not let my enemies celebrate at my expense.
3 CERTAINLY none of the people who rely on You will be shamed,
but those who are unfaithful, who intentionally deceive,
they are the ones who will be disgraced.
4 DEMONSTRATE Your ways, O Eternal One.
Teach me to understand so I can follow.
5 EASE me down the path of Your truth.
FEED me Your word
because You are the True God who has saved me.
I wait all day long, hoping, trusting in You.
6 GRACIOUS Eternal One, remember Your compassion; rekindle Your concern and love,
which have always been part of Your actions toward those who are Yours.
7 Do not HOLD against me the sins I committed when I was young;
instead, deal with me according to Your mercy and love.
Then Your goodness may be demonstrated in all the world, Eternal One.
8 IMMENSELY good and honorable is the Eternal;
that’s why He teaches sinners the way.
9 With JUSTICE, He directs the humble in all that is right,
and He shows them His way.
10 KIND and true are all the ways of the Eternal
to the people who keep His covenant and His words.
11 O LORD, the Eternal, bring glory to Your name,
and forgive my sins because they are beyond number.
12 MAY anyone who fears the Eternal
be shown the path he should choose.
13 His soul will NOT only live in goodness,
but his children will inherit the land.
14 ONLY those who stand in awe of the Eternal will have intimacy with Him,
and He will reveal His covenant to them.
15 PERPETUALLY my focus takes me to the Eternal
because He will set me free from the traps laid for me.
16 QUIETLY turn Your eyes to me and be compassionate toward me
because I am lonely and persecuted.
17 RAPIDLY my heart beats as troubles build on the horizon.
Come relieve me from these threats.
18 SEE my troubles and my misery,
and forgive all my sins.
19 TAKE notice of my enemies.
See how there are so many of them
who hate me and would seek my violent destruction.
20 Watch over my soul,
and let me face shame and defeat
UNASHAMED because You are my refuge.
21 May honor and strong character keep me safe.
VIGILANTLY I wait for You, hoping, trusting.
22 Save Israel from all its troubles,
O True God.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

David does something in this psalm that not many people take time to do. It’s a good practice for you and I encourage you to do it. You might not be the poet David was. You might not even want to use the letters of the alphabet as he did to capture your thoughts, but then again you might. But what David did in this poem is an important exercise every once in a while for the faithful disciple.

What did he do? He stopped to consider who I am and what I do for him. To write this psalm, David spent time alone thinking about My character, My strength, My power, My intercession in his life. He thought about the times I rescued him from danger. He thought about the times I was with him in battle and brought him victory. He thought about the times he felt My presence when he felt lost and alone. He spent time thinking about our relationship together and the ways I blessed him throughout his life.

In the hustle and bustle of life, it’s easy to forget the role I play in your life. It’s easy to go through life and never see where My intervention makes a difference in your circumstances. But I urge you to stop and take time to meditate on Me. Put a pen and paper in front of you and list the ways I help you each day. Think of the events in which you see My hand at work. Understand that I am God and love you more than you can know. Begin to recognize the everlasting love I have for you that never fails.

When you see My hand at work and remember all I have done for you, you will, like David, cry out “ALWAYS I will lift up my soul to You, Eternal One, BECAUSE You are my God and I put my trust in You.” And I will be there for you.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Worship turns into a party (Acts 16:16-40), Feb 9, 2015

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Today’s Podcast


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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Acts 16:16-40
Set – Leviticus 10; Acts 16
Go! – Leviticus 10-12; Acts 16

Acts 16:16-40
16 One day, as we were going to the place set aside for prayer, we encountered a slave girl. She made a lot of money for her owners as a fortune-teller, assisted by some sort of occult spirit. 17 She began following us.

Slave Girl (shouting): These men are slaves like me, but slaves of the Most High God! They will proclaim to you the way of liberation!

18 The next day as we passed by, she did the same thing—and again on the following days. One day Paul was really annoyed, so he turned and spoke to the spirit that was enslaving her.

Paul: I order you in the name of Jesus, God’s Anointed: Come out of her!

It came right out. 19 But when her owners realized she would be worthless now as a fortune-teller, they grabbed Paul and Silas, dragged them into the open market area, and presented them to the authorities.

Slave Owners: 20 These men are troublemakers, disturbing the peace of our great city. They are from some Jewish sect, 21 and they promote foreign customs that violate our Roman standards of conduct.

22 The crowd joined in with insults and insinuations, prompting the city officials to strip them naked in the public square so they could be beaten with rods. 23 They were flogged mercilessly and then were thrown into a prison cell. The jailer was ordered to keep them under the strictest supervision. 24 The jailer complied, first restraining them in ankle chains, then locking them in the most secure cell in the center of the jail.

25 Picture this: It’s midnight. In the darkness of their cell, Paul and Silas—after surviving the severe beating—aren’t moaning and groaning; they’re praying and singing hymns to God. The prisoners in adjoining cells are wide awake, listening to them pray and sing. 26 Suddenly the ground begins to shake, and the prison foundations begin to crack. You can hear the sound of jangling chains and the squeak of cell doors opening. Every prisoner realizes that his chains have come unfastened. 27 The jailer wakes up and runs into the jail. His heart sinks as he sees the doors have all swung open. He is sure his prisoners have escaped, and he knows this will mean death for him, so he pulls out his sword to commit suicide. 28 At that moment, Paul sees what is happening and shouts out at the top of his lungs,

Paul: Wait, man! Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here! None of us has escaped.

29 The jailer sends his assistants to get some torches and rushes into the cell of Paul and Silas. He falls on his knees before them, trembling. 30 Then he brings them outside.

Jailer: Gentlemen, please tell me, what must I do to be liberated?

Paul and Silas: 31 Just believe—believe in the ultimate King, Jesus, and not only will you be rescued, but your whole household will as well.

32-34 The jailer brings them to his home, and they have a long conversation with the man and his family. Paul and Silas explain the message of Jesus to them all. The man washes their wounds and feeds them, then they baptize the man and his family. The night ends with Paul and Silas in the jailer’s home, sharing a meal together, the whole family rejoicing that they have come to faith in God.

35 At dawn, the city officials send the police to the jailer’s home with a command: “Let those men go free.”

Jailer: 36 The city officials have ordered me to release you, so you may go now in peace.

Paul (loud enough that the police can hear): 37 Just a minute. This is unjust. We’ve been stripped naked, beaten in public, and thrown into jail, all without a trial of any kind. Now they want to release us secretly as if nothing happened? No way: we’re Roman citizens—we shouldn’t be treated like this! If the city officials want to release us, then they can come and tell us to our faces.

38 The police report back to the city officials; and when they come to the part about Paul and Silas being Roman citizens, the officials turn pale with fear. 39 They rush to the jail in person and apologize. They personally escort Paul and Silas from their cell and politely ask them to leave the city. 40 Paul and Silas oblige—after stopping at Lydia’s home to gather with the brothers and sisters there and give them parting words of encouragement.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

One of the things about being unbound by time is getting to see events again. I like this one. The slave girl’s interruption is just background noise. Paul and Silas in jail, also background noise. Their suffering for Me because of their message and finding themselves in prison for doing what I asked them to do. Nice part of the story, but background noise again. The officials with egg on their face for arresting Roman citizens without a trial? A nice twist to the day, but not of real interest to Me. Just a nice touch for Me messengers after they spent some time on the wrong side of the cell door. They had fun watching the city officials wiggle a little.

What I really like about this story in the Paul’s life, the worship service Paul and Silas conducted that so energized those around them that they didn’t want to leave. I wish the people in My churches today would take some lessons from those prisoners. Those guys were freed from physical chains and many of them would face mock trials, more floggings, some would receive amputations of hands or feet as punishment for their crimes. Some in those cells were even headed to the gallows because of what they had done to others.

But…something different happened to all of them that night. Paul and Silas introduced them to Me. Their sins met My grace and mercy. Their physical chains were nothing. But I forgave their sins and their spiritual chains fell off. Those men with Paul and Silas found real freedom in Me before I gave the jailer a little physical demonstration of what I was doing. Those men were already free regardless what the city or Roman government might think or do to them.

That’s the part I like about the story. They involved themselves in that worship service so jubilantly, so vibrantly, so wonderfully in that dark dungeon that none of them dared to leave that jail for fear they might miss something else. They stayed despite their loosened chains. They stayed despite the opened doors. They stayed despite the walls trembling around them in the earthquake. They stayed because I was there in their presence and they didn’t want to go anywhere that might take them from My presence.

A football game couldn’t make them check their watch. A kids soccer game couldn’t deter them from their worship. An opportunity on the lake didn’t wet their appetite. They wanted nothing more than to stay there and revel in My glory. They wanted to worship. That’s the part of this story I want you to remember. I want you to bring back such an excitement in worshiping Me that you don’t want to leave. I want you to gather together with other believers and lose all sense of time because I’m with you. I want you to sing and pray and shout and sing some more. I want you to see the lost come to Me in repentance and watch their chains fall away as I forgive them and free them from their past.

I want you to worship Me like Paul, Silas, and all those prisoners worshiped Me that dark night in Philippi. What a grand time I had that night. Let Me do it again. Come on, let’s party! Worship Me with all your might!

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

It’s all about God (Acts 15/1-21), Feb 8, 2015

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Today’s Podcast


Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Acts 15:1-21
Set – Leviticus 9; Acts 15
Go! – Leviticus 7-9; Acts 15

Acts 15:1-21
1Their peace was disturbed, however, when certain Judeans came with this teaching: “Unless you are circumcised according to Mosaic custom, you cannot be saved.” 2 Paul and Barnabas argued against this teaching and debated with the Judeans vehemently, so the church selected several people—including Paul and Barnabas—to travel to Jerusalem to dialogue about this issue with the apostles and elders there. 3 The church sent them on their way. They passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, stopping to report to the groups of believers there that outsiders were now being converted. This brought great joy to them all. 4 Upon arrival in Jerusalem, the church, the apostles, and the elders welcomed them warmly; and they reported all they had seen God do. 5 But there were some believers present who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees. They stood up and asserted,

Pharisees: No, this is not acceptable. These people must be circumcised, and we must require them to keep the whole Mosaic law.

6 The apostles and elders met privately to discuss how this issue should be resolved. 7 There was a lot of debate, and finally Peter stood up.

Peter: My brothers, you all know that in the early days of our movement, God decided that I should be the one through whom the first outsiders would hear the good news and become believers. 8 God knows the human heart, and He showed approval of their hearts by giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did for us. 9 In cleansing their hearts by faith, God has made no distinction between them and us. 10 So it makes no sense to me that some of you are testing God by burdening His disciples with a load that neither our forefathers nor we have been able to carry. 11 No, we all believe that we will be liberated through the grace of the Lord Jesus—they also will be rescued in the same way.

12 There was silence among them while Barnabas and Paul reported all the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among outsiders. 13 When they finished, James spoke.

James: My brothers, hear me. 14 Simon Peter reminded us how God first included outsiders in His favor, taking people from among them for His name. 15 This resonates with the words of the prophets:

16 “After this, I will return
and rebuild the house of David, which has fallen into ruins.
From its wreckage I will rebuild it;
17 So all the nations may seek the Eternal One—
including every person among the outsiders who has been called by My name.”
This is the word of the Lord, 18 who has been revealing these things since ancient times.
19 So here is my counsel: we should not burden these outsiders who are turning to God. 20 We should instead write a letter, instructing them to abstain from four things: first, things associated with idol worship; second, sexual immorality; third, food killed by strangling; and fourth, blood. 21 My reason for these four exceptions is that in every city there are Jewish communities where, for generations, the laws of Moses have been proclaimed; and on every Sabbath, Moses is read in synagogues everywhere.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

It is so easy to get caught up in religion and forget the true meaning of what it’s all about. Matt Redman’s lyrics begin to get what I want from you when he wrote the words to “The Heart of Worship”:

When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come…
I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about you,
It’s all about you, Jesus

Listen to his words the next time you hear Michael Smith sing the song. There is nothing more important to all the remembrances, practices, and rituals performed in your churches, your homes, your everyday lives than the words Matt expresses in those verses. You see worship happens every all the time. Wherever you are, worship should take place because I’m everywhere.

You can’t get away from Me no matter how hard you try. I’m in your workplace. I’m in your home. I’m with you at your parties and places of recreation. I’m wherever you go because I want to build a relationship with you that is the closest relationship you’ve ever known. I want to become the director of your life, your every action, and your every thought. I want you to worship and honor Me with your life. I want you to become a living sacrifice to Me. Driven let Me direct your paths, as David put it in his songs to Me.

It’s easy to get caught up in the ritual, the sameness, of church. Even when the “service” is filled with emotion and excitement, it’s easy to forget why everyone assembles together. It’s easy to pour into a building and get hyped up on the music and forget about the people around you that need more than a smile, a hug, and “we’re glad you’re here” as a matter of routine. I want you to give yourself as a living sacrifice to Me.

Paul and Barnabas found out ministry is messy. They had to give up their preconceived notions about what was important to Me. It took a dream for Me to teach Peter that lesson. It took Paul some hard lumps to learn what was really important, but he learned and he wasn’t going to let others impose the unimportant on My new followers. The debates in Jerusalem certainly raised a lot of My followers’ blood pressure and created quite a stir among those who came to listen to them. I’m glad James had the forethought to keep the most heated parts behind closed doors.

I’m also glad they went to their knees and asked Me about what I thought instead of relying on their own devices to make such an important decision about their next steps. I’d tell you the same as you minister to those around you. Read My Word carefully. My rules are not burdensome. Remember what I told people? “Swap your burdens for Mine because Mine are light and I’ll take your heavy burdens that you cannot bear yourself.” Well, don’t add burdens to those new converts. Listen to what James and the leaders of the new church decided.

James said the four rules were because Jews were in those cities and not living by those four rules would greatly offend them. I had a greater reason I bent that group toward those rules, just to let you know. The first, idols will trap you into worshiping something other than Me. Don’t! The second, sexual immorality doesn’t affect just you or you and your partner. It affects whole families. It affects your co-workers and neighbors. It affects every area of your life and every person you touch. Sexual immorality works through every person you touch just like yeast works through dough. The third and fourth rules deal with a covenant I made with Adam pointing forward to My perfect sacrifice for sin. As I told Adam, life is in the blood, whether physical or spiritual, it is blood that saves.

Don’t get tangled up in rituals and unnecessary practices. Just worship Me. Listen to Matt Redman’s song again. The heart of worship is all about Me. If anything else creeps into your demands for others, check what you’re doing, you might just be getting off track. Let Me worry about getting My children in line. You just worship Me.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.