The awesome privilege of being able to worship our God, Creator & Loving Father is an amazing gift! If you really stop & think about, it’s beyond comprehension! However some people think that worshiping the Lord is merely singing songs of worship, but let’s not confuse the two – Worshiping Him is so much more than just singing songs!
Well then, what exactly IS worship, anyway?
Webster’s defines it as: extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem. One way we like to describe it is: reaching into the deepest places of our hearts and pouring out love, thanksgiving and utter dependence, speaking words of exaltation, and recognizing/acknowledging His magnitude and greatness. When we do this, He is so blessed which then begins a two-way communion of receiving His love, grace, mercy and tangible presence poured out, then we respond with more worship. It’s the Best of Times! But what makes ALL this possible? The blood of Jesus!
Because of Jesus’ indescribable love-sacrifice, we can commune with Almighty God like a loving parent would commune with their dear child. Hebrews 10:19-22 says it best, And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter Heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. (NLT)
That is one mouthful of awesome truth! God loves us SO MUCH and has purchased the way we can fellowship together, Spirit to spirit! Nothing stands between us now: no sin, no shame, nothing in our past, NOTHING. Jesus purchased the FULL PACKAGE! This is His love demonstrated to us, so let’s respond by running into His presence and worshiping Him boldly without reserve for He is SO WORTHY!!! When we do this, we are placing great value on His sacrifice.
In closing, let’s look at two more gems from Hebrews to cap these thoughts: So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. (4:16) Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to His name. (13:15) NLT
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift: the Blood of Jesus!
Living in the fallen world that we do, unfortunate and sometimes untimely losses of loved ones is something that happens daily, all around the world. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13 we read, And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. Thank God we don’t have to grieve like those with no hope, for we DO have the hope of seeing our departed loved ones again. However, there is a proper, healthy way for a Christian to grieve, and it is a real and essential part of the healing of our souls after loss, and must not be rushed, manipulated or ignored.
In the case of our son’s departure two years ago, there have been several books which have helped us in our grief journey, along with great treasures we have found in God’s word. We are often asked where to turn for help by those who have also experienced tragic loss, so we now have a GRIEF RESOURCES page on our website listing these books.
When you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, it is a tremendous help hearing from others who have gone there ahead of you, how they coped and what assisted them through their own grief journey. 2 Corinthians 1:4 encourages us to comfort others they same way we have been comforted, so we hope this will be a help to you or anyone you know that may need this information. CLICK HERE to enter the Grief Recovery portion of our website.
Staying Networked
Check out our latest song additions on iTunes! Also, more of our music is now available on Amazon and other online services.
As we continue working on new resources to help more people, please know that your faithful support makes a huge difference in everything we do. THANK YOU, our dear partner and friend, for your prayers and support. Please know that you are an instrument of God’s grace to strengthen us as we travel and work as hard as we can to be faithful to our Call. You are reaching countless people all around the world as you partner with our ministry. Thank you again for standing with us. We in return stand on God’s word for you, which promises the same reward for the SENDER (you) as well as the GO-ER (us)! (1 Samuel 30:24)
Many thanks,
