Worship

We should be lifting up holy hands. Worship like love is a list of actions that lead to the feeling that we are looking for. Search your Bible for other actions that are a part of worship.

Ne 8:6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Ps 28:2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
Ps 63:4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
Ps 119:48 My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.
Ps 134:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.
Ps 141:2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
La 2:19 Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.
La 3:41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
1Ti 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

Things That We Don’t Have To Learn…

Many things in the Bible including getting saved are our responsibility to learn and do. Getting saved is so very important and yet we are left to make sure that we get it from the Bible ourselves or from someone else. There are some things though that God just gives us. I am not talking about the world we live on and all of its amenities, but rather these that are to follow.
So many are struggling to learn wisdom and often learn wisdom that is not from God. Wisdom makes us look important but only God’s wisdom is important. James says in chapter 1 Verse 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. More time asking and less time searching will help us end up with God’s wisdom and less of our own and the world’s wisdom.

This parable is not about who is saved but who is fruitful. Discussing who is saved here is a waste of time and keeps us from the intent, which is to be fruitful.
Matt 13: 18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Please note the words becometh unfruitful in verse 22. These people were fruitful first and then became unfruitful. The fruit of a Christian is another Christian and the fruit of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit in us, therefore don’t confuse bearing fruit with the Holy Spirit bearing fruit in us if we are willing.
What other things does the Bible say that God will give us if we ask? Study and then send me a comment.

Old People

When I was a kid my dad used to take me to visit old people. Sometimes they would get cookies and be ever so glad to see us. I remember one old lady that would make coffee for dad and herself but she had some very little cups and would put some in one for me and I had my own coffee and the cookies were always so good. She was constantly so glad to see us, and would tell us so. “Oh you are such a wonderful boy” she would say.

Other older people would just sit there and complain that no one would care for them. One even said why doesn’t anyone ever visit me. I wondered why she didn’t recognize that we were. Complain and complain, they would have nothing good to say. It seemed that most of the people that we visited only had a pile of complaints to pour on us.

We would always feel like we should visit the complainers because they made us feel guilty about not visiting enough, but guess who we wanted to visit…

My dad said that I should decide what kind of old person that I wanted to be and start working at it right now. I am so glad that I did.

Filled With the Spirit

Gal. 5: 22-25 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Let me explain… this passage is not teaching us how to be filled with the Spirit it is teaching us how to recognize if we are filled with the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit isn't something that we learn. It is the evidence that we are filled with the Spirit.

"The fruit of the Spirit begins with love...Joy is love exulting; peace is love in repose; longsuffering is love on trial; gentleness is love in society; goodness is love in action; faith is love on the battlefield; meekness is love at school; and temperance is love in training." (D.L. Moody)

My wording wasn’t as good as his.

Many think that these things are the fruit of the Christian but the passage clearly says “fruit of the Spirit:.

The fruit of a cow is a cow, the fruit of an apple is an apple, the fruit of a person is another person and the fruit of a Christian is another Christian and the fruit of God comes from God.

Your Personal Value

You are only as valuable as you are valuable to someone else. Your friends are only as valuable to you as what you can forgive; therefore you are only as valuable as what you can forgive.

Picture a friendship, any really good friendship… how glad are you that this friendship exists… answer to yourself…

Some day this person that you are friends with WILL do something that you don’t like. If you can forgive it the friendship will survive the difficulty. It is for this reason that we are able to find out the value of the friendship in question.

We are God’s friends and there is nothing that He can’t or won’t forgive therefore we have a relationship with God that will last, unless we are foolish enough to get annoyed with God and pull away from Him. We would have to lack good judgment to be mad at a God that is perfect because then we are the problem.

The sad thing is that kids grow up moving from one friend to the next and then to the next and then to the next because all friends offend sooner or later, and then when they are married they do the same, move on to another. That is how we get such a high divorce rate.

Guess what, you will offend too. No matter how hard I have tried to be perfect for Linda I have failed at times, therefore our relationship is more dependent on her willingness to forgive than my lack of ability to be perfect when she feels offended. Remember Ps. 119:165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. Don’t get offended!!!

What Kind of Person do You Want to Be!!!

Don’t be cruel or nasty because you will get good at it and then you will be a cruel, nasty person.

Some places that seem to generate these actions, unions, marriage, children, a friend that hurt you…