True Worshipers

Something I have been meditating on this week is Worship. Why we worship. What it means to worship. How we worship. What we worship. Worship is an act of praise. An act of surrender. An act of giving ourselves to the thing we worship.

As I watched the VMA’s. My heart was just broken and burdened by everything I watched. I am even embarrassed to say I sat there and watched it. But part of me realized something as I sat there and watched. Watched thousands of people, who spent a great amount of money to see these celebrities, how they screamed every time somebody famous was mentioned, how some of the girls were crying for joy when Justin Timberlake came within 10 feet of them. How these people enjoy meaningless lyrics about how someone spent there night with a stranger after getting wasted at the bar. Or how the teen boy groups are singing how much they love their girl and won’t turn out to be the loser who dumps her for someone else but in the magazines you see the exact opposite. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not judging these artists, I’m not the judge here. We only have one. And we will all stand before Him. But I’m just asking, does it really make sense? See, we live in a man made world. Let me explain that. God created the earth. He created us, the trees, the animals, sex, alcohol. He made it all for a specific purpose. But us, having a sinful nature, twisted it into being something sinful. A lot of people ask, if God created the earth, why is there so much wrong. Its because we have created the wrong. We created the billboards, the strip clubs, the songs about what we think is love, we created the drunkenness, because we have no self-control. that’s all man created. So that’s what I mean when I say we live in a man made world. Because of all of this. We have taken God out of everything. So, as I sat there last night watching these people worship these celebrities. My heart was just hurt and broken for the fact that there are so many people who don’t know Jesus. I sat there and asked myself. Why is it so easy for someone to proclaim homosexuality is okay, someone can get up on stage and sing a rap on how strongly they believe its okay, but a if a Christian gets up on a stage like that and starts proclaiming the name of Jesus, he’s automatically persecuted? If these people can stand up and speak there mind like that, and have boldness to do so. Why do we get so scared to say we believe in Jesus? Why is it so hard to bow our knee before the throne of God, if we love Him so much, but we are afraid of what some people might say. See if we really are true worshipers of Jesus Christ. And want to live our lives for the sake of the Kingdom, why aren’t we going out and making Him known. Jesus was persecuted, so if we are true disciples, we shouldn’t be afraid of what a few people might think. People called Jesus names beyond names, accused Him of so much, but did that stop Him for following God’s will? Did it stop Him from going to the cross? Did that stop Him from loving you? The answer, is No. He walked faithfully. Worshiping on His knees before God. So many people scream for joy and will do anything to see these celebrities in concert. Are you screaming for Joy when it comes to Jesus name? Will you do anything for the one who set you free? Will you spread the good news publicly just as Jesus walked the road to Calvary, publicly for you?

I was encouraged by these verses Sunday night in Matthew, chapter 5, verses 14-16. It says, 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

We are the lights in this world of darkness. Satan is constantly trying to burn out the lights, but if we are in an act of worship, on our knees daily the light is going to be brighter and stronger.


So who are you bowing down to? Who is the center of your life? Who do you worship? Worshiping Christ isn’t just something we do behind closed doors on Sundays. It’s the way we live. The way we talk. Worshiping Jesus isn’t just singing a song. it’s a prayer. Its thankfulness. it’s a way of life. If we love Jesus how much we say we do. Our thoughts should be consumed with Him. We shouldn’t feel afraid to raise our hands in worship. We shouldn’t be afraid to bow our knees. Our lives need to be a reflection of Him. We shouldn’t be afraid to share His Love. His word. Don’t be discouraged if someone rejects you. The important thing is that the seed was planted. God’s got control of the rest. So, where are the worshipers of Jesus Christ? Its time to Go. Share His good news!

Act Of Surrender

What a week! This week was the first week of my Senior year of high school. I woke up that first morning with such excitement. Ready to take on the challenges of the year. I was overwhelmed with joy of the idea that it was my last year. As the day went on, it hit me. Reality hit me in the face. I was aware of the challenges of the year academically, but became weary to the idea of college and decision making until that first day. The fear and anxiety overcame me. The fear of college. Career choices. The idea of the future itself scared me. The idea of being in the real world. Possibly being married few years down the road. Cooking for someone. (I barely know how to cook a box of Mac and Cheese correctly ha ha!) all these thoughts consumed my mind. The fear of making the right decision or the wrong decision filled my heart. Satan’s words started to linger. ‘you’ll never make it in college.’ ‘the real world is going to swallow you up.’ ‘You won’t find a man that will put up with you.’ ‘prince charming doesn’t exist.’ All day, all I did was dwell on these lies. I was an emotional wreck ! I began to ask God if he really did know what college I was going to attend. What man I was going to marry someday. Did he really know all that stuff already? What career I would pursue. Where was He going to take me in life? How do I overcome the worry and fear.

Have you ever had those thoughts? Those doubts? The overwhelming fear of not knowing what’s going to happen a few years down the road? I do. Everyday. Its hard not to. But you know what is so reassuring? God’s grace and hand of guidance. That day in my emotional state of anxiety. The Lord whispered such comforting words into my heart. He said, Christina, you don’t need to worry. Have no fear. For I am with you always. Your future. It belongs to Me. I know where you are going to attend college. I know what career you will chose. I have the man of your dreams being prepared by my right hand. Let go of this fear. And surrender. Every dream. Every hope. Detail. Desire. Of your heart. Give me the pen. Let me write the story. Be patient and content in my presence. I have a beautiful plan for your life, because I. love. You..

I was then brought to peace. With a heart to surrender. Ready to live a life ready to serve Jesus with every ounce of my being. I want to live every moment for the glory of the Kingdom, no matter where it takes me in life. Whether its to the community college or half way around the world as a missionary. Whether single or married. No matter what state He puts me in. To have joy in serving and live a life sold out for the King. To be content. At peace in His presence.

I had lost sight of true surrender. What it meant and what it looked like. Now I know, On the other side of surrender is a great amount of joy. God has every detail worked out. He is staring at the pages of our life. He is the Author and Finisher. The great work He began in you let Him finish. But in order for Him to reveal to you His plan. You must surrender and trust Him. With everything. Not just college. But college. Marriage. Career. Your entire future. Every hope and dream you have. MUST be handed over to Him. Don’t be worried about whether or not He’s going to give it back to you. If He doesn’t, He has something so much better in store for you. He has His best in mind for you. It is all ordained by His right hand.

So, sister, where is your heart today? Are you worried about the future? Are you in a place of fear? It’s time to let go of the doubt. And Trust. Rest in His presence. In His peace. What we may think as the “Perfect Plan” is nothing compared to His plan. Open up your heart. Willingly surrender. Serve your King. Give Him the pen and paper. And He will abundantly bless you.



The future is scary. I freely admit it. We can’t completely erase the fear. Or the idea of fear. But with Jesus. And His comfort of peace and reassurance. The fear won’t overcome us. And we can turn to Him. And He will take the fear away. And we can replace it with trust. Jesus gave the nation of Israel a word of encouragement.

Isaiah 41:13 - 13 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’

He is taking you by hand everyday. Guiding your every step. He is ready with you. He is for you. What we may think is a loss, is really a gain. We are losing our lives to gain the eternal life of Christ.
 Philippians 3:8-11 - 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

 

 
 

A Man with a Great Commission

In Loving Memory : Pastor John Michaels

 John Michaels. What a man. A Man with a great Commission. The few weeks before he passed. When his cancer had worsened. All I could do was sit back. And look at the man he was. The life he lived. His heart. And how full of compassion, forgiveness, and kindness it was. It overflowed with the love of Christ. You saw the radiance of Jesus in his life. Gods presence shined so bright from his life you could see it just by sitting down and having a general conversation with him. He trusted so strongly in the Lord. Every step he took, every conversation, every teaching, every mission, was all ordained by God. He lived a life sold out for Christ. When he would smile, you could see the joy. It came from deep within. He had so much joy no matter what he was doing. Because he was doing all for the Lord. When the Lord said go. There pastor John went. Everyday of his life. He would say Lord send me. And he lived that way every minute every second. He was obedient. He was a faithful bondservant. He had a spirit of humility, putting people before himself. He loved seeing people smile. He loved helping people. He loved sharing with people the love that he knew. That he experienced daily. The love of Christ. He was a man of wisdom. God used him to speak to many. God reached so many people through this man. All because one man said. ‘Send me.’

　




Psalm 21:1-7
The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord;
And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire,
And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

3 For You meet him with the blessings of goodness;
You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.
4 He asked life from You, and You gave it to him—
Length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great in Your salvation;
Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.
6 For You have made him most blessed forever;
You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.

　

As I read the scripture above in those weeks, of praying for pastor John. Tears nothing but overflowed my eyes and rushed down my cheeks. Pastor John was a perfect reflection of this scripture. He rejoiced in the presence of his Savior daily. He was all the Lord created him to be. Fulfilling the upward call of Christ. Daily. Always seeking after God’s guidance. Glad in His goodness. Full in His mercy. I admire John Michaels. The person He was in Christ. The drive he had to share Jesus. Going from country to country. State to state. Teaching the Word of God. No matter where he was. What language. Nothing held him back from sharing the love of Christ. He was a man of his word. A man of Gods word. He longed to hear the words “Well done good and faithful servant.” He longed to see the face of his Lord. And on Wednesday, July 31^st 2013. He saw the face of God. Where he no longer had to struggle through his cancer. The smile of joy an excitement he shared with everyone here on earth. He finally shared with the glorious face of God. Now he is serving the Lord. Worshiping the Lord. In His Kingdom. Forevermore. He left a legacy here with people everywhere. And here we will continue the legacy that was left here from Pastor John Michaels. We will continue in the example of trust. Faith. Love. Kindness. Compassion. And carry on what John Michaels started. What Christ started.

Yesterday I had the privilege and honor to attending his memorial service. What a beautiful evening . The love just came pouring out of every soul there. Hearing the stories from loved ones. Gathered with thousands of people, worldwide. Celebrating the life of Pastor John. Passing down tissue boxes from all around. From sharing tears of sadness. to the joy of laughter. Giving all glory to God for this man. He touched lives everywhere. And to see the multitude of people come together. All the joy on each face. The presence of God overflowing. The voices rising in each song. Gave you a small glimpse of Heaven. All because one man said. ‘Lord…send me.’

　

　

　

We will miss you John. We will see you again. And we will sing Holy Holy, is the Lord God Almighty. For eternity. Together with Christ.

After all these years of him hearing God say ‘Go.’ He finally said ‘Come.’ and invited his servant Home.

　

　

May 19^th 1942 - July 31^st 2013

 

　

　

Matthew 28:19-20 - 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

 2 Timothy 4:7-8 - 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing

LOVED by a KING

　

　

Ever feel worthless? Or don’t feel loved by the people around you? Abandoned? Forgotten? Like you’re a slave to the world? In bondage? Like there's just no one who understands? No one who cares?…

Well I’m here to tell you that each and every one of those feelings is a lie from the enemy. The enemy lives to make you feel like garbage. He likes to tug at those weak spots in your life and turn them into a raging tornado of emotions. He likes to twist truths. He puts things on the flip side. He’s constantly waiting for that right moment to tare you down to the ground. All the lies and discomfort he brings starts to weigh us down. All the chains holding us in bondage. All the lies piling upon our shoulders make it hard to walk towards Jesus. They slow us down. Sometimes they cause us to stop and stay where we are. And we get so weak and deep into these lies and sin. We just sit there and dwell on the things he’s whispering into our ears. And each whisper makes the chains tighter. Heavier. You ladies know the feeling? What are some lies?--- I’m not pretty enough.. I don’t have that body she has on that magazine.. That guy will never like me.. He doesn’t care.. You’ll never find “Mr. Right”.. Those group of friends over there are talking about you.. You are worthless.. You mean nothing.. You don’t belong..

I know every time the enemy whispers one of those things in my ear its like baggage. Its heavy and it hurts. So what happens when we dwell on these things? What do you do?.. - Oh its just one meal I’m going to skip. No big deal. Its okay as long as I’m still eating two meals. But they have to be small. Or okay what if I dress this way. He’ll notice me then. Or what if I say or do this. Then he might care. Or what if I start talking about this girl behind her back. Maybe then that group will accept me. If I do these things I will have meaning. - Now we find ourselves in this mess. Of confusion. And stuck in the unhealthy lifestyle of trying to make everyone happy. But you know the one person your are destroying in the process? You are destroying yourself. We think all these things are going to resolve all the lies Satan is filling our mind with. Ladies, I’m here to tell you. There is a way out of this bondage. Some one who went to the cross. To Set you Free…

To take the weight of sin off of you. He bore it for you on the Cross. His name is Jesus. And He thought of You when He took His last breath hanging on the cross. When the crown of thorns was placed upon His head. Each nail. The further it went into His hand. He said I love you… He chose YOU.

　

　

He chose YOU into His Kingdom.

Ephesians says that He chose us into His kingdom. Before the foundations of the earth. He adopted us through His son Jesus Christ. In Him we have redemption. A new life. Full of truth. Forgiveness. Compassion. LOVE. And freedom. His grace is constantly abounding and reigning in our hearts. His will is great and perfect. We have obtained an inheritance, and purpose of His good works all ordained by HIS Will. We should so then trust in His word and marvelous works. His mercy. And Kindness. His presence is always in your midst. Whenever and wherever you are. He’s there. In trial. Heartache. Times of grief. Pain. Chaos. Confusion. The lies. He is there lifting one burden at a time. Healing each wound. And he meets you in this place. In the quietness of your heart. He meets you there. Ready for you to be made full of His presence and love. But even when we know that God is sovereign, we need to be honest about our struggles with His plan for us. We need to take time to think through these things and ask the Lord to help you entrust everything to HIM.

So beloved, where are you today? Are you believing lies? Are you in bondage to these lies? Sitting in the middle of the world. Heavy with burdens. Trying to find a way out? Jesus is waiting. Stretching is hand of LOVE and healing out for you to grab hold of. He wants to set you free.. From each lie. Each burden. Every sin. He wants to carry you and help you through this. Are you going to let Him? Beloved. You are a princess. A daughter of a KING. And YOU are LOVED by Him.. You are Beautiful. Precious. Gentle. Loved. Accepted. Worth the world. You are cared for. By Him. He looks at you with love. Sees your beauty. He sees the radiance in your eyes. The joy when you smile. He sees all the little things about you. And one day He will bring that Man. That will look at you the way He does. So sister be patient and wait for Him. Dwell in the presence of the Lord. In His goodness and peace.

You are perfect. Just the way your are. He hand crafted you. Made you for a special purpose. So Trust in Him. You are Loved by a KING.

　

              

　

　
Ephesians 1:4-14 - 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Deuteronomy 20:4 - 4 for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’


　
Jeremiah 31:3 - 3 The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.



Psalm 139:13-14 - 13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.


Zephaniah 3:5 - 5 The Lord is righteous in her midst,
He will do no unrighteousness.
Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He never fails


Matthew 10:30-31 - 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.


John 8:31-36 - 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

　

　


Do you want to be Set free from bondage and sin, but aren’t quite exactly sure how? Well all it takes is giving it to Christ. Letting Him take control. Of your struggles. Your life. Letting Him into your heart. If You could relate to the post above and want to make a change. And have a personal relationship with Jesus. All you have to do is pray the prayer below. This prayer is between you and the King.

Dear God.

I know I am a sinner and I have sinned against You. I need You to take control of my life. I need Your healing hand to touch my heart. I believe that Jesus, Your Son. Died for me. To set me free. And that He rose again on the third day. I want to follow You. All the days of my life. I want to be set free from all the bondage of my sin and lies. I know I can’t do this on my own. I need Your hand to guide me. Lord I love you.

Its in Jesus name I pray.

Amen.

　

Please comment below. I would love to hear how the Lord touched you. God bless.

Love in Him.