Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. – Psalm 100:4
Psalm 100 was originally used in worship of the Lord as the worshippers entered the temple courts through the gates. It helped focus the worshippers’ hearts on thanksgiving and praise as they entered into a time of worship. Thanksgiving is a wonderful way to enter into worship!
Psalm 100 provides us with wisdom of how we should enter not only worship, but all aspects of our life. Think of how much better things would go if we entered into everything with an attitude of gratitude. All you need to do is apply the first part of verse 4 to your situations in life. For example, enter your day with thanksgiving… Enter your week with thanksgiving…Enter your meal with thanksgiving…Enter your work with thanksgiving…Enter your family with thanksgiving…Enter your leisure time with thanksgiving…Enter your bedtime with thanksgiving. When we enter into everything with thanksgiving it will invariably lead us to praise of worship of the Lord.
Prayer: Thank you Lord for the life that you have given to me. May I live my life in thanksgiving to you. Help me to enter into everything I do with a heart of thanksgiving. Amen.
Faith Tip: Today as you begin a new task of go from one place to another, remember Psalm 100:4 and enter with a heart of thanksgiving.
Written by Pastor Aaron Anderson
Monday, November 22, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Playdoh Hearts
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 11:19)
I recently took some playdoh that I had sitting around to a mentoring session with a fourth grader. I had four different colors for them to choose from. The canisters were never open, so I thought they would be delighted to be the first to use it. Unfortunately, the playdoh was hard in all four canisters. It only crumbled and was not flexible at all. We were disappointed because it wasn’t any fun in this condition.
Our hearts can be like that playdoh—stiff, hard, crumbling, inflexible. We can make choices to try to be a better person and care about others more. Honestly, there is nothing we can do without seeking God. God is the one that gives us a heart of flesh that is loving, caring and obedient to him. As our relationship with God is built on, we will see things the way that God sees them and care about the things that God cares about. In true obedience and desire, we will follow God where he sends us, speak his words, and show his love. It won’t be just a practice session of “being good,” it will be who we truly are because of the transforming power of God.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for changing my heart. You have been faithful from the beginning and have plans for me to use my heart of flesh for your kingdom. I pray that I will continually sit at your feet and drink in who you are. Amen.
Faith tip: Time for a heart check. Ask God if there are any areas in which transformation is needed, and then open your heart to whatever work he wants to do in you.
Written by Kathy Bruins
I recently took some playdoh that I had sitting around to a mentoring session with a fourth grader. I had four different colors for them to choose from. The canisters were never open, so I thought they would be delighted to be the first to use it. Unfortunately, the playdoh was hard in all four canisters. It only crumbled and was not flexible at all. We were disappointed because it wasn’t any fun in this condition.
Our hearts can be like that playdoh—stiff, hard, crumbling, inflexible. We can make choices to try to be a better person and care about others more. Honestly, there is nothing we can do without seeking God. God is the one that gives us a heart of flesh that is loving, caring and obedient to him. As our relationship with God is built on, we will see things the way that God sees them and care about the things that God cares about. In true obedience and desire, we will follow God where he sends us, speak his words, and show his love. It won’t be just a practice session of “being good,” it will be who we truly are because of the transforming power of God.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for changing my heart. You have been faithful from the beginning and have plans for me to use my heart of flesh for your kingdom. I pray that I will continually sit at your feet and drink in who you are. Amen.
Faith tip: Time for a heart check. Ask God if there are any areas in which transformation is needed, and then open your heart to whatever work he wants to do in you.
Written by Kathy Bruins
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Relating is Believing
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
You’ve heard the term, “Seeing is believing.” Oh really? Think about the definition of believing:
to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully[1].
As humans, we have a tough time putting our trust in other people completely and believing in them. We seem to have more trust in inanimate objects such as money, cars, food and so on. Think about the people you do trust the most. Why do you? There must have been a pattern of trust set in development of your relationship with them.
Why do we have such a hard time trusting God and truly believing what he says? I believe it has to do with our relationship with God. The Bible shows that the things that God said he would do, he has done. He has been faithful. He is still doing wonderful things today. To increase our belief of God, we need to trust him more. One way to do this is to thank God for what he has done and to thank him ahead of his action in response to our prayers trusting and believing that he will do the right thing.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank you for what you have planned for me today. I pray that I will believe your hand is at work in my life and I trust you with what you have set before me. Amen
Faith tip: In praying today, thank God first for what he will do in your request.
Written by Kathy Bruins
[1] believe. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/believe
You’ve heard the term, “Seeing is believing.” Oh really? Think about the definition of believing:
to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully[1].
As humans, we have a tough time putting our trust in other people completely and believing in them. We seem to have more trust in inanimate objects such as money, cars, food and so on. Think about the people you do trust the most. Why do you? There must have been a pattern of trust set in development of your relationship with them.
Why do we have such a hard time trusting God and truly believing what he says? I believe it has to do with our relationship with God. The Bible shows that the things that God said he would do, he has done. He has been faithful. He is still doing wonderful things today. To increase our belief of God, we need to trust him more. One way to do this is to thank God for what he has done and to thank him ahead of his action in response to our prayers trusting and believing that he will do the right thing.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank you for what you have planned for me today. I pray that I will believe your hand is at work in my life and I trust you with what you have set before me. Amen
Faith tip: In praying today, thank God first for what he will do in your request.
Written by Kathy Bruins
[1] believe. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/believe
The Voice That Calls
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 1:20)
Traveling through life is much like how Abraham left his hometown. He didn’t know where God was taking him, but in obedience he went. The promises of God all came true for Abraham because of the relationship of obedience he had with God. If Abraham would have gone his own way and not followed where God wanted him to go, the fulfilled promises would not have been experienced.
As we journey through life not clearly seeing where we are going, but listening to a voice, we want to see results. Determining which voice to listen to is a choice we make moment by moment. Will it be the voice of the world that cries out “me first” or will the voice be a soft inner whisper that says, “I love you. Follow me.” The results will come forth in our lives as we follow a voice. Will they be eternal or temporary results?
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for letting me hear your voice. I only need to listen to hear it. I pray that in obedience like Abraham that I will follow your voice and shut out the voice of the world. Amen
Faith tip: Take time today to really listen for God’s voice. He is speaking to you.
Written by Kathy Bruins
Traveling through life is much like how Abraham left his hometown. He didn’t know where God was taking him, but in obedience he went. The promises of God all came true for Abraham because of the relationship of obedience he had with God. If Abraham would have gone his own way and not followed where God wanted him to go, the fulfilled promises would not have been experienced.
As we journey through life not clearly seeing where we are going, but listening to a voice, we want to see results. Determining which voice to listen to is a choice we make moment by moment. Will it be the voice of the world that cries out “me first” or will the voice be a soft inner whisper that says, “I love you. Follow me.” The results will come forth in our lives as we follow a voice. Will they be eternal or temporary results?
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for letting me hear your voice. I only need to listen to hear it. I pray that in obedience like Abraham that I will follow your voice and shut out the voice of the world. Amen
Faith tip: Take time today to really listen for God’s voice. He is speaking to you.
Written by Kathy Bruins
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Glorifying God in All We Do
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
So what are you going to do today? I started making my list of things to do which include running errands, working on writing projects, exercising and more. It’s wonderful how God has provided for us each day just what we need. He gets all the glory for it. But we can also give God the glory in doing our daily tasks.
Whenever we eat something, is it something healthy that is good for us, or are we hitting the fast food line and becoming overwhelmed in artery clogging fat and sodium? Which choice would glorify God? It’s all about making the best choices. When we run errands, are we conscious of the contacts we make during this time? What opportunities does God give us to glorify him? Even in our daily work, we are given many opportunities to show people who we belong to and serve—a very loving God.
Prayer: Lord, I thank you for all the opportunities you give to us that we can glorify you. If we stopped to consider how many times per day we can do this, we would be astonished. I pray that I can be conscious of these opportunities and make the right choices in glorifying you for you are so worthy. Amen
Faith tip: Consider what you are doing right now and how that can glorify God. Repeat throughout the day.
Written by Kathy Bruins
So what are you going to do today? I started making my list of things to do which include running errands, working on writing projects, exercising and more. It’s wonderful how God has provided for us each day just what we need. He gets all the glory for it. But we can also give God the glory in doing our daily tasks.
Whenever we eat something, is it something healthy that is good for us, or are we hitting the fast food line and becoming overwhelmed in artery clogging fat and sodium? Which choice would glorify God? It’s all about making the best choices. When we run errands, are we conscious of the contacts we make during this time? What opportunities does God give us to glorify him? Even in our daily work, we are given many opportunities to show people who we belong to and serve—a very loving God.
Prayer: Lord, I thank you for all the opportunities you give to us that we can glorify you. If we stopped to consider how many times per day we can do this, we would be astonished. I pray that I can be conscious of these opportunities and make the right choices in glorifying you for you are so worthy. Amen
Faith tip: Consider what you are doing right now and how that can glorify God. Repeat throughout the day.
Written by Kathy Bruins
Getting Ahead of God
Peter… said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “…what is that to you? You follow Me” (John 21:21-22)
Seeing someone struggle is tough. Many of us have a “fix it” mentality where we want to jump into the middle of the situation and make sure they don’t struggle at all. We truly need to restrain ourselves and pray about our involvement. What is God doing through their struggle? When we jump in to help, we sometimes are jumping in front of God’s will for that person and blocking his work. Sometimes we need to get to the end of ourselves through suffering to truly see what God is doing and learn to depend on him.
Please don’t mistake this for not helping others when called. That’s why it is so important to stay in connection with the Holy Spirit to discern what we are to do. There are times when it is very obvious that help is needed at the moment like if someone is outside freezing without a coat or food or someone is broke down on the highway.
Think about the times you had challenges in your life. What did God work in you through these challenges? Could you have grown as much as you did without the struggle?
Prayer: Lord, it’s hard to be thankful for the times we suffer, but your work in us through the suffering makes us thankful. You always have a purpose for us. I pray that I may discern where it is you want me to jump in. Amen
Faith tip: Pray for clear direction of where God wants you to jump in and help today.
Written by Kathy Bruins
Seeing someone struggle is tough. Many of us have a “fix it” mentality where we want to jump into the middle of the situation and make sure they don’t struggle at all. We truly need to restrain ourselves and pray about our involvement. What is God doing through their struggle? When we jump in to help, we sometimes are jumping in front of God’s will for that person and blocking his work. Sometimes we need to get to the end of ourselves through suffering to truly see what God is doing and learn to depend on him.
Please don’t mistake this for not helping others when called. That’s why it is so important to stay in connection with the Holy Spirit to discern what we are to do. There are times when it is very obvious that help is needed at the moment like if someone is outside freezing without a coat or food or someone is broke down on the highway.
Think about the times you had challenges in your life. What did God work in you through these challenges? Could you have grown as much as you did without the struggle?
Prayer: Lord, it’s hard to be thankful for the times we suffer, but your work in us through the suffering makes us thankful. You always have a purpose for us. I pray that I may discern where it is you want me to jump in. Amen
Faith tip: Pray for clear direction of where God wants you to jump in and help today.
Written by Kathy Bruins
Friday, November 12, 2010
Imitations
You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. – 1 Thessalonians 1:6
In the marketplace there are many imitations trying to look like the real thing. There is imitation vanilla, imitation leather, imitation crab, imitation pearls, imitation gold, and the list goes on and on. Imitations are cheaper because they are usually not of the same quality as the real thing. The other day I was looking at an advertisement and it warned, “Beware of cheap imitations.”
However, sometime imitations can be good. It is said that imitation is the best form of flattery. In the scripture today Paul encourages Christians to imitate Jesus Christ. By imitating Christ we live into the new life that we have in Christ and by our imitation our lives become pleasing to God. How are you being an imitation of Christ in your life?
Prayer: Thank you Jesus that you have given us an example to live by. Help me Lord to be an imitation of you so that others will see you in my life. Amen.
Faith Tip: Think of one way that you can imitate Christ in your life today and become an imitation of Jesus.
Written by Pastor Aaron Anderson
In the marketplace there are many imitations trying to look like the real thing. There is imitation vanilla, imitation leather, imitation crab, imitation pearls, imitation gold, and the list goes on and on. Imitations are cheaper because they are usually not of the same quality as the real thing. The other day I was looking at an advertisement and it warned, “Beware of cheap imitations.”
However, sometime imitations can be good. It is said that imitation is the best form of flattery. In the scripture today Paul encourages Christians to imitate Jesus Christ. By imitating Christ we live into the new life that we have in Christ and by our imitation our lives become pleasing to God. How are you being an imitation of Christ in your life?
Prayer: Thank you Jesus that you have given us an example to live by. Help me Lord to be an imitation of you so that others will see you in my life. Amen.
Faith Tip: Think of one way that you can imitate Christ in your life today and become an imitation of Jesus.
Written by Pastor Aaron Anderson
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