For The Christian Heart, Life & Living Victoriously

A Book For The Christian Heart & Life

Spiritual Nutrition

Healthy Eating for the Christian Heart, Spiritual Nutrition focuses on the development of healthy spiritual habits by identifying five core spiritual nutrients and comparing them to their physical counterparts:

•Prayer is like water-vital for life and essential for survival.
•Bible study is like protein necessary for growth.
•Christian fellowship is like carbohydrates-gives us energy.
•Worship is like healthy fats-helps keep our hearts healthy.
•Thinking on good things is like vitamins-necessary for helping the other nutrients work effectively.

Popular Worship

I love to worship God. Worship brings heaven to earth and when heaven invades earth, things change and change for the good. Over the years I have collected a lot of great worship music, much of which is Vineyard Music.

If you've never visited the Vineyard Music web site, you might take the time to. They have a really cool site with lots of information, updates and great songs. Check out their popular worship songs list which has some great worship songs.

Worship The Lord With Awe. Worship Him With Joy.

Psalm 8 is a hymn of praise. It proclaims the glory of the Lord in His creation. The focus is not so much on the glories of nature. The great theme is the glory of Him who created nature. The Psalm begins and ends with the praise of God – ^“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens” (v. 1); “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (v. 9) ... May God help us to worship Him with both awe and joy. As we rejoice in the Lord, let us not forget that He is the awesome God. As we bow before His majesty, let us not forget His love. Remembering how much He loves us, our hearts will be filled with true and lasting joy.

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The Glory of the Lord in His creation - Let's worship Him with both awe and joy (Psalm 8)

Worshipping The God Of Our Salvation (Psalm 9)

"I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High" (1-2).
We worship God as those who have come to trust in Him as the God of our salvation - "The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you" (9-10).
Trusting in the Lord, the God of our salvation, our worship is heartfelt worship - "I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart" (1).
Trusting in the Lord, the God of our salvation, our worship is joyful worship - "I will be glad and rejoice in you" (2).
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Praise God For His Deliverance (Psalm 9).

Christmas Worship

Here are a few articles you may find helpful.

Preparing for Christmas: Learning from Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26-38, 46-55)

Preparing for Christmas: Learning from John the Baptist (Luke 1:13-17; John 1:19-34)

Wise men (and women) still seek Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12)

Jesus Christ - “God with us” (Matthew 1:23) - is truly God and truly Man

Jesus: God with us, God for us, God in us

Invitation, Protection, Victory (Matthew 1-2)

A Journey with Christ (Matthew 1:5-6; John 8:1-11)

Matthew 1:1-25

The Virgin Birth - Believing the Fact and Receiving Its Message

Let us go to Bethlehem.

Looking back from Bethlehem, looking on from Bethlehem

We look back from Bethlehem - back to the very beginning.

First Sunday after Christmas Day: Isaiah 63:7-9; Psalm 148; Hebrews 2:10-18; Matthew 2:13-23

Season of Christmas: Nativity of the Lord (Christmas Day) II – Isaiah 62:6-12; Psalm 97; Titus 3:4-7; Luke 2: (1-7), 8-20

Season of Christmas: Nativity of the Lord (Christmas Day) I – Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

A Christmas Message

Jesus Christ - God with us: Readings in John, Matthew and Luke

Christ is born: Readings in Luke and Matthew

The Birth of Christ: Readings in Matthew and Luke

God Loves Us.

‘Exalt the Lord our God... Make a joyful noise to the Lord’ (Psalms 99:5,9; 98:4,6; 100:1). We are to worship the Lord with joy. We are to glorify God. We are to enjoy Him. In our worship, we must never forget the holiness of God: ‘He is holy! ... The Lord our God is holy!’ (Psalm 99:5, 9). In our worship, we rejoice in the love of God: ‘His steadfast love endures for ever... He has done marvellous things!’(Psalms 100:5; 98:1). The God of ‘awesome purity’ loves us with the most perfect love of all: ‘No earthly father loves like Thee...’ Let us worship Him with holy fear and heartfelt love: ‘O how I fear Thee, living God, with deepest, tenderest fears... with trembling hope and penitential tears! Yet I may love Thee too, O Lord, Almighty as Thou art, for Thou hast stooped to ask of me the love of my poor heart’ (Church Hymnary, 356).

The Prayer Of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-79) Calls Us To Worship The Lord, Walk With Him And Witness For Him.

We are called to join with Zechariah in saying, Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel ... (68). As we worship the Lord, we are confident of this: He will “guide our feet into the path of peace” (79).Worshipping the Lord and walking with Him, we are led to follow the example of John the Baptist, "a prophet of the Most High". We are to "give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins" (76-77). May God help us to respond to His call. Let us worship God. Let us walk with Him. Let us witness for Him.
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This post is the fourth and final part of an article posted at my blog. The article is entitled, "Special Days: Remembrance Day – Micah 4:1-8; Psalm 9:9-20; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5; Luke 1:68-79"

The Apostle Calls Us To Pray To The Lord - In Our Worship, Walk And Witness.

Paul prayed for the Thessalonians and he asked them to pray for him. - He prayed that God would ‘comfort their hearts and establish them in every good work and word’(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). - He prayed that they would enjoy peace: ‘Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in all ways’(2 Thessalonians 3:16). He asked them to pray for his ministry - ‘pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may speed on and triumph among you’(2 Thessalonians 3:1). Paul was writing to the Thessalonians, ‘You keep on praying for us and we’ll keep on praying for you’. We must not forget each other. We must remember each other - in prayer. Far too often, we forget. It becomes a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. We’re not to live in the past. We are to keep on praying for those who belong to our past. Don’t forget to remember!
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This post is the third part an article posted at my blog. The article is entitled, "Special Days: Remembrance Day – Micah 4:1-8; Psalm 9:9-20; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5; Luke 1:68-79"

The Psalmist Calls Us To Worship The Lord, Walk With Him And Witness For Him.

Psalm 9 will help us to worship the Lord. It will help us to walk with Him. It will help us to be His witnesses. ‘I will give thanks to the Lord...’ (1-2). The enemy is defeated (3-6). ‘The Lord sits enthroned for ever’ (7). ‘The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble’ (9). What an encouraging Psalm this is! We have the victory in Christ. Nevertheless, it is not easy when we face determined opposition from the enemies of Christ and His Gospel: ‘Behold what I suffer from those that hate me’ (13). In this situation, we must call upon the Lord: ‘Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail’ (19). Though the conflict is raging all around us, we must - taking our stand in Christ - declare God’s praises and rejoice in His salvation (14). ‘The Lord dwells in Zion’(11): ‘Blest inhabitants of Zion, Washed in the Redeemer’s blood’, may we always say, ‘Let the world deride or pity, I will glory in Thy Name’.
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This post is the second part of an article posted at my blog. The article is entitled, "Special Days: Remembrance Day – Micah 4:1-8; Psalm 9:9-20; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5; Luke 1:68-79"

The Prophet Calls Us To Worship The Lord, Walk With Him And Witness For Him.

Micah speaks to those ‘who hate good and love evil’ (Micah 3:2). He calls upon them to change their way of living. He calls upon them to worship the Lord - ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord’ (Micah 4:2).He calls upon them to walk with the Lord - ‘We will walk in the Name of the Lord our God for ever and ever’ (Micah 4:5). How do we learn to ‘walk in His paths’? - We come to His ‘House’.We worship the Lord in His House.We listen to His ‘Word’.We pray that His Word will come to us ‘with power’.We ask Him to ‘teach us His ways’.We pray that we will be ‘filled with the Spirit of the Lord’ (Micah 3:8). Gathered in His House for worship, we ‘receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us’. Through His power, we are equipped for witness: ‘you will be My witnesses...’ (Acts 1:8).
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This post is the first part of an article posted at my blog. The article is entitled, "Special Days: Remembrance Day – Micah 4:1-8; Psalm 9:9-20; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5; Luke 1:68-79"

We Must Do God’s Work In God’s Way.

Exodus 40:1-38
Here, we highlight three lessons: (a) The work of God begins with the Word of God:‘The Lord said to Moses...’(1). Before we can do anything for God, we must be taught by God. (b) The work of God must proceed in the way of God: ‘Thus did Moses; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did’(16). If we are to accomplish anything for God, we must do God’s work in God’s way. (c) The work of God must lead to the worship of God: ‘The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle’(34). If we are really seeking to work for God, we must seek to give Him the glory for all that is accomplished. Making these our priorities - the Word, way and worship of God - , we will look for ‘the cloud and fire’, the presence and power of God among us: He will be our Guide ‘throughout all our journeys’(38).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com

Let Us Worship God.

Exodus 30:1-38
The Word of God (‘the testimony’) declares the mercy of God, leading to our meeting with God (6). We highlight several features of our worship: (a) ‘the blood of the sin offering of atonement’(10) - This points to the ‘how much more’ sacrifice of Christ on the Cross for us (Hebrews 9:13-14); (b) ‘washing’(18) - Christ ‘has washed us from our sins in His blood’(Revelation 1:5; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Titus 3:5-6); (c) ‘holy anointing oil’(25) - We are to be ‘consecrated’, ‘most holy’, servants of the Lord, ‘making holiness perfect in the fear of God’, living in the power of the Holy Spirit (29-30; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Zechariah 4:6); (d) ‘incense’(35) - We are to be ‘the aroma of Christ’, spreading His ‘fragrance’(2 Corinthians 2:14-16). Christlike living is grounded in prayer (Psalm 141:2; Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4; Luke 18:1; Ephesians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:17).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com

God Is Calling Us Back To Himself.

Zephaniah 1:1-2:7
‘The great Day of the Lord is near - near and coming quickly... That Day will be a Day of wrath... I will bring distress upon the people... because they have sinned against the Lord’(1:14-17). This is God’s Word of warning. He is calling us back to Himself: ‘Seek the Lord - before the fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you, before the Day of the Lord’s wrath comes upon you’. We are to seek the Lord in ‘righteousness’ and ‘humility’. This is the way of being ‘sheltered on the Day of the Lord’s anger’(2:2-3). God is calling us to ‘worship Him in Spirit and in truth’: ‘Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. This is the true worship that you should offer’(John 4:24; Romans 12:1).

Zephaniah 2:8-3:20
Here, we have a story of sin- Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled! She has not obeyed His voice. She has not accepted correction. She has not trusted in the Lord. She has not drawn near to her God’- and a story of salvation- ‘Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment. He has turned back your enemy... The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will renew you in His love. He will rejoice over you with singing’(3:1-2,14-17). The story of our sin is full of sadness. The story of God’s salvation fills us with gladness - ‘Rejoice and be glad! The Redeemer has come’(Mission Praise, 573).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com

Worship The Lord, Wait On Him And Walk With Him.

God’s love for us inspires our loyalty to Him: ‘Your love is ever before me, and I will walk continually in Your truth’ (Psalm 26:3).

Loyalty to the Lord involves worshipping Him and walking with Him (Psalm 26:11-12).

Walking with God is not easy. There are ‘enemies round about’ us (Psalms 26:4-5, 9-10; 27:2-3, 6 ,11-12). What are we to do? We are to worship God: ‘One thing have I asked of the Lord…that I may dwell in the House of the Lord…’ (Psalm 27:4).

What are we doing when we gather in the Lord’s House for worship? This is what we are doing - ‘Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage’ (Psalm 27:14).

Where does our strength come from? It comes from God: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation… The Lord is the stronghold of my life’. Strong in Him, we say, ‘My heart will not fear … I will be confident’ (Psalm 27:1, 3).

Bless The Lord Oh My Soul

When we lift our voices up in praise and worship, offering a sacrifice well pleasing to God. The presence of God comes and fills us. As we bless the Lord, the Lord blesses and inhabits us.

For He is a God that inhabits the praises of His people.

Worship God.

Our work for God is to be grounded in worship. ‘Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. His greatness is beyond understanding’. Let us worship our great God: ‘I will exalt You, my God the King. I will praise Your Name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise You and extol Your Name for ever and ever’ (Psalm 145:1-3).

The God whom we worship is so much greater than the worship we bring to Him. Our worship is to be a ‘joyful celebration’.

* We celebrate His great love: ‘The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love’.
* We rejoice in His great faithfulness: ‘The Lord is faithful to all His promises’.
Here on earth, we have only begun to worship our great God. Our worship will continue in His ‘everlasting Kingdom’. There, we will ‘praise His Name for ever and ever’ (Psalm 145:7-8, 13, 21).

Let us worship the Lord – “Sing to the Lord a new song … Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth” (Psalm 98:1, 4).

Do We Have Faith? – Let Us Commit Ourselves To A Life Of Worship.

‘I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live’ (Psalm 146:2).

Praising the Lord our God: This is a lifelong commitment. We cannot maintain this lifelong commitment in our own strength.

We need the Lord’s help. We must never forget this: ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain’ (Psalm 127:1). We are not expected to maintain this lifelong commitment in our own strength.

We have the Lord’s help. We must always remember this: ‘Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth’ (Psalm 124:8).

‘Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, the Lord who remains faithful for ever’(Psalm 146:5-6).

Let us join with Mary in saying, ‘My soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour’ (Luke 1:46-47).