Kadosh: to be set apart, pure, untainted; for us, it means to be His Alone! It means so much more than what holy has come to mean in our culture. Read the rest of this entry »
What a joy to see His men expressing themselves with praise dancing and leading others to praise Him with their all!
It is not just nations and cities and kings for which this King of kings cares.
It is the people of those nations and cities for whom He sent His Son to redeem.
James 5:16 … pray one for another…
We are finite; focusing on the masses in the nations can be to surreal. We do not have the capacity to understand the suffering, the agony of those lost a world away; we rarely have any real commitment to them or their welfare. We can hide in our anonymity and our prayer closet. The greater challenge may be those who are closer to us; those we see as we live our lives; those who are within our reach to help! He alone can open our eyes to see the ones He loves so much. We are not just to see them with our eyes, but see them in His Love and Truth.
As we begin to see them, what He may actually show us is our own hardened heart: those we have taken for granted; those we have discredited; those we don’t trust. They are each made in the image of the Almighty, the Creator of the Universe. He loves them and desires that they choose life. So many times, the hurt they have inflicted is because they are hurting, and we have not seen it. Now, He asks that we lay aside our opinions and judgments and see them as He does.
What He asks of us is not easy. We cannot do it in our own strength.
Event: Mission Emphasis Week at South Hills Bible Chapel
Praise Dancers: Bethany’s Dance Group
Praise and Worship Artists: Brandon Heath
Praise and Worship Songs: Give Me Your Eyes
For years, He had given me respectable professional titles. But on a personal level, He was teaching me to be His little one, to run through His court, tug on His royal robes, seek the soothing love of His embrace, and listen to the beat of His heart as He held me close. But that relationship was about to change.
We so often fail to realize the amazing treasures He is giving us in our challenges. Here, the intense energy of this precious praise dancer and her team have been the gifts of our Abba as they have learned His Grace in their young lives. He is not only able, it is His plan and desire that our adversity be turned to our benefit, that we receive all that He desires to give us even when it comes in a package we would rather not open.
May we always remember to praise Him, in all things and for all things! May we be energetic in our personal praise to the King of all kings.
He is Awesome! I was promoted, further away from the technical things and into the edges of the politics. Politics, the bain of corporate existance! I had never had a desire to be involved, and here I was, right in the middle of a hotly debated project – mine!
No!! This is not a Break Dancing Praise 
!
I don’t know about you, but all this heavy stuff is…, well…, heavy!!
I need a praise break! Come join me!
Question:
Okay, I get it. Thankfulness is critical to my well being. When I am thankful, I am choosing life and protection, honoring our Creator, allowing Him to work in the situation, and choosing to grow rather than descend into depravity.
But, just how thankful do I have to be?
Answer:
We are just like our first parents, Adam and Eve. They had an entire world full of wonderful things to enjoy, but they focused on the one thing they could not eat. It is exactly the same issue for us.
No matter how bad things are, right now, you have either direct or indirect access to a computer, which means you have a world of information no one had access to just a few years ago. You are blessed.
You are breathing, your heart is beating, you are healthy enough to receive the information, which means you are not in survival mode: you have at a minimum your basic needs, food, clothing, shelter, probably transportation. Look around you, you have more than the majority of the people of this world. You are extremely blessed. Thank Him!
What is so sad, is that most of us, when we are going through rough times, think it is easy to be thankful in the good times. But, if we haven’t learned to thank Him in the challenges, we’ll only thank Him when there is relief for a short time. Then, we’ll grow complacent and ungrateful; we’ll take His blessings for granted, just like we take them for granted when we refuse to thank Him for them during the rough times.
He tells us to ‘Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.’ Philippians 4:6. That means that right in the middle of our crisis, we are to be thankful. Right in the middle of it, get your eyes off the problem and thank Him for all He has provided! And don’t forget to thank Him that none of this life’s trials lasts forever.
Praise Dancers: DDP
Praise and Worship Musician: Casting Crowns
Praise and Worship Song: Praise Him in This Storm
The story of creation told in praise dance by some very energetic teens!
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