Lift Songs Of Praise To The Lord

Ephesians 5:17
17Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
God wants us to walk as wise men and women, and not as fools. (Ephesians 5:15) Now, He will not tell us to walk in wisdom without showing us how. That is why His Word goes on to say, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

So what is the will of God? The next two verses tell us how to identify it: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord ”. (Ephesians 5:18–19)
As you allow yourself to be filled with the Spirit by lifting songs of praise to the Lord, singing or speaking (God knows some of us can’t sing!) psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and making melody in your heart to the Lord, God promises that you will know what His will is for your situation. You will then have the wisdom to decide wisely what to do next.

I have found this to be true in my own life. Whenever I face a difficult situation, the more I think about it, the more confused I get. The more I try my best to come up with a smart solution, the further the answer seems to get from me. But when I turn away from my problem and turn to God, singing in the Spirit and praising Him, I get a clearer perspective of the problem when I come back to it later. I also find an inner prompting to make certain decisions which in the end, turn out to be better than anything I could have come up with on my own.

So my friend, lift up songs of praise to the Lord, whether times are good or bad. For when you fill your mouth with praises to God, He will lead you and guide you in all the affairs of your life. Even if you are stuck with a problem, He will show you the way to go or make a way out for you. Either way, you will get the wisdom and help that you need!

Let The Lord Be Your Defense

Psalm 94:22
22But the Lord has been my defense, and my God the rock of my refuge.

Imagine being a poor widow, a stranger in the land and holding one of the lowliest jobs in society. That was Ruth’s situation, so it would have been easy for her to feel vulnerable and defenseless. But because she trusted the Lord (Ruth 1:16), He placed her under Boaz’s protection.

Boaz, the owner of the field she worked in, commanded his young men saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.” (Ruth 2:15) What he was saying to his men was this: “She might be a gleaner, but because I care for her, treat her with respect and make sure she is not put to shame.”

Boaz is a picture of our Lord Jesus. If you are feeling vulnerable and defenseless right now, imagine Jesus commanding His angels, “Watch over this one who belongs to Me. Make sure he is treated with respect and not put to shame because he is someone I love and someone whom I died for.”

God’s Word tells us that if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) No one who has set himself against us can prevail because when God is for us, His protection is upon us. That is why I have never answered any of the poison email messages which I have received in the course of my ministry.

My attitude is this: Jesus is my defense. If He does not defend me, it means that there are things in my life that are not to be defended, and I would be glad to find out about them now rather than later. On the other hand, because I take the Lord as my defense, and He defends me, what can those who are against me do to me?

When you defend yourself, you have only your two hands and your own human resources. But when you let Jesus take up your defense, He defends you with His nail-pierced hands and His legions of angels! The results will be amazing.

Beloved, the Lord is your defense and refuge. Trust Him to defend and protect you!

Speak God’s Word And Activate His Angels

Psalm 103:20
20Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word.

Notice that the verse says that angels are “heeding the voice of His word”. Now, who gives voice to God’s Word? We do! Each time we speak God’s Word, we give voice to His Word. And when angels hear His Word given voice, they respond!

The Bible says that at the end of Daniel’s three weeks of fasting and praying for an answer from God, the angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel and said to him, “I have come because of your words.” (Daniel 10:12)

So when angels hear you saying, “Thank You, Father, no evil shall befall me nor shall any plague come near my dwelling,” (Psalm 91:10) they will come to your aid because you are giving voice to God’s Word. Even if you cannot quote the verse perfectly, they can still come to your rescue.

This was what happened to a lady in the United States. While walking home after an evening church service, she was attacked from behind by a man and dragged toward a dark corner in an alley. In that frantic state, she remembered only one word from that evening’s sermon. So she shouted, “Feathers! Feathers!” Her attacker released her and fled!

Feathers? What did she mean? She was actually referring to Psalm 91:4 — “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge”. In that state of panic, she remembered only one word — “feathers”, and it was enough to cause her attacker to flee. You see, it is not your ability to quote an entire verse perfectly that releases God’s power, but faith in His Word and His love for you. And one word from Him is enough to send your enemies scurrying away.

However, if you know God’s Word by heart but refuse to proclaim it, the power of His Word cannot be released. The Bible does not say that angels heed His Word. No, it says that “His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word”. So beloved, give voice to God’s Word and see His angels respond. His angels are activated for your benefit when you speak His Word!

Daily Bread: Kept In All Your Ways By God’s Angels

Psalm 91:11–12

11For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. 12In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

You are about to step onto the road when something pulls you back just in time to avoid being hit by a speeding car. You are shocked. When you come to your senses, you ask yourself, “Could it be that an angel just saved me from a fatal accident?”

I believe that angels walk with us. The verse tells us that God has given His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways. And in their hands they will bear us up, so that not even a stone will trip us up.

But we may not know it when we encounter an angel. (Hebrews 13:2) This was probably the case with a couple in our church who were holidaying at a beach resort on Penang Island when a tsunami struck at about 12.30pm on 26 December 2004.

It was slightly past 11am when the wife suddenly had a craving for food from the mainland. The couple decided to check out earlier, so that they could reach the mainland in time for lunch. While loading their luggage into their car at the hotel driveway, a man impatiently motioned to them to hurry up and get moving.

Annoyed by his impatience, they quickly loaded their stuff and drove off. The minute they reached the mainland, they heard that a tsunami had struck Penang Island at the same beach where they were just a while ago. While thanking God for their narrow escape, it suddenly dawned on them that the impatient man could have been an angel charged by God to hurry them off!

God tells us that we have an innumerable company of angels. (Hebrews 12:22) And He has given them charge over us to protect us from accidents, natural disasters, terrorist bombings and other dangers. So don’t fear these things and lock yourself at home. Go for that holiday! Go for that lunch appointment! Believe that God loves you, and thank Him for His angels who walk with you and watch over you!

Daily Bread: What Have You Been Saying?

Psalm 91:2
2I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”
When a great storm arose as Jesus and His disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, He did not say to His disciples, “The storm is here to teach us courage.” Instead, He took authority over the storm and said, “Peace, be still!” And there was a perfect calm. (Mark 4:39)

When He met the widow of Nain whose only son had died, and on another occasion, the two sisters whose brother Lazarus had died, He didn’t tell them, “God wanted to take him home.” No, He spoke to the dead son: “Young man, I say to you, arise.” (Luke 7:14) And standing outside Lazarus’ tomb, He said, “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:43) And both men came back to life.

What have you been saying about your situation?
When you feel the pain in your body, don’t say of the Lord, “God wants me sick to teach me to trust Him more.” Instead, say, “Lord Jesus, I thank You that by Your stripes I am healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

While trying to make ends meet, don’t say of the Lord, “The Lord keeps me poor to keep me humble.” Instead, say, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)

And if you have an intimidating boss at work, don’t say, “The Lord is my patience, I will endure.” Instead, say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)

We are living in the last days when there are terrorist attacks and deadly viruses lurking around, and the world is afraid. But we will not speak negative words and be fearful like the people of the world. Instead, we will speak God’s Word and reign over these things. Like the psalmist, we will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”

So find out what God’s Word says about your situation, believe it and declare it. And because God’s Word cannot return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11), you will see what you believe and confess come to pass!

21 things Girls dont realize

21 things Girls dont realize

1) Guys may be flirting around all day, but before they go to sleep, they always think about the girl they truly care about....

2) Guys are more emotional then you think, if they loved you at one point, it'll take them a lot longer then you think to let you go, and it hurts every second that they try.

3) Guys go crazy over a girl's smile(:

4) A guy who likes you wants to be the only guy you talk to.

5) Giving a guy a hanging message like "You know what?..uh...nevermind.." would make him jump to a conclusion that is far from what you are thinking. And he'll assume he did something wrong and he'll obsess about it trying to figure it out.

6) If a guy tells you about his problems, he just needs someone to listen to him. You don't need to give advice.

7) A usual act that proves that the guy likes you is when he teases you

8) GUYS LOVE YOU MORE THEN YOU LOVE THEM!!!

9) Guys use words like hot or cute to describe girls. They rarely use beautiful or gorgeous. If a guy uses that, he loves you or likes you a whole heck of a lot.

10)If the guy does something stupid in front of the girl, he will think about it for the next couple days or until the next time he spends time with the girl.

11)If a guy looks unusually calm and laid back, he's probably faking it and he is really thinking about something

12) When a guy says he is going crazy about the girl, he really is. Guys rarely say that

13)When a guy asks you to leave him alone, he's just actually saying, "Please come and listen to me

14)If a guy starts to talk seriously, listen to him. It doesn't happen that often, so when it does, you know something's up.

15) When a guy looks at you for longer than a second, he's definitely thinking something.

16) Guys really think that girls are strange and have unpredictable decisions and are MAD confusing but somehow are drawn even more to the

17)A guy would give the world to be able to read a girl's mind for a day.

18)No guy can handle all his problems on his own. He's just too stubborn to admit it

19)NOT ALL GUYS ARE RUDE!!!

Just because ONE is RUDE doesnt mean he represents ALL of them

20)WHEN A GUY SACRIFICES HIS SLEEP AND HEALTH JUST TO TALK TO YOU, HE REALLY LIKES YOU AND WANTS TO BE WITH YOU AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

21)Even if you dump a guy months ago and he loved you he probably still does and if he had one wish it would be you to come back into his life

Everything said in this posting is TRUE

God Wants His Children Well And Joyful

John 14:9
9Jesus said to him, “… He who has seen Me has seen the Father…

Imagine the following scenario: A father tells his little girl, “Come here, girl. Mummy says that you have been playing by the roadside. Is that true?” “Yes, Daddy. I am sorry.” “Sorry? How many times have I told you not to play near the road? Come here! Lie down on the road and stretch out your legs!”

Daddy drives his car over his little girl’s legs. You can hear the sound of bones being crushed and the poor girl screaming in pain!

“Now, darling, you know that Daddy loves you. And Daddy did that to teach you a lesson, that playing by the roadside is dangerous.”

You are probably shaking your head in horror by now, wondering which sick father would do that. Yet, there are many Christians who believe that our heavenly Father does the same thing. They say that He gives people sicknesses, accidents, earthquakes and death to teach them lessons.

But Jesus said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” Jesus is the nature of God in action. Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus or God going about healing the sick. If God wants some people sick, then there should be at least one incident in the Gospels where you see Jesus saying, “Behold, your complexion is too lovely, receive leprosy,” or “Blindness is good for you. Remain blind.” But no, never once! In fact, Jesus “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil”. (Acts 10:38) That’s the heart of God.

As a father, if your child is sick and in pain, your heart just wants him well. How much more your heavenly Father! My friend, God does not give your child a sickness to teach both of you some lesson or to glorify Himself. To think so is to talk out of a warped mind bound by religion! And Christianity is not a religion. It is a loving relationship with your Father in heaven.

Beloved, hear God speaking this to your heart today: “I will never punish you for your sins because they have been punished in My Son’s body. I do not wish you ill. I will not take away your child or give you a car wreck to teach you some lesson. My heart always wants My children well and joyful!”