What It Means to Worship

Dear Brother/Sister in Christ,

When many of us think of worship, we think about a slow praise song, or waving our hands in the air during church service. But true worship starts on the inside of you. The Greek word for worship is proskyneo which means "prostrating, bowing to and laying aside our own self and our own life." To worship God is to bow your desires down before Him, and let His will be done in your life; it is an inward state of being that continually honors and reverences God.

In Matthew 4:10, Jesus demonstrates the manner in which we should always be willing to lay down our lives and our bodies as a living sacrifice, even during temptation. In this scripture, Satan was tempting Jesus by offering Him the world and the very kingdoms that Jesus had come to take back from him if He would bow down and worship him instead of God. In the face of this test, Jesus responded by saying, "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord they God, and Him only shalt thou serve." Jesus laid down the temptation to yield to His flesh in order to accomplish a greater mission. So likewise, you have to be willing to put God before everything else in your life.

Can God trust that He can work out his plans and purposes through you? A perfect example of this is in Genesis chapters 42–46, when Jacob thought he had lost his beloved son Joseph forever. Through God's mighty hand, however, he reunited Joseph with his father Jacob and his brothers.

Joseph was Jacob's favorite son, and his older brothers envied him because of this. They sold him into slavery, and tricked Jacob into believing that his son had been fatally attacked in the wilderness. God was with Joseph, however, which gave him the power to prosper everywhere he went. He was thrown in prison after being falsely accused of rape, but he prospered even behind bars, and was promoted. Joseph eventually became Pharaoh's highest ranking official after he interpreted a mind–boggling dream for the ruler.

Years later, during a severe famine, Jacob's family came to Pharaoh for food. As the chief official, Joseph was the man who was responsible for supplying their need. When Jacob's older sons came to him to buy food, they did not recognize Joseph, and he used it to his advantage to see his younger brother Benjamin and request him to return to see him after their first trip to Egypt. Jacob feared the possibility of losing another son, but he submitted to what was being asked of him. As a result of his being obedient to Joseph's orders, and the will of God by releasing Benjamin to Joseph once more, the Lord was able to reunite this family, and restore what Jacob thought had been lost. Not only did Joseph reveal his true identity to his father and brothers, but God also used him as an avenue through which He could funnel his provision to them during their time of need.

Jacob operated in true worship in the face of fear, and losing something that was dear to him—his youngest son Benjamin. Are you willing to do the same? This is what worship is all about; a sacrifice must be given before the God–kind of abundance is released. What is God trying to get you to give up for His plans? It may simply be a good deed, money or clothing. Whatever it is, if you are holding something you treasure from God, you are keeping your Benjamin. You have to trust God, that he will bless you because of your sacrifice, and heart of worship toward Him. You cannot see it as a loss, but as a spiritual gain. When you lay your desires and your plans aside for God, He sees it as true worship.

The Two Phases – Anticipation and Reality!

Dear Brother/Sister in Christ,

"But the hour cometh, and now is..." John 4:23

Phase one: anticipation. This woman had lived through 5 failed marriages, become the talk of the town, and lost her capacity to trust others or respect herself. Then Jesus showed up and said, "The hour cometh." What a message: "Things are about to change. What you're weeping over today you'll rejoice over tomorrow." God's grace turns the failures of our past into fertilizer. Like a lily springing up in a mud marsh, God offers us: "Beauty for ashes, and the garment of praise in exchange for the spirit of heaviness." (See Is 61:3).

Notice when Christ mentioned this woman's past, He wasn't a Pharisee pointing an accusing finger. No, He was the Good Shepherd walking for miles to find one lost sheep; the great Physician pouring healing love into her deepest wounds; and "the door" that leads out of misery and into the life she always longed for.

Phase two: reality. "And now is." The waiting is over. Anticipation turns to reality and she seizes her moment. When Jesus said, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give…shall never thirst" (Jn 4:14); she replies: "Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not" (Jn 4:15). She reaches by faith and receives what He has for her.

Then redeemed, recycled and redirected, this woman with a questionable past goes all over town introducing others to Christ. What a story! And what Jesus did for her He'll do for you. What He said to her He says to you: "Your time has come. Your breakthrough is at hand. Believe it, receive it and walk in it."

The Final Payment for Sin

Dear Brother / Sister in Christ,

I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. (KJV)Psalms 91:2

There is always a payment for sin. The wages, price tag, or salary of sin is death. Sin always equals death. But we must focus on the fact that the price for our sin has been paid. It was paid with the precious blood of Jesus. That blood bought us many things, one of which is protection from danger.

At one time in history, God accepted the death of animals for a temporary payment for sin. He would allow the blood of animals to cover our sin for a short period of time. But a temporary measure wouldn't get the job done. We needed not to have our sins covered up; we needed to have our sins washed away and the vehicle that would wash away our sins would be the shed blood of Jesus. Thank God for the Blood.

Jesus was qualified to shed His blood for us because He was a sinless man, anointed by the Holy Ghost. Even though He was tempted at all points like we are, He did not sin. And since He did not have any sin of His own, He was qualified to bear our sins. His sinless blood was shed to wash away our sins. It was His blood that finished the job. Therefore we live by the word, we live by the water, we live by the blood, and we live by the witness that is within us. Living by that witness is having faith in the blood shed for us.

When we have faith we please God (Heb. 11:6). We all want to please God. That being the case, we must first believe that God is. Additionally, we must believe that God is the rewarder, not the one taking from us. He rewards us, he does not destroy us. So we rest in His protection, knowing that He rewards us by keeping us from danger when we have faith in Him. We must believe He is a rewarder of them that seek Him diligently.

Jesus' blood was the final payment for sin. We now stand free from sin. We are in right standing with God, with all of heaven to keep us safe.

Scripture references: Hebrews 4:15; 2 Corinthians 5:21

GREATEST WEAPONS OF ALL

Each day I try to do my best to encourage you and give you practical
guidance to help translate your faith into your every day life. Today
is one
of those core areas that is critical to the spiritual life of a family.
Men,
you are REQUIRED to take the spiritual headship of your home and make
prayer
part of the daily life at your house. You should pray with your spouse
EVERY
day, and the two of you should be praying with your kids EVERY day.

Does this insure you have no problems in your marriage or with your
children. NO. But it must be part of our every day life to commit the
issues
we are facing to the Lord in prayer, to be thankful for all God does
for us
each day, to openly express our dependence on Him. For those single
moms and
dads, during this season you are in, you need to be the spiritual
leader in
your home and it is up to you to make time each day to pray with your
kids.
There is nothing greater you can do for your marriage and in the life
of
your family than that daily time of prayer together.

This is not a matter to debate. The Bible clearly tells us to pray one
for
another. How much more should we pray together as husband and wife, as
a
family unit? It becomes like everything else in our life, a matter of
priorities. It is amazing how much we can accomplish when it is
something we
want to do. However, there always seems to be reasons why we can't do
the
things necessary to maintain our focus on the things of God. I am not
talking about 5 hour long prayer meetings, though there may be times
when
that is greatly needed. Just taking 15 minutes, praying about the
issues you
are currently facing will make a great difference.

There is no better lesson for your kids than to see God answering
prayers in
their life, and not answering in some cases. It helps prepare them for
the
real world they are living in and helps them to learn to be dependent
upon
God each day. For a husband and wife, you share the most intimate
things
possible physically yet for some reason, you can't share in the most
intimate things spiritually. That never has made sense to me.

Trust me, I realize that this is a big step for many. Let me leave you
with
this challenge. Take the next 4 weeks. Make 5 minutes each day to pray
with
your spouse alone and another 5 to pray with the children. With your
spouse,
each of you take a few minutes to share your needs, then the husband
lead in
prayer for those needs. Before you end, each of you just take a minute
to
pray for your spouse, that God will bless them richly that day.

Same with your kids. Take a few minutes to have each of your children
share
the needs pressing, then dad lead in prayer for those needs.
Afterwards,
both mom and dad should pray over each child for God's protection and
blessings. A side note, keeping a prayer journal is a great way to look
back
after 6 months and see God's faithfulness. Simply write down the
request and
date...and then the answer when it comes and the date.

MAKE THIS A PRIORITY TO DO EACH DAY FOR THE NEXT 4 WEEKS. Trust me when
I
tell you that it will change your relationship with your spouse and
children. For those who have a spouse that isn't saved and isn't going
to go
for this, here is the plan. Spend a few minutes either at night or in
the
morning when your spouse is sleeping to lay your hands on them and pray
for
them.

I love you and care about you so much. Praying with your spouse each
day,
praying with your kids each day, doesn't make your home immune from the
trials and tribulations of this world. It will however keep your home
focused each day on the Lord, and who is in control. The journey of
faith we
are on is a 24/7 experience. Not one hour on Sunday, or every now and
then.
Can you see how much harder it becomes to be involved in sin when you
are
focusing on the Lord each day personally, and then with your spouse,
and
then with your kids? God will honor those who honor Him.

It is time that we quit being so lazy, quit waiting until we are in the
midst of crisis to call out to the Lord. The reason we are so weak and
ineffective in our Christian lives is because we are lazy and do
nothing to
strengthen ourselves for the storms of life. When they come, we are
lost and
have no idea how to fight. A good soldier is always in training so that
when
it is time for battle they are prepared. The Bible tells us that our
enemy
is not of flesh and blood . . . it is a spiritual battle we are in.
Subsequently, it is critical that we are training daily to fight those
spiritual battles, both in our personal lives, and in the lives of
those God
has given us during this journey.

I will be praying today that you hear this word and act upon it. It
could be
the difference between seeing victory or defeat in your marriage and in
the
lives of your children. God is placing the weapons you need to fight
with in
your hands--use them. PRAYING WITH YOUR SPOUSE AND FAMILY IS ONE OF THE
GREATEST WEAPONS OF ALL!!!


In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

Come back to him

After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me." John 13:21

Thought...
I can still remember my friend saying it in church one Sunday: "We think so badly of old Judas for betraying the Lord for 30 pieces of silver, but how many times do we betray him for nothing?" Ouch! What makes this so difficult for us to bear is Jesus' anguish knowing one of his own would betray him. Let's make every effort and call upon God's strength so that such betrayal can never be true of us! And if it ever is, let's make sure we run toward his grace with an honest desire to escape sin and come back to him!

Prayer...
Jesus, I am sorry for the times I have broken your heart with my rebellion and neglect. Father God, I apologize for my lack of passion and zeal for your Son's sacrifice that saved me from sin and death. I want to live more vibrantly for Jesus so others may see him and come to know him. It is in his precious and holy name I pray. Amen.

Divine Direction

Dear Brother/Sister in Christ,

Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt." Genesis 37:28

Often, when we look for direction from God we seek the miraculous. We search for a sign, a voice or a vision to make our paths plain. However, God can and does employ more common (even painful) experiences in our life to provide direction for our lives. We lose a job, experience a break up in a relationship, financial instability, stricken with an illness or something is taken from us. These "life events" may be God's way of causing us to look in another direction. God will often close a door, to point us in the direction of another.

God has a purpose and plan for our lives. The problem is - so do we. Often our plans and God's plan are not the same. We often seek things that are short sighted. God knows this and allows certain events in our lives to point us in the right direction. Often these situations look nothing like what we think God's plan for our lives should look like. We must be careful not to misconstrue God's direction as persecution. "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).

If anyone's life demonstrates this principle it's Joseph. Joseph received a dream from God revealing his destiny. In his dream he was in a place of prestige and power. In a matter of days, Joseph went from being his father's favorite son to being a slave in a foreign land. He was thrown into a pit, sold into slavery and taken to Egypt to spend the rest of his life. Unbeknownst to Joseph, all of this was God's way of positioning him to fulfill his purpose in life. Joseph had to go into the pit, to meet Potiphar. Potiphar's wife had to falsely accuse Joseph for him to be sent to prison. It was in prison where Joseph met attendants in Pharaoh's court. It was because of this time in prison that Joseph received the opportunity to meet Pharaoh. When he met Pharaoh he entered into his destiny.

When Joseph laid his head down to sleep that first night in Egypt he was far from home, but squarely within God's plan. God declares: For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, "declares the LORD." For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). I am sure Joseph saw the changes in his situation as set backs, when in reality they were setups. God was providing "divine direction" through what appeared to be disaster. Each disappointing turn in his life pointed him in the direction of his destiny and purpose.

Some of you may be experiencing what appears to be a disaster or dead end in your life, when in fact it's direction. As you experience your transition, never lose sight of God's sovereignty. Sometimes God allows us to lose control so that He can take control. When Joseph's brothers threw him into the pit, I am sure he had no idea he had taken the first step toward his destiny. After looking over his life and all that had transpired, Joseph was able to say to his brothers: "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result..." (Genesis 50:20). Everything he thought was an accident was really providence. It was divine direction!