Tag: worship

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Faith and Restoring Joy

Martha Rodman1 Comment

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Psalm 51:12. NLT.

Joy is an amazing gift of God, one of the fruits of the Spirit, but like natural fruit it can become a bit bruised and battered. The good news is that our Lord is aware of that, and loves to restore that joy. Living a life without joy is not God’s will or a very fun way to live.

Sometimes the joy thief is so subtle we don’t notice it’s lack in our life. We just fel life is a bit heavier. We push through with our own strength, not allowing His strength to help us. If you find yourself in this scenario: take a minute or as long as it takes and pray. Ask the Lord to help you sort through your thoughts and feelings. David stopped and prayed in Psalm 51:12 restore unto me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Psalm 28:6-7 Praise the Lord! For he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and shield, and I trust him with all my heart, He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.

There are some days, I admit I wake up feeling sad and if I admit it a bit depressed and fearful. Let me tell you, it does not feel well within my soul! Joy would not have been part of my description on how I feel. My feelings will tell me to crawl back under the covers and give in to the sadness. I knew of several areas and circumstances that added themselves to my feelings, but once again the Holy Spirit said, STOP. What would the outcome be of your cowering under the covers? You still have to face those things. Why not deal with it now? Why not? I am so thankful we have access to the Holy Spirit and HIs wisdom.

So, once again I begin to think “what can I do to change things”? First of all, I realize that by talking to the Lord about how I was feeling I was already on the right path of changing things. I then put on worship music. I began to thank the Lord for His solutions to each of the issues that were trying to make me go small. Have you been there? Feelings can feel very real and very large. Truth can seem distant and difficult to believe when Fearful Feelings raise their ugly heads. As I began to praise Him and focus on already answered prayers, on His loving grace things began to change. I asked for His help and He sent it. I could have gotten up and tucked all those feelings back in my soul, but I refuse to settle for that kind of life. My friends are walking through some difficult waters. As I was praying for them yesterday I was listening to my Alexa device with worship music. Suddenly the song “Way Maker” came on. (If you don’t know that song here are the lyrics).

[Verse 1]
You are here, moving in our midst
I worship You, I worship You
You are here, working in this place
I worship You, I worship You
You are here, moving in our midst
I worship You, I worship You
You are here, working in this place
I worship You, I worship You

[Chorus]
You are
Waymaker, miracle worker
Promise keeper, light in the darkness
My God, that is who You are
You are
Waymaker, miracle worker
Promise keeper, light in the darkness
My God, that is who You are

[Verse 2]
You are here, touching every heart
I worship You, I worship You
You are here, healing every heart
I worship You, I worship You

[Verse 3]
You are here, turning lives around
I worship You, I worship You
You are here, mending every heart
I worship You, yeah, I worship You, Lord

I began croaking out the words of the song and my joy was restored. I had hope, faith and joy for my friends situations. I know God is going to make a way for them, because He is that kind of God. Walking with His joy is contagious! It not only helps strengthen ourselves, but also others.

Living your life as a believer without His joy is no fun. Do not settle for less than His best. I believe joy helps us stretch our faith and trust even more.

Father, I ask that you help us defeat the joy stealers in our lives. Remind us to monitor our joy level and take the time to connect with you when we find it running low. Bless my friends with the fullness of your joy today, in Jesus Name, amen.

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Faith and Singing a New Song

Martha Rodman1 Comment

Sing a new song of praise to him, Play skillfully on the harp and sing with joy. For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does. Psalm 33:3,4 NLT.

When I was in high school, I auditioned for choir (because my best friend was in it), I made it, but not by much. I am not a natural singer. So being honest with you, reading all the scriptures about singing a new song seems a bit vague and “for someone else”. But lately, I realize that we all sing a song–a song of the heart and soul.

I think we have songs of joy, songs of mourning, songs of hope and unfortunately, songs of discouragement. These heart songs are usually a result of our life experiences, not necessarily based on God and His will. If we are feeling based, our songs can see-saw between several tunes in one day! As I meditate on my own heart song, I remember songs of mourning, sadness and even songs of doubt. I also see where God worked to change my tune! He still is.

As I lean into His love more and more, I sing a new song! It has been a subtle day by day change. Every time I see His handiwork in the lives of those around me, my tune changes. As I seek Him and understand His faithfulness, my tune changes. How about you? Have you noticed any changes in your tunes?

God’s Word instructs us to sing a new song whenever He does a new thing in our lives. Gratitude and thankfulness help me change my tune from mumbling and grumbling to faith. I came across this scripture today: But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path. I will reveal to you the salvation of God. Psalm 50:21. NLT. There is something about giving thanks from a truly thankful heart that changes our tune. It causes us to sing a new song because of fresh revelation and reminds of all the benefits our salvation brings us.

When scriptures exhort us to sing a new song, they are urging us to sing a song of faith, a song of hope, and a song of joy. They cause us to meditate on the goodness, power and might of our God and get our eyes off ourselves and our circumstances. The other day I was struggling. I was supposed to go to a meeting, but I was tired and tempted to “skip” it. I knew I shouldn’t, so I put on my Spotify prayer and worship channel. As I listened, my heart responded. I entered into someone else’s new song and it helped change my own tune. I am grateful for songwriters who have the gift of putting my emotions, thoughts, and faith into singable lyrics. They help me communicate and express emotions I can’t even put into words.

We must allow the Holy Spirit to help us change our tune. He wants to help us bring glory to the Father. Scriptures talk about songs of lament, and at the appropriate time they are so helpful.

God wants to help us sing an authentic song. I remember when I was in college and prayed to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Alone, in my dorm room, I asked Jesus for this special gift. The reality of how real Jesus really is was made known to me in the early morning hours, as I was supposed to be studying for a geology test. I went to the only Christian I knew in my dorm the next morning at breakfast, and said, “Marilyn, Jesus is really real!” She looked at me strangely, and said, “Yes, I know”. The reality of my experience with Him made me sing a different tune…a tune with conviction. I believe when we have a new revelation of Him, we will sing a new tune. A five-year-old singing the blessing of marriage is not really believable. A man happily married for 50 years would be much more believable. Our tune changes the longer we walk with our Savior, and that is a good thing. We can ask Him to refresh our song or even teach us a new one! It brings Him joy and glory.

Father, I thank you for the new songs. I ask you to help us change our tunes when we need to. I thank you for songs of joy, songs of life, and songs that bring you honor. Forgive us for singing songs of moaning, songs of complaint and help us honor you with our heart songs. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

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Faith and Worship Reset

Martha Rodman1 Comment
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You must worship only the Lord you God. He is the one who will rescue from your enemies. 2 Kings 17:39 NLT.

I have a confession to make. Sometimes I like to skip over introductions and prefaces, and get to the “meat” of the things. I discovered I do that a lot when I am praying. This means I often just jump in to talking to the Lord about my issues or my friends and family concerns. I do this without taking the time to worship and honor Him. It means I have inadvertently developed a habit and left out an important part of prayer: worship. I know that there are several different types of prayer: thanksgiving, intercession, adoration and supplication, for example. But I felt the Holy Spirit touch this area in my prayer life for a re-set.

I am changing my ways, not legalistically, but relationally. Now, as I take the time to stop and acknowledge Him with a worshipful and honoring heart, it is like a reset. Worship is an attitude of the heart and when our attitude is in order, it affects our actions. I so appreciate it when my grandchildren take the time to ask me for a snack, rather than assuming they can barge in and raid my snack cupboard! Even though, it is where they will end up going anyway, after I usually say “yes”. I think it must be the same with our Lord. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful or dishonoring to Him, but now that I have consciously added it back, it has been a blessing.

Worship re-focuses me on who He is. It is a humbling position where we bow our heart before Him. When I do, I find it resets my heart and focuses on what is important, not necessarily urgent. My quick prayers are heard, I know, but they don’t really build the relationship I want with Him. Including a time of worship brings re-connection in some new ways.

When Jesus was teaching his disciples how to pray, He left us a pattern found in Matthew 6. Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. As I read through this passage again, I found myself repenting for my arrogance. The first thing Jesus wants is His Father’s name to be kept holy and honored. I love the scripture in Hebrews that reminds us we can come boldly into the throne of God in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) But making a habit of not taking the time to honor and acknowledge Him in His position eventually robs me of the deeper relationship I long to have with Him. The joy of sitting quietly, acknowledging Him and His position in my life, has added such and awareness of His presence into every area of my life.

Maybe, this is just my personal issue. If so, that’s ok. Making a habit to consciously, respectfully honor Him and His position with my words, not just my heart has been a good thing for me. Does He want to make any changes in your life?

As we approach this Easter and all the celebration, help us honor and glorify you in whatever way You desire. You are so worthy, my Lord of all our praise and worship.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for teaching me how to honor and worship you through prayer. Please keep on working to teach us your heart and your ways. Thank you, for loving us enough to keep perfecting us, no matter what the area. In Jesus’ Name, amen.