Prayer: Lord I humble myself before your holy and righteous throne. You are above all our ways. Lord guide men in your righteousness and cleanse me of all impurity. Thank you for your unending grace and love in this and every day. In Jesus name. Amen.
Verse of the Day: "Our LORD, no other gods compare with you- Majestic and holy! Fearsome and glorious! Miracle worker!" Exodus 15:11(CEV)
Worship Song of the Day: God of Wonders by Marc Byrd and Steve Hindalong
Welcome back. Today is the 3rd day of the Core devotionals that we are doing at Beltway and as the title of my post says its all about God's Holiness, Righteousness and Justness. We are continuing to study more about who the bible says God is. In this case I find this easier to grasp that some other concepts around God. These are identities of God that I continually stand in awe of. I see my own weakness and shortcoming and think how awesome is it that there is one being in all the universe that is above such weakness and is perfect in every way. Then I think about how awesome it is that Christ has made me perfect in God's eyes through faith in him.
Its interesting in the devotional today is makes a statement that if God is anything less than holy, righteous, and just, then He would not be worthy of our deepest affections and adoration. In what ways do you notice God's holiness and righteousness and justness? Perhaps you never have given it much thought other than words you have sung in a worship song. Its easy to go through life and fail to see God's miracles. Even the small ones out there. All miracles are not big grandiose moving mountains types of miracles. Things we experience in daily life like the birth of a baby or how we can harness electricity. Science has explained these things but does it make them any less miraculous and awesome?
I'm going to go ahead and leave it there for today. Tomorrow is day 4 of Core and learning more about who the bible says God is. I challenge you that in your worship today that you praise God for being holy, righteous and just. To God be the glory forever and ever.
In Him,
Brian
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Day 2: Good and Loving
Prayer: Lord please reveal to me more deeply the love you have for me. I can never thank you enough for your grace and your mercy which you have poured out to your children. Lord help me to show others your goodness and love in my life. In your holy name. Amen.
Verse of the Day: "The LORD is merciful He is kind and patient, and his love never fails." Psalm 103:8(CEV)
Worship Song of the Day: Father of Lights by John Barnett
Good morning friends. It is day two of the Core series devotionals and today is all about God's love and goodness. Well there is obviously a lot that can be said about how great our God is. The bible is full of references to his love and patience. One of the things we can struggle with sometimes, or at least I can, is the depth of God's love. While I know in my heart that he sent Jesus to die for me so that I could have eternal life, I sometimes don't understand the true depth of his love for me. When the bible says that nothing can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus that is a powerful statement. It means that no batter how bad I screw up(believe me I screw up plenty bad), I can never lose God's love. That is an amazing feeling to know that despite my flesh which gets in the way I know I always have God to help me and pick me up.
Song's about God's love are also all over the place in Worship. You would be hard pressed to find a worship song that doesn't mention God's love. The one I chose for today's worship song is a personal favorite of mine from a few years back. Father of Lights is a simple worship song which reminds us that every good and perfect gift comes from God. God delights in us, his children. That's right the God of heaven ,that created all things, delights in you. That is the depth of his love. That he would delight in the things I do even though they aren't hugely kingdom moving things, is beyond my grasp of understanding. I mean, who am I that God would think of me?
Take some time today to ponder God's love and the depths of his goodness. Also ask God to reveal to you how you can better share that love with others in your life. Keep on reading and I will talk to you all tomorrow. Until then blessings and praise to the God of love Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Brian
Verse of the Day: "The LORD is merciful He is kind and patient, and his love never fails." Psalm 103:8(CEV)
Worship Song of the Day: Father of Lights by John Barnett
Good morning friends. It is day two of the Core series devotionals and today is all about God's love and goodness. Well there is obviously a lot that can be said about how great our God is. The bible is full of references to his love and patience. One of the things we can struggle with sometimes, or at least I can, is the depth of God's love. While I know in my heart that he sent Jesus to die for me so that I could have eternal life, I sometimes don't understand the true depth of his love for me. When the bible says that nothing can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus that is a powerful statement. It means that no batter how bad I screw up(believe me I screw up plenty bad), I can never lose God's love. That is an amazing feeling to know that despite my flesh which gets in the way I know I always have God to help me and pick me up.
Song's about God's love are also all over the place in Worship. You would be hard pressed to find a worship song that doesn't mention God's love. The one I chose for today's worship song is a personal favorite of mine from a few years back. Father of Lights is a simple worship song which reminds us that every good and perfect gift comes from God. God delights in us, his children. That's right the God of heaven ,that created all things, delights in you. That is the depth of his love. That he would delight in the things I do even though they aren't hugely kingdom moving things, is beyond my grasp of understanding. I mean, who am I that God would think of me?
Take some time today to ponder God's love and the depths of his goodness. Also ask God to reveal to you how you can better share that love with others in your life. Keep on reading and I will talk to you all tomorrow. Until then blessings and praise to the God of love Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Brian
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Day 1: Real and Personal
Prayer: Lord help me draw near to you. God my desire is that you more fully reveal yourself to me. Lord give me spark that causes me to pursue you with all that I am. Help me to never boast in myself but boast only in your and the good things that you do. In your son's holy name. Amen
Verse of the Day: " The LORD says, 'Wise people should not boast that they are wise. Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. Rich people should not boast that they are rich. If people want to boast, they should boast about this: They should boast that they understand and know me. They should boast that they know and understand that I, the LORD, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the Earth and that I desire people to do these things,' says the LORD."( Jeremiah 9:23-24)
Worship Song of the Day: Our God is Greater by Chris Tomlin
Good Morning or Evening or Night depending on when you read this blog. Well today was my first day of personal devotionals accompanying the Core series at Beltway. Well first off let me say again how excited I am about this series. I desperately need to reconnect to God and discover more about his nature and exactly who the bible says he is. I have all too often fallen into the trap of trying to define God to fit in my own little box and world view. As someone who on occasion actually tries to write worship songs it makes what you write a little narrow.
The best worship leaders and songwriters have some of the deepest understandings of who the bible says God is. For example our song of the day is by Chris Tomlin, who I consider to be one of the best worship leaders and songwriters alive. His songs have such depth and biblical root that it gives the song that much more power. This is what separates a great worship song from just a song sung about God. This is part of the reason I'm so excited to learn more about the depth of God and the reality of him in the word. I desire to do as John 4:23 says and worship God in spirit and in truth. See all too often we are guilty of just worshiping in spirit or just worshiping in truth.
I find it best to look at worship music in two ways. There are horizontal and vertical worship songs. If you have never head those two words then let me explain. Horizontal worship songs are songs that sing about God and vertical worship songs are songs sung to God. Think about some of your favorite worship songs and identify which category they fit into. The other thing that I tend to look at is that horizontal worship songs tend to be focused on truths about God and therefore might go under the category of worshipping in truth. Vertical songs however tend to be sung from the hear to God and might qualify as worshipping in spirit. While there is truth and spirit in both types of worship songs it seems each one is more focused how I described them above.
That's where I'm going to leave things today. As you do your bible reading today perhaps you can identify some worship music your fond of that use the qualities of God that you read about today. Seek hard after him and worship him in spirit and truth. Until next time blessings from the God of heaven and his son Jesus Christ.
Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
Verse of the Day: " The LORD says, 'Wise people should not boast that they are wise. Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. Rich people should not boast that they are rich. If people want to boast, they should boast about this: They should boast that they understand and know me. They should boast that they know and understand that I, the LORD, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the Earth and that I desire people to do these things,' says the LORD."( Jeremiah 9:23-24)
Worship Song of the Day: Our God is Greater by Chris Tomlin
Good Morning or Evening or Night depending on when you read this blog. Well today was my first day of personal devotionals accompanying the Core series at Beltway. Well first off let me say again how excited I am about this series. I desperately need to reconnect to God and discover more about his nature and exactly who the bible says he is. I have all too often fallen into the trap of trying to define God to fit in my own little box and world view. As someone who on occasion actually tries to write worship songs it makes what you write a little narrow.
The best worship leaders and songwriters have some of the deepest understandings of who the bible says God is. For example our song of the day is by Chris Tomlin, who I consider to be one of the best worship leaders and songwriters alive. His songs have such depth and biblical root that it gives the song that much more power. This is what separates a great worship song from just a song sung about God. This is part of the reason I'm so excited to learn more about the depth of God and the reality of him in the word. I desire to do as John 4:23 says and worship God in spirit and in truth. See all too often we are guilty of just worshiping in spirit or just worshiping in truth.
I find it best to look at worship music in two ways. There are horizontal and vertical worship songs. If you have never head those two words then let me explain. Horizontal worship songs are songs that sing about God and vertical worship songs are songs sung to God. Think about some of your favorite worship songs and identify which category they fit into. The other thing that I tend to look at is that horizontal worship songs tend to be focused on truths about God and therefore might go under the category of worshipping in truth. Vertical songs however tend to be sung from the hear to God and might qualify as worshipping in spirit. While there is truth and spirit in both types of worship songs it seems each one is more focused how I described them above.
That's where I'm going to leave things today. As you do your bible reading today perhaps you can identify some worship music your fond of that use the qualities of God that you read about today. Seek hard after him and worship him in spirit and truth. Until next time blessings from the God of heaven and his son Jesus Christ.
Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
Monday, August 27, 2012
Excited About Core
Prayer: Lord I just ask for your grace during this week as I endeavour to draw closer to you. I love you Lord and thank you for all you do. In your holy name I pray, Amen.
Verse of the Day: " For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7(NKJV)
Worship Song of the Day: The Heart of Worship by Matt Redman
Well hello again. I obviously took a couple month hiatus from writing. Life gets busy from time to time and I was trying to focus on other things but I am back. I am super excited to share with you again. The thing that has me excited and what I want to share about today is our new series at church called Core.
Over the next few months our church is going to be focusing on the Core of who God is and why we believe what we believe. One of things that struck me in Pastor David's first sermon was that we somehow think we can create God. All too often we have a picture of who we think God is in our lives. Some people prefer to see God as an old father time, or perhaps you see him as mainly an encourager. There are many things God is but all too often we tend to focus on a particular aspect of God and neglect the rest. When we do this we are creating our own Idol. The whole of who God is can only be found in his word.
This connects with our worship song of the day as well. Going back to the heart of worship is more than just how you feel or communicate with God, it is also worshiping him in spirit and truth. How can any of us reach that goal of worshiping in both spirit and truth when we don't read his word and don't know what the bible says about who God is. Would you step out on a limb with me and commit for the next week to read your bible for at least 15 minutes a day. As Pastor David said if you think you don't have 15 minutes to spend ask yourself how much TV you watch? The interesting statistic there is that the average person will watch 9 years of TV in their lifetime. If you truly have a problem finding 15 minutes to read the Bible then your doing too many things in your life right now. How can God ever be a priority in our lives if we can't even spend 15 minutes reading his word?
So lets get reading. I will talk to you all tomorrow. Be blessed and continue praising our great God in heaven.
In Him,
Brian
Verse of the Day: " For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7(NKJV)
Worship Song of the Day: The Heart of Worship by Matt Redman
Well hello again. I obviously took a couple month hiatus from writing. Life gets busy from time to time and I was trying to focus on other things but I am back. I am super excited to share with you again. The thing that has me excited and what I want to share about today is our new series at church called Core.
Over the next few months our church is going to be focusing on the Core of who God is and why we believe what we believe. One of things that struck me in Pastor David's first sermon was that we somehow think we can create God. All too often we have a picture of who we think God is in our lives. Some people prefer to see God as an old father time, or perhaps you see him as mainly an encourager. There are many things God is but all too often we tend to focus on a particular aspect of God and neglect the rest. When we do this we are creating our own Idol. The whole of who God is can only be found in his word.
This connects with our worship song of the day as well. Going back to the heart of worship is more than just how you feel or communicate with God, it is also worshiping him in spirit and truth. How can any of us reach that goal of worshiping in both spirit and truth when we don't read his word and don't know what the bible says about who God is. Would you step out on a limb with me and commit for the next week to read your bible for at least 15 minutes a day. As Pastor David said if you think you don't have 15 minutes to spend ask yourself how much TV you watch? The interesting statistic there is that the average person will watch 9 years of TV in their lifetime. If you truly have a problem finding 15 minutes to read the Bible then your doing too many things in your life right now. How can God ever be a priority in our lives if we can't even spend 15 minutes reading his word?
So lets get reading. I will talk to you all tomorrow. Be blessed and continue praising our great God in heaven.
In Him,
Brian
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