Hallelujah!

Let all that I am praise the LORD,
with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name.
Let all that I am praise the LORD;
may I never forget the good things He does for me.
He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle's!
Psalm 103:1-5 (NLT)

Our Heavenly Father answers prayers in Jesus' name. I am thankful for the Lord Jesus. Thankful for his love, grace, and tender mercies.. He knows what's best for me, and His timing is perfect. He is the God of restoration and He mends broken hearts. I am expressing my happiness for this moment in time, for my life is a living testimony and I want my every breath to praise the LORD!

Praise You God! For I am privileged to be able to have You to pray to and hear my voice and consider me Your child. Thank You Jesus! 

God's Perfect Love

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV)

When I was a young boy, I think 5 or 6 years of age, I was caught right in the middle of a vicious dog fight... My grandparents owned a property in Mountain View and I had an aunty and uncle that lived there. They have a son who is just about my age, and I would go up there every chance I had to hang out with my cousin. This property was pretty big and there were domestic and farm animals and lots of pasture land. One day as I was standing at the gate that led out to the pasture, the sound of dogs barking came at me from both sides. Before I even knew what was going on, I'm suddenly scooped up safely in the arms of my dad who must have been nearby and saw what was about to take place. One of the dogs clamped on to the calf of one of my dad's legs, and he had a very visible scar there the rest of his life. My dad had an instinctive, natural reaction. For he saw that I was in harms way and he was my substitute that day because of his love for me. He didn't think twice about the wound he would surely receive, it was my wellness he thought about. He would do anything possible to make sure that I'd be safe. I think that our Heavenly Father surely has a love for us that is like that. When we are adults and no longer have our parents to protect us, we have a Father who looks at us always as His children. And because He is all knowing, He sees what will take place, and He became our substitute on the cross so we could live and be made well. Because my dad lovingly saved me that day I was safe and healthy, and because Jesus came to the earth and was beaten and whipped, I am healed, healthy and whole!

Father God, I am so grateful for all that You've done, all You do and all that You are about to do. I pray that I may use my life to please You, through Your Holy Spirit, and make the most of the gift You so generously gave which is Your Son Jesus for my life. Amen

Living Sacrifice

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

Romans 12:1 (NIV)

In my experience, one of the greatest things here on earth is the desire to worship our Lord. The act of worshiping our Creator and our Savior brings me joy, peace, love, courage, wisdom, strength, and the list goes on. Now, when I think of worship I think of raising hands & singing a song to the Lord, making a joyful noise. As it says here in Romans 12:1 that offering ourselves as living sacrifices is an act of worship. But what does that mean, to offer ourselves as living sacrifices? The way I view it as is this: God has created us for a great number of things. He wants us to have fun and enjoyment. He gave us a great multitude of gifts and talents so that we may accomplish and do amazing things. But because He also gave us the free will to use our hands to do what we want, we have this to ask ourselves--- what is it that we want? Do we want to use our God-given abilities to glorify Him, or to glorify ourselves? There is a strong pull at times to want to be given the credit, thinking that it's due to me, or if it weren't for me, me, me...! But that's where I'm finding that removing myself from the equation, because it's not about me, is actually freeing. Using my gifts and talents, using my abilities to make someone else's day brighter, lift another person up, and do it all in the name of Jesus frees me. I take the focus off of myself, which also lifts the burden. I think that even carrying a great talent and crediting it to yourself, is a burden. Offer yourself as a living sacrifice, and let the Lord use you for what He desires. The things that He'll do through you are much greater than we can even imagine! We'll be astonished at what we can do in Him, whereas, if I only do things in myself and for myself, it won't be so spectacular.

Heavenly Father, Holy is Your name in all this earth. May I always live my life with the desire to honor and worship You, not only in song but also in offering You my life as a living sacrifice. I give You thanks Lord for all the great works You have done, all that You do and for what You are going to do. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen

Another kind of S.O.A.P.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD. Psalm 150:6

This past weekend, was a weekend to remember as we lifted the Lord's name on high! Many different churches, musicians and misistries came together in Hilo town to give thanks and praise to the One who gave us breath.

The New Hope Puna praise and worship team was very fortunate and blessed to be the first ones to start up the event at 9:00 a.m. with:

1. Days of Elijah
   
2. I Came to Praise the Lord
   
3. Let the Praises Ring
   
4. Beautiful One
   
5. Nothing Without You
   
6. Happy Song
   

We were followed by some awesome praise and worship music by very gifted people. Praise God!!

For today, my definition of SOAP is: Singing Out All of our Praise!!

Thank you Father in Heaven for the gifts that You give us and for choosing us to be Your servants. It is a joy to serve You! ~Amen

Continual Growth

Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.

2 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT)

• Seeking God always and always seeking after His ways, keeps the Spirit within, and therefore brings great joy!
  
• It is God's will that we grow to maturity. I notice that if I center myself around worldly things like money, status, any material things, that I cease from growing spiritually. The Lord Jesus wants for me to grow and better myself and help guide others. I can only do so if I seek God, follow His instruction, and make Him the center of my life. It's only then that I may grow toward maturity.
  
• God is always an encouragement for us, and He wants us to do the same for each other. And, He wants for us to do it in as Christ-like a way as possible. That's why Jesus Messiah was brought to the earth, to show us how to be. And being an encouragement to others is one of His excellent examples.
  
• Placing God in the center of our lives, doing what He wants for us, growing and maturing, encouraging in love, --all things that will bring about God's great peace in our lives.
  
• In 2 Corinthians 13:14 the Word of God says "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all." to me this is such a comforting and powerful scripture. It reminds me of God's love and grace and is a reminder that He always remains in us all. It's a scripture that helps me accomplish the things that the Lord wants for me.
  

Lord God, I pray that I may keep in mind all the things that You do for us and all of the great blessings that You pour out! Lord God may be an instrument of Your peace, may I be a good witness for Jesus. May I be an encouragement to others and give wise, Godly counsel when others need You. May the Holy Spirit always work through me in Christ Jesus. ~Amen

It's All in You!

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.
Ephesians 3:20 (NASB)

• Paul, in this scripture, is praying that we will be strengthened through the Holy Spirit.
  
• "the power that works" --the Holy Spirit, "within us" --the fact that it is mentioned plural here, means to me that it works more mightily, and is much more strong when there are more believers in the body of Christ tapping into the Holy Spirit.
  
• God's greatness and His great power is far beyond comprehension. How powerful and mighty Jesus is and His great abundance, it surpasses our understanding!
  
• God, our Father in Heaven, knows all and knows what is best.
• This verse is a great encouragement for me to love and lead more people to Christ, in order that Christ's body may grow stronger and continue to grow in spirit and power.
  
• Verse 17 reads: "Christ may dwell in your heart through faith" Keeping the faith strong leads to Christ living and working within us!
  

Dear Heavenly Father I know that You are always passionate about us, so I pray that I may never lose any of my passion for or faith in Christ, but instead, let me only increase these qualities in myself. May I be able to attract and lead others to You, Jesus, by letting the power of the Holy Spirit work in me. ~Amen

A Heart of Obedience

"So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.' "

Luke 17:10 (NASB)

• The best things that are done in life are for the good,  and are done by obeying God's word, because we are called according to His purpose.
  
• Keeping my heart set on God in all that I do helps me endure through the things that I care not to do. 
  
• All credit is due to the Lord and Him only. It is He who gives us our gifts and abilities. God enables us to do what we do not to give us huge egos, or give ourselves glory, but to serve others and ultimately serve God.
  
• It's easy to get caught up in the world and caught up with praises by woman and man. I can get caught up in letting my ego get fed and forget, but this scripture reminds me to keep humble and remember from Who it all came from.
  
• I can and must always seek for the wisdom to recognize a need in an area where God wants my help and service and the courage to act upon it and follow through. This quality is something that I want to have not for recognition, but purely for obedience to God and to help Him accomplish His will on earth.
  

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that I may do all that you require of me, and never let me deny a request, or a command from You, Lord. Let me always do so remembering that it is only through You that I am able, and it is only You who makes any and everything possible. And I pray that in all that I do I may be a help to others and bring glory to You and Your precious Son's name, Jesus. ~Amen