Bonus Chapters
Let worship put a smile on your face as you feel the Lord’s love.
You have built a stronghold by the songs of babies. Strength rises up with the chorus of singing children. This kind of praise has the power to shut Satan’s mouth. Childlike worship will silence the madness of those who oppose you. Psalm 8:2 TPT
When you watch young children worship some things become very clear. One is that they are not at all self-conscious. They don’t care what other people are thinking about them, their hearts, minds and attention are only on the song they are singing. They might not even understand the meaning behind all the words. But they fully grasp that they can express their love to God in singing, in moving around and in smiling to Jesus.
There are some great secrets in how children worship. (1) Let your soul loose in your worship. You don’t have to have everything about the Lord figured out – let go of those hard issues and worship in the simplicity of the love of the Lord for you, and you for him. (2) Focus solely on the Lord. It doesn’t matter what others are doing, or what they think you are doing. (3) Let go, dive into the deep end and worship with all that you have. Feel the Lord’s love in the songs you sing, reach out to Jesus, call on him. (4) Be happy – like a child, enjoy the moments you have in worship, it’s OK to laugh and be joyful in worship – in fact it’s more than OK, it is a great big blessing to you and to the Lord.
Worship will move you from yourself to Jesus, where you will enjoy him, hear him and feel his love for you. Approach worship like you’d want a child you love to, with excitement, with fun and with wonder.
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The Lord will release all kinds of power and freedom in my life as I learn to learn to release all my trust and love into my worship. Like a child, I will dive into worship without a thought or care about what’s next in my schedule. Lord, teach me more about resting in praise, show me how those who are against you (and me) will be silenced by simple, heartfelt worship. I want to feel your refreshing in my worship, and let you, in my worship, take away all my cares.
Sometimes the more you give up, the more you have.
Some find their strength in their weapons and wisdom, but my miracle deliverance can never be won my men. Our boast is in the Lord our God, who makes us strong and gives us victory! Psalm 20:7 TPT
Have this ever happened to you? Things are not going your way so you reach out to one of the things that you can usually count on to settle you or give you hope. But as you reach out, it turns to mist. So, you turn around and reach out to another one of your normal comforts, but it remains just out of reach. Finally, you think of the one last thing that always steadies you, but you see it lies shattered on the ground.
So now you are left without any of your normal go-to comforts, and you wonder what you are going to do. Just then you look up and you see Jesus, with his arms reaching out to you, and with a gentle smile on his face. And you remember saying many times, “All I want is more of Jesus”.
Which is exactly where Jesus wants you as well. Not because he wants to limit you or take away your pleasures in life. No, it’s because he knows that your greatest life, your utmost joys are going to be found in his arms. So maybe the collapse of the things you’ve grown used to using for assurance is the best thing that could happen to you. Because, at least for just now, all you have is Jesus.
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When this recently happened to me, I realized I have the opportunity to explore new ground. I can let go of the fleeting things that I substitute for Jesus, and dive into him and only him as my security. I will worship in a new way, I will pray with a more solid foundation, and I will find that Jesus is indeed all I ever need for my soul and spirit to be nourished and prosperous.
You will rest in the beauty and awesomeness of God’s holiness.
Be in awe before his majesty. Be in awe before such power and might. Come worship wonderful Yahweh, arrayed in all his splendor, bowing in worship as he appears in the beauty of holiness. Give him the honor due his name. Psalm 29:2 TPT
Can you imagine what the beauty of God’s holiness feels like? First picture the purity and cleanness of something that you consider holy. There are no spots, no sides of it that you want to hide because they don’t look as nice. The whole thing is dazzling and breath-taking. It makes you feel good to gaze on it.
Now add God’s beauty to his holiness. Think of the beauty of a perfect day. The sun is warm, not hot. There is a light breeze blowing, and it brings a sense of freshness to you. You can also smell blooming flowers and the sense sheer glow of your surroundings. All of it together sets your soul at ease. And it transports you to a place of pure peace and contentment.
That is the beauty of God’s holiness. An immersion into peace and rest and enjoyment. And a complete void of any hint of wrongness. Total refreshment and wholeness, with no sense of any foreboding on your horizon. You can relax and enjoy being a beloved child of the King of the universe, who takes great delight in you.
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I am amazed by the love my Father has for me. He wants me to enjoy this life completely and has created this wonderful place of holiness and beauty for me. Sometimes I find that it comes and goes, but I know I’m spending more and more time there. It is sweet peace, bubbling joy and an overcoming sense of contentment. In a word – bliss!
Your thoughts, your emotions and your will, all made new.
For you have saved my soul from death and my feet from stumbling so that I can walk before the Lord bathed in his life-giving light. Psalm 56:13 TPT
There are times, perhaps we all experience them, when we wonder if the sins, mistakes and mess we’ve made of our lives can somehow be extinguished from our lives. Can you feel the joy you once did, can you be pleased with your thoughts and can you even make willful choices that bring gladness to your heart.
This verse is an explosion of hope and promise, because it says that your soul (your mind, your will, your emotions) has been saved and that you now walk in life-giving light – where you won’t stumble through life. The previous verse sheds light on how that can happen – by obeying the Lord and living with gratitude for all he has done for you.
It is never too late for you, for all of us, to start anew. Now is the right time for you to obey, to thank Jesus for all his gifts to you and to have your soul made new. Jesus wants to do that for you right now, and he wants you to experience newness and freshness in your soul every day you live. Give him a chance, let him renew your whole being. You will see that your life will be a delight to you, to everyone around you, and to the Lord.
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I am so thankful that the Lord has so much more in mind for me than I ever have had for myself. He sees my soul as renewed every day. He lifts up my emotions so I can live positively. He enables my thoughts to bring me joy. And he helps me make decisions that honor him and make me a blessing to those I love. I no longer stumble around, now I walk in confidence and peace.
Let worship put a smile on your face as you feel the Lord’s love
But I keep calling out to you, Yahweh! I know you will bend down and listen to me, for now is the season of favor. Because of your faithful love for me, your answer to my prayer will be my sure salvation. Psalm 69:13 TPT
People fish and hunt are familiar with the times when you are not allowed to fish for, or hunt for certain species. These times are called the off-season. There are big penalties for breaking these laws. The concept that NOW is the season of favor for the Lord over our lives is fantastic.
Think about this – there is no time when God won’t hear you when you call out to him. There is no time when his favor is not covering you. There is no time when your prayers don’t reach his ears and his heart. Maybe like David in this chapter you are going through very hard times. Perhaps people are slandering you, or are mocking you for your faith. Or maybe even you feel like your life is in danger. While all these circumstances are very real, know that they don’t at all impact his mercy and grace over your life.
At times, life is very hard. It can seem like wave after wave of bad news roll up on your shores. Note in this verse that the writer (David) says he keeps calling out to the Lord. While he is facing perhaps worse than you have faced, he doesn’t give up on Jesus – he keeps on calling out to God. That can be a key for your life – don’t ever give up on Jesus. He promises to break through for you many times.
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Like you, I have faced very dark times. Times that didn’t go away quickly and I wondered if I was ever going to get past them. On my own, I doubt I would have. But I learned that I need to keep going to Jesus with my fears, worries and failures. He loves me and wants (even more than I do) to be my rescuer. I don’t know why he wants us to be persistent in coming to him. But I know that when I did, he came through for me. I know he will do the same for you.
A thousand ways to be set free!
O Isreal, keep hoping, keep trusting, and keep waiting on the Lord, for he is tenderhearted and kind and forgiving. He has a thousand ways to set you free! Psalm 130:7 TPT
You have seen many times in these verses that the Lord always acts with kindness towards us. And how his forgiveness for you comes from his tender heart. In this verse, concentrate on the last sentence – he has a thousand ways to set you free.
This is a remarkable promise. You know the kind of messes you can get into – some of them seem like they are total quicksand and that you will never have somebody throw you a rope or a tree limb to get you out. You are stuck forever, maybe even to die while being stuck and in bondage.
What does the Lord suggest? That you put your faith in his character – you focus your belief like a laser on his kindness and forgiveness – and that you never forget that he can, and he will, set you free.
Because unlike you and me, the Lord isn’t limited in the actions he can take to rescue you. His creativity and imagination are boundless, as is his power to enact his plans. Yes, you might have to wait a bit, you are probably going to be uncomfortable for a while. But never forget that he has an unlimited supply of authority to get you out of the trap you are in and set you free.
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I am amazed by Jesus. I’ve been in some pretty big messes – created by me! And they have hurt – hurt me and others. But when I’ve come to him in humility, when I’ve confessed my sins and turned away from them, I’ve seen him rescue me I ways I had no reason to hope would work. I fall down before Jesus and worship him. He is amazing.
Just how you yearn to be treated.
You’re kind and tenderhearted to those who don’t deserve it and very patient with people who fail you. Your love is like a flooding river overflowing its banks with kindness. Psalm145:8 TPT
This about a person you would say is a very good friend. Now imagine if that person for some reason started treating you with no respect or consideration. Maybe they are late to important events, maybe they lied to you, maybe they took advantage of you. You would probably put up with it for a while. Certainly, you’d talk to that person about it and try to help. And likely it would make you sad to consider this, but how long would it take for you to start distancing yourself from that person?
Because what are your choices – can you continually treat somebody like a great friend when they have betrayed you – not just once but over and over? It would be really hard. It would take on-going forgiveness and the ability to trust a person who has not been trustworthy.
But now think about how Jesus treats you. He never loses his patience with you, he never stops loving you – even when you out and out fail him. He always treats you with kindness and a tender heart. His love keeps coming to you like waves on a river – it never stops. Jesus is so remarkable, his love is totally selfless, focused only on you, doing whatever he can to restore your relationship with him.
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Even as I write this it brings a tear to my eye. Because I know I have failed him. I have decided to sin when I knew it was wrong. I praise Jesus because his response to me is love, kindness and a soft heart. That love breaks me down and I come to him in humble repentance. And he rejoices when I do – remember the prodigal son. Oh, how he loves me. Thank you, Jesus.