Pastor Stephen Dedman

Category: Encouragement

Worship Today

Encouragement

Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
Psalms 95:2

Do you love to worship? Spiritual worship is much more than just showing up for a church service. Worship requires participation. When we meet together for public worship we need to make sure we each do our part.

Our hearts need to be prepared in order to get the most out of our worship experience. We need to prepare our hearts for what God is going to do during our time of worship.  What are some important preparations?

Spending some time praying and speaking to God before it’s time to worship makes a difference. Before we worship we should confess our sins and humble ourselves before the Lord. This will open the door for a wonderful opportunity for God to speak to us.

Our attitude makes all the difference. If you enter into worship with a negative attitude you should expect negative results. But if you expect great things to happen during worship God will show up and bless you tremendously.

Gratitude and thanksgiving centers our hearts around what God has done for us. If we are truly thankful our response in worshipping God comes easy.

You don’t want to miss out on a great blessing. The author of Hebrews says, “Don’t forsake or neglect the assembling together” (Hebrews 10:25).  There are wonderful blessings for those who desire to worship the Lord.

Pray

Lord, as I prepare my heart for worship, I thank You for being a great and awesome God.  Let my mind and heart be in tune with Yours. Speak to me, Lord.

God Knows

Encouragement

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
Genesis 3:9

God’s first words to Adam immediately after he sinned were, “Where are you?” Notice closely that God didn’t say, “I know what you’ve done.” God knew exactly what had happened and knew exactly where he was, but He was seeking after Adam.

God was not angry and He was not interrogating Adam and Eve. God’s heart was broken because there was a great gulf fixed between them and there must be a bridge built to connect man back together with God. The question was meant to make Adam realize that he was lost.

The question was also meant to encourage Adam to confess his sin. He could not plead the Fifth! He had to answer to God and give an account.

Satan’s goal is to cause separation between God and man. But God provides a perfect way for man to come back into fellowship with Him. Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” – John 14:6

Where are you? Where are you in your relationship and fellowship with God? Are you close or are you hiding? You cannot plead the Fifth.

Pray

Lord, thank You for creating me and desiring to be with me. Thank You for providing a way through Jesus for me to be with You. Today, I draw close to You.

Problems Are Opportunities

Encouragement

And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
John 2:3

What do you do when you have problems? Our problems are actually good opportunities for God to show us what He can do. They give God the opportunity to work on our behalf and display His glory.

Jesus’ mother knew exactly what to do with the problem. She went straight to Jesus and said, “They have no wine.” It is interesting to note that Mary did not tell Jesus what to do or how to resolve it. In verse 5, Mary simply said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 

When we give our problems to the Lord, we trust Him to work on our behalf and we do whatever He commands us to do. We must remain faithful and obedient to the Lord regardless if it makes sense or not. Jesus turned the water into wine because the servants were obedient to Jesus. 

Most of the time we want to tell Jesus how to fix our problems. However the most important thing to do when we give our problems to the Lord is be obedient and patient. Do whatever He tells you to do.

The servants obeyed the words of Jesus and had faith that He had a plan. They could have easily came up with excuses and reasons of why not to go fill up the water pots, but they didn’t. In the end, the servants were not only witnesses of the miracle, they were participants in it.

What is the Lord telling you to do? Allow the Lord to turn problems into opportunities. Only the Lord can do such marvelous works.

Pray

Lord, when You speak I will listen and obey. Help me today to do Your will and let me witness a marvelous work.