Tag: Faith

Praise Today!

Psalm 95

We have many reasons to praise God: His Love, Holiness, Justice, and Peace are enough to keep us occupied in praise. Then when we think of all the things He does for us, how could we do anything but praise Him? But it’s possible.

Sometimes in spite of the abundance of God’s grace, we fail to kneel in humble worship or stand and lift our voices in praise.

This is what on the mind of the writer of Psalm 95. This psalm is a call to come to God in worship.

“1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, And make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.” 
Psalm 95:1-2

Reasons for Praise

As ever, there are are a multitude of reasons to praise God. The psalmist gives us these as reasons to praise God:

“3 For the Lord is a great God, And a great King above all gods. 
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: The strength of the hills is his also. 
5 The sea is his, and he made it: And his hands formed the dry land.” 
Psalm 95:3-5

Invitation to Praise

The psalmist then gives an invitation to praise:

“6 O come, let us worship and bow down: Let us kneel before the Lord our maker. 
7 For he is our God; And we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand…” 
Psalm 95:6-7a

This invitation is simple, “Come and worship!”

With all that God has been seen to be and all that He has done this should be the natural response, and for anyone that may not be sure what to do the invitation includes some basic instructions: “worship,” “kneel,” and ”bow down.” This is worship in humility.

Caution Against Hardening Their Hearts

But there is a concern in his mind as he pens these words. Concern for those who may not accept this invitation.

“…To day if ye will hear his voice, 
8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, And as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9 When your fathers tempted me, Proved me, and saw my work. 
10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, And said, It is a people that do err in their heart, And they have not known my ways: 
11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath That they should not enter into my rest.” 
Psalm 95:7b-11

Israel had rejected God. He knew their history. God had cared for them in their journey from Egypt to the promised land, but at the entrance to the promised land, they gave into fear and rejected God’s invitation of victory and rest. That whole generation wandered in the wilderness for the rest of their lives and after their death, their children claimed God’s victory.

Application

You and I will find ourselves in different circumstances than these Israelites. However, the truth remains. We may only have today to praise God. We may only have today to walk in faith and not in fear.

Choosing to not praise God for the great things He has done is dangerous. In not praising Him we harden our hearts to the great, faith-building things Has done for us.

Your Turn

Today!

Don’t miss the importance of today. How will you worship and praise God today? How will you choose faith over fear today?

Take up this invitation to worship TODAY.

Get down on your knees and worship God for Who He Is and for all He does.

Then get up and give your voice to praise Him. This doesn’t have to be in a goofy way: tell a family member or friend about some of the ways God has blessed you. Humbly give God all the credit He deserves.

Share this post with others as a reminder of the invitation to Praise and Worship God.

Operation Ephesus

1 Timothy 1:18-20

Operation Neptune Spear

Wartime is filled with special missions. Missions so important that great care is taken to keep them a secret. They are staffed with only the people critical to success, and each person is trained to have laser focus on the objective.

In May of 2011 the US Military undertook one such mission. This one to capture or kill one of the United States most wanted: Osama bin Laden. Codenamed: “Operation Neptune Spear” the mission included a group of highly train Navy Seals who entered the terrorists compound, cleared it, killed the mass murder, and left with valuable intelligence in under 40 minutes.

The mission Timothy was on wasn’t going to break the news cycle like Operation Neptune Spear did, but it was very important nonetheless. 

Operation Ephesus

Paul had asked Timothy to stay in Ephesus (1 Tim 1:3), but this was more than a request. This was a specific charge, a mandate that would involve Timothy’s calling, skill, training and focus.

“This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;” 
1 Timothy 1:18

Mission Operator: Timothy

God had told them that Timothy would take part in this Charge. I don’t know what form this prophecy took, but it’s safe to assume that God made it very clear to his church that Timothy was meant to work for Him in the proclamation of the gospel and defense of the truth.

Mission Objective: Sound Doctrine

Timothy was to ensure that the believers in this place were taught the truth (1 Tim 1:3-4). This would be no small task. Already just a few years after the gospel was first preached in this region false teaching was making its way into churches.

Mission Resources: Faith and Good Conscience

Paul knew that this would be a war, but Timothy had the resources he needed to carryout this struggle.

“Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:” 
1 Timothy 1:19

Timothy would need Faith and a Good conscience in this fight. These are the same words we discussed in 1 Tim 1:5. Paul was very concerned that Timothy keep these things as he went to battle.

Faith

This refers to the whole of what Timothy knew from scripture and from Paul’s teachings. He would need this confidence in the fight.

Paul, in writing to the church at Ephesus called faith a shield that would “quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” (Eph 6:16) This Faith is the main line of defense against the doubt that evil forces hurl at believers. Timothy would need this confidence just as much as the people in his church. 

Good Conscience

In the defense of the truth I fear that some abandon their own conscience. We can get a christian version of “the ends justify the means” and leave behind the guidance of the Holy Spirit in a vain attempt to advance the cause. This is a sure way to lose your way. 

Mission History

Others had failed this charge because they lacked faith.

“Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.” 
1 Timothy 1:20

While we don’t know a lot about these men, they are used as negative examples. They abandoned God, put aside faith and good conscience leaving Paul no choice but to bar them from Christian fellowship.

Learn from examples like this, view the wreckage of their lives and ministries as a warning about a way to avoid. Preach the word, with your words and with your choices.

Your Turn

Operation Ephesus lives on wherever you are when you read this. The Gospel still needs to be proclaimed boldly, the truth is still the only place to stand. Like Timothy you will need the resources of faith and a good conscience. Many have fallen in this struggle as they give in to false doctrine and reject God.

Will you stand in this war?