Two Ways: The Path of Sin or The Path of Praise

(Psalm 1:1-2)(HCSB) Happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path of sinners, or join a group of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.


I love reading the Psalms. And each time I start over at Psalm 1, I'm intrigued by the two ways or paths that the psalmist contrasts. We have the way of the wicked, or the path of sin, and the way of the righteous, or the path of praise. When we look at the metaphors used to describe the righteous and the wicked, it always humbles me to realize that I'm counted with the righteous, not because of anything I've done or anything I am apart from Christ, but only because of what Christ has done for me and is doing through me. It also inspires me to continue striving to live the righteous life that God has called me to, realizing that it's only by God's grace and mercy that I'm not following the way of the wicked today.

As we can see in verses 1-3, when we forsake the way of the wicked and the path of sin, and instead turn to the Lord and the path of praise, praising Him by delighting in His Word and reading it, studying it, meditating on it day and night; God in turn blesses us tremendously. Look at how verse 3 describes the blessings of the righteous person: He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. (HCSB)

I love it! God plants us beside streams of water to sustain us so that we won't wither, we bear fruit when it's time, and everything we do prospers! Wow! The same can't be said for the wicked however, as we see in the verses to follow:

(v.4) the wicked are like chaff that's blown away with the wind
(v.5) the wicked will not survive the judgment
sinners will not be in the community of the righteous
(v.6) the way of the wicked leads to ruin

I'm glad that the Lord watches over the way of the righteous! (v.6) And I'm happy to realize that I'm that "happy man" referred to in verse 1 because of what Jesus did for me on the cross. He made atonement for my sins (and yours) once and for all, so that I don't have to continue following the way of the wicked. Instead, I can choose to delight in the Lord's instruction and follow the path of praise!


Singing His Praises (Ps. 96:1-3),
Joey C.

Enter His Gates with What?

Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us, and we are His--His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations. (Psalm 100)(HCSB)


Have you ever felt that your worship seemed to be blocked somehow? Like you were trying to praise God but there was some kind of barrier up? I know that there have been times when I couldn't seem to sense the Lord's presence as much as at other worship moments. I was reading through Psalm 1oo the other day and it hit me that much of the time we may be struggling with our worship because we're trying to "enter His courts with praise" when we haven't even passed through "His gates" yet.


What do I mean? Look at what verse 4 says again-- Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Many times we may fall short in our worship because we aren't entering in with thanksgiving, with a thankful heart. We're sincerely trying to worship Him and praise Him in His courts, but we can't because we've been held back at the gates due to our lack of thankfulness and thanksgiving! I decided to title this entry "Enter His Gates With What?" because so many times we act like we've never seen that word before. It's as if we say, "Thanksgiving? Isn't that just the holiday on a Thursday in late November? What in the world could the psalmist be talking about?" We have so much to be thankful for, but it seems that our culture has raised us up in such a way that we're never satisfied. We're all looking out for number one, and we don't have time to acknowledge what God has done for us. We need to stop and realize how blessed we are, and take the time to express our thanks to our loving God. Let's take a quick glance at a few scriptures in the (HCSB) translation that speak of thanks and thanksgiving.

• giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:20)
• Give thanks to the Lord (1 Chron. 16:8, 34)
• Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. (Psalm 136:1)
• But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Cor. 15:57)
• Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5:18)
• Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving (Psalm 95:2)
• I will offer You a sacrifice of thanksgiving (Psalm 116:17)
• through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6)

It's clear that God means for His people to be thankful and to live our lives with thankful hearts. So I want to encourage all of you to clothe yourself with thankfulness and thanksgiving when coming to church or when attending some worship event. Think about the great things that your loving Father God has done for you in your life---like your salvation, forgiveness through the blood of Jesus, adopting you into His royal family, making you heirs with Christ, giving you eternal life, sending the Holy Spirit to guide you and comfort you---and then you can pass through His gates and truly enter into His courts and praise Him!
Joey C.

The All-Knowing, Ever-Present God

Ps. 139:1---Lord, You have searched me and known me.
Ps. 139:7---Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? (HCSB)





Omnipotent----Omnipresent----Omniscient
Three strange-looking words that describe our Almighty God. Webster's Dictionary defines these words like this:

Omnipotent: having unlimited or absolute power or authority
Omnipresent: being present or in existence everywhere at once
Omniscient: knowing everything
It's hard for us with our limited understanding to comprehend the total implications of what these words tell us of the character and attributes of God. I mean just think about it. God has unlimited power and authority; He is present everywhere at the same time, and He knows everything there is to know. It's hard to fathom! How can someone know everything and be everywhere at once? I don't know, but God does---it's easy for Him---it's just the way He is.

In my Holman Christian Standard Bible the heading under Psalm 139 reads "The All-Knowing, Ever-Present God." So the psalm is mainly speaking of God's omniscience and His omnipresence, but it also implies and testifies to His omnipotence. Let's face it-- if God is all-knowing and ever-present, then He has got to be a supreme being of the utmost power.

Let's see what Psalm 139 teaches us regarding God's omniscience and omnipresence:
vs.1: God knows us and searches our hearts.
vs. 2: He knows what we do and when we do it.
He knows what we're thinking.
vs. 3: He knows where we go.
He is aware of all our ways.
vs. 4: He knows what we want to say before we say it.
vs. 5: He encircles us and places His hand on us.
vs. 7-12: We can't hide from His Spirit or His presence.
vs. 13-16a: He created us and knew us before birth.
vs. 16b: He planned all our days before our life began.
vs. 17-18: His thoughts are great and vast.


Wow! God knew us and had our life planned out before we were even born. (v.16) He formed us and knit us together in our mother's womb. (v.13) That sort of takes the whole idea that the Pro-Choice movement likes to push on us, (that the fetus is just a lifeless clump of cells), and blows it right out of the water. God created us and He knows us. He sees what we do and where we go. (v.2-3) He even knows what we say and think! (v.2 & 4) It kind of reminds me of the old Christmas song by Gillespie and Coots, "Santa Claus is Comin' To Town". If you recall, the lyrics in the song say--"He sees you when you're sleeping--He knows when you're awake--He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake." ---The difference here being that we know God is a real person. He does see us. Even when we try to distance ourselves from God and hide in the darkness, He is there and He sees. (v.11-12, 16) We can't hide from God. Wherever we run to in our attempt to flee, God is there waiting for us.


When I was a teenager I wrote a song based on Psalm 139. It was entitled "You Will See". The main idea of the lyrics was that no matter what we do or where we go, God sees. And He cares. He's not an omnipotent God who's just watching and waiting for us to mess up so He can zap us with a lightning bolt like the Zeus of Greek mythology. Oh, He is a just God, and the evil will reap what they sow. (Prov. 22:8, Gal. 6:7) But He watches over us with love as a loving father leading His children. He wants us to follow Him so that He can take care of us and keep us from harm.


I'd like to end this blog entry with the prayer which closes Psalm 139. I hope that you'll pray this prayer as you read the words:


Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way. (Ps. 139:23-24)(HCSB)


Joey C.

Found a Wife? That's a Good Thang!

Proverbs 18:22--A man who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. (HCSB)
Proverbs 19:14--A house and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a sensible wife is from the Lord. (HCSB)


To you husbands out there: (OK, if you want, you ladies can read too!)


Earlier this month, my wife, Lisa, and I celebrated our anniversary. I praise God for my wife and I want to encourage all of you husbands out there to do the same. I know that marriage is not always smooth sailing, and most of us go through rocky stages or bumpy rides in our relationships with our wives, but as the scripture above reminds us, our wives are from the Lord and those of us who find wives obtain favor from the Lord.

Now I understand that sometimes from a man's point of view it seems that our wives might be from the devil instead of from the Lord and that they frequently appear to be anything but sensible, but for the most part we would probably all agree that they are a good thang! I know that for me, I don't know if I could make it through all the stuff this world throws at me without my wife there to love me and help me with my struggles. There's just something about having a loving spouse to come home to after a really tough day on the job, etc.

It's especially blessing when our wives love God. In fact, all too often it's the wives who take on the role of spiritual leadership in the household and in our families when God didn't design it that way. But thanks to all those Christian moms and wives out there for stepping up and leading their children and their husbands when the man of the house didn't! Where would a lot of us be today had it not been for a godly mother or a godly wife?


A capable wife is very precious and beneficial to her husband. Look at this passage from Proverbs 31:10-12---Who can find a capable wife? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will not lack anything good. She rewards him with good, not evil, all the days of her life. (HCSB)


It's so great to have a wife that you can trust in, and all of us husbands need to do a better job of showing our love and affection towards our wives. We need to try harder to do the little things that mean so much to them, like surprising them with cards or flowers or a dinner date, etc. Do something unexpected to show her you still love her and always will. We need to remember to follow Christ's example and the instructions we find in Ephesians 5:25, 28-29---Husbands, love your wives, just as also Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her---In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own flesh, but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, since we are members of His body! (HCSB)


So let's remember that our wives are truly a good thang! And the next time they seem to be acting in a manner that to us is not sensible, just remember that you have obtained favor from the Lord, give her your most sincere smile, and tell her that you love her. She'll probably give you a funny look, you guys know what I mean, but she'll show her appreciation if you do your best to love her the way Jesus does.
Joey C.

Praise God for The Word---READ IT--then DO WHAT IT SAYS!

Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. (Psalm 119:89)(NIV)

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105)(NIV)

The Word of God, the Bible is eternal. It was there in the beginning (Jn. 1:1), and it will stand forever (1 Pet. 1:25). As a nation, we are blessed beyond measure, like never before in the history of man, to have such complete access to the Word of God. We have many different translations to make it easier to read and understand. We have countless types of study Bibles, recordings of the Bible, electronic Bibles, on-line Bibles, and endless commentaries and study materials to help us in our learning. We have stores all over town that sell the Bible, and most of us have two or more copies in our homes. But how often do we pick it up? Once a week, on the way to church? Once a month? Once a year? Does it have a thick layer of dust on it? Can you even recall where it is?

I fear that in many ways we have become like the divided nation of Israel back in the days of Josiah, King of Judah. Hilkiah the high priest discovered the Book of the Law in the Lord's temple. (2 Kings 22:8)He apparently found it, meaning it had been lost for some time! Because of their sin, and the sin of the evil kings that had preceded Josiah (King Manasseh and King Amon), they had strayed away from God for many years, and even the high priest didn't know God's Word! He had apparently never seen it before. To his credit, when King Josiah found out, he repented and made many reforms, beginning to turn the nation back to the Lord. O how I pray that our president would come to the realization that we are in the place we are in as a nation because of our neglect of God's Word! What if Obama turned whole-heartedly to the Lord, and instead of putting God's Word down and turning his back on the Christian heritage of our nation, he would lead us to exalt the Bible and put it back to the rightful place of respect and honor that it deserves? Wouldn't the USA be a better place?

We have got to start spending more time daily in God's Word. The more time we spend in it, studying it, meditating on it, the more real it becomes to us. As it becomes more real, then it begins to change our lives. As it begins to change our lives, then we begin to obey it and live it out, and it will in turn impact the world around us for the building of God's kingdom.

Look at some scriptures that speak of and confirm the greatness of God's Word:

• Jn.1:1--In the beginning was the Word
• Jn.1:14--The Word became flesh and dwelt among us
• Heb. 4:12--The Word is living, active and sharper than any two-edged sword
• Matt. 4:4--Man doesn't live on bread alone, but on every Word of God
• Deut. 8:3--Man doesn't live on bread alone, but on every Word of God
• Isa. 55:11--When it goes forth, it doesn't return void
• 2 Sam. 22:31--The Word of God is flawless
• Prov. 30:5--The Word of God is flawless
• Prov. 18:30--The Word is pure
• 1 Pet. 1:25--It stands forever
• Luke 21:33--Jesus said His words will never pass away
• Matt. 24:35--Jesus' words will never pass away
• Eph. 6:17--The Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit
• Philip. 2:16--They are words of life
• Col. 3 :16--We are to let the word of Christ dwell in us
• Isa. 40:8--The Word of God remains forever
• Jn. 6:68--Words of eternal life
• Jn. 17:17--God's Word is truth
• 2 Tim. 2:15--word of truth
• Ps. 119:9--Live according to the word
• Ps. 119:11--Treasure His Word in your heart
• Ps. 119:89--Your Word is eternal
• Ps. 119:105--The word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path
• Ps. 119:129--Your decrees are wonderful, therefore I obey them
• Ps. 119;130--The revelation of Your words brings light and gives understanding to the inexperienced
• Ps. 119:140--Your Word is completely pure
• Ps. 119:160--The entirety of Your Word is truth
• Rev. 19:13--His name is called the Word of God
  

We need to praise God for the Word. We need to start living our lives as if we really believe that the Bible is the Word of God and like we believe what it says. One of the best ways for us to praise God is to follow the instructions in His Word. To be DOERS---not merely HEARERS. (James 1:22) I mean we can read the Bible, and say that we believe it all day long, but until we start living out what the Bible teaches us, putting it into practice, it's not gonna do us or anybody else a whole lot of good!

We read in 1 Sam. 15:22 that "obedience is better than sacrifice". King Saul decided He would rather worship God his own way than to obey God's commands. Because of that disobedience, God took away Saul's kingship and gave the kingdom to a man after His own heart--- a shepherd boy named David.

So to sum it up: PRAISE--READ--DO. Praise God for His Word--Read His Word--Do His Word. God's Word, the Bible, is real, flawless and forever. We need to understand how precious it is to have such great access to the Word, and try our best not to waste the opportunity we have to study it. We need to understand that it is truth and life and that we should read it every chance we get. But it doesn't need to stop there. We need to be a people, a church, a nation that does what God's Word says!

Joey C.

Never Stop Praising God

Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. (Psalm 86:11-12)(NIV)
It is not the dead who praise the Lord, nor any of those descending into the silence of death. But we will praise the Lord, both now and forever. Hallelujah! (Psalm 115:17-18)(HCSB)

We like to sing Tommy Walker's praise song "Never Gonna Stop" here at RABC because it reminds us that praise, for the believer, is eternal. It's not just for the here and now, but the worship, the praising we do now is like practice, a warm-up if you will, for when we get to heaven. Take a look at some of the lyrics of Walker's song:

So I'm never gonna stop, never gonna stop
lifting up my hands to You, lifting up my heart.
When the last day comes and goes and time will be no more,
I'll be praising You.
So I'll never let it end, just begin it all again,
thoughts of thankfulness and love I'm always gonna give.
A thousand years from now before Your throne of grace and pow'r
I'll be praising You, praising You.

It's amazing to think that in a thousand years from now we'll still be praising our Father in heaven! And it's not just wishful thinking or a song that we sing; it's a fact that we can bank on if we have truly accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. Take a look at a few scriptures which assure us of our eternal life:

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (Jn. 3:16) (NIV)

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 Jn. 5:13) (NIV)
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thess. 4:17)(NIV)

The term "eternal" is referring to not only a length of life, but also to a quality of life. Jesus came to earth not only to give us an unending life spiritually, but to give us what the Bible calls "abundant life." (Jn. 10:10)

As we follow after Jesus, worshiping and serving Him, we begin to experience the kind of life that God meant for us to have. We find the peace and purpose of life that only He can give us. As we praise Him on a daily basis, we're getting a little practice in for eternity where we'll be in His presence forever in praise and adoration of Him!

So as we worship the Lord, let's remember that He is the One we'll be worshiping through all eternity. Let's start to act like it by truly entering in to worship when we have the opportunity at church services realizing that our eternal praises belong to Him and to Him alone. (Psalm 111:10)
Joey C.

Musical Instruments In Church? Why Not?

Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His powerful acts; praise Him for His abundant greatness. Praise Him with trumpet blast; praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with flute and strings. Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with clashing cymbals. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord. Hallelujah! (Psalm 150) (HCSB)

Two or three years ago, I was looking at some different websites studying about worship when I came across an interesting Bible study about worship and music in the church. It was a well-organized website divided into several studies on worship, and I really enjoyed reading through it until I realized that there was an emphasis on musical instruments--that is, that instruments should not be used in church worship services. In fact, the site went as far as to state that if you played instruments in worship services that you were in danger of hell fire! You can imagine how that went over with me since I've been playing piano and saxophone in church since about age 12! At that point I realized that the site was sponsored by the Church of Christ or someone proclaiming to be a member of the Church of Christ. I emailed the guy a couple of times and tried to express my concerns, but he just seemed to reply back with an attitude of "who gave you the authority to play instruments in church? How dare you!, etc." Now, let me make it clear that I have some good Christian friends that are members of the Church of Christ, and I respect their beliefs. I don't mean to condemn them, but only to express why I believe the way that I do. Most of them will say that they don't use musical instruments in church because there's no mention of them in the New Testament, and since we're no longer under the Law and the old covenant, that the scripture in the Old Testament, which specifically speaks of instruments in worship, doesn't apply to us today.


There's just one problem with that: I ain't buying it. I guess it's a good thing that I'm a Baptist! I believe that Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, and in that sense we are no longer under the old covenant, because Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the old sacrificial worship system which was in place in Jerusalem once and for all. But that doesn't mean that we should throw out all the old testament scripture about worship!


I know that most of the references to worship in the New Testament speak of singing, for example(Eph. 5:19, Mk. 14:26), but I don't believe that means we are only to use our voices in worship. I think that the N.T. writers had more pressing and important things to write about than whether we should use instruments are not. They may have just assumed that everyone knew that instruments were acceptable for worship because of what the Old Testament says about them. I think that if it was really that important (important enough that you might be in danger of hellfire) that God would have made it plain and clear. For example, I think that we would have several passages explaining that instruments are forbidden. Instead, what I find is that the O.T. has many references to instruments being used in worship and nowhere in the N.T. does it say that we shouldn't use them. Besides that, I believe that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Heb. 13:8) It would be a contradiction to say that God permitted instruments in worship in the O.T. and prohibits them in the N.T.! The Bible also says that God is not like man; He doesn't dhange His mind. (1 Sam. 15:29)

Let's take a glimpse at a few of the old testament passages regarding musical instruments and the instruments named or implied in the New American Standard Bible:

• Ex. 15:20--timbrel
• Lev. 25:9--horn
• Numbers 10:1-10--trumpets
• Judges 7:16-22--300 trumpets
• 2 Sam. 6:5--all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals
• 2 Sam. 6:15--trumpet
• 1 Kings 10:12--lyres and harps
• 1 Chron. 15:16--harps, lyres and cymbals
• 1 Chron. 15:19--cymbals
• 1 Chron. 15:20--harps
• 1 Chron. 15:21--lyres
• 1 Chron. 15:24--trumpets
• 1 Chron. 15:28--horn, trumpet, cymbals, harps and lyres
• 1 Chron. 16:42--trumpet and cymbals, instruments for the songs of God
• 1 Chron. 23:5--4,000 Levites praising the Lord with the instruments David made for giving praise
• 1 Chron. 25:1-- lyres, harps and cymbals
• 1 Chron. 25:3--harp
• 1 Chron. 25:6--cymbals, harps and lyres
• 2 Chron. 5:12--cymbals, harps, lyres and trumpets
• 2 Chron. 5:13--trumpet, cymbals and instruments of music
• 2 Chron. 7:6--instruments of music, trumpets
• 2 Chron. 9:11--lyres and harps
• 2 Chron. 15:14-trumpets, horns
• 2 Chron. 23:13--trumpets, musical instruments
• 2 Chron. 29:25--cymbals, harps and lyres
• 2 Chron. 29:26--musical instruments of David, trumpets
• 2 Chron. 29:27--trumpets, instruments of David
• 2 Chron. 29:28--trumpets
• Ezra 3:10--trumpets and cymbals
• Neh. 12:27--cymbals, harps and lyres
• Neh. 12:35--trumpets
• Neh. 12:36--instruments of David
• Ps. 33:2--lyre, a harp of ten strings
• Ps. 33:3--play skillfully
• Ps. 47:5--trumpet
• Ps. 57:8--harp and lyre
• Ps. 68:25--the musicians went after the singers
• Ps. 81:2--tambourine, lyre, harp
• Ps. 81:3--horn
• Ps. 92:3--ten-stringed lute, harp, lyre
• Ps. 98:5--lyre
• Ps. 98:6--trumpets, horn
• Ps. 108:2--harp and lyre
• Ps. 147:7--lyre
• Ps. 148:3--timbrel and lyre
• Ps. 150:3-5--trumpet, harp, lyre, timbrel, stringed instruments, pipe, cymbals
• Amos 6:5--harp

I find it interesting that several references are found about the instruments of David. Now I'm not sure exactly what these instruments were, but David apparently thought that instruments played an important role in our worship of God. It's also recorded that King Solomon, David's son, made instruments for worship. (1 Kings 10:12, 2 Chron. 9:11) You know, Samuel spoke of David as a "man after God's own heart"! (1 Sam. 13:14)(NIV) He obviously played the harp (1 Sam. 16:23) and even made or at least supervised the making of 4,000 musical instruments for use in worship. (1 Chron. 23:5) That's alot of instruments! How many symphony orchestras could you make with that?


This same website I mentioned also referred to church choirs being not biblical. While I agree that worship should not be a performance or just entertainment for the congregation, I believe that choirs can be "instrumental" (please pardon the pun) in leading a congregation into worship, and in exalting the Savior. As a matter of fact, you know the voice is a musical instrument in itself. And I found evidence in God's Word that choirs or singers are indeed important and can be a powerful weapon in worship:


Singers accompanied by musical instruments:

(1 Chron. 15:16)(HCSB) Then David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers and to have them raise their voices with joy accompanied by musical instruments--harps, lyres, and cymbals.

(2 Chron. 23:13)(HCSB) As she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The commanders and the trumpeters were by thi king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets while the singers with musical instruments were leading the praise.

2 Great Choirs leading worship procession at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem:

(Neh. 12:27,31)(NASB) Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem so that they might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving and with songs to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps, and lyres. ---Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on top of the wall, and I appointed two great choirs, ...


A Choir leading Israel into battle:

(2 Chron. 20:21-22)(NASB) And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, "Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting." And when they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed.

In the book of Revelation we have a scene from heaven, and amidst all the glorious sights, what do we find but mention of a musical instrument! (Rev. 15:2)(NASB) And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had come off victorious from the beast and from his image and from the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. So it would appear that instruments are used for worship in heaven.


So to sum it all up, to put it in a nutshell as my pastor likes to say; I don't believe there is any evidence in the Bible to support the idea that if you play a musical instrument or sing in the choir in church, that you're committing some kind of unpardonable sin. In fact, I believe that God created music and musical instruments, and that He smiles down on His children who sing and play music for His glory and in worship of Him. I think it's a shame that many fine instrumentalists that I've known and grown up with belong to a denomination that won't allow them to use those musical gifts for God's glory! And I don't know about you, but I would rather be a "man after God's own heart" than someone who thinks you're going to hell for playing your trumpet or saxophone or whatever for God in church! If musical instruments were OK with King David, and they're OK with God, then they're OK with me! How about you?


Joey C.

Benefits Of A Forgiving God

(Ps 103:1-2)(HCSB) My soul, praise the Lord, and all that is within me, praise His holy name. My soul, praise the Lord, and do not forget all His benefits.

Because of God's great goodness to us, and because of His unimaginable forgiveness, we can have so many wonderful benefits. I know that some of you who are reading this may have things in your life or things that you've done in the past that you think God could never forgive you for. You may feel that you're too far gone or too bad to ever be accepted by God. That's exactly what the devil wants you to think. He loves telling you lies like that because after all he is the father of lies. But I'm here to let you know that you're dead wrong, because I've experienced His forgiveness---it's real! He will forgive you if you confess and repent because He's faithful and just. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn. 1:9)(HCSB)
In fact the Bible teaches us that God forgives and forgets. For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin. (Jer. 31:34)(HCSB) So let's take a look at some of the benefits we have from our forgiving God that we find in Psalm 103:3-18.

1. He forgives all your sin. (v.3a)
2. He heals all your diseases. (v.3b)
3. He redeems your life from the Pit. (v.4a)
4. He crowns you with faithful love and compassion. (v.4b)
5. He satisfies you with goodness. (v.5a)
6. Your youth is renewed like the eagle. (v.5b)
7. The Lord executes acts of righteousness. (v.6)
8. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and full of faithful love. (v.8)
9. He will not always accuse us or be angry forever. (v.9)
10. He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our offenses. (v.10)
11. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. (v.11)
12. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (v.12)
13. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. (v.13)
14. But from eternity to eternity the Lord's faithful love is toward those who fear Him, and His righteousness toward the grandchildren of those who keep His covenant, who remember to observe His instructions. (v.17-18)

Our great God is so loving and forgiving that we gain many extraordinary benefits that those who don't know the Lord will unfortunately never have. Just some more reasons to worship and praise His name!
Joey C.

Want To Go To Church?

I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord." (Ps. 122 ) (HCSB)
Better a day in Your courts than a thousand anywhere else. I would rather be at the door of the house of my God than to live in the tents of the wicked. (Ps. 84:10) (HCSB)
Do you find yourself not wanting to go to church? Is there always some reason why you can't make it on Sunday morning? How about Sunday night? Wednesday night? Sunday School? Do you feel like you don't need to worship and fellowship with other believers? If so, you might want to check your spiritual thermometer to see if you're sick. Because that's not the way a true saved person should feel.


Now I know that all of us from time to time can think of other things that we might rather do on Sunday morning; for me it's wanting to stay in the bed because I'm not an early-riser like some of you folks out there. Some of us have jobs that cause us to miss church at times. But if you're routinely not going to church for just any old reason, then you just may have a real problem. In fact, you may want to examine yourself to see if you've really been saved. Because when your sins have been forgiven and washed away, when you've been saved from an eternity in hell without God, when your life has been truly changed by the Lord, then you should have an inner longing to attend corporate worship services and to fellowship with the people of God. You should have a longing, a thirst for worshiping the Lord like the psalmist describes in (Psalm 42:1-2)---As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God? (HCSB)---and like this passage from (Isaiah 26:8-9)---Yes, Lord, we wait for You in the path of Your judgments. Our desire is for Your name and renown. I long for You in the night; yes, my spirit within me diligently seeks You, for when Your judgments are in the land, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. (HCSB)

So if you don't have any desire to go to church and to worship with other believers on a regular basis, you need to examine your spiritual life. Search your heart prayerfully and ask yourself some questions. Are you certain that you've been saved? Are you saved, but maybe you don't have a close relationship with the Lord any longer? If so, then you know it's not God who's gotten out of touch with you; it's YOU. Pray for forgiveness and make a renewed commitment to God and the things of the Lord. Ask God for His help and a refreshed and renewed longing for Him and for His presence. Get back into His Word, and make a fresh start at a close relationship and fellowship with Him. You'll be glad that you did! And I'll see you in church at the next worship service, and the one after that!
Joey

Alternative Lifestyle

God is calling us to an alternative lifestyle. Now wait, I'm not talking about what the world and media often refer to as an "alternative lifestyle" which is nothing more than our society wanting to sugar-coat sin so that it doesn't offend anybody. No, I'm talking about a different lifestyle from that of the world around us. I'm talking about a lifestyle of worship.

As Christians, we are to be in the world but not of the world. God has called us to live a life separate from the world's views and standards, always endeavoring to please Him and striving to be holy as He is holy. (see 1 Jn. 2:15 & 1 Pet. 1:14-16) This doesn't mean that we should try to be weird or strange or some kinda "religious nut", in fact Jesus spent more time condemning the religious elite of his day (the Pharisees, Saducees, chief priests and scribes) than anybody else. But we are referred to as a "peculiar people" in the Bible. I know that some of us, myself included, are more peculiar than others, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The same scripture passage calls us a "chosen generation", "royal priesthood" and a "holy nation". (see 1 Pet. 2:9-KJV) And we should always declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light!

Worship is more than just attending a church service once or twice a week. It's a lifestyle that reflects a deeper walk and a personal relationship with the Lord. True worship cannot be isolated to just once, twice or three times a week: it's a way of life. It's not where or when, but who and how we worship. We worship God in many ways other than coming to church and singing some songs on Sunday morning. God says that obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Sam. 15:22). Jesus said if you love me, you will keep my commandments (Jn. 14:15). So our every act of obedience to God is a way that we worship Him. When we love the Lord with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourself, we'll live a life that reflects the fact that we worship the Lord. We'll smile, be kind and polite to others, try to help those in need, lead in areas of church life: like teaching Sunday school, helping with VBS, etc. We'll be a good example for those around us by watching the words we say and the things we see and do, be ready to share what God has done for us with people we come in contact with. In other words, we'll do the best we can to live our lives in a way that reflects Jesus and His love for the world.

I recently read an article that speaks about this kind of lifestyle. In the LBC Live magazine-April 2009-Vol. 1-Issue 8, John L. Yeats, in his article, [Per-spec-tive], states: "A life of praise has little to do with one's expressions at a particular church worship service and has everything to do with an attitude of life. Imagine the power of a person's life who is more engaged in loving God and others than consumed with pleasing self. This God-centered attitude impacts a person's ethics, business, education, church, etc."

God is calling us to an alternative lifestyle, a lifestyle of worship. Will you endeavor to live that kind of life with me, making our very lives a sweet song of praise to our Lord? Or better yet, let's allow Jesus to live it through us!

Joey C.