Thanks Mom!

Honor your father and mother--which is the first commandment with a promise-(Eph. 6:2)

To all of you mothers--Happy Mother's Day! My hat goes off to all of you. As a father, let me say that I don't know how in the world you mothers do all that you do for your families and retain your sanity. A mother's job is truly never done. I will admit that you deserve much more appreciation than you get.

A couple of years ago I wrote a song for my mom and sang it to her on mother's day. I'd like to share the lyrics with you in appreciation for all our mothers and what they mean to us.

Mom, I Thank You

(vs.1)Today's your day and I think back with a smile

at the things you'd say when I was just a child

like "Close your mouth and eat your food."

Boy I was so confused

but I learned it was smart not to talk back to you

(vs.2)You taught me lots of things like how to brush my hair

how to tie my shoes and that I shouldn't stare

You told me not to lie or say bad words

to say "Yes ma'am", "Yes sir"

to give thanks for my food and to always go to church

(chorus)Mom I thank you for your kindness and your generosity

thanks for all the times you picked me up

when I fell and skinned my knee

You showed by the way you lived your life

I should love my nighbor as myself

I thank God you didn't leave the Good Book on the shelf

(vs.3)Train up a child in the way that he should go

and he'll stay true even after he is grown

I didn't realize it then but I understand it now

Thank you mom for starting me on this path I walk down

(repeat chorus)

So let's take time while we still have it, to honor our mothers for all that they mean to us. If you're able to, give them a call or a visit and let them know how much they are appreciated and loved.

Singing His Praises,

Joey C.

Living in Harmony

Psalm 133:1-3

How good and pleasant it is when brothers can live together! It is like oil on the head, running down the beard, running down Aaron's beard, on his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord has appointed the blessing--life forevermore. (HCSB)

Last night we took the family to the Community Transformation Celebration with special guest Mandisa. It was a great event. Mandisa's performance and ministry through song was fantastic! But as inspirational and encouraging as the concert was, to me the most uplifting aspect of the evening was the unity there was among believers. There was over 80 churches represented from all over north Louisiana including all Christian denominations. Pastors from Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, Church of Christ, Assembly of God, Church of God, International House of Prayer and other congregations gathered together and prayed for each other and their churches and communities. There was also a community mass choir made up of volunteers from the various churches that led us in worship. It was a glorious atmosphere of unity and praise and worship where we focused on what binds us together: Jesus. It was kind of like getting a glimpse of what heaven might be like. Instead of looking and concentrating on the trivial issues where we disagree, we zoomed in on what we all agree on--Jesus, the Son of God, shed His blood for all of us so that we could be reconciled with Father God by putting our faith in Him. As pastor Rece Tucker from New Jerusalem Baptist Church commented to the best of my recollection: "You may not like it, but if Jesus is your Lord, then you're my brother!" It doesn't matter what name is on our church sign or what color we are--what matters is what we believe about Jesus. It reminds me of the classic song by Russ Taff, "We Will Stand". Look at some of the lyrics:

Sometimes it's hard for me to understand
why we pull away from each other so easily

even though we're all walking the same road
yet we build dividing walls between our brothers and ourselves
but I don't care what label you may wear
if you believe in Jesus you belong with me
the bond we share is all I care to see
it will change the world forever
if you will join with me, join and sing


You're my brother, you're my sister
so take me by the hand
Together we will work until He comes
There is no foe that can defeat us
when we're walking side by side
As long as there is love, we will stand

I know Jesus was smiling down on us last night at the Civic Center in Monroe. Probably the only one who really didn't like it was the devil himself. He doesn't want us to unite and to live and serve together in harmony. Just think of what we could accomplish if we always had that kind of unity and brotherly love and fellowship. Is there anything that the church couldn't accomplish?

Singing His Praises,
Joey C.

Letter to the President

I thought that some of you might like to see this copy of a letter that I mailed to President Obama a few days ago. I felt that the Lord was nudging me to write the letter after finding more evidence that the President is not really Christian as he claims to be. And although I don't know that he will read it himself, I'm praying that God will use it to minister to whoever does actually put eyes on it.

President Obama,

The men's prayer group at my church has been praying for you and your administration ever since you came into office. I'm writing this letter because I'm concerned about your spiritual well-being, especially since I happened across an old magazine article the other day. In the article, which was in the March/April 2006 issue of the AARP magazine, you commented briefly on your personal faith and religious beliefs. I was troubled to find that although the article labeled you as Christian and spoke about your public commitment to Christ, it also recorded that you don't believe anyone is going to hell and that you're not sure if you are going to heaven.

I would like a little clarification from you on these two points:
Do you really believe that no one is going to hell?
Are you unsure of your eternal destination?

If your answer to these questions is "Yes", then I would have to wonder if you truly are a Christian. Because all the Christians that I've known through the years will tell you that they believe in a literal heaven and hell and that they have an assurance of eternal life in heaven. If you call yourself a Christian, that would seem to say that you accept the Bible as the Word of God and that you believe in and follow the teachings of Christ. All through the gospel accounts of the Bible Jesus teaches on heaven and hell. There's no doubt from Jesus' own words that heaven and hell are both real places. (Mt. 5:22, 13:37-43, 25:41; Mk. 9:43-48; Lk. 12:4-5) There's also no doubt that God loves us and wants us to have eternal life in heaven. (Jn. 3:16; 2 Pt. 3:9) The problem is that God is perfect and holy and we're not. We are separated from Him because of our sins, the wrong things that we have done, and we are on a fast track to hell without some kind of intervention. (Rom. 3:23, 6:23) But God loves each and every one of us, and has made a way for us to be reconciled with Him. (Rom. 5:8, 10:9-10)

The article that I mentioned had the following quote from you highlighted: "I don't presume to know what happens after I die." I guess one reason that I'm writing to you is to let you know, if no one else ever has, that you can know about your eternity. That's not to say that any of us know all that there is to know about what will happen in the afterlife, but I believe that God has taught us about what's important to understand. I, unlike you, don't know a single thing about practicing law or about politics or government, but I do know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I'm going to spend eternity in heaven with my Lord. And you can know that too! We all can. God has given us His inspired Word, the Bible, so that we can know that we have eternal life. (1 Jn. 5:12-13) But it's not simply about knowing facts and scriptures. It's not about joining a church or being baptized. It's not about going to Sunday School, confessing to your priest or reaching a higher state through some meditation. It's not even about making a public commitment to Christ--It's about having a personal relationship with Him. Do you know Jesus as your personal Lord? Have you allowed Him to occupy the throne of your heart? He alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one will come to God except through Him. (Jn. 14:6) I hope that you do know Christ personally or that you soon will for your soul's sake.

I have enclosed a little booklet entitled "Eternal Life", which I hope will clarify how you can know that you will live for eternity in heaven. I hope to meet you there some day!

Sincerely,
Joey Culpepper

Name Above All Names

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:9)(NKJV)

The Bible records many names for the Lord. I have often wondered why there are so many, but I think one good reason is that our God is everything we need or could ever hope for. For example, when we need some peace in our lives, we can turn to the "Prince of Peace". When we find ourself in a dark place, we can look to the "Light of the World". When we're about to give up, He is our "Hope". If we need someone to lead us to safety, He is the "Good Shepherd". When we're feeling alone, He is "Emmanuel"--God with us.

Some names, like "Adonai" and "El Shaddai" are from the original Hebrew manuscripts. Other names, like "Jehovah" for instance, are found in just a few of our modern translations, like the King James Version. In some cases the Lord actually states in scripture something along the lines of, "My name is ....", or "I am the ....". But in many instances the psalmists and prophets and disciples, who penned the Bible through divine inspiration, wrote phrases like, "Christ is our ...", or "He has become our ...". These passages show us different attributes of the Lord and give us more insight into the character of our God. I was researching in one of the newer English translations, the HCSB or Holman Christian Standard Bible, and found the names listed below. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but I hope that by reading these various names, which may differ slightly from how your translation reads, you will better understand that Jesus is all you need in your life. Take a look at these names of God. He is:

• Abba Father (Gal. 4:6)
• Advocate (1 Jn. 2:1)
• Almighty (Rev. 1:8)
• Alpha & Omega (Rev. 1:8)
• Anointed One (Ps. 2:2)
• Apostle of our confession (Heb. 3:1)
• Beginning and the End (Rev. 21:6)
• Bread of God (Jn. 6:33)
• Bread of Life (Jn. 6:35)
• Bright Morning Star (Rev. 22:16)
• Chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:4)
• Christ (Jn. 4:25)
• Cornerstone (Eph. 2:20)
• Counselor (Isa. 9:6)
• Creator (Isa. 43:15)
• Deliverer (Ps. 70:5)
• Door (Jn. 10:9)
• Emmanuel (Isa. 9:6)
• Eternal Life (1 Jn. 5:20)
• Everlasting Father (Isa. 9:6)
• Faithful and True (Rev. 19:11)
• Faithful Witness (Rev. 1:5)
• Father of Lights (Jms. 1:17)
• First and Last (Rev. 1:17)
• Firstborn from the Dead (Rev. 1:5)
• Fortress (2 Sam. 22:2)
• Fountain of Living Water (Jer. 2:13)
• Friend (Prov. 3:32)
• God Most High (Ps. 57:2)
• God of Abraham (Ps. 47:9)
• God of Glory (Ps. 29:3)
• God of Israel (Ps. 41:13)
• God of Jacob (Ps. 24:6)
• God of my salvation (Ps. 18:46)
• God's Power (1 Cor. 1:24)
• God's Wisdom (1 Cor. 1:24)
• Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:11)
• Great Shepherd (Heb. 13:20)
• Groom (Mt. 9:15)
• Heavenly Father (Lk. 11:13)
• Heavenly Man (1 Cor. 15:48)
• Heir of all things (Heb. 1:2)
• Helper (Ps. 54:4)
• High Priest (Heb. 4:14)
• Holy One (Isa. 40:25)
• Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:26)
• Hope (1 Tim. 1:1)
• Hope of Glory (Col. 1:27)
• Horn of my salvation (Ps. 18:2)
• Horn of Salvation (Lk. 1:69)
• Image of God (2 Cor. 4:4)
• Immanuel (Mt. 1:23)
• Jesus (Mt. 1:21)
• Judge (Ps. 50:6)
• Judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42)
• King Eternal (1 Tim. 1:17)
• King of glory (Ps. 24:8)
• King of Israel (Jn. 1:49)
• King of kings (Rev. 19:16)
• King of the Jews (Mt. 27:11)
• King of the Nations (Rev. 15:3)
• Lamb of God (Jn. 1:29)
• Lamb without blemish (1 Pet. 1:19)
• Liberator (Rom. 11:26)
• The Life (Jn. 14:6)
• Light of the World (Jn. 8:12)
• Lily of the Valley (Sng. of Sol. 2:1)
• Lion from the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5)
• Living One (Rev. 1:18)
• Living Stone (1 Pet. 2:4)
• Lord God (Ps. 71:5)
• Lord God of Hosts (Ps. 59:5)
• Lord of All (Acts 10:36)
• Lord of Glory (1 Cor. 2:8)
• Lord of Hosts (Ps. 24:10)
• Lord of lords (1 Tim. 6:15)
• Mediator of a new covenant (Heb. 9:15)
• Messiah (Mt. 16:16)
• Mighty God (Isa. 9:6)
• Mighty One (Lk. 1:49)
• My Banner (Ex. 17:15)
• One and Only Son (1 Jn. 4:9)
• One enthroned from long ago (Ps. 55:19)
• Our Husband (2 Cor. 11:2)
• Our Redemption (1 Cor. 1:30)
• Our Righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30)
• Our Sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30)
• Perfecter (Heb. 12:2)
• Potter (Isa. 64:8)
• Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6)
• Propitiation for our sins (1 Jn. 2:2)
• Protector (Ps. 121:4)
• Ransom for All (1 Tim. 2:6)
• Real Bread (Jn. 6:32)
• Redeemer (Ps. 19:14)
• Refuge (Ps. 46:1)
• Resurrection (Jn. 11:25)
• Righteous Branch of David (Jer. 23:5)
• Righteous One (1 Jn. 2:1)
• Rock (Ps. 18:2)
• Root of David (Rev. 5:5)
• Rose of Sharon (Sng. of Sol. 2:1)
• Ruler of the Kings of the Earth (Rev. 1:5)
• Savior (Titus 2:13)
• Servant (Mt. 12:18)
• Shelter (Ps. 142:5)
• Shepherd and Guardian of your souls (1 Pet. 2:25)
• Shield (Ps. 119:114)
• Son of David (Mt. 21:9)
• Son of God (Acts 8:37)
• Son of Man (Mk. 10:45)
• Son of the Most High (Lk. 1:32)
• Source of life (Acts 3:15)
• Source of our faith (Heb. 12:2)
• Strength (Ps. 18:1)
• Stronghold (Ps. 18:2)
• Strong Tower (Prov. 18:10)
• Sustainer (Ps. 54:4)
• Teacher (Jn. 13:13)
• True Vine (Jn. 15:1)
• The Truth (Jn. 14:6)
• The Way (Jn. 14:6)
• Wonderful (Isa. 9:6)
• Word (Jn. 1:1)
• Yahweh (Ex. 6:3)

It's wonderful to see all these names and to realize all that God is and wants to be for us. The question becomes--"Are you allowing Him to be all these things in your life?" I hope that we all will because His name is above all other names. He alone is the Beginning and the End; the Way, the Truth and the Life!

Singing His Praises,
Joey C.

You're My All

Lord, I turn my hope to You. My God, I trust in You. Do not let me be disgraced; do not let my enemies gloat over me....Make Your ways known to me, Lord; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; I wait for You all day long. (Psalm 25:1-2, 4-5)(HCSB)


It's hard to believe that it's been over 20 years since I wrote this song. I took much of the verses straight from the NKJV translation of Psalm 25. We played it quite a bit in the contemporary christian band, Ransom, that I was in at that time. It was fun for me, because I usually got to play my saxophone on this song which had a kind of a pop/smooth-jazz feel to it. But as I think of the song, the most remarkable thing about it wasn't the lyrics or the melody; it was the young lady who sang the lead. Her name was Becky Norwood, and she was a good friend, a great singer and a strong christian. She was an inspiring person for our young audiences to see, especially considering her physical handicap. She had a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis and could barely get around. She could stand, but usually depended on her husband (Clay, our bass player) to carry her or wheel her around in her wheelchair. But that didn't stop her, she fought and endured the pain in order to minister in song. She was a perfect example of someone who willingly gave all she had for God. Her life was cut way too short in a fatal car wreck in the early 90s. But the impact she made on me and many others still carries on to this day. I hope that the lyrics to one of the songs she sang so well will minister to you in some way:

You're My All

To You O Lord I lift up my soul

Oh my God I trust in You

Show me Your ways, teach me Your paths

You are the God of my salvation

I want to know You more, I long to be with You

My soul thirsts for You Lord

I love You more each day, I just can't get enough

Lord lead me in Your ways, Oh Jesus You're my all

(chorus)

You are my all 'cause You gave all You had for me

You gave Your very best so that I could be set free

It's my turn now, I want You to take all that I have

You gave me my life, now I want to give it back

Jesus You're my all

Eternal King, the Rock of all ages, You're the strength of my life

You took my sins and washed them away, I want to live my life in gratitude

I want to know You more, I long to be with You

My soul thirsts for You Lord

I love You more each day, I just can't get enough

Lord lead me in Your ways, Oh Jesus You're my all

(repeat chorus)

copyright 1989 Joey Culpepper/Heart of Praise Music

As we look to and put our trust in God, thinking of all He has done for us at the cross and through the blood of Christ, we all should feel a desire to give all that we can in His service. He gave us life and new life through the death of His Son, so we should respond by living our life for Him!

Singing His Praises,

Joey Culpepper

Happy Is He Who Fears?

How happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways! (Psalm 128:1)(HCSB)

Happy is he who fears? How can you fear and be happy about it? As funny and illogical as that question sounds, we can fear and be happy if we fear the Lord and walk in His ways. So what does it mean to fear the Lord? Does it mean that we should be deathly afraid of God and scared to displease Him? Does it mean that we should carefully walk a straight line because God's waiting to punish us when we step out of line? Well, we should want to please our Lord and to follow the narrow road to life that He's placed us on, but not out of fear. While God does discipline His children, (Prov. 3:12, Heb. 12:6) He's not just looking down His nose at us hoping that we mess up so that He can zap us with a lightning bolt or something. He loves us, and like a loving father, wants to protect us, and He wants us to steer clear of things that are harmful, the obstacles that try to detour us away from the narrow path.

So what is the fear of the Lord? I believe it's more about having and showing the proper respect for the One who is the Creator and ultimately the Judge of all creation. The full meaning of the "fear of the Lord" includes reverential awe, obedient respect and worshipful submission. Solomon, one of the wisest men of all time, wrote in Proverbs 1:7--The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (HCSB)
He also wrote in Proverbs 8:13--To fear the Lord is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech. (HCSB)

Oh man, could we ever use some more of the fear of the Lord in our government these days! Other passages in Psalms reiterate what Psalm 128:1 says. Look at these two verses:
He will bless those who fear the Lord--small and great alike. (Ps. 115:13)(HCSB)
Hallelujah! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, taking great delight in His commandments. (Ps. 112:1)(HCSB)
So those of us who fear the Lord, delight in His Word and walk in His ways will be happy and blessed by God. Let's go back to Psalm 128 and see a few of the ways that God will bless those who fear Him.

Psalm 128

• v.2--you will eat what you work for, you will be happy and it will go well with you
• v.3--your wife will be a fruitful vine, your sons will be like young olive trees
• v.5--you will see prosperity around you all your life
• v.6--you will see your grandchildren

You know what? I believe that I would like to be happy and blessed like that, so I'm going to continue to fear the Lord with worshipful submission, obedient respect and reverential awe. If you do the same, you too can fear and be happy about it!
Singing His Praises,
Joey Culpepper

Glory to God Alone

Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your faithful love, because of Your truth. (Psalm 115:1)(HCSB)



We need to be people who are constantly giving all glory and praise to our God. In a society and culture that is ever-increasing in the promotion of self and selfishness, we must diligently keep God on the throne of our hearts and not let self sneak back into the chair. We are bombarded with self-centered phrases like, "Do what's right for you!" and "What's in it for me?" and "Look at me and what I've accomplished." We need to realize that we can't do anything at all, not even take the next breath, without God's help. Let's not be like Herod who was struck down because he didn't give God the glory, but presumed to be a god himself.

(Acts 12:20-23) So on an appointed day, dressed in royal robes and seated on the throne, Herod delivered a public address to them. The populace began to shout, "It's the voice of a god and not of a man!" At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he became infected with worms and died. (HCSB)

There's a new praise song called "Give You Glory", written by Jeremy Camp, that reminds us to always give glory where it's due. In fact, we're singing it in worship this Sunday at RABC. Take a look at some of the lyrics to the song:

We have raised a thousand voices
just to lift Your holy name
And we will raise thousands more to sing
of Your beauty in this place
Oh none can even fathom
no not one define Your worth
As we marvel in Your presence to the ends of the earth


(chorus)
We give You glory
lifting up our hands and singing "Holy"
You alone are worthy
we just want to touch Your heart, Lord,
touch Your heart
Glory, lifting up our voice and singing "Holy"
You alone are worthy
we just want to touch Your heart, Lord,
touch Your heart


As we fall down before You
with our willing hearts we seek
In the greatness of Your glory
it's so hard to even speak
There is nothing we can offer
no nothing can repay
So we give You all our praises
and lift our voice to sing
(repeat chorus)

So let us all come to the realization that it's not about us and what we've done, but it's about giving God the glory for all that He's done for us and in us and through us! As we seek to worship the Lord with our daily lives, let's remember that there's nothing we can offer, and there's no way we can repay Him for all He's done, so we should be careful to do everything for His glory! (1 Cor. 10:31)

Singing His Praises,
Joey Culpepper

With a Child's Heart

Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I do not get involved with things too great or too difficult for me. Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself like a little weaned child with its mother; I am like a little child. Israel, put your hope in the Lord, both now and forever. (Psalm 131:1-3) (HCSB)

"I am like a little child." As the writer of this psalm, what was King David trying to express? What was he trying to say to the nation of Israel? I believe that he was both warning and encouraging his readers with this short psalm. He was warning them, and ultimately us as well, to beware of pride and haughtiness, and encouraging us to keep our proper perspective so that we can worship the Lord with our heart in the right place. As we grow and mature we become more independent. We learn how to do more and more things on our own until we don't need help from our parents or others, and we ultimately mature to adulthood. We come to a place where we achieve total independence and we take pride in that. But many of us go beyond that, and instead of growing up and becoming independent from just our parents, we also outgrow our need for God. We become proud and haughty, and we believe that all that we've achieved was by our own power, and so, we have no real need for God. Our hearts grow hard, and we lose the ability to simply trust in the Lord even when there's mountains of evidence all around us. Like Pharoah we harden our hearts and don't respect or revere God even though He's doing miracles right before our eyes.

Keith Green, one of the pioneers of contemporary Christian music, wrote a song with his wife, Melody, called "Soften Your Heart". The song conveys a message of hope and salvation that he's trying to get across to his listeners. Take a look at some of the lyrics:

So many times I've tried to tell you
but I don't think you've been listening
There's nothing I wanna try and sell you
'cause His love is free
You're so proud of saying you're a seeker
but why are you searching in the dark
You won't find a thing until you soften your heart
The message is oh so very simple
you gotta be like a child to see
'cause Jesus said, "Let the little children come unto me."
You try to make things too complicated
but you really don't have to be so smart
You won't learn a thing until you soften your heart

I think Keith got it right. We try to make everything too complicated, we try to figure out how to do it ourselves, but the real message is so simple. Jesus loves us and gave His life to pay for our mistakes so that we can be reconciled with Father God. He wants us to turn away from our sins and simply trust Him, humbly coming to Him with the pure faith of a child. Let's look at what Jesus said:

(Mark 10:13-16) Some people were bringing little children to Him so He might touch them, but His disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw it, He was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me. Don't stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." After taking them in His arms, He laid His hands on them and blessed them. (HCSB)

(Matt. 18:1-4) At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Then He called a child to Him and had him stand among them. "I assure you," He said, "unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child--this one is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (HCSB)

So let's all soften our hearts, be converted and become like children. Let's humble ourselves and keep the right perspective--that God is Lord of all and we need to trust in Him, not in our own strength, because we are nothing without Him.

Singing His Praises,
Joey C.

God Hears & Listens

Ps. 66:16-20

Come and listen, all who fear God, and I will tell you what He has done for me. I cried out to Him with my mouth, and praise was on my tongue. If I had been aware of malice in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. However, God has listened; He has paid attention to the sound of my prayer. May God be praised! He has not turned away my prayer or turned His faithful love from me. (HCSB)

Have you ever felt like God doesn't hear your prayers? Or that He hears but don't really listen? Or worse, that He hears but don't care? Well, let me just say that He does hear. And when He hears the prayers of His children He listens because He truly does care. We struggle with this sometimes because of our limited understanding and patience. We have the Burger King and Dominoes mentality where we want to have it our way in under 30 minutes, but sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers in exactly the way or time frame that we think He should. But we need to trust that He cares about us, and knows what is truly best for us. The Psalms are filled with scriptures that point to the reality that God hears us:

• Ps. 4:3--Know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for Himself; the Lord will hear when I call to Him.
• Ps. 18:6--I called to the Lord in my distress, and I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice and my cry to Him reached His ears.
• Ps. 40:1--I waited patiently for the Lord, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help.
• Ps. 69:33--For the Lord listens to the needy and does not despise His own who are prisoners.
• Ps. 94:9--Can the One who shaped the ear not hear, the One who formed the eye not see?
• Ps. 116:1-2--I love the Lord because He has heard my appeal for mercy. Because He has turned His ear to me, I will call out to Him as long as I live.
• Ps. 138:3--On the day I called, You answered me; You increased strength within me.

So God's Word confirms that He hears the prayers of the righteous. In 1 John 5:14 we are told: Now this is the confidence we have before Him: whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (HCSB) What we have to do is to believe and keep on praying. We need to keep the faith and be persistent in our prayers, not giving up when it seems that the Lord isn't answering the way we expect Him to in our 30 minute window. There's no doubt in my mind that God answers our prayers. I've seen way too many answered prayers in my own life and in the lives of people I know--some of them even miraculous answers-- to doubt the power of prayer. What's harder for me to believe is that we have the ear (so to speak) of our heavenly Father--that we have access to the One True God of all creation through prayer!

Imagine with me if you will, that you are granted an audience with some figure of royalty, a King or Queen perhaps. What kind of honor would that be, realizing how rare an opportunity it is for a common citizen to be able to spend time with such an important and powerful person? How would you feel if the King/Queen listened with interest to the things that concerned you? Pretty good, huh? You know, I've emailed President Obama two or three times about issues that concern me greatly, but I have yet to get a personal response from him or a response of any kind for that matter. In fact, I doubt that he ever even saw or read my emails. And yet I can bow down and send a knee-mail to God and get a confirmation that the message was received in my heart and spirit before I even say "amen". And that's great, because I'd much rather talk to Jesus anyway!

We can go to God anytime, and we don't need a priest or mediator to do so. We don't have to win some contest or pass a security check by the secret service. There's only one mediator between man and God, and that's Jesus Christ. (1 Tim. 2:5-6) He's our High Priest, and because of what He's done for us, we can boldly approach God's throne, knowing that He will hear us and help us when we need Him! (Heb. 4:14-16) Praise the Lord! Aren't you glad you've got His ear?

Singing His Praises,
Joey C.

Traits of a Righteous Person

Hallelujah! Happy is the man who fears the Lord, taking great delight in His commandments. (Ps. 112:1)(HCSB)


Are you a righteous person? One who is in right-standing with God? I hope so because God has many blessings and promises for the righteous. Of course, in and of ourselves, none of us could ever hope to be good enough to be labeled as righteous. God's Word makes that clear. (Rom. 3:10; Ps.143:2) But praise God, we can attain righteousness through Jesus, the only man who ever followed God's law perfectly, who was the sinless Lamb of God and whose sacrifice for our sins placed us in a position of right-standing with God when we follow him as Lord of our lives. We will be happy when we fear the Lord, taking great delight in His Word as we try to live the christian life through the power of the Holy Spirit. Psalm 112 shows us some traits of a righteous person. Let's look at some of these traits or characteristics that the righteous can experience:

• v.2--his descendants will be powerful and blessed
• v.3--wealth and riches are in his house
• v.4--he is gracious, compassionate and righteous
• v.5--good will come to he who is fair in business
• v.6--he will never be shaken, but will be remembered forever
• v.7--he confidently trusts in the Lord, not fearing bad news
• v.8--he looks in triumph over his foes
• v.9--he helps the poor and will be exalted in honor

In Psalm 112:10, we see the contrast of what the wicked man experiences: The wicked man will see it and be angry; he will gnash his teeth in despair. The desire of the wicked will come to nothing. (HCSB) This should encourage us all to turn from everything wicked or unrighteous and whole-heartedly seek after godliness so that we can experience the traits of the righteous that we've just looked at in Psalm 112. We can be assured that even though it doesn't seem like it at times to our natural eyes, the way of the wicked leads to ruin but God watches over the righteous. (Ps. 1:6) I like the way that David puts it in Psalm 37:25---I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned (HCSB)

So I encourage us all to keep fighting the good fight of faith and to stay on the road of righteousness. If we do, we have God's promise that we will never be shaken (Pr. 10:30) and that we can experience true happiness when we worship him with due respect and reverence. (Ps. 112:1)

Singing His Praises,
Joey C.