A Call To Celebrate

That was the Sydney Staff Songsters of the Salvation Army singing a wonderful arrangement of Revelation 19.

Revelation 19 contains words of praise and worship and encourages us to celebrate God's wonderful love for us each and every day. We so often take God's love for us for granted, so why not listen to the Songsters sing Revelation 19 again, and then share a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God for all he's done for you today and for all He will do in the future.

The Message version of the bible says the following in Revelation 19:1-10 under the heading of The Sound of Hallelujahs:

I heard a sound like massed choirs in Heaven singing, Hallelujah!
The salvation and glory and power are God's—
his judgments true, his judgments just.
He judged the great Whore who corrupted the earth with her lust.
He avenged on her the blood of his servants.
Then, more singing:
Hallelujah!
The smoke from her burning billows up to high Heaven forever and ever and ever.


The Twenty-four Elders and the Four Animals fell to their knees and worshiped God on his Throne, praising,
Amen! Yes! Hallelujah!

From the Throne came a shout, a command:
Praise our God, all you his servants,
All you who fear him, small and great!

Then I heard the sound of massed choirs, the sound of a mighty cataract, the sound of strong thunder:
Hallelujah!
The Master reigns, our God, the Sovereign-Strong!
Let us celebrate, let us rejoice, let us give him the glory!
The Marriage of the Lamb has come; his Wife has made herself ready.
She was given a bridal gown of bright and shining linen.
The linen is the righteousness of the saints.

The Angel said to me, "Write this: 'Blessed are those invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.'" He added, "These are the true words of God!"


I fell at his feet to worship him, but he wouldn't let me. "Don't do that," he said. "I'm a servant just like you, and like your brothers and sisters who hold to the witness of Jesus. The witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

Worthy

God is worthy of praise.
He does so much for us everyday.
Many of the things He does for us, we take for granted...our homes, food, friends, family, nature.
We may not always like the way God answers our prayers, but He has a plan for our lives, and everything He does for us is part of His plan for us.
Give God thanks today for all He does for you.


Worthy Is the Lamb!

Agnus Dei by Michael W Smith

Alleluia

Alleluia

For the Lord God Almighty reigns

Alleluia

Alleluia

For the Lord God Almighty reigns

Alleluia

Holy

Holy are You Lord God Almighty

Worthy is the Lamb

Worthy is the Lamb

You are holy

Holy are you Lord God Almighty

Worthy is the Lamb

Worthy is the Lamb

Amen

Checkout Michael W Smith's website: http://www.michaelwsmith.com/

Praise God

Do you praise God? Do you worship God?

When we praise God we glorify Him, and when we glorify Him we are doing His will. We worship God through our praise. Do you find the more you know about God the more you want to express it? The more we express our love and praise for God, the more we are receptive to learning more about God and what he has done and can continue to do in people's lives.

In order to praise God we must have a personal understand of who God is and what He is all about. In other words we must have reason to thank God by understanding what He has done and continues to do for us.

In Psalm 50 and verse 23, the psalmist reminds us:
He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.

Tears

Do you have times when you feel nothing is going right for you?
Do you have times when you feel so alone?
Do you have times when you no one cares about you?
Are there times when you wonder if you can carry on?

If you've answered Yes to any of the above questions, you're not alone - I'm sure we've all had times when we've felt at least some of the above.

How did you cope when you felt like that? Or if you've never felt like that, how do you think you would cope?

The best way to cope in any situation is to give it to God and ask Him to give you the strength to get through.

Speaking from personal experience I can tell you that even when you might think no one is there for you and no one cares, you'll find that someone somewhere is thinking about you and praying for you, so don't despair. I have been there and know it can be very difficult but hang on to God, He will get you through your struggle often by sending you someone to help support you - that's what he did for me.

Don't ever be afraid to cry and show your feelings to others. I say this as one who finds it very difficult to show my emotions in front of others. But over the last while I've come to realise that sometimes you just have to let go completely and let others see you pain. You'll probably be surprised how much of a relief that will be - it certainly was for me!

When the laughter
Fails to comfort
When my heart aches
Lord are you there
When confusion is all around me
And the darkness
Is my closest friend
Still I will praise You
Jesus praise you

So don't ever lose sight of God. Don't stop trusting in God, He will get you through, maybe not in the way you expected, but He will get you through.

Visit Tim Hughes website: http://www.timhughesmusic.com/

Rejoice!

Cry Holy by Sonicflood
Songwriters: Byrd, Carey Marcus; Heil, Rick; Thompson, Andrew

Every sun and moon and star
All declaring who You are
We fall silent in amazement
Every word and deed of man
Every sea and grain of sand
All creation speaks
And now we sing to proclaim Your majesty

Let the earth rejoice
Singing with one voice
Let the people cry
Holy holy Lord
Every creature sing
Praises to the King
All creation cry
Holy is the Lord

Every song sung on the earth
Will never capture all your worth
We fall silent in amazement
Let every humble heart now see
The beauty of Your majesty
All creation speaks
And now we sing to the King above all kings

Let the earth rejoice
Singing with one voice
Let the people cry
Holy holy Lord
Every creature sing
Praises to the King
All creation cry
Holy is the Lord

All creation claims your majesty
Holy is your name in all the earth
All creation claims your majesty
And now we sing

Let the earth rejoice
Singing with one voice
Let the people cry
Holy holy Lord
Every creature sing
Praises to the King
All creation cry
Holy is the Lord

Why should we rejoice and praise God?
Because God made us, each and every one of us. He made this world we live in, the food we eat and the water we drink. He made us the kind of people we are...He made us the unique people we are.

He looks after us when we're ill, comforts us when we're sad, lifts us up when we fall, rejoices with us when we're happy. We can rely on Him no matter what we have to face in life. He's the only true friend we will ever need and ever have.

And if that's not enough...
Without God we would not exist and that alone is reason enough to praise God!

In This Storm

Not been a great day for me again today, as I'm still feeling really exhausted, and I'm sore as well, which always gets me down. So today, like many days in the past few years, I turned to the words (and music) of Praise You In This Storm by Casting Crowns.

I was sure by now God,
You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining
As the thunder rolls I barely hear
You whisper through the rain "I'm with You"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You
As the thunder rolls I barely hear
You whisper through the rain "I'm with You"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord The Maker of Heaven and Earth

I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

Though my heart is torn I will praise You in this storm