I heard this song last year at the church I was attending. It was so beautifully done I was in tears. Every time I play this song I feel so connected to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It lifts my heart. I find myself raising my hands in my car or out in public while taking a walk. I’m led to show my bold love for God.
This song speaks to the amazing love the Almighty pours out to us. He is our song when we don’t seem to have our own melody. He is our strength when troubles make us weak. He is forever the same and the only one worthy of complete praise.
During the last year, bold faith and expression of that faith has been my guiding principle. God defines me, not the world. God’s desires for me are my desires. I am imperfectly trying to perfect that bold faith. When I first started attending church I felt like an imposter. I knew for a fact that everyone around me had bold faith. And I did not. I stumbled and dusted myself off, all the while reaching out for His hand. I told Him, “Lord you are my hope when I cannot see the day.”
Even when I found myself as a leader of a Bible Study I felt like an imposter. Again, I just knew everyone in the group must know the Bible inside and out. They were probably experts and would see through my inadequacies. So I prayed, “Lord you are my sight, teach me how to walk by faith.”
God has guided me and provided for me through many trials and many joys. He has rescued me and He has bestowed great gifts. And so now I say, “I just wanna take my time and say, you alone are worthy of my praise.”
What praise or worship song brings you to tears? Add yours below in the comments!
The thing about God is He is all things — comforter, healer, friend, guide, counselor, creator, and warrior. I have turned to Him for all these traits. But this year I am looking to Him to be my warrior. He has never lost a battle. And a battle is the only way I can describe what is going on in this world. A battle for the heart and soul of our country. A battle for who will sit firmly in our hearts and minds.
I love the t-shirt a friend of mine wears to the gym sometimes — “United States, Two Time Undefeated World War Champs.” I think about the strength of character and belief that we were on the side of God during those horrific wars. So many lives lost to fight back against evil. Those wars, and others, would not have been won without the work of our Lord fighting in the spiritual realm. When you read the history of various battles within those large scale wars you will find what some would call “luck,” while others would call it the hand of God intervening to help turn tides in the Allied’s direction. Cathal J. Nolan teaches military history at Boston University. In an article about war titled, “Wars Are Not Won by Military Genius or Decisive Battles,” he wrote, “Modern wars are won by grinding, not by genius.” He further states, “Winners absorbed defeat after defeat yet kept on fighting, overcoming initial surprise, and terrible setbacks.” Sounds about like 2020.
How can we keep fighting back the evil that wants to surround us? How do we find the endurance? Only through God and His Holy Spirit living and working in us and fighting in the spiritual realm. I pray boldly for God’s warrior spirit to intervene in our culture, our politics, our everyday lives so that we come out the other end undefeated. God as warrior is who I praise, who I know will stand at the gates and keep evil at bay. The slings and arrows of this world cannot touch me with Him as my shield.
Here are the words to this great song:
NEVER LOST
Miracles when You move Such an easy thing for You to do Your hand is moving right now You are still showing up At the tomb of every Lazarus Your voice is calling me out Right now, I know You’re able And my God, come through again You can do all things You can do all things but fail ‘Cause You’ve never lost a battle No, You’ve never lost a battle And I know, I know You never will Everything’s possible By the power of the Holy Ghost A new wind is blowing right now Breaking my heart of stone Taking over like it’s Jericho And my walls are all crashing down
What trait are you praising God for today? Join the Praise Challenge and share it with us in the comments!
I really admire people who have the gift of poetry. To be able to take everyday life and turn it into a beautiful metaphor. Or, just make clear a concept in a few simple words. I found this beautiful poem about what God is that I thought you might enjoy! He is our refuge, our rock, our answer and so much more.
Be sure to add your words of praise for today in the comments section!
God Is…
God, Is The Refuge God, Is The Rock God, Is The One, Who Sets Eternity’s Clock
God, Is The Treasure God, Is The Answer God, Is The Pleasure God, Is Adventure
God, Is The Right The Reason and Reality God, Is The Light The Judge and Finality
God, Is The Hope And Glory, Above All Things God, Is He, Who Spoke … Brought Forth, Living-Beings
God, Is The Power The Passion and Supreme God, Is … Our Unbeatable Dream-Team!
God, Is Wisdom And The Beautiful King God, Is The Vision In All Good Things
God, Is Mercy God, Is Just He … Is ‘ Who ’ We Need God, Doesn’t Need Us
God, Is The Holy-Core And Sacred-Mystery God Is … And Therefore … So, Are We
God, Is What His Word, Shows And What God … Is Made Of Everyone Knows … That, God Is … Love
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
About 22 years ago I started regularly attending church. As my husband’s family was Presbyterian, we decided to also join our local Presbyterian church. This Doxology, as it is called, was sung after every offering. I wonder how many of us sing songs like this from rote, forgetting the true meanings in the lyrics? How many of us, while repeating Bible verses, reciting proclamations of faith (like the Apostle’s Creed) or responding to the pastor, go through the motions without remembering or even realizing their purpose? That’s how I started viewing the Doxology. You give your money, then you stand up, the music starts, and you sing these four little lines. Amen.
When I paid attention to the words I realized what a great, quick way to send up praise throughout the day. All my blessings flow from God. All of us here on Earth should praise Him at every moment possible for those blessings. He is above all. And lastly, I praise the work God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit performs in, with and for me all day. I’ve been singing this song quietly for the last few days in my head. I haven’t sung it in church or heard it sung for probably about 7 months. But when I started thinking about different ways to Praise God, this old hymn popped up in my head. And so, I decided to look into the background of the lyrics.
This excerpt is from Carl Price’s One Hundred and One Hymn Storiesabout when these lyrics, also known as the Doxology, were sung at an infamous Civil War prison:
The doxology of praise to the Holy Trinity was written by the Rev. Thomas Ken (1637-1710), whom King Charles II once made a chaplain to his sister, Mary, Princess of Orange. Ken was so courageous in his preaching at court that the king often said on the way to chapel: “I must go and hear Ken tell me all my faults.”
Bishop McCabe said that while the prisoners of the Union Army during the Civil War were incarcerated in Libby Prison*, day after day they saw comrades passing away and their numbers increased by living recruits. One night, about ten o’clock, through the darkness they heard the tramp of feet that soon stopped before the prison door, until arrangements could be made inside. In the company was a young Baptist minister, whose heart almost fainted when he looked on those cold walls and thought of the suffering inside. Tired and weary, he sat down, put his face in his hands, and wept.
Just then a lone voice sang out from an upper window, “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow”; a dozen joined in the second line, more than a score in the third line, and the words, “Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,” were sung by nearly all the prisoners. As the song died away on the still night, the young man arose and sang:
“Prisons would palaces prove, If Jesus dwell with me there.”
* Libby Prison was a Confederate prison at Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. It gained an infamous reputation for the overcrowded and harsh conditions under which officer prisoners from the Union Army were kept.
Please join me in adding any of your favorite hymn lyrics or excerpts, prayers you repeat in church or likewise. If something else in Praise is on your heart go ahead and add it!
Where do you place the idea of “persistence” in your life? In God’s realm it is one of the most highly touted human characteristics. . Persistence gets us to grab hold of the life God wants for us. It molds us into better people. Persistence takes us over the finish line when we continually pray in worship, thanksgiving and petition. . Persistence is not about never changing course. It’s about never taking your eyes off the ultimate goal — even if that means our course zig zags a bit. When I was learning to sail the first thing we needed to understand was reading the wind. Sensing it’s direction and using it for the most power and energy. Frequently that meant having to “tack” or sail in a zig zag. As a sailor you need to be fully in tune with the unseen in order to persist toward that spot on the horizon you’ve picked out as your ultimate goal. . I have pleasing God as my ultimate goal. And through prayer, meditation, worship, and paying close attention to His unseen and seen ways I set my sail toward Him. It may mean I zig zag my way but through persistence I know I will reach my goal. . Please join me in this adventure as I begin 30 Days of Praise starting July 27. Go to my blog (link in bio) and follow me to receive a daily praise and to add your own daily praise ❤️. . I look forward to setting sail with you! .
What’s your reaction when encountering people who doubt — doubt your understanding of facts, science, faith, morals, values? . We’ve become this society where what we know to be true and good and right is what everyone else MUST agree with. At a time when you’d think we’d grown to be more interested in varied ideas it’s seems our desires to expand our minds and sphere of real friends keeps shrinking. An “echo chamber” is one in which we can only hear our voice. And unless we are God, our voice can frequently be wrong. . As a Christian, I see other Christians falling into a sea of doubt about the lessons and way of life we are called to. We don’t want to be the lone voice outside society’s echo chamber. On the flip side we are called to be our Christian brothers’ keepers — being merciful to followers who struggle against societal lies and snatching each other out of the fires. And even more merciful to non-followers who have yet to accept the Truth of God. . A Christian’s “doubt” should only lie in the struggle with God’s Word as lived out in the world— not the Truth of God’s Word. When we see our Christian loved ones sinking further into that struggle with the world is when we need to act with God’s authority and be His lifeline. . When you doubt the right way to live out your life what action do you hope those around you take? Mercy or with condemnation?
A few years ago the pastor at the church I was attending held a mini class on how to pray. He used the visual of our hand to make sure we hit all the different topics to include in our prayers. I found I had no problem with confession, thanksgiving, intercession, petition or applying the prayer. While doing a Bible study I realized I didn’t know the difference between praise and thanksgiving — yes, there is a difference.
Want to know more? Go to the 30 Days of Praise page and sign up to be a part of the 30 Days of Praise Team! I look forward to joining you in sending up so much praise it’ll blow the roof off!
As I’ve gotten older my allergies have gotten worse. I’ve had sinus surgery and I’m currently going through the allergy shot regimen. And yet I still need to take allergy pills both in the morning and at night. In the early years of this battle I experimented with different allergy medications. Some made me incredibly sleepy and foggy. I saw a commercial for the brand Claritin. What caught my attention was the line “Claritin Clear.” The commercial shows a foggy view of the world. And after taking their product that foggy film is stripped away. That’s what I needed. What I didn’t realize at the time was not only were my allergies making my view of the world foggy but so was my lack of trust in God.
My friend and I were out for a walk and I was struck with the fact that she has taken God’s allergy medication. For one, three different devotionals she read that day pleaded the same action: Trust in the Lord with all you heart and all your mind and all your soul and lean not on your own understanding (Prov 3:5). I told her sometimes God whispers and sometimes He shouts and shakes us! Both are to get us to open our eyes and ears to the truth of our lives — to be God Clear. For another, she’s leaning into God’s grace of that medicine and surrendering.
But the work is not done. In fact the clearing of our eyes can be painful. Just like my twice weekly allergy shots (I hate shots), growth often starts with pain. If we stop because of the pain we can never fully achieve our greatest gifts from God. He wants so much for us — a life free of self doubt, self loathing, and turmoil. But we must first peel away the lies that Satan so readily whispers to us.
Where are you at in this process? Have you tried trusting God but it seems too scary, too painful? My friend a glorious, clear life awaits you. Trust in God’s holy medicine to bring you through the pain.
What blessing are you hoping and waiting for today? It’s time to get serious about the strength of your faith and our willingness to make a full confession of our transgressions. . In a recent Bible study I was asked: “What are you trying to hide from God?” Well, we all chuckled because of course you can’t hide anything from God. But do we truly believe that? Is that how we live out our daily lives? Charles Spurgeon says, “Do not play with sin. Do not confess it as though it were some venial fault that would not have been noticed unless God had been too severe.” . As the apostle Paul says, God cannot be mocked. The Almighty knows our tepid faith. He knows our bold faith. He hears when we rush through a prayer and he hears when we grasp Him tightly and plead honestly with Him. We don’t reward or accept in our own children or friends a tepid or insincere apology so why should God when what we ask of Him is ten-fold? . When we plead to God we lay bare our innermost sins and cleanse them. I like the analogy of a wrestler stripping down to the bare minimum before entering the playing arena. Because when we show we have nothing left to give up, nothing left to weigh us down, that is when God performs His greatest work in us. . So grasp His hand tightly today. Lay out your sins. And plead for His love to envelop you. .
How did I know asking God to help me forgive my sister in law would lead to a deeply spiritual experience? I didn’t of course.
It all started a few weeks ago when my dear friend Kris invited me to be a part of her boldness challenge group. She instructed us to write down 3-5 bold actions you have always wanted to do. After praying I created this list:
Play classical piano again.
Become more than a surface level Christian.
Break free from the need to control everything so that I can cope with my anxiety: therefore being filled with life again
Finally deal with my unforgiveness toward my sister-in-law and my step daughter
As I read other boldness challenger lists I thought to myself that my list seemed very unimpressive. But I moved forward with my list. I had no idea how to completely forgive my sister-in-law and step daughter as their past hurt had happened many years ago. So again, I reached out for God’s hand.
During this same time, my husband and I were in discussion about our annual Mammoth five-day tent camping trip with my husband’s side of the family. This was not the year to go! Not with Covid19. I did everything in my power to make this trip not happen. Covid19 was my main excuse. After all, we would have to share the public bathrooms and showers with everyone at the camp site. Who wants to do that these days? But my real reason was spending all this time with my husband’s sister. Four years ago, she was very frustrated with her brother, my husband, and she said some very hurtful things. Things that I’ve held onto. I felt I had a right to after all, she was out of line and never should have said the things she said. Now you must know that she did apologize to me three years ago with an excuse that I deemed lame and so I didn’t accept her apology or forgive her. I didn’t know how to get beyond myself and my inability to forgive so I gave it to God as we headed to Mammoth last week.
There is a back story here that I didn’t plan for: healing from my anxiety and a need to control everything. It has been pretty crippling. My husband created a “man cave” and he chose pictures to hang on the wall from our first trip to Mammoth trip 10 years ago. As I looked at those pictures I remember how deeply moved I was to experience the beauty of the mountains and streams around the Mammoth area. I wanted to be that woman again — one who feels and sees and experiences the beauty of God’s creation. I didn’t want to be defined by my anxiety anymore. Again, how do I get over this anxiety that rose out of nowhere following my mother’s unexpected death two years ago? One week after that, my husband had brain surgery to completely rebuild his middle cerebral artery that had an aneurism which left him greatly compromised. His hospital stay was eight days instead of three. His doctor wanted to send him to a rehabilitation facility but I said I would care for him — 24 hours a day for months. I was terrified and grief stricken from my mother’s death but my focus was to help him get back on his feet. He returned to work March of that year but I was shocked to realize how much recovery was still needed. I cared for him as he slowly returned to normal…a new normal. Then August of that year, my oldest sister died. That all being said I’m dealing with a form of PTSD according to my doctor.
The day before we left for Mammoth I watched the news. It was all about the spike in numbers of virus cases. I texted my friend that I was struggling with giving this camp trip to God when it seemed so risky. As she has always done, she challenged me that I once again was making an excuse to not be with my sister-in-law for five days. She said, “This may sound morbid but you could die tomorrow in a car accident on the way there. Do you want to stand in front of God and say proudly, ‘I trusted you fully!’?”. Thanking her once again for being so honest I told her I had been looking at the pictures my husband put on the wall in his man cave. I want to be that woman again. I want to live free from fears. I want to see the beauty that surrounds me. I want to feel God’s glory in His creation. My friend said I should change all the “wants” to “will” and read this out loud in front of the mirror. And then tighten my belt of truth and sharpen my sword. The battle was on!
The morning we left, my devotional was about forgiving 100%! Not 90% or even 99% but 100%. Unforgiveness doesn’t look good on Christians! Our first night at camp was disastrous as our air mattress kept leaking and three times that night we woke up to inflate the darn thing. As I lay awake most of the night, I kept surrendering everything to God. Asking Him to give me the energy to enjoy the next day even though I hadn’t slept. I was surprised when I was urged by the Holy Spirit to forgive my husband. Why? Because he has lingering memory issues from his brain surgery he forgets a lot of things. Like the fact that the air mattress had issues when he used it last time. He forgets a lot of things like people’s names. Small things really but this wasn’t the person I married. I was greatly annoyed. So now I’m being asked to forgive him because, ”he didn’t do this on purpose.” OK.
We started the next day focused on repairing the air mattress. Then off we went to kayak Twin Lakes. What a magnificent experience! The sky was so blue and the air so fresh. We paddled around and saw a beautiful waterfall. There were duck families on the water. I was up close and personal with God’s creation and I was brought to tears. Later the same day we did a short hike to McCloud Lake. I was the woman from 10 years ago! I was filled with awe and wonder.
We had many experiences that were wonderful and brought tears to my eyes as I experienced fully the glorious creation of God but sleep was not one of them. The second night, sleep was the same and as I surrendered everything to God, I was urged to forgive myself. What? I have been through a traumatic year and a half with everything that has occurred. So I need to forgive myself for not being the person I used to be — that person in those pictures my husband has on his man cave wall.
Each day we spent our evenings around the campfire and to my surprise one night my sister-in-law said to me, “I love you Andrea.” With tears in my eyes I said, “I love you too” and I meant it. Finally I had forgiven her after all those years. This is what God’s forgiveness looks like. Love! I realized that it is up to me to replace my bad memories of what was said to me years ago with the new memories I made this trip to Mammoth. I will play the new memories we made — memories of love and forgiveness not 90% or even 99% but 100%. Thank you, God, for using me in an amazing way and allowing me to be made new again.
Hank and Andrea enjoying the beauty of Mammoth Mountain California July 2020
emboldened.net 