Number 15									  

"Prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers."   James 1:22

   We continue to pray that you would desire to know God's Word. Jesus said
that man does not live by food alone but by every word that proceeds from God
(Luke 4:4). Romans 10:17 says that faith comes from hearing the word of God.
You feed your spirit with His Word, or you hurt it without it.

If you are interested in information on a subject or want to talk to us about
what's on your mind, please call or write us. God has blessed us with a treasure
we want to share. We can send you books, tapes, or information on how to get
them for yourself.

              IS YOUR GOD WORTHY TO BE PRAISED ?

  The bad news we so often hear, tells us that the world is in perilous,
perplexing times. There is much anguish and confusion. The Bible says that
"men's heart will fail them in fear of what is coming" (Luke 21:24). "The
Spirit clearly says that in the later times some will abandon the faith and
follow deceiving spirits" (1 Tim 4:1). Although, America has begun to experience
some of this turmoil in the world, we have been the most blessed of nations.
It is shameful how much Americans complain. It's the devil's victory when we
fail to praise our God in heaven and complain instead.

  "The joy of the Lord is my strength" (Neh 8:10). A Christian draws strength
and faith from praising God. We are to "give thanks in all circumstances, for
this is God's will" (1 Thes 5:18). With our Father's grace we can praise Him at
all times. If you really want your faith life transformed, learn about the power
that comes from praising the Lord! God's Word shows us how as in Psalm 100.

Psalm 100:1   Shout for joy to the Lord all the earth.

MIND:  There are at least 6 different Hebrew words for praise in the O.T. All of
them describe vocal activity. First, we must decide in our minds to open our
mouths.  Isaiah 61:3 says to "put on the garment of praise for the spirit of
heaviness".  The "spirit of heaviness" may be a spirit, laziness, depression,
etc. Whatever it is, it must be overcome by our free will, not by feelings.

MOUTH:  "Out of the abundance of the heart, so the mouth speaks" (Matt 12:34).
God loved us and spoke everything into existence. Satan's main weapon is lying.
We proclaim or deny Jesus by what we say and don't say. The mouth and the mind
are the focal points of spiritual forces/warfare. Yes, praise is a weapon for
it contains the Word of God (sword). "The weapons we fight with are not of the
world, but mighty thru God to pull down strongholds ... we overcome every
thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Cor 10:4-5)

Psalm 100:2   Serve the Lord with gladness, come before Him with joyful songs.

SACRAFICE:   Many times we don't feel like praising our Father. We all have
bad days. These are the best times to praise Him because God still desires
sacrafices. Animal sacrafices were made obsolete by the perfect sacrafice of
Jesus, but God still desires free will offerings. Way back in the Law, God
commanded "When you offer a sacrafice of thanks ... offer it at your own will"
(Lev 22:29) Let us "bring the sacrafice of joy (thanksgiving) into the house of
the Lord." (Jer 33:11 , Psalm 27:6 & 107:22 )

MUSIC:   Music and instruments are mentioned over 600 times in the Bible.
Musicians and songs often proceeded the troops of Israel into battle (as in
Jericho).  Music has a tremendous ability to influence our thoughts. It can be
a weapon for or against us. David played music before King Saul to deliver him
of evil spirits. Music is a way to calm a beast. David and Nehemiah appointed
full-time musicians to play day by day before God in the temple. Satan may have
been a chief musician and his agenda can be promoted thru music. Whose tunes
are you listening to? What messages are you allowing into your mind?

Psalm 100:3   Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His,
              we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

HEART:  Psalm 103 starts with "Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within
me ..." As we enter into His presence, He will meet us. Psalm 22:3 declares that
"God inhabits the praises of His people".  Praise can create the unity "where
two or three are gathered in My Name, I shall be in their midst" (Matt 18:20).

TRUST:  If God is our King and our Father, why not lift our hands to Him
(Lam 3:41), clap, and dance for joy. Meditate on His goodness and His promises
in His Word. "Be fully assured "that what He has promised, He is able to
perform" (Rom 4:21). "God causes all things to work together for good to those
who love God and are called according to His purposes" (Rom 8:28).

Psalm 100:4   Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise;
              give thanks to Him and praise His Name.

ENTER IN:   The trinity of man is symbolized by the O.T. temple that had 3 major
divisions as shown in Figure #1. The outer court represents our body (gates =
mouth). The holy place (inner court) is our soul made up of mind, emotion, and
free will. The holy of holies is the spirit of man. The Holy of Holies was
entered by the high priest only once a year. The people could not go in. When
Jesus died for us, the thick veil was torn from top to bottom demonstrating that
Jesus made access for us all to come to the throne of our Heavenly Father (Holy
of Holies). Jesus said "True worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and
truth." (John 4:23).  Thanksgiving, then praise lead us (hopefully) into
spiritual worship of our Father.

Psalm 100:5   For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His
              faithfulness continues through all generations.

WORSHIP:   Praise is not worship, it gives birth to it. The Psalms are the
Bible's prayer and praise book. It is an excellent aid when you can't praise God
spontaneously.  Paul told believers to "speak to one another with psalms, hymns,
and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always
giving thanks to God the father for everything in Jesus Name" (Eph 5:19-20).
Singing and praying in tongues is a wonderful way the Holy Spirit can help you
praise God and lead you into worship (see 1 Cor 12 & 14).

God sure has been faithful to us.  We need to praise Him more than God needs our
praise. However, God has warned us about offering strange fire (wrong
sacrafices). We are to do it His way. The Bible tells us how we are to love,
know, serve, and honor God.  We strongly urge you to listen to Christian music,
especially praise songs. It does so much for us and it honors God.
These things God wants of us, are all for our own good!

  Some of the material used in this topical letter was derived from:
  "The Power of Praise & Worship"   by Terry Law    Victory House Publishers
   Bible quotes come from various Bible versions.

     *  *  *     HAPPY NEW YEAR - MAY JESUS BE A BIG PART OF IT    *  *  *

           ____________________________
           |                          |
           |    ___________________   |
           |    |    _________    |   |
           |    |    |  ARK  |    |   |  Ark of the Covenant - God
           |    |    |_______|    |   |
           |    |  Holy of Holies |   |  Holy Spirit - man's spirit
           |    |   ( Worship )   |   |
           |    |_________________|   |
           |    |   ___________   |   |
           |    |   |  ALTAR  |   |   |  Altar of Incense - Praise
           |    |   |_________|   |   |
           |    |   Inner Court   |   |  Man's soul - mind, emotion, will
           |    |    Holy Place   |   |
           |    |    ( Praise )   |   |
           |    |_________________|   |
           |        ___________       |
           |        |  ALTAR  |       |  Altar of sacrafice - Romans 12
           |        |_________|       |
           |       Outer Court        |    Man's body  - gates = mouth
           |     ( Thanksgiving )     |
           |           _____          |
           |___________     __________|

                     FIGURE  # 1