Are You Hard Pressed Today?

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;

perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned;

struck down, but not destroyed.

We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,

so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (NIV)

Are you hard pressed today? Are you feeling perplexed about life and persecuted at work and at home? Do you feel struck down by the illness that is overwhelming your body?

It seems today that those kind of feelings are almost becoming common place for many, especially in the world we live in today. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring and one almost wants to sleep with one eye open.

My friend, today Father woke you up one more time for you to know that you are not defeated, that you are not alone. That doesn’t mean that you’ve never experienced loss, or that you’ve never failed, but it does mean that it’s not over and that today is a new day, a day for you to, in the midst of your circumstances realize that reality goes beyond what you can see and that as you begin to look at things from His perspective that it puts a new light on everything that you’re going through.

Scripture is a great example of seeing things from God’s perspective. We have the privilege of reading things after the fact, when in reality that is how God saw them all the time. God is not confined to time and space so everything is here and now in His eyes. Abraham could have felt defeated as he raised the knife, but God saw the ram. Job could have felt defeated as he scraped the boils off, but God saw the double portion of blessing in chapter 42. Mary could have felt defeated and crushed at the foot of the cross but God was already at the resurrection. Daniel could have felt defeated as the lions approached, but God was already telling the lions that a better meal was coming a bit later.

Whatever your present circumstances, my friend, whatever situation you find yourself in, the Holy Spirit wants to remind you as He did as He opened eyes of Elisha’s servant in 2 Kings 6:16-18, to remember that "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

Let’s praise Him together today and thank Him that He has already won for us and if God is for us, who or what can be against us? (Romans 8:31) And remember to pray for those who are going through the “storms of life” right now.

MJ

His Lordship

What comes to mind when you think of “Lordship”? We hear that word used a lot, especially as we sing words phrases such as “He is Lord”, “Lord, I lift Your Name on high”, “Lord, You are…”, “The Lord is Good,” or “In my life, Lord, be glorified.” We use it when we pray, “Dear Lord…”, but what does this word mean in our relationship to Jesus?

For many years, I thought that I had to get to a point in my life where I allowed Jesus to be “Lord” over my life; that I had to allow Him to be “Lord over all or He was not Lord at all…” Those make for compelling lyrics, and in truth I can daily give more of myself to Him to be under His control, but the truth of the matter is that Jesus is Lord, period. “He is Lord of heaven, Lord of earth, He is Lord of all who live, He is Lord above the universe, all praise to Him we give!” (see Revelation 17:14)

What we must realize is that Jesus is Lord and it’s up to us to accept that fact and live according to that reality. Either we will accept His Lordship under His grace and mercy in this life, or we will be forced to accept it in his judgment and condemnation after this life is over.

His being Lord is not up for debate. Our acknowledgment and acceptance of His Lordship is what we are to live out and exclaim with our every breath! He is your Lord whether you like it our not. The question is whether you acknowledge it and choose to live like it. Just saying “He is Lord” does not make Him your Lord, either, however, saying it in truth only comes from the power and leading of God’s Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3)

When Scripture says in Philippians 2:9, “…every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father,” these will not all be willing participants. Will you be? Are you now? This week read Romans 14:11 and be resolved with the right choice now and experience a life lead by His Lordship today. Give Him your everthingness today. That is one way we can worship Him with our lives this week by acknowledging His Lordship in our lives and in all we do. He is worthy of our doing so!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

Ten Years After 9/11

It’s hard to believe that 10 years has passed since that morning that changed our country forever. I’ll never forget watching building one of the World Trade Center burn and then watching the plane hit building two. My heart sank and the only thing that I wanted to do was to get home to my wife and children and know that they were safe. Our nation was under attack.

As a result of those attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC, we will never be the same. Many lives were lost, many families forever changed and the world and how we view terror and how to combat it will never be the same.

Since that day, depending on how close you were to someone you know that died or what part of the country you were in at the time, the effects of 9/11/01 are different. That night and for several days following, churches were packed and the Nation was “one”. Since then, for many, they no longer attend church and you only have to turn on the news for a moment to see how divided we are as a nation. Today, let’s pray for our nation, pray for our leaders. Pray that God’s beauty would come from the ashes of that dreadful day.

Although the towers are gone there are two other “monuments” in our nation that are under attack as we speak. Tower 1 – Husbands; Tower 2 – Wives. The enemy has a full frontal attack going on to destroy this God ordained institution. Unlike the events on 9/11, the attack on marriages and marriage as an institution is a daily event. The Enemy sends his “planes” into the buildings of marriages every moment of every day. There were thousands of lives affected by the actions of a handful of terrorists on 9/11. Today, there are millions and many generations being affected by the onslaught on the family.

Today as you remember 9/11, “run home”! Make sure your family is safe. Protect yourself and your marriage and family by placing it and yourself under the control and protection of the God of the Universe who ordained and will sustain you against any and all attacks of the unseen Enemy who seeks to kill and destroy your family today.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12

Reminder: This afternoon, please come by and join members of our worship team and the worship team from WoodCreek Church for a time of praise and worship as we take time on this day to focus on our great God Who is our ever present Help in time of need.

Today - Sunday, 9/11
Location: Haggard Park, downtown Plano on 15th, east of 75.
Concert time: 3 - 6 pm.

From the Rising of the Sun

Living a lifestyle of worship! As we look at a glimpse of heaven as portrayed in scripture we see that worship will be our sole occupation in heaven. Imagine worshipping God throughout eternity and joining our voices with the angels and those who have gone before us responding to His wonderful works and His glorious name. What will that be like? Well, we won’t know until we get there, however, we don’t have to wait to get there to live lives that worship Him day by day. How can we begin now what we will spend eternity doing?


Psalm 113:3 says, “From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.” Most likely, the thing or person that you are the most in love with will occupy your mind and your thoughts at the beginning of your day. Is that God? Take a moment today and praise Him for the sunrise, for the ability to see the sunrise. Thank Him for one more day to serve Him here on this earth. Think about the blessings of the past week and take a moment before you begin your activities of the day and bow before Him and adore Him by singing a love song to Him. Use the words in scripture or let the emotion from your heart be poured out to Him.

You might be struggling today and you have been wronged at work, you’re tired, you’ve got problems at home that you cannot get off of your mind and you’ve got financially problems that seem to pile up every day. During your lunch break or at your desk, take a moment and bow your head or get on your knees at your chair and pour your heart out to God. Tell Him that you are struggling and that you are at the end of your rope. Tell Him that you have been anxious and that your heart has not been focused on the right things. Confess everything that is on your heart to Him and tell Him that you need Him to step Him. Tell Him that He is worthy of you giving your all to Him and then do it. As you drive home that evening and think over your day the Lord lays someone on your heart that you know is in need. The Holy Spirit prompts you to pray for them, do so and then ask God for wisdom and the words to say and then ask God what you can do to minister to them and show them His love and then do it. When you are done, praise Him for being a God who knows everything and is concerned about our every need.

Before you turn your lights out at night reflect on your day. Think about the ways that God revealed Himself to you through the day. The ways that He’s blessed you, protected you, provided for you and met you. Take the next moment and kneel by your bed and lift up praise and adoration to Him for being such an awesome God!

That’s a day filled with acts of worship. That’s a day where worship was our lifestyle. That’s a day when we put a smile on Father’s face. May we together live more and more days where we make it our goal to worship Him with our everythingness “From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets”.