In the most recent times the news of young ladies falling into depression and committing suicide due to being jilted or dumped by their lovers is on the increase and this is very saddening and worrisome. Being depressed is a horrible emotional and mental state to be. Depression is real and it is a very serious mental problem which must be handled with caution because it can easily become overwhelming. According to the renowned Christian counselor Gary R. Collins, Ph.D. “depression overwhelms its victims with feelings of despair, fear, exhaustion, immobilizing apathy, hopelessness, inner desperation, and thoughts of suicide.” Unfortunately depression is said to be higher among youths schooling than their counterparts not in school because those in school are under many pressures such as societal, parental, financial and academic pressures.

Jilting happens mostly when two people who have no business being in a love relationship with each other in the first place are. Although, in most cases there are usually early signs that the relationship is heading nowhere or towards hitting the rock, however, the one who would bear the brunt would ignore the signs because he or she has been blinded by love. The one who suffers heartbreak when a supposed love relationship collapses is usually the one truly in love, the most committed and the one who has put in his or her everything in such a relationship and has remained true.

Nothing can equate to the pains, trauma, and agony one suffers emotionally, spiritually, physically and mentally as a result of being jilted because of what love is. Love generally is the greatest of all passions as it simultaneously affects the mentality, the heart and the sensory organs. Therefore, when one is jilted, one becomes traumatized mentally; the heart seems shattered into a million pieces and it hurts; and all the organs in one’s body begin to malfunction. This makes the pains and sorrows of being jilted something felt all over one’s body and it is something that makes one confuse, weep profusely and become depressed. Once depressed, nothing in life matters again. It is in this state of despair and depression that Satan would prompt one to make wrong decisions to commit suicide. This is why it is advised that one shouldn’t make decisions when the heart is very troubled. No matter the intensity of the pains felt, take heart, don’t allow it to overwhelm you to the extent of you getting depressed and giving up on life. You must never give up on Life. Don’t give place to the devil in your heart. Suicide is not an option! Life is precious and it must be well guided and lived to the fullest.

Now that it has happened, you have to be strong and brace up. Pick up the bits and pieces of your heart together and forge ahead. Although, the pains of heartbreak takes time to heal. However, accepting the whole situation as it is helps to heal the wound on time. Go through the pains and not around the pains because only then will you learn valuable life’s lessons and also gain experience. If you need to cry, then, cry as it brings inner relief.

Being jilted though very painful is something not worth dying for at all because it is not the end of life. It is just a sad experience like other past sad experiences therefore; it is bound to pass away. Whatever makes you think you cannot live without the supposed lover that dumped you is a lie because you survived before he or she came into your life and you are bound to survive after he or she must have left. Others before you who were heartbroken survived it, so you too will.

I want you to know that for someone who claimed to have loved you to dump you means he or she never really loved you in the first place because love fails not (1 Cor. 13:8 ). Such a person is not worthy of you and not meant for you. Consider this, if you kill yourself because someone dumped you, the one who dumped you loses nothing because it is not his life and he does not feel your pains while you as the one dumped would lose your life, reputation and everything. So please don’t kill yourself.

One question you should ask yourself is this; will killing one’s self make the one that dumped you to now love you? Of course not! Instead it would make him blame, mock, hate, curse and wish you everything evil in your journey beyond. What impact will your death have on him/her? None! As long as he did not kill you by himself or send someone else to kill you, he wouldn’t even be charged to court of law or charged for manslaughter or murder! Therefore, be wise and think very well and don’t harm or kill yourself for a worthless person. You must stay alive since dying would not give you the opportunity to show your haters that your life is not dependent on them and that you can be fulfilled and happy without them. Live, so that you can tell the story of how you overcame and be a source of encouragement to others.

Always remember that being jilted by a supposed lover like other disappointments is a blessing in disguise. Therefore be grateful to God for removing from your life an unworthy being instead of wasting your time grieving for being jilted. Brace Up. Be strong and courageous and allow whoever wants to leave, go away. Don’t ever beg him or her to take you back because it will still end in tears.

Know that the one that jilted you might go about spreading nasty and untrue things about you, just to make you feel bad and probably make you hate yourself. However, don’t let such talks bother you. Don’t isolate yourself or indulge in self-pity. Instead, love yourself more, look your best and go on with your life. Nothing is wrong with you because the Bible says, “You are beautifully and wonderfully made.” (Ps. 139:14). God loves you and He says you are precious and honorable in His sight (Isaiah. 43:4).

Friends may come up blaming you for being the cause of the break-up, but don’t be bothered. It is your business and not theirs. No matter what anybody says, don’t ever allow anyone’s judgment to weigh or pull you down. That someone lets you down does not imply you will never find love again. You will. I assure you that someone else more lovely and loyal would come your way soonest. Love yourself more. Take good care of yourself while you enjoy the liberty God has given you by saving you from a relationship that would probably give you a hell of time if it had continued.

The devil might want to capitalize on your sad experience and come up with a lie that nobody cares and loves you. Don’t ever believe this lie because there are lots of people that love, admire and adore you that you are not aware of. The reason why I have taken time to write this is because I care about you and I love you. PLEASE TALK TO A TRUSTED AND UNDERSTANDING SOMEONE ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE PASSING THROUGH...

HOW TO AVOID HEARTBREAK
1) Be aware of the fact that falling in love with someone of a different religious beliefs, fundamental values, ideologies, tribe and race often ends in disappointment, so be wise. “Can two walk together, except they agree?” (Amos 3:3).
2) Know and be able to distinguish between love, likeness, lust and infatuation. For example, someone may just like you because he admires certain things in or about you. Maybe all s/he just wants from you is to be ordinary friends. Let it remain as that, don’t fall in love with such a person, and don’t force yourself on such a person; else, you will get hurt.
3) Know that humans lie a lot. Not all who profess to love you are in love with you. What some persons who come to you are after is just sex and their behavior like inappropriate touching and dirty talks would reveal this, once such have satisfied themselves they would go. Don’t fall in love with someone who just wants sex because no matter what you do, such a person can never be emotionally attached to you, they will dump you afterall.
4) Don’t indulge in premarital sex (Hebrews 13:4). Girls mostly think that having sex with a man would make him stay and marry them. Some even believe getting pregnant would make a man fall in love with them. This is a big lie. Sex endears a female to a male emotionally, but sex is not so to most males, it is just a mere way of satisfying their sexual urges.
What makes being jilted heartbreaking for many is the feeling of being used and dumped after sexual intimacy with the opposite sex and unnecessary or wasteful spending on them.
5) True love between two partners is what sustains relationship and not beauty, expensive gifts and free sex.
6) True Love is very scarce these days, therefore it is very important to seek the face of God who is love and the source of true love in prayers for someone that would love and cherish you. It might take some time for the right person to come, but it is worth the wait. Try and put all that has happened behind you. Move on with your life. You have better days ahead. The best is yet to come. You would soon find true love.

The best thing to do in the face of heartbreak is to turn one's pain to God through Jesus Christ in prayers and ask for His help and strength. He knows and understands how you feel because he passed through such when He was denied, rejected and crucified on the cross by the very people He loved so much and had come to save. He is the perfect healer of broken hearts (Psalm 147:3). He would heal you of your broken heart and give you His love and peace in replacement. His love fails not. Lamentations 3:22. God truly loves and cares for you, so cast your burden upon Him and you will be glad you did. Please pray following these steps:

a) Admit you are a sinner. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus our Lord,” (Rom. 3:23; 6:23).
b) Repent of all sins. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” (Acts 3:19). “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).
c) Believe that God loves you and that Jesus His only Son died for you. “But God commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners. Christ died for us,” (Rom 5:8; Acts 10:40&43).
d) Invite Jesus into your heart “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me,” (Rev. 3:20)
e) Forsake everything that led to the former situations you were. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let them return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Is. 55:7).


My prayers are with you and I am available should you need someone to talk to. GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.
www.lovelashblog.com

This chapter centers more on the heart. Therefore, we shall start by discussing  the heart first for a better understanding.  

Whenever the heart is mentioned in the Scripture, it is not referring to the blood pumping physical organ inside the chest cavity of mankind but rather something spiritual described as the center and director of human activities. This heart is the center of intellect/ mentality, intuition, thoughts and mind. This is because we humans reason (Mark 2:8, 11:23), imagine things (Psalm 140:2); meditate, believe, (Romans 10:9);  keeping and hiding words (Psalm 110:11). With the heart we seek God (Psalm 119:2,10); meditate on His word (Psalm 19:14), believe and trust God (Prov. 3:5), cry out to God, (Psalm 84:2), Hide God’s word (Psalm 119: 11), experience God’s love, (Romans 4:5).

The heart is linked with emotions/feelings such as joy (Exodus 4:4, Jeremiah 15;16); sorrow, (John 16:6), bitterness, (James 3:14), humility (Matthew 11:29), fear, (Josiah 5:1), Psalm (4:7,15; 65:14. Grieving, (Lam. 2:18 ),. Affections such as love (Mark 12:30, Dueteromy 6:5, 1Timothy 1:15).

It is the arena for will and decision making (Acts 5:4, Romans 6:17), desires and wishes (2 Chronicles 6:7, Romans, 1: 24, Romans 10:1) and will.   The heart is the center for emotions-feelings. Our characters are formed by it. It is the pillar of worship and our spirituality. The heart is also in connection to our morals and spiritual life. It is where God Spirit dwells. God ascertains a person’s true character and spiritual state from the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

At creation, when God created man in His own image and likeness, everything about man including his heart was pure, holy, healthy and good. Man’s  character, words, thoughts, emotions, feelings, imaginations, actions and behaviours were right and man was at peace, joyful, healthy and strong inside out. This was because man was in a right fellowship relationship with God and God was in control of man’s heart. Apart from this the beautiful harmonious relationship between all the creatures, the conducive environment and positive happenings in the Garden of Eden provided the best inputs that conditions the heart positively.

However, satan came and deceived Adam and Eve and they fell into sin of disobedience as they chose to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil which God commanded them not to (Gen 2:16-17). As a result of this, Man became alienated from God and the heart of man became depraved. Creation as a whole came under God’s curse as a result of man’s sin. Man was expelled from the beautiful Garden of Eden where he enjoyed life at its best and to the fullest. Man became a slave under satan whom he had obeyed. With man now being under the influence and control of a cruel and wicked task master. Man was also faced with an unfriendly environment and its negative happenings, situations, coupled with fruitless hard labour and frustrations. With all these negative encounters the man’s heart became weak, sorrowful, overwhelmed, heavily burdened, evil and desperately wicked (Jer.17:9 Mark 7:21-22). These in turn make the body become weak and plagued with deseases, decay and death.

However, God in His infinite love and mercy for mankind sent His gracious salvation through His Son Jesus Christ for the redemption of the whole world (John 3:16). Whosoever embraces God’s gracious salvation through faith in Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour receives a new heart and a new spirit from God (Ezekiel 11:19).

Based on all written above concerning the heart, it is not surprising therefore that the believer is given a very important charge to maintain the heart well, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23). God wants us to mantain the new heart and keep it pure, healthy and allow no form of contaminations at all in it! This is because although the believers have experienced God’s gracious salvation that has delivered him or her from the powers of satan, the world and the flesh yet the believer still lives in a broken world where terrible things are happening; where satan our adversary still roams about looking for who to devour; where the flesh will still want us to do its biddings and where the world would still attempt to get us conformed to its values (1 John 5:19). How can one keep the heart in situations such as these? BY A LIFESTYLE OF GRATITUDE!

To be continued…….

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I

copyright www.lovelashblog,com

Adeesther56:
Oh lord pls heal my breast

May the good Lord have mercy on you and heal you in Jesus name. Please seek medical help also.

“The just shall live by faith” Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38. This implies the Christians, those who have been justified and made right with God by embracing God’s gracious salvation through faith in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection must live by faith in God in every area of life to the end of their life. Romans 3: 24-25; Gal. 2:16-21. To live by faith implies always doing everything whatsoever in all circumstances by faith in Jesus Christ - faith seeing, faith receiving, faith asking, faith seeking, faith thinking, faith hearing, faith speaking, faith touching, faith breathing, faith imagining, faith praying, faith walking and faith eating. In fact, whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Romans 14:23. Nothing works without faith. We are to live in the newness of life as new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) by faith in crucified and resurrected Christ Jesus by not having confidence in our flesh, its sensory organs 2 Cor. 5:7, abilities, possessions, understandings and powers. This is the type of life Apostle Paul lived and could declare that, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Gal. 2:20. This is a totally surrendered life to the Holy Spirit and the will of God and the type of life that is pleasing unto Him. This is the type of life that will experience the supernatural and through which God’s power will be made manifest for the world to see.

How can we achieve living by faith knowing that we live in a perverse world under the rulership of Satan with many satanic things and activities capable of making us lose faith in God coupled with many unpalatable experiences and happenings which are capable of making us doubt God?

This can be achieved by living a lifestyle of gratitude unto God in everything and for all things as already revealed so far in this series because a thankful heart is one constantly focused and conscious of God’ presence (Heb. 13:5) and has surrendered in obedience to do His will. It is a heart that knows, loves, believes, trusts and fears God, a heart that studies and obeys the Word of God and proclaims His Salvation to others, a generous giver, a humble worshipper, and one that willingly serves God and others. A closer study of the charges in the New Testament on thanksgiving corresponds to those important aspects of life where exercising our faith are most needed in circumstances such as: when facing all circumstances of life - Colossians 3:15-17, for all we have - Ephesians 5:20; in our words, thoughts and actions -Colossians 3:15-17; prayers -Philippians 4:6; loving others - Timothy 2:1; in our communications - Ephesians 5:4 and in our daily walk - Colossians 2:6-7.

A.B Simpson explains further, “Thankfulness is the best preparation for faith. Trust grows spontaneously in the praiseful heart. Thankfulness takes the sunny side of the street and looks at the bright side of God, and it is only thus that we can ever trust Him. Unbelief looks at our troubles and, of course, they seem like mountains, and faith is discouraged by the prospect.”

There is no better life to live in this world where all things have fallen apart except living by faith in Jesus Christ and gratitude unto Him. Anything aside this is living a miserable life full of fear, unrest, sadness, uncertainties, self pleasing and pleasing of men and uncertainties. Living by faith and gratitude in Christ is living in victory, with certainty and confidence of who is in control of one's life and all He has done for one; where one is coming from, where one is and where one is heading to.

King David the beautiful Psalmist of Israel and Apostle Paul are perfect examples of great men of God who lived by faith and attitude of gratitude.

A life lived by faith and thanksgiving is a victorious live and of possibilities. 1 John 5:4. Believe in the persons of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as revealed in the Holy Scripture. See God with you in everything, believe and obey all His commandments, promises, blessings and accept them as His words for you personally and offer Him thanksgiving and praises for them. He has chosen you in love to be the revealer of His nature, his love and mercy to the perishing world, the canvas of his miracles, signs and wonders and the channel of His power and might over all powers that be. God’s being, attributes and character behind all His promises are enough sources of eternal gratitude, love, commitment and obedience to God for all believers. Thanksgiving should be given to God for His words and promises even as we wait in anticipation for its fulfillment, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it” (1 Thessalonians, 5:24, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, Hebrews 10: 23). As you do this often, what you have accepted in faith becomes a reality. Remember your eternity depends on having faith in Jesus Christ to the end of your life. May God help us all to keep faith in Him in Jesus name. Amen. Ephesians 3:16-21.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.
www[dot]lovelashblog[dot]com

Please rule out suicide, it is not an option. God still remains the best option, so get very intimate with Him and give yourself more into prayers and thanksgiving. Don't stop loving your family but instead pray to God to destroy every satanic siege over them. Love conquers.
Put whatever has happened in the past behind you and hold on to God who has the power to restore back to you all that you have lost. You can visit www.lovelashblog.com to understand more about the evil scourge called suicide and how to overcome it. May God help you fight all your battles and bless you in Jesus name.

As said earlier, the importance of faith in the life of a Christian can never be overemphasized. The Christian life from the beginning to the end is based on faith. Faith is the way we come back into relationship with God through Jesus Christ and it is also the way we are to continue living till eternity. It is by faith we receive all things from God and the only way to please God.

Ironically, our faith in God through Jesus Christ is something Satan targets, fighting tooth and nail against us to make a shipwreck of so as to destroy our relationship with God and rob us of His blessings and goodness because he is an archenemy of God and believers. All the temptations, persecutions, oppositions and battles he wages against believers are channelled towards achieving this because they can affect the heart negatively and make one remove one’s faith from Jesus Christ the Author and finisher of our faith. This must not be allowed to happen. Adam and Eve fell out of their faith relationship with God and they incurred the wrath of God and was driven out of the Garden of Eden described as a place of joy, gladness, thanksgiving and voice of melody (Isaiah 51:3d) because Satan succeeded in making them lose faith in God’s love and goodness through disobedience to the commandment not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17; 3:1-5). The consequence of their failed faith caused ruination to all that life was originally meant to be on earth as being witnessed today.

Scripture reveals great men of faith who remained steadfast in their faith in God to the end of their lives despite the satanic afflictions, temptations, persecutions, oppositions and battles encountered. Notable among them were Joseph who suffered false accusation and imprisonment for refusing to sin and disobey God’s commandment (Genesis 39); Job, who refused to curse God as suggested by his wife after Satan killed all his children, livestock and destroyed his health in one day but held on in faith to God (Job 1;2:7-10); Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were bound and casted to the fiery furnace for vehemently refusing to bow down before the golden image set up by King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 3:13-23); Daniel was thrown into the lions den because he refused not to stop praying to the living God of Israel (Dan 6:7-24); Apostle Paul and Silas were put into the prison for their refusal to stop preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts16: 1-30). They all fought the good fight of faith and prevailed. If these people could then we have no excuse not to prevail in our faith in Jesus Christ no matter what. Therefore we are charged to “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” (1 Tim.6:12). Yet, this fight of faith like other battles is not carnal but spiritual likewise our weapons (Eph. 6:11-14).

The spiritual weapon of defence of our faith apart from those of Eph. 6: 13-16 is thanksgiving. Satanic arrows and darts thrown at faith cannot prosper in a grateful heart because God inhabits such a heart. When we thank Jesus Christ ceaselessly for all He did for the salvation of our souls, Satan is bound to flee from us because it affirms we belong to God and also affirms his defeat at the cross of Calvary. Daniel sustained his faith through thanksgiving as revealed in Daniel 6:10. Apostle Paul and Silas too sustained their faith while in prison by singing praises and thanksgiving (Acts 16:25). Abraham's faith was sustained by glorifying God always

Clinging and cleaving to God in faith through praising and thanking God in the times of difficulty and battle brought tremendous victories and peace to all who obeyed and practiced it in the time past. Gratitude to God for all He did for us through Jesus Christ’s life, sufferings, death, resurrection, victory helps to be God conscious at all times and in the time of trouble, thanksgiving keeps our focus on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith instead of on the problem. Being grateful for the victories of Jesus Christ our Lord helps one to stay in faith and rise above the negative emotions that lead to hopelessness. Gratitude lifts up burdens, uplifts us and encourages our heart.

Thanksgiving brings confidence into our spirit and a deep unshaken faith. Gratitude in the face of life storms keep the heart at rest, peace, joyful, healthy, hopeful and strong.

Learn to give thanks to God when you are troubled and you will not make a shipwreck of your faith.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO I www[dot]lovelashblog[dot]com

In the Scripture, some people's faith were described as “little faith” - Matt 6:30; 8:26; “strong faith” - Romans 4:7; “great faith” - Matt.8:10; 15;28; “full of faith” - Acts 6:5 ; “weak faith” - Romans 4: 19;  and “sound in faith” - Titus2:2. This is so because faith though an activity of the heart is spiritual and is also a living faith because it is in the living God. Faith like every other living thing can grow, become strong, great and increase and it can also become weak, wane, or die due to some things.

Our faith known as “saving faith” at the initial stage of our salvation which came about through the hearing and obedience to the Word of God through the preaching of the gospel about Jesus Christ (Romans 10:17) could be likened to a living seed that got sprouted in individual new believer’s heart. Our spiritual ground is Jesus Christ, and all that He did on the cross of Calvary for us is a good ground suitable for any new believers “sprouting faith” to grow and become strong and great. Unfortunately, many Christians' faith remain stagnant in the state of “saving faith” or “sprouting faith” for a very long time after the initial state of their salvation due to insufficient intake of spiritual nourishment which is the Word of God, disobedience to the Holy Spirit and ingratitude. With time, such faith would decrease, become weak, wane and soon die off.

God desires that our faith in Him and in Jesus Christ grows, becomes strong, great and full to the level of the faith of Jesus Christ, the Author and finisher of our faith. Jesus’ faith in God was so great that He trusted Him absolutely; nothing worries, frightens, troubles or makes Him fear. He offered thanksgiving to God in everything and in all circumstances.

Appreciating God always as previously pointed out does not only stabilize our faith in Him but it also builds it up as revealed in the charge of Apostle Paul that, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him; rooted and build up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2: 6-7).

Apostle Paul who happened to be a man of great faith in God gave us other charges to help us achieve this. These charges are: “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20). "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18); "and whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the father by him” - Colossians 3;15-17. "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peacable life in all godliness and honesty. - 2 Timoty 2:1. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” - Philippians 4:6. “Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks” - Ephesians 5:4.

As one carries out these charges on thanksgiving and also feeding on God’s Word daily, one’s faith increases. The more we show gratitude of heart to Jesus Christ, the more our faith takes root, grows deeper and stronger in Him.

The importance of having great faith in God cannot be overemphasized because the level of one’s faith in Jesus Christ is the essential principle in receiving anything from Him, “…According to your faith  be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29). This implies the degree, level, quality, size, of one’s faith determines what one receives.

Thanksgiving should be given to God for His words and promises even as we wait in anticipation for its fulfillment, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it” (1 Thessalonians, 5:24;  Hebrews 10: 23). As one does this often, what one has accepted in faith becomes a reality and one’s faith becomes strong in God. Doing this was what helped Abraham’s faith in God for the promised child for twenty five years to be strong (Romans 4:20-21).

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.

Copyright - www[dot]lovelashblog[dot]com

The importance of faith in the life of a Christian can never be overemphasized. The Christian life from the beginning to the end is based on faith. Faith is the way we come into relationship with God through Jesus Christ and it is also the way we are to continue living till eternity. It is by faith we receive all things from God and the only way to please God (Heb. 11: 6).

However, faith is a thing of the heart. The heart is conditioned by the daily positive or negative inputs received from happenings in the physical and spirit realms. Meanwhile, the believer lives in a broken world under the rulership of Satan where there are so many external unpalatable satanic attacks, wickedness, life’s challenges and other negative happenings. All these hese unpalatable happenings and negative things can easily make the heart sorrowful, bitter, weak, hopeless, depressed, panicky, afraid, confused, discouraged. fearful, worried and anxious. All these unsettles the heart and are capable of shaking and destabilizing one's faith. One very obvious thing the attitudes of the Israelites revealed while in the wilderness was their inability to remain steadfast in their faith in God; one moment they are singing praises of God because of His goodness and wonders the next moment they are murmuring, complaining and rebelling against God because of unpleasant experiences and they displeased God. It is very important that believers are settled in our conviction, steadfast in faith and remain unmovable no matter what happens (1 Cor. 15:58).

Steadfast and unshaken faith in Jesus Christ and a good conscience at all times in everything is very vital in our walk because it is only by doing so that we will not make shipwreck of our faith as Apostle Paul charged 1 Timothy 1:19. Therefore, as one has come to God through faith in Jesus Christ, it is important one holds steadfastly to him in faith without wavering so that one will not be tossed back and forth and blown here and there with every wind of doctrine by men and storms of life (Eph. 4:14). Thereby, we are charged “ As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him; rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2; 6-7)

The above quotation reveals abounding in thanksgiving unto Jesus is a means of being rooted, built up in Him, and stabilized in faith. To abound in thanksgiving implies not just giving thanks to God sparingly or scantly but plentifully and abundantly as these other charges on thanksgiving reveal. “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20).
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the father by him” — (Colossians 3;15-17).
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6).

Gratitude to God by ceaselessly offering thanksgiving to Him in everything and for all things is one thing that steadies our faith God in this earth full of troubles and sorrows. Gratitude to God for all He did for us through Jesus Christ’s life, sufferings, death resurrection, victory helps to be God-conscious at all times and in case trouble comes our way thanksgiving keeps our focus on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith instead of on the problem. Being grateful for the victories of Jesus Christ our Lord helps one to stay in faith and rise above the negative emotions that lead to hopelessness. Gratitude lifts up burdens, uplifts us and encourages our heart.
Thanksgiving brings confidence into our spirit and a deep unshaken faith. Giving of thanks genuinely to God makes the heart to be fixated on God and this in turn makes it undivided, secure, steadfast and joyful. Gratitude in the face of life storms keeps the heart at rest, peace, joyful, healthy, hopeful and strong.

Try giving thanks to God always henceforth and see how your faith will become firm and steadfast.
GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.
©www[dot]lovelashblog[dot]com

1) GRATITUDE IS RESPONSE OF FAITH

The Scripture says, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). However, God in His love and mercy sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to the world to save us from all our sins. Whosoever that believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

God is Spirit, therefore invisible to the naked eyes (John 4:24; 1 Tim. 1:17). When we heard the gospel of His gracious salvation through His only begotten son Jesus Christ, we believed, confessed our sins to Him, cried to Him for deliverance. After praying we thanked Him for answering us and saving us despite the fact that we can’t see him. We thanked the invisible God because we know and are convinced that He has granted us His gracious salvation as we had prayed. This action of thanking Him is a response of faith.

Therefore, as we had started our faith walk by responding with thanksgiving, it is important to continue responding to God in gratitude of heart as we journey on in our walk with God as we are charged by Apostle Paul, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in faith , as you have being taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6-7).

For us to know the importance God attaches to our responding with thanksgiving in our faith walk, the Scripture reveals this, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 ). We can say that God’s ‘will’ stands for God’s utmost desires, that is, His ultimate wish. This is known as ‘His perfect will.’ A will is something binding; it is an obligation-something whose compliance is mandatory. This statement could be taken to mean that giving thanks to God in everything is God’s will and something mandatory for those who have received His gracious salvation through His only begotten son Jesus Christ. Since the just is mandated to live by faith, then he is also mandated to live a lifestyle of thanksgiving.

Our being told that giving Him thanks in everything is His will for us is one channeled towards our responding in faith in everything no matter what happens looking beyond the physical unto the finished work of Jesus Christ. In thanksgiving, our faith is keyed to Jesus Christ, the Rock of our salvation, the Author and finisher of our faith. We approach God on the spiritual ground and fellowship with Him on the spiritual ground too. Our spiritual ground is Jesus Christ; all that He did on the cross for us and all that is ours through Him. Our relationship with God takes place on this spiritual ground and is governed by the principle of the cross.

Responding to God in gratitude and giving thanks to Him in everything has always been God’s prescribed way of life for man whom God created in His own image and likeness and has given dominion over all things created (Psalm 8:5-8 ). Jesus Christ, our perfect example, lived an exemplary life of giving thanks to the Father in everything. All the godly characters in the Bible such as Abraham, Moses, King David, King Solomon, Daniel, Apostle Paul just to mention a few are all people of great faith in God. Interestingly, they are all thankful people and because of this they were able to live an acceptable life that pleases God and were greatly blessed.

Since responding in gratitude in everything is the will of God, then every believer is called to obey and give thanks unto God not only when they feel like and in favorable situations but when they do not feel like doing so and in unfavorable situations. The most important heartbeat of God for all the redeemed is for each and every one of us to do “His will” to ensure conformity to His wonderful plans and purposes for our lives.

If only the believers would obey God in giving Him thanks in everything and for all things, life would be like heaven on earth, we would enjoy divine blessings, be victorious in all areas of warfare and our joy would be like the river.

“Being grateful opens our heart, raises our vibrations and allows us to learn and grow” (Allison Kirley).

You must be determined to live a life that is pleasing unto God to enjoy Him by doing “His will” in living by faith and responding to everything with gratitude.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I

©copyright www[dot]lovelashblog[dot]com

1) GRATITUDE IS RESPONSE OF FAITH
The Scripture says, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). However, God in His love and mercy sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to the world to save us from all our sins. Whosoever that believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

God is Spirit, therefore invisible to the naked eyes (John 4:24; 1 Tim. 1:17). When we heard the gospel of His gracious salvation through His only begotten son Jesus Christ, we believed, confessed our sins to Him, cried to Him for deliverance. After praying we thanked Him for answering us and saving us despite the fact that we can’t see him. We thanked the invisible God because we know and are convinced that He has granted us His gracious salvation as we had prayed. This action of thanking Him is a response of faith.

Therefore, as we had started our faith walk by responding with thanksgiving, it is important to continue responding to God in gratitude of heart as we journey on in our walk with God as we are charged by Apostle Paul, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in faith , as you have being taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6-7).

For us to know the importance God attaches to our responding with thanksgiving in our faith walk, the Scripture reveals this, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 ). We can say that God’s ‘will’ stands for God’s utmost desires, that is, His ultimate wish. This is known as ‘His perfect will.’ A will is something binding; it is an obligation-something whose compliance is mandatory. This statement could be taken to mean that giving thanks to God in everything is God’s will and something mandatory for those who have received His gracious salvation through His only begotten son Jesus Christ. Since the just is mandated to live by faith, then he is also mandated to live a lifestyle of thanksgiving.

Our being told that giving Him thanks in everything is His will for us is one channeled towards our responding in faith in everything no matter what happens looking beyond the physical unto the finished work of Jesus Christ. In thanksgiving, our faith is keyed to Jesus Christ, the Rock of our salvation, the Author and finisher of our faith. We approach God on the spiritual ground and fellowship with Him on the spiritual ground too. Our spiritual ground is Jesus Christ; all that He did on the cross for us and all that is ours through Him. Our relationship with God takes place on this spiritual ground and is governed by the principle of the cross.

Responding to God in gratitude and giving thanks to Him in everything has always been God’s prescribed way of life for man whom God created in His own image and likeness and has given dominion over all things created (Psalm 8:5-. Jesus Christ, our perfect example, lived an exemplary life of giving thanks to the Father in everything. All the godly characters in the Bible such as Abraham, Moses, King David, King Solomon, Daniel, Apostle Paul just to mention a few are all people of great faith in God. Interestingly, they are all thankful people and because of this they were able to live an acceptable life that pleases God and were greatly blessed.

Since responding in gratitude in everything is the will of God, then every believer is called to obey and give thanks unto God not only when they feel like and in favorable situations but when they do not feel like doing so and in unfavorable situations. The most important heartbeat of God for all the redeemed is for each and every one of us to do “His will” to ensure conformity to His wonderful plans and purposes for our lives.

If only the believers would obey God in giving Him thanks in everything and for all things, life would be like heaven on earth, we would enjoy divine blessings, be victorious in all areas of warfare and our joy would be like the river.
“Being grateful opens our heart, raises our vibrations and allows us to learn and grow” (Allison Kirley).

You must be determined to live a life that is pleasing unto God to enjoy Him by doing "His will" in living by faith and responding to everything with gratitude.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.
©copyright www[dot];ovelashblog[dot]com

1) GRATITUDE IS RESPONSE OF FAITH
The Scripture says, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). However, God in His love and mercy sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to the world to save us from all our sins. Whosoever that believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

God is Spirit, therefore invisible to the naked eyes (John 4:24; 1 Tim. 1:17). When we heard the gospel of His gracious salvation through His only begotten son Jesus Christ, we believed, confessed our sins to Him, cried to Him for deliverance. After praying we thanked Him for answering us and saving us despite the fact that we can’t see him. We thanked the invisible God because we know and are convinced that He has granted us His gracious salvation as we had prayed. This action of thanking Him is a response of faith.

Therefore, as we had started our faith walk by responding with thanksgiving, it is important to continue responding to God in gratitude of heart as we journey on in our walk with God as we are charged by Apostle Paul, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in faith , as you have being taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6-7).

For us to know the importance God attaches to our responding with thanksgiving in our faith walk, the Scripture reveals this, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) . We can say that God’s ‘will’ stands for God’s utmost desires, that is, His ultimate wish. This is known as ‘His perfect will.’ A will is something binding; it is an obligation-something whose compliance is mandatory. This statement could be taken to mean that giving thanks to God in everything is God’s will and something mandatory for those who have received His gracious salvation through His only begotten son Jesus Christ. Since the just is mandated to live by faith, then he is also mandated to live a lifestyle of thanksgiving.

Our being told that giving Him thanks in everything is His will for us is one channeled towards our responding in faith in everything no matter what happens looking beyond the physical unto the finished work of Jesus Christ. In thanksgiving, our faith is keyed to Jesus Christ, the Rock of our salvation, the Author and finisher of our faith. We approach God on the spiritual ground and fellowship with Him on the spiritual ground too. Our spiritual ground is Jesus Christ; all that He did on the cross for us and all that is ours through Him. Our relationship with God takes place on this spiritual ground and is governed by the principle of the cross.

Responding to God in gratitude and giving thanks to Him in everything has always been God’s prescribed way of life for man whom God created in His own image and likeness and has given dominion over all things created (Psalm 8:5-. Jesus Christ, our perfect example, lived an exemplary life of giving thanks to the Father in everything. All the godly characters in the Bible such as Abraham, Moses, King David, King Solomon, Daniel, Apostle Paul just to mention a few are all people of great faith in God. Interestingly, they are all thankful people and because of this they were able to live an acceptable life that pleases God and were greatly blessed.

Since responding in gratitude in everything is the will of God, then every believer is called to obey and give thanks unto God not only when they feel like and in favorable situations but when they do not feel like doing so and in unfavorable situations. The most important heartbeat of God for all the redeemed is for each and every one of us to do “His will” to ensure conformity to His wonderful plans and purposes for our lives.

If only the believers would obey God in giving Him thanks in everything and for all things, life would be like heaven on earth, we would enjoy divine blessings, be victorious in all areas of warfare and our joy would be like the river.
“Being grateful opens our heart, raises our vibrations and allows us to learn and grow” (Allison Kirley).

You must be determined to live a life that is pleasing unto God to enjoy Him by doing "His will" in living by faith and responding to everything with gratitude.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I
©copyright www.lovelashblog[dot]com

Testifying about God’s goodness and blessings in our lives to our family, among our friends and associates, non-believers or in the congregation of believers is a very important aspect of our worship.

Unfortunately most people avoid doing this very important aspect of our worship for reasons best known to them which when put together amounts to ingratitude.

Our God is a good God, the most Benevolent, the most gracious and the most Merciful. He willingly and freely blesses and does so many good and valuable things for and in the lives of all mankind both the believers and unbelievers alike.

Some of His goodness and blessing are graciously and commonly given to us all and without fail on daily bases year in year out (Ps.65:11; 68:9). Such blessings include, life, sunlight, fresh air, water, food, sleep, protection, provisions, peace, love, grace, good health, strength, vitality, nature, family, neighbors, friends, safety, capabilities, opportunities, privileges, animals, birds, rivers, sky, stars, moon and several others grouped as His mundane blessings of life. Can anyone imagine what life would be like without all these things?

Some of His blessings are graciously given specifically to individuals in answers to specific prayer requests for healing, provision, deliverances, new house, new cars, new births, promotion, school admission, graduation, safe child birth, marriage, new job, deliverance from accident and several others. At other times these blessings and goodness are given to individuals even without asking or praying for them from His bowels of love, kindness and Mercies because He knows we need them. I doubt if there is any one human that can claim not to have been blessed by God because there is nothing anyone has or become that is not from Him the father from whom all blessings flow (Jam.1:17).

It is expected of us all to show gratitude to God for all His goodness and blessings to us by offering Him thanksgiving and also testify to others of them. However, only a handful of people show their gratitude to God by coming forward to offer their thanksgiving to God and to also testify of His goodness and blessings to them. When they do this it is for what they consider to be a special and important blessing of God. They hardly do the same for His uncountable mundane goodness and blessings that we have all around each day, year-in year-out. Giving thanks to God and testifying about His specific blessings is as good and important as giving Him thanks and testifying about His mundane blessings.

Ironically, those blessings we regard as “mundane” and hardly thank God for or testify about to others because we assumed such things are too ordinary, common, or normal things are very vital to our existence without which we cannot enjoy the special blessings given. No blessing from God is too small or insignificant to testify about.

As against the erroneous popular belief in certain quarters that the evil ones will tamper with God’s blessings received if testified of publicly, testifying about God’s goodness and blessings in our lives publicly are actually powerful spiritual weapons against Satan and his cohorts as the Scripture reveals, “and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony…” (Rev.12:11). Testifying about any of God’s blessings in Jesus name puts a tamper proof seal of God on it. Know that no satanic power by whatever name can tamper or undo what God has done and testified of in Jesus name. Jesus is “Yea and Amen” and any testimony in His name is permanent (2 Cor. 1:20).

When we testify to others of God’s doing and blessings in our lives, we acknowledge Him and ascribe to Him His due and by so doing we glorify and honor Him. Our testifying of God’s blessings before unbelievers are proofs that our Lord Jesus Christ is alive, good, powerful and still doing wonders. By testifying of His goodness and blessings in the congregation of believers we affirm His faithfulness and encourage others faith in Him and by so doing the body of Christ is edified.

ASCRIBE UNTO THE LORD HONOR AND GLORY DUE HIS NAME BY TESTIFYING OF HIS GOODNESS AND BLESSINGS TO YOU TO OTHERS (PS. 29:2).

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I
©Copyright www.lovelashblog,com

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Much has been written so far regarding the important roles gratitude of heart to God plays in our worship. However, any writeup on worship without discussing the Holy Spirit, His help and His manifestations in worship is not complete. This is because the Holy Spirit is our worship-enabler. He is the revealer of the truth of God and the one that helps us to worship God in Spirit as expected and not superficially nor with mere lip service.

The Holy Spirit is real and so are His manifestations. Therefore, they are supposed to be real in the believer’s life and in the body of Christ as a whole. The manifestations of the Holy Spirit in a believer was a source of strength, power, spiritual gifts, edification and help during the individual and congregational worship among the early New Testament Christians. Among His manifestations are those mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10, which are word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gift of healing, working of miracles, discerning of spirits, divers kinds of tongues, prophecy and interpretation of tongues. He also gives the ministry gifts of the church such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:4-12). Among the purposes of these gifts of the spirit is to manifest the grace, power and love among God's people in their public gatherings, homes, families and individual lives (1 Cor. 12:4-7; 14:25; Romans 15:18-19; Eph. 4:8 ). The Holy Spirit is that which helps us to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

Pathetically, such supernatural manifestations cannot be said to be the case in our days. Why? Is the Holy Spirit no longer in existence? Or has such manifestations ceased? Not at all! Then what? Our problem is attitudinal.

It is unfortunate that in the present day dispensation, worship is still being done based on, man’s natural skills, efforts and understanding thereby leading to mechanical and superficially and mere lip-service worship. We still worship according to man’s laid down doctrines and not according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, our worship services though may look lively, very entertaining and impressive yet are not impactful. People come with burdens and go back home the same, if not worst off because it lacks God’s presence and power (Psalm 16:11). No moves of the Holy Spirit. Lack of the manifestations of the gifts of the spirit such as mentioned in 1 Cor. 12 in the midst of God’s peoples gatherings/worship is what is responsible for the influx of Christians to fake pastors and fake prophets.

Worship under the control of the spirit is not about singing melodious songs whether slowly or otherwise, it is not about loud shouting and noise. It is not about body shaking or good legwork dances. It is not about being emotional, sobbing and crying, neither is it about loud and noisy prayers as many believe. These are just outward forms of worship. True worship is about worshiping before the presence of God doing everything according to the way He wants to be worshipped with our whole heart, in holiness, righteousness, humility and love and in spirit and in truth by the leading and control of the Holy spirit.

Worship by God’s design is an avenue for individuals and the body of Christ to meet with Him, enjoy His presence and receive His blessings. To achieve this, He gave us the Holy Spirit to help us live right and do things the way pleasing unto Him (Roman 8:6-8 ).

The Holy Spirit is a very great and wonderful gift of God Himself to the believers and in the believers. The Holy Spirit is everything Jesus is; same attributes and character that He is; He is Omnipotent, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Infinite, Eternal, True, Invisible, Immutable, perfect, holy, good, compassionate, and so on. It is because of who He is that He is capable of doing the works Jesus mentioned of Him in John 16:7-15. The Holy Spirit also causes the believer who obeys and submits to him to bear the fruits of the spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). It is the Holy Spirit that gives sonship (Romans 8: 14-17). The Holy Spirit quickens us and spread abroad our hearts God's love. He helps one us to pray (Romans 8:26-27). Jesus did all He did by Him and through Him because He is the presence of the Father in Him and with Him.

Ironically, He is the least acknowledged, loved and appreciated of the Trinity by individuals and by the body of Christ as a whole in our generation and this has proved to be a great loss for us.

It is the desire of Jesus to manifest himself through individuals and His body but can only do this if one willingly submits oneself to His Spirit indwelling us. The reason why He manifested powerfully in the lives of the early Christians was because they surrendered totally to Him and his leadings and gave Him recognition. They cherished him, obeyed him, appreciated him, depended on him, submitted unto him and they made their hearts habitable for Him.

The Holy Spirit is very, very holy as the name reveals. He out of the trinity is the one that is easily grieved by the slightest sin and any negativities and sadness because He is the Spirit of holiness, Joy, Love and peace. Our sins and other negativities of our heart darkens the heart thereby making it uninhabitable for Him to stay. This is the reason we were advised not to walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit because when the Holy Spirit comes into operation as the believers commit themselves to obey Him, they find a new power operating within, a power that allows them to overcome sin and to do what pleases God (Romans 7:4-5, 13-14).

As said earlier, being in the attitude of gratitude of heart to God illuminates the heart, fills it with love, joy and peace thereby making it the right atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to stay and make manifestations.

Do you acknowledge and recognize the Holy Spirit for who He is as the Spirit of the living God and Jesus? Do you recognize Him as the greatest helper Jesus made available for you to have and to hold concerning every area of your spirituality? He is a person and a friend. Be intimate with Him and enjoy His unlimited powers by acknowledging, communicating and appreciating Him.

When last did you thank God for the gift of His indwelling Holy Spirit in you and others? When last did you in gratitude acknowledge the presence and person of the Holy Spirit, His gifts and His workings in you? Spend time by thanking and praising the Holy Spirit for each of His attributes, works, and manifestations. Always tell Him how wonderful He is and how much you love and cherish Him in your heart. Thank and praise Him for His spiritual manifestations in the lives of others and the body of Christ as a whole and how much you desire such manifestations. Doing these will make you experience Him.

Allowing the Holy Spirit His rightful place in your life ends all fleshy struggling and worship because He leads, directs, instructs, teaches and guides in the way one should go, do and say things and have results spiritually. Experience the sweetness of the Holy Spirit as you worship with a heart of gratitude.

GOD LOVES YOU SO DO I.
www.lovelashblog.com
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Serving the Lord to a lot of people means working as a clergy, evangelist, missionary, and being involved in any type of work in God’s vineyard. This is not the total truth. The fact is that we are all God’s servants (Psalm 119:91). This implies any honest and good work/job one is involved in no matter the name and classification and location with or without salary, as long as it is for the glory of God and for the benefit of humanity and creation as a whole is service unto God.

The earth and heaven are the handwork of God, and belong to Him and He has ultimate rule and care over it (Genesis Chapter 1). However, He delegated some of His authority and care of the earth and all He created in it to man whom He created in His own image and likeness and equipped with abilities, strength, talents for the different tasks with the charge, “be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). This implies we (humans) are His assigned co-workers, his workmanship and tenants of His landed property (Psalm 119: 91; Eph. 2:10). Work is our reasonable service unto God and humanity. What a great opportunity and responsibility!

Although, some consider specific jobs to be more superior or honorable than others, this is not so. For every work that one is involved in that is good, honest, and does not hurt another, provides shelter over one’s head, puts food on one’s table and cloth on one’s back is important and an honorable job and is as good as the other. All jobs are important. Anywhere one does any work or the other for one self and others be it at home, office, market, field, hospital, church, school, farm and several other places is one’s office. The overall Paymaster is God and He will judge and pay everyman according to his/her work (Eccl.12: 14; Rev 20:13; Col 3:23-25).

Therefore, God specified how He wanted us to carry out our services unto Him. God commanded that we serve him with all our heart and soul, doing all things unto him in love, righteousness, fear, humility and gladness (Deuteronomy 11:13; Psalm 100:2-3). This implies it is expected of us all as God’s servants to be glad, diligent, humble, righteous, hardworking and faithful in whatever capacity we serve giving no room to complaining, murmuring, laziness, pride, wickedness and unfaithfulness.

How can we achieve this?

We can accomplish this by being in an attitude of gratitude as we carry out our jobs as charged by Apostle Paul, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to god and the father by him.” (Col. 3:17). Gratitude of heart energizes one for service; it keeps the body healthy and strong, and the heart rejoicing. Gratitude leads to commitment, loyalty and faithfulness. Everyman is expected to humble faithful and to rejoice in his work by being thankful unto God for our work.

It is a great privilege to have something doing, to have the strength, wisdom, and ability to do it. Knowing that some who are better than us who wished to be able to do what we do but are not so privileged or opportune, or strong to do so would make us appreciate our work. It is therefore important that we are grateful to God for all He enables us to do.

As we carry out our duties in the consciousness of God, with great rejoicing and thanksgiving, worship takes place. Actually worship as our duty implies using every aspect of our lives and doings exclusively to minister to God.

No one can ever gain anything tangible from any job/work by complaining and murmuring about it but by being grateful for it. No one can be committed and faithful in any job one does not love or is not happy about. Appreciate God for your work because promotion comes only from Him.

Have you thanked God for your Job today? Your complaining and grumbling about what you are doing could be the reason you are still marking time on one spot? Be glad and appreciate God for that job that feeds you and takes care of your daily needs.

When you do your work in gratitude and as unto the Lord, you would put in your very best either you are being watched or not. Commit whatever you are doing unto the Lord and be grateful and you shall be blessed.
How grateful are you unto God for that job you are doing?

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.
www.lovelashblog.com
©copyright

Are you an ulcer patient? Treat it and drink plenty water daily, eat well and on time too.

Jesus commissioned all his followers - those who have experienced God’s gracious salvation by faith in Him of every generation to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt, 28:19 ). This is known as the great commission and it affirms God’s word that we are all His witnesses in Isa.40:10. Preaching the Gospel is the responsibility of all Christians and not a duty reserved for the Pastors, Evangelists, and the Missionaries alone.

The salvation of all mankind is the heartbeat of God and for this reason, Jesus came, suffered and died a shameful death on the cross of Calvary that all men might be saved. Therefore, we are called to witness about God, His great love and His willingness to forgive, to save and to deliver all who come to Him through faith in Jesus' finished work. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Captain of our salvation commanded us to preach repentance and remission of sins in his name among all nations (Luke 24:47 ). The Holy Spirit outpouring is to facilitate this (Acts 1:8 ).

Therefore, it is expected of all that have experienced God’s gracious salvation to tell others about it, so that they can come to the saving knowledge of God and embrace His salvation too. This is our duty.

One of the things done by the priests in the Old Testament was the proclamation of God, His Holiness, and mercies to the people. Jesus paid the price with His precious blood to make us priests and kings unto God and His Father therefore as priests, dare we not proclaim God’s salvation to the perishing people and save their souls from eternal damnation?

When we tell others about God, most especially about His Salvation, and win souls for Him, we worship Him.

Why are many Christians not obeying the great commission to do it? The answer is simply because many of us don’t appreciate all that Jesus did and went through on the cross of Calvary for the salvation of our souls. That songwriter of the song, ‘WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS’ in appreciation of Jesus’ sufferings, pains and sorrows for our salvation wrote this,

“See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small:
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Proclamation of God’s salvation, goodness and love for him was something king David was not tired of doing as revealed in many of his Psalms such as Psa. 18;51; 138;145. This he did out of gratitude to God.

Unless we appreciate the awesome grace of God’s gracious salvation extended to us, we would likely lack the compassion to show the unsaved the way of salvation. Those Jesus healed in gratitude spread the news about him. It was gratitude that made Paul totally give his all to the proclamation of the Gospel. Apostle Paul charged us to preach saying, “preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-sufferings and doctrine (2 Tim. 4:2).

If anyone is grateful to God for His salvation such a person will not be silent or ashamed to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the unsaved. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16 ).

If only God would open our eyes of understanding to know the extent of what embracing His gracious salvation has done for us we would proclaim Him to the whole world even with our last breath.

Show your appreciation to God for the Salvation of your soul today by telling someone about His great love for humanity that made Jesus Christ die for our sins on the cross of Calvary.

Thank you Jesus for the Salvation of my soul.
GOD LOVES YOU SO DO I.

www.lovelashblog.com
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The Lord God ordained the fasting on the Day of Atonement as a part of worship for the Israelites. Lev.16:19, 31. Our Lord Jesus Christ fasted too, Matt.4:1,2. This makes fasting an act of worship for the New Testament believers. Fasting has to do with setting apart a time and abstaining from physical nourishment mostly to seek the face of God. Notable people in the Bible such as Daniel (Dan. 9:3), David (Sam.7:5, , Esther (Esth.4:16), Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 11:20) and other people practiced fasting to seek the face of God for so many things such as forgiveness of sin, healing, deliverance, favour, guidance, and several other things. When done correctly it is a very effective way of seeking and receiving from God. However, when done wrongly, apart from the fact that it can be very discouraging, one does not receive the blessings of God and this can be very frustrating. I undertook several of the wrong fastings in the past before I learned of the right attitude to maintain while fasting.

It is important to remember that fasting is an act of worship. As an act of worship, it implies it is something done to honor God, therefore it is not a once-a-year thing but an exercise to be undertaken from time to time both congregationally and individually. And because it is an act of worship, it must be done in repentance, faith, love, gratitude, humility, reverentially, sincerity, in spirit, and in truth. This is the basic area many of us get it wrong when fasting and later complain of unanswered prayers. All that many people do when fasting is murmuring, bitter complaints, accusations, hatred and bitterness of heart, sorrowing, weeping, and sadness. Some even go to the extent of afflicting themselves hitting themselves on the ground, and doing other injurious things to their bodies. Some would so wear themselves out with hunger and dehydration due to so many days of total abstinence from food and water and grieving that they become so weak and sick to even open their mouths to pray. All some others do throughout the fasting period is cursing and swearing for their enemies. God condemned this type of fasting in Isaiah 58: 2-5. All these negate God’s moral character. God is merciful, gracious, understanding, forgiving, loving, and compassionate. He has no delight in human suffering and wickedness in seeking His face. His worship is not burdensome at all.

Furthermore, some people pride themselves in the number of days they fasted and what they abstained from while fasting. Apart from the ordained days of congregational fasting in the laws of Moses which on most occasions are not more than one day, there is nowhere in the Old and New testament were any particular type of fasting be it; total abstinence, partial, white, night and whatever name of fasting is ordained for any, neither were there prescribed number of days such as 3 days, 7 days, 21, 40, 100. All the individuals that fasted in the Bible choose to do so by themselves.

God tells us in Isaiah 58: 6-7 what could be regarded as the principles of true fasting (a) loose the bonds of wickedness (b) undo the bonds of yokes (c) let the oppressed go free (d) Break every yoke (e) feeding the poor (f) sheltering the homeless (g) clothing the unclothed (h) assisting your own flesh and blood ( family members). Can you see that! The fasting period is a time of a change of attitude and doing good works of charity. God told us what He would do when we do our fasting correctly in Isa. 58: 8-12. The truth is that genuine fasting is not about the length of days and what one abstained from doing. What matters most is the condition of the heart. The heart seeking God in fasting must be humble, kind, loving, and generous with good intentions and good works towards the poor and the needy. All these are things a heart full of gratitude to God would find very easy to do.

Jesus, the bridegroom has been taken from us so we must fast. However, fasting is no longer a time to sorrow or wear long faces or wear sack cloths or afflict the body and soul but it is a time to worship God with thanksgiving. This is because Jesus has gone through all our pains and sorrows for us and has given us the spirit of gladness. God meets only those who rejoice (Isa. 64:5).

Jesus assured us that God will answer us in His name. The fasting period is a time of drawing near to God in boldness, confidence, joy, and gratitude for all Jesus’ promises and removal of sins that is a great barrier between us and God’s blessings. Try fasting with an attitude of gratitude to God and good works to the poor and the needy and see how your needs would be met by God.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.
www.lovelashblog.com

pstemma1990:
Good morning to u all, I decided to post this here because I believe I can get some positive response.... From the topic u can guess/ understand what I'm talking about...

But I'll go into few details, I'm not writing this on behalf of anyone, it's my own personal experience 100 percent....

I'm from Imo state Nigeria.... My grandma served and Idol called"Eze-Nwanyi" according to what I heard, she carried it from her own father's house, when she got married to my grandfather... She pleaded with my grandpa to Join her in serving the idol, but he refused...

So the idol got angry and started killing thier children, they had 11 children, non was sick, someone will just shout from dream, and that'll be all... 11 of then died the same way... Including my father... And my father was the only one that married before dying... The other 10 did not marry... He died in 1997, and 3 years later my mother died... That's 20+ years now...

My grandma and grandpa later died as well, but they buied all thier children B4 dying...

I left the village around 2006, I've seen hell, I can't write all that I've seen or been through, but I still see this spirit almost every night, including last night... I do battle with them every night, sometimes I'll wake up with my eyes red, even people would be asking me what happened....

I came to Abj since 2006 but I can't point at anything, I don't smoke, I don't womanize and I don't drink... But trouble always come from no where that I'll have to start from zero again... And I'm not getting younger.... I've prayed all the prayers that I know...in 2015 I did 1 year night vigil because those guys were pressing me every second...

Now I'm considering going to the village to appease them... Not necessarily serving them... But I said I should seek for advice here.... Pardon any grammatical blunder..

Sorry for your sad experiences. Please, don't ever try to appease them. Know that your being alive till now is an indication that God has great love and interest in you. You will not die but live and fulfil your days on earth in Jesus name.
I can sense that the number of deaths in your family has created very great fear in you. Fear not, because fear torments greatly. Be bold and confess your victory in Jesus over those powers. Pray more and renew your mind by changing those terrible defeating thoughts and confessions of yours to victorious thoughts and confessions. May God help you to remain strong in Him in Jesus name. You can email me if you like nifemilash@gmail.com

Another element of our worship is a regular reading of the Bible either privately or congregationally. This implies setting aside time every day to read and meditate on the written word of God compiled into a book called the Holy Bible.
God's word represents His revelations in general and this includes:
a) His promises.
b) Laws - His revealed will, which directs a person in a right relationship to him.
c) Statutes - rules concerning righteous living
d) The commandments - rules and guiding principles for.
e) The judgments - laws governing social life
f) The testimony - God's words which testify to his character and will. They are altogether very pure, righteous, wonderful, and perfect, and faithful (Ps, 19:7-9; 119:86).

God's words are good for us in several ways (i) "...the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. (ii) the word of God is creative, has the power to sustain, and impact new life. (iii) the word of God releases grace, power, and revelation - Psalm 19:7-12. (iv) the word of God is the sword of the spirit. (v) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" - 2 Timothy 3: 15-17. (vi) the word of God is a lamp to our feet. (vii) It enlightens and giveth understanding (Ps. 119: 104, 130). Reading the word of God daily does to the spirit of man what eating balanced diet food does to the physical human body - Ps.119:93.
It is pertinent to note that although many Christians have Bibles, they hardly read them. Some don't even own a Bible and talk less of reading it. Some who managed to have one use it for decoration or an object to keep under the pillow. All this happens because they don't appreciate the Bible as God's wonderful gift to mankind.

Those that appreciate God, love Him and those that love Him appreciate, delight and love His word (Psalm 119:47, 127). They are eager to hear it (Isaiah 1:10; Jeremiah 7:1-2; Acts 17: 11). They seek to understand it (Matthew 13:23) and rejoices in it. They keep it because it is sweet to them (Psalm 119:103; 116:162; Psalm 119:4, 16, 47, 113). They hide it in their heart and trust it because they know it is of great value. They place their hope in the promises and they also obey Him because they know that promises are like them that made them. They obey and love it because they know it has the power to judge - Psalm 119:11, 13.
One would say "Thank you Lord for your word" as King David did as one considers the wonders, value, and benefit of His words as pointed out in Psalm 19: 7-11.

We really thank God for The Holy Bible, all the people He used to compile and publish it to the extent that it has been translated into several languages. We thank God for all those who made financial contributions to make it affordable.
The more we read, meditate, listen, hearken, love, take delight in His words, have faith and trust in his words, the more we would be resolute and revolve to remain loyal, committed and obedient to God's word for life. This in turn helps us see life from God's perspective, value what He values, and love what He loves.
Be thankful unto God for the gift of the Bible by reading it always. "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shall meditate therein day and night, that thou may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." Joshua 1:8.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.
www.lovelasblog,com

Jesus instituted the Lord’s supper the night before His crucifixion and death as recorded in Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14: 22-25; Lk. 22:15-20. And it has become one unique element of worship in the New Testament worship since after the Pentecost in obedience to Jesus that it should be done in remembrance of his death on the cross of calvary for the believers' redemption from sin and condemnation (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11) and to fellowship with Christ and the participation in the benefits of his sacrificial death as well as fellowship with other members of His body just to mention a few (1 Cor. 10:16-17).

Of great concern is the gloominess associated with the faces of the communicants, the sober and solemn hymns and choruses and general gloomy atmosphere during the Lord’s supper communion services. Agreed that sadness and sorrow characterized the first breaking and taking of the bread (the last supper) by Jesus and His disciples because of his imminent betrayal, desertion and death. Then, does that mean sadness and gloominess is part of how He asked us to administer the Lord’s supper in remembrance of Him? It isn’t! Or is it because Apostle Paul cautioned that none should partake in the Lord’s supper in an unworthy manner (1 Cor.11:27-29)? It isn’t either!

Thanksgiving was a key element of the last supper as done by Jesus Himself. Jesus, despite knowing what was to befall Him prayed a prayer of thanksgiving before He broke the bread; likewise the Apostles and the early church followed the pattern of giving of thanks before breaking of the bread. The Lord’s supper is supposed to be a thanksgiving celebration for the blessings and salvation of God made available by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross (Mat. 26:27-28; Mark 14:23; Lk 22:19).

Oh that man will have an in depth understanding of all that Jesus Christ accomplished for mankind. Jesus’ death is the height of God’s great love and mercy for mankind. Therefore, every Holy communion service should be that of thanksgiving unto Jesus for all that is ours through Him.

In this era characterized with powerful manifestations and testimonies of the power and victory of Jesus in the lives of believers, a prove that His death is not in vain and that He is alive, the Lord’s Supper service is supposed to be a service of great rejoicing, thanksgiving and praises to God in remembrance and meditation on all the benefits that has become ours as a result of Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection and ascension. Doing it this way brings more conviction of the terribleness of sin and drives one to our knees because thanksgiving reaches to the cross and to our resurrected Christ, takes hold of one or more of the wonderful things His death has afforded for us.

I believe this is the best way to remember His death and not hanging heads and drooping shoulders that are nothing but emotional bouts whose effect last for as long as the communion service lasts but no impact on one’s spiritual life. God is worthy of our lifelong thanksgiving for all we benefit from Christ’s sufferings and sacrificial death and the promise of His coming back for his followers.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO L

www.lovelashblog.com

Giving gifts to God has been an integral part of worshipping God from time immemorial. This implies that it has been in practice before God instituted it as an act of worship in the Temple worship of the Israelites of old. It is an act of voluntary worshipping God with our substances as gifts to Him in recognition, acknowledging and honoring Him as God and our Creator, the rightful owner and giver of our very being and all we have (Gen. 1:26-27; Acts 17:28; Job 1:21; John 3:27; 1 Cor. 4:7).

God instituted giving unto Him as part of worship both in the Old Testament and new Testament as an act of love, honor, dependence and gratitude to Him and not “as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.” (Acts 17:25). God is self-sufficient and self-sustained and does not need anything from any of His creatures! He does not spend money nor eats food. He instituted giving as part of our worship as a means of providing for the upkeep of the religious leaders, the building of the place of worship and its maintenance and for the care of the poor and the needy - widows, orphans, strangers (Exodus 25:1-2; 2 Chron. 24:8-10; Acts 11: 28-30; Acts 20:33-35; Gal 6:9-10). In the Old Testament the Israelites do these through tithes offerings, freewill offerings and sacrifices as ordained by God for them. They are referred to as offerings because they are considered as gifts - something done willing and voluntary.

In the New Covenant the doctrine of giving as a means of worship remains, however based on the fulfillment of the mosaic laws and demands of the animal sacrificial system by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the animal sacrifices has been done away with. However, giving as an act of worship and the list of those entitled (our spiritual leaders, the poor and the needy) still remain topmost (1 Cor. 9: 9-11; 1 Tim. 5:8 ). However the New Testament giving has assumed a wider dimension. Giving is no longer limited to substance or monetary gifts alone but also humanitarianly, that is in our words, actions and self. It is also no longer by percentage (a tithe 10%) or by measure but by the leading of the Holy Spirit and the grace bestowed upon each individual believer in demonstration of the spirit life and style of Jesus giving.

This aspect of our worship is an area many of us are finding too difficult to be faithful. Many at times, people have to be coaxed and cajoled, before they give to meet crucial needs in the Church or the welfare of those in need as expected of them. Even when they give, they do so with so much murmuring, grumbling and complain. Why all these negative attitude? One major reason responsible for this is lack of gratitude!

Giving to God generously and cheerfully in worship is a response of love and gratitude! Gratitude from a heart that acknowledges God as the source of all one possesses makes one part with generous amount of money as offerings or to give the complete tithe in this hard economic times. Gratitude of heart to God motivates us to willingly and cheerfully give tithes and offerings because it recounts God’s immeasurable goodness, mercies and past faithfulness and sees beyond the seeming insurmountable present needs calling for attention to God who is able to do exceedingly above what we can ever think or ask. Gratitude of heart makes one cheerfully give to the poor and the needy and also render help where need be as unto the Lord in appreciation to Him as our ever present help in times of need in the ages past and our hope for the years to come.

Givers such as Abraham, King David, King Solomon, and Mary the sister of Martha, all gave out of love and gratitude to God. Giving not borne out of gratitude, honor and love amounts to nothing (1Cor. 13:1; 2 Cor. 8:2-3; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; 1 Cor. 16:2; 1Tim. 6: 17-18). Few examples of New Testament believers givers can be found in Acts 2:44-45; Acts 4: 34-35; Acts 11:28-30; Phil. 4:16-17; 1Tim. 6:18.

Those who worship God with their substances and gifts cheerfully and generously are people of faith and gratitude who don’t give with the ulterior motive of receiving in return but for love, devotion and for giving sake. They know it is a great privilege to give to God and also that we came to this world naked, we own nothing and we shall go with nothing. True worshipers don’t wait to be told or coaxed and cajoled to give. They actually look around for areas to be involved.

Your giving to meet the need of the Church and people in need just like every other acts of kindness might not be seen or appreciated by man, but know that whatever you do unto any man is unto God and will surely not go unrewarded by Him who sees not as man sees, and judges the heart and reins to determine its intent.

Giving to God in worship is good, enjoyable and rewarding (Deut. 15:4; Mal 3: 10-12; Mat. 19:21; I Tim 6:18-19; Psa. 41:1-3). It opens doors that prayers may at times not open. Your giving is storing up treasures in heaven for yourself and the release of supernatural, unanticipated blessings of God.

Givers never lack!

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.
www.lovelashblog.com

Making of vows to God is an act of our worship. Notable men and women among whom are Jacob in Gen 28:20; 31:13 Hannah (1 Sam. 1:11; 15: and Jephthah in Judges 11:30-31 were known to have made vows to God when in desperate need of His quick interventions in their situations. God answered them and they paid their vows to God (Genesis 31:3; 1 Sam. 15:8; Judges 11:35-39).

God being a faithful God will never fail to fulfill His own part of granting whatever one requests of Him with a vow. The truth however is that oftentimes, it is not very easy on the part of man to fulfill a vow made to God when he has received what he requested from Him. Vows are meant to be fulfilled without delay. Unpaid vows are very serious debts owed God.

Gratitude of heart unto God for granting one’s requests is one thing that propels one to willingly and readily fulfills one’s vow as could be seen in the life of Hannah, Jonah and Jephthah.

Every vow made is binding on the person that made the vow. None payment of vows to God is among the things that could make one displease Him and also what could cause hindrances to receiving answers to one’s prayers. God remembers and holds on to all unpaid vows made to Him and commanded us sayings, “... pay thy vows to the Most High... ” (Psalm 50:14).

It is better not to pledge a vow unto God than to make such vows and fail to fulfill them (Deut. 23: 21-24; Ecc. 5: 4-6; Psalm 76: 11; Job 22:27).
Don't be an ingrate, resolve today as Jonah did to redeem whatever you have vowed to God, “But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed, Salvation is of the Lord.” (Jonah 2:9).

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.

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Prayers which refer to the different ways of communicating with God are of different types such as petition 1Sam.1:17; supplication 1Kings. 8:33; intercession Gen. 20:7; warfare Psalm 3:7: decrees Joshua 10:12-14. We are commanded to do this in 1 Chro. 16:11; Psalm 105:4; Is. 55:6; Amos 5:6; Matt. 26:41; Luke 18: 1; John 16:24; Eph 6:17-18; Col. 4:2; 1Thes 5:17. Prayer is an act of worship that acknowledges and recognizes God as our personal God, Father and our dependence on Him. It is a means of maintaining our relationship with God. It is a necessary link to receiving God’s blessing and power and the fullness of His promises.

As children of God, prayer is something we are all expected to do easily, effectively and without ceasing (Luke 18:1). However, we know how painstaking and tasking prayers could be. So how do we get started in the first instance with prayer from the heart that has so many things contesting for attention in it? How can prayer be enjoyable as to do it without ceasing as requested of us by our Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 18:1? How can our prayers be effective in getting God’s attention and answers to our prayers?

The best way of achieving all of the above is praying with a heart saturated with gratitude. Gratitude of heart to Him for being a prayer-answering God, gratitude for the privilege and freedom He has given us to make our requests to Him and the assurance of granting us our requests when we pray in Jesus name. A heart that gratefully remembers and recounts previous answered prayers, blessings and His goodness in one’s life finds prayer very interesting and rewarding. A grateful heart acknowledges God and is drawn to Him in love by communication regularly with Him. Gratitude of heart makes one come boldly and regularly before the throne of God with confidence that He hears us always. A grateful heart recognizes and acknowledges God as the Most Benevolent who daily keeps us alive and also daily loads us with benefits (Psalm 68:19). A grateful heart is a heart that depends on God for all its needs. It is a heart that focuses and greatly rejoices in the Lord from whom all good and perfect gifts flow. It is a heart that has faith and confidence in God’s power to solve any problems brought to Him (Mark 9:23; Heb. 10:23). Prayers of adorations, petition and intercession flow effortlessly from a thankful heart.

Prayer saddled with a list of give me this and that is boring and tiring, while one with a list of God’s blessings well integrated with thanksgiving makes one glad and rejoicing. It makes one not to be mindful of time spent praying; a prayer of five hours would seem like 15 minutes. Praying with an attitude of gratitude makes prayer easy, interesting and effective to do. Prayer from the depth of a heart of gratitude is one that does not take offence in God, breaks into God’s presence and attracts His attention and gets quick response as the prayers Jesus prayed at the tomb of Lazarus John 11:41-44. King David the man God referred to as the man after His heart perfected the art of praying with a heart full of gratitude. Apostle Paul who could be considered a champion in prayers mingled with thanksgiving commanded us to pray all manners of prayers always with thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6). Apostle Paul frequently began his letters with a mixture of supplications and thanksgiving (Romans 1:8-9; Col. 1: 13: 1 Thes. 1:2: 2 Tim. 1:3; Phil.1:3-4).

Prayer of thanksgiving during trialing periods as Abraham, David and Daniel did strengthens one’s faith in God and keeps hope alive. A critical study of all the effective prayers in the Bible notably that of our Lord Jesus all revealed gratitude as the bane of hearty prayers. Prayer becomes more interesting and effective when it is that of gratitude because doing so is praying according to God’s will (1Thes. 5:18; 1John. 5:14). A lifestyle of gratitude leads to a lifestyle of effective prayers.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.
www.lovelashblog.com

Praising God is an act of worship and it plays an important role in our private and congregational worship. Praising God could be done by singing psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, musical instruments, and with verbal words of telling others about His doings.
The whole Bible abounds with exhortations to all people to praise God such as seen in 1 Chron. 16:23; Psalm 22: 22-25; 111:1; 95:1; 96: 1-2; Rom. 15:9-11, James 3: 9; 5:13; Heb. 2:12; 1 Peter 2:9 and several other parts of scripture. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior praised God (Mat. 11:25; Luke 10:21).

As pointed out earlier in chapter One that praise could be mechanical and when it is this way it is unacceptable to God, therefore it has to be spiritual and from the depth of one's heart. On a candid note, how easy is it to truly praise God from the depth of our hearts? On most occasions when there is a call to praise God, all most of us do is to keep on muttering "Oh God I worship you, I glorify you God ", "Hallelujah" repeatedly, or just mouthing God's attributes already memorized when they don't even understand what they are saying. Even those who might have memorized certain attributes of God's nature and character often find themselves getting confused and lost for words and would be wondering what happens. All these happened because a very vital thing is missing. For praises to flow forth freely out of the lips, there must be an overflowing of love and gratitude to God from the heart. This is because out of the abundance of gratitude of the heart unto God the mouth pours out His praises! This King David knew well and had to pray for the opening of his mouth so that his lips will pour forth praises when the sin he committed overwhelmed his spirit and he couldn't praise God! (Psalm 51:15).

And what can make the heart full of love for God that would overflow out in praises through the lips? Gratitude of course! Gratitude to God is the mechanism that spurs us to praise and also keep on praising tirelessly. A close study of all the songs of praises in the Scriptures reveals this.
A grateful heart is the fountain from which praises bubbles up and overflows from. True praise such as seen in the songs of Moses and Mirian in Exodus 15:1-21 and other songs of praise in the Bible are not only spiritual but effortless, God-centered, stress less, and very refreshing. Praise is not just mouthing God's attributes for people to know one is eloquent neither is it for entertainment but rather true praise is a thing of the heart by his Spirit and for God. To be able to praise God continually and effectively one needs to cultivate a perpetual attitude of gratitude. King David excelled in praising God continually because He maintained a perpetual heart of gratitude. "I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High." (Psalm 9:1-2).
GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.

Jesus by His death and resurrection has paved the way and has given access for all believers to come before the very throne of Grace of the only Potentate that dwells in unapproachable light (Ephesians 3:12; 2 Timothy 6:15-16). All barriers removed!

However, how best are we to come before the presence of the Almighty God, our Father, the most benevolent, our creator, and lover of our soul? Do we come before His presence with a sealed mouth? Should we come before Him with sadness and sorrow, weeping, murmuring, grumblings, complaints, hissing and sighing? Should we come with drawn up faces, lips full of flattering, lies, cursing, swearing and boasting? Should we come before him with joy and gladness, singing and dancing? Which one do you think would attract His attention, warm His heart and make Him happy with us?

How best to come before God is something of great concern to a lot of believers. Prophet Micah asked, “with what shall I come ear, and before the Lord, and bow myself before the High God…? (Micah 6: 6).

King David, the beautiful Psalmist of Israel told us how best to come before him saying, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and unto his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” Psalm 100:4. He also told us saying, “Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with Psalms.” Psalm 95:2. This implies gratitude of heart is the best way of approach!

When one comes with a thankful heart, one comes with humility and at the same time with gladness of heart. Gratitude rejoices the heart, makes one sing and dance before our God and father. Interestingly, Prophet Isaiah tells us what God does when one comes before Him rejoicing, “Thou meetest him that rejoices...” Isaiah 64:5. This is revealing; God meets him that rejoices! Gratitude of heart alone makes the heart rejoice.

There is definitely no better and acceptable way to approach the presence of Him whose “food” is thanksgiving, other than with gratitude, honor, praises and adoration. Gratitude of heart ushers us into God’s presence and keeps us there.

As we open our eyes to see the dawning of any new day the first thing we should do is to lift our hearts full of gratitude unto God for the gift of life and the gift of another day full of benefits and opportunities. Nothing keeps the heart rejoicing and strong all day long amidst the hustling bustling of daily life and storms of life than to maintain an attitude of gratitude of heart unto God. Gratitude of heart fixes one’s eyes on God’s invisible presence with one all day long.

It is a great privilege to be among the chosen ones counted worthy to worship the only Living God of the whole Universe and approach His Presence through Jesus Christ. “Blessed is the man whom thou chooseth and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts…” (Psalm 65: 4).

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.
www.lovelashblog.com

Jesus by His death and resurrection has paved the way and has given access for all believers to come before the very throne of Grace of the only Potentate that dwells in unapproachable light (Ephesians 3:12; 2 Timothy 6:15-16). All barriers removed!

However, how best are we to come before the presence of the Almighty God, our Father, the most benevolent, our creator, and lover of our soul? Do we come before His presence with a sealed mouth? Should we come before Him with sadness and sorrow, weeping, murmuring, grumblings, complaints, hissing and sighing? Should we come with drawn up faces, lips full of flattering, lies, cursing, swearing and boasting? Should we come before him with joy and gladness, singing and dancing? Which one do you think would attract His attention, warm His heart and make Him happy with us?

How best to come before God is something of great concern to a lot of believers. Prophet Micah asked, “with what shall I come ear, and before the Lord, and bow myself before the High God…? (Micah 6: 6).

King David, the beautiful Psalmist of Israel told us how best to come before him saying, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and unto his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” Psalm 100:4. He also told us saying, “Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with Psalms.” Psalm 95:2. This implies gratitude of heart is the best way of approach!

When one comes with a thankful heart, one comes with humility and at the same time with gladness of heart. Gratitude rejoices the heart, makes one sing and dance before our God and father. Interestingly, Prophet Isaiah tells us what God does when one comes before Him rejoicing, “Thou meetest him that rejoices...” Isaiah 64:5. This is revealing; God meets him that rejoices! Gratitude of heart alone makes the heart rejoice.

There is definitely no better and acceptable way to approach the presence of Him whose “food” is thanksgiving, other than with gratitude, honor, praises and adoration. Gratitude of heart ushers us into God’s presence and keeps us there.

As we open our eyes to see the dawning of any new day the first thing we should do is to lift our hearts full of gratitude unto God for the gift of life and the gift of another day full of benefits and opportunities. Nothing keeps the heart rejoicing and strong all day long amidst the hustling bustling of daily life and storms of life than to maintain an attitude of gratitude of heart unto God. Gratitude of heart fixes one’s eyes on God’s invisible presence with one all day long.

It is a great privilege to be among the chosen ones counted worthy to worship the only Living God of the whole Universe and approach His Presence through Jesus Christ. “Blessed is the man whom thou chooseth and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts…” (Psalm 65: 4).

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.
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The word worship as used in the scriptures both in the Old and the New Testament implies to respect, honor, bow to God in adoration and love (Psalm 95:6). This due belongs to God only (Luke 4: 5-. Giving recognition and reverence to God as God, our Creator and benefactor is the first act of worship. Everything about God and of Him deserves all honor, glory, respect, and adoration. Examples abound in the Bible of great and godly men who worship God in different ways such as kneeling, bowing down of heads, laying prostrate, and other acts of inward and outward disposition in Genesis 18:2; Exodus 34:8; Joshua 5:4; 1 Chronicles 29:20; Matthew 26:39; Revelation 4:8-11,7:11.

The question now is why is it that acts of obeisance hardly feature in our worship both in our private and public worship in the present time? The answer is not that we are done with an outward form of worship whereby we are to worship God in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24). After all, worshiping God in spirit and in truth implies worshiping God by the inspiration and the true revelations of Him under the control of the Holy Spirit and from the heart and not in pretense, in hypocrisy or lip service. Neither is it because we have been made sons of God whereby we have freedom to come before our Father with boldness this is because Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God himself worshipped God in boldness reverentially! The truth worth knowing is that if one worshipped God in spirit and in truth under the influence of the Holy Spirit, one’s body, spirit and soul would do obeisance as one has a glimpse of the mightiness, holiness and of the majestic splendor of God.

Having the Almighty God, the great Potentate that dwells in unapproachable light as one’s God and Father would humble everyone. He has redeemed us through faith in Jesus Christ and has given us the power to become the sons of God (John 1:12).

The reason for our lack of reverential worship has to do with ingratitude! This implies that our lack of worship lies in our inability to really acknowledge and appreciate God for who He as (a) our God and maker, the Sovereign God, Great and Mighty God, King of all Nations (b) for all He has done and given to all His creation especially mankind (c) the great privileges and blessings of being His worshipper. “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee…” [/i]Psalm 65: 4. (d) The great, wonderful and unspeakable gift given to us through His Son Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 9: 15).

Acknowledging and appreciating God for who He truly is is what humbles one, makes one reverence and does obeisance to Him out of love and adoration. Gratitude of heart unto the Infinite, Eternal and Transcendent God who has great delight in man above all other of His creations and who in His love for them humbles himself to behold things in heaven and in the earth is that which humbles, bows the head and the knees in adoration. Every visitation and revelation of God’s name, words, glory and other of His goodness to man are awesomely and infinitely great and glorious that no mortal man can behold and would not be humbled. In Psalm 8, King David the great Psalmist, in awesome wonder beheld, considered and compared the great and manifold works of the God in the physical world to all the love, care and marvelous things God has given unto man (Psalm 8:5- asked with all humility, “what is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?”

It is proper that all finite and mortal men who came to this world without anything irrespective of position now attained and possession accumulated should maintain an attitude of gratitude and humility to God in everything we do most especially during the period of our private and public worship as the Psalmist said, [i]“Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is the great God, and the great king above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.” (Psalm 95:2-7).

Definitely, God deserves all honor and respect. He who is our God and Father, is the most high, a great God above all other gods, greater than all great and mighty things seen and unseen in creation, greater than all men irrespective of titles and positions held. Heavens and earth adore Him, angels bow before Him. “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all that are around him.” Psalm 89:7.

When was the last time you knelt down to pray to God? Hebrews 12:28-29.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.
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God created all humans both male and female with natural emotions and feelings. Going by God’s original design of man, all the natural human emotions both the positive ones such as love and gratitude, and the negative ones such as anger, guilt, fear, anxiety, grief, and their associated feelings, are good and beneficial to mankind. They are designed as man’s inner means of responding to reports of different things, happenings or situations from the physical and spiritual realms by the human senses to the mind. Different encouraging and undesirable happenings and situations release positive and negative chemicals and hormones that are responsible for various emotions we experience. These emotions have several feelings associated with them.

All these different emotions lie dormant in man until responses to happenings and situations trigger them up. When triggered up, any of the emotions can rise to a very high degree and become overwhelming. The more frequent and longer any emotion is aroused, the stronger, and powerful such becomes until it dominates all other emotions and becomes part and parcel of such individuals and becomes a habit. This implies each individual is responsible for his or her emotional upsurges and that the power to control one’s emotions also lies with the individuals. The major difference between the negative and the positive emotions in this regard lies in the fact that while increment in the degree of any of the positive emotions is very good and beneficial to such individuals, increment in the degree of any of the negative emotions is very dangerous and harmful to the individual.

Gratitude as a natural positive emotion is one of the best gifts of God in humans. Apart from its feelings which are heavenly, true, good, pleasant, full of peace, joy, and gladness; all which are needed for our wellness, its immense benefits to every area of our lives are second only to those of Love. Unfortunately, gratitude just like love is under-utilized by many individuals and this has adversely affected us negatively. Gratitude changes everything positively.

Therefore, God’s commandments and demands from His children (Christians) for a lifestyle of thanksgiving are for our good and benefits as we shall learn as we progress on this topic. Knowing this truth will help us to appreciate God for all the commandments and charges given to us on being thankful and offering thanksgiving to God. 1 Chronicles 16: 8, 34; Psalm 50: 14; 100:4; 118:1; 147:7; Colossians 3:15-17; Colossians 2: 6-7; Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 2 Timothy 2:1; Philippians 4:6; Ephesians 5:4.
It will also help us to understand the need and importance of living a lifestyle of thanksgiving.

(1) GRATITUDE IS FUNDAMENTAL IN OUR WORSHIP
To the present day generation of Christians, the word worship implies singing praises solemnly and soberly to God. Although, singing of praises is one of the elements of worship yet it is not the total scriptural meaning of it. All the godly men of old were said to have truly worshipped God not because they sang praises to God but because they all lived lifestyles of thanksgiving! Therefore, they were spiritual, pure, and true in heart, in the right relationships with God and man; lived and did everything in the consciousness of God and to His glory and benefit of humanity. This is the meaning of worship in the true sense of it! This implies worship is an all-embracing action that involves every area of our life.

Worship which theologians have defined as “ascribing of worth or honor to the triune God” is the purpose for which we were created. Worship has some elements that include obeisance, prayer, praise, thanksgiving, charity, offering, tithing, vows, evangelism, preaching, teaching, testimony and much more. Doing any of these can be very tasking and they are not meant to be so. Ironically, most of the elements of worship are among the responses of gratitude. One discovers that gratitude is fundamental in every scope of our worship of the only true God.

When we say that something is fundamental it means the core, or central or of great importance. So by saying that gratitude is fundamental to worship implies it is important and central in our Christian worship. It ignites all aspects of true worship.

(2) GRATITUDE CONDITIONS THE HEART FOR TRUE WORSHIP
When talking about worship we are talking about the giving of the whole heart to God in devotion. This implies the heart is the pillar of worship! True worship is done with the whole heart, mind, will, emotions and feelings. Therefore the condition of the heart, positive or negative, strong or weak matters a lot in our worship. This implies the condition of the heart is the determining factor of how and what happens during worship. If the heart is occupied with many things, it cannot worship well. A weak, sorrowful and heavy heart would produce weak worship. However, if it is healthy, positive and joyful, then, it issues out strong and joyful worship.

Man’s heart before the fall in the Garden of Eden was healthy, pure, and full of joy and they worshipped as expected of them. However, when man sinned, he incurred the wrath of God, was penalized and got disconnected from Him. Among the things man stopped doing because of sin was showing gratitude to God. This is because with sin, the heart of man became corrupt, weak and darkened, being full of evil. However because he was created to worship, he created gods (idols) with his own hands from material sourced from nature and worshipped them.

God’s gracious salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work of salvation brought man back into the right relationship with God and man was given a new heart and spirit and affection to worship God as expected Luke 2: 71-75. God also gave commandments and charges that would help man have a lasting fellowship with God if obeyed, among which are the commandments and charges on thanksgiving.

The Scripture made us know that worship can become false or untrue mechanical and mere lips rendition when it is not from the heart in connection with God; this turns worship to mere lip service which is unacceptable to God. For worship to be true and acceptable to God it must be borne out from a heart of faith, obedience and love for God. Gratitude is a response of faith, obedience and love. Gratitude conditions the heart for true worship as demanded by God. A thankful heart is a worshiping heart. Heartfelt love and gratitude for God’s person, works, acts, words and all we have received and all that is ours in the present and in the future could be said to be the mechanism that spurs us to worship God wholeheartedly. A grateful heart is a spring well that swells and bubbles out reverence, praises, prayers, intercessions, adorations, do pious work of charity and many other things.
GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.

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Thanksgiving and praises are closely related for the two are fruits of our lips unto God. (Psalm 63:3; Hebrews 13:15). God has great pleasure in both of them. They have the same principles to the extent that in some versions of the Bible they are used to mean the same thing, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving in your heart and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto him and bless his name” (Psalm 100:4). “By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” (Hebrews 13:15). However, they differ slightly.

Thanksgiving has to do with acknowledging and appreciating God for who He is, and all that He has done for us in the past, all that He is doing presently, and all that He would do for us in the future. Praises on the other hand has to do with the declarations of His doings and his excellences - ascribing to him the honor and glory due to him in appreciation of Him.

Thanksgiving precedes praise; this implies thanksgiving comes before praises. Thanksgiving is the mechanism that spurs us to hearty praises. The overflow of thanksgiving from the heart gives birth to true praises. When a heart is thankful, the Spirit of God in man soars up and ascends to the presence of God who is Spirit. As the heart through the lips pours out thanksgiving unto the Benevolent God, the praises of God springs forth also especially in songs of praises. Other fruits which proceed out from a grateful apart from praises include doing good and giving to God and others.
The truth is that genuinely thankful people are oftentimes praiseful people because their hearts which is being saturated with gratitude will always break forth into ceaseless songs and words of praises effortlessly and continually to God. However, not all praiseful people are thankful people.

Although, both thanksgiving and praising God can be faked without meaning what one says, however, it is easier to fake praising God than thanksgiving. This is because the act of praise can be learned and one can become very good at it. Thanksgiving is more demanding than praises in that it demands more commitment and involves our gratitude to be in a high degree. This is why it is possible and easy to sing praises to God without knowing Him or meaning it as evidence in the lives of many professed Gospel singers and unbelievers as well; while it is impossible to be thankful and not sing His praises no matter how bad the voice may sound! What some people refer to as praise is nothing but mere recitation of attributes of God based on human knowledge - a learned art and not spiritual revelation therefore what they render is nothing but mere lip service praises. Only gratitude ignited/ motivated thanksgiving and praises are genuine and acceptable unto God.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I.
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