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, KJV)

As always you can click on the photo which will bring up the picture in full resolution. You can then right click on the photo and choose set as background to use the picture as Christian wallpaper for your desktop.

Oh God hear us:
We thank you now
For salvation in Christ
And all happiness!

Hallelujah! Thanks to You!
Hallelujah! Amen!
Hallelujah! Thanks to You -
Bless us!

All thanks and honour
To you, Father, from us,
For the presence of the Holy Spirit
And the wisdom of your voice!

Hallelujah! Thanks to You!
Hallelujah! Amen!
Hallelujah! Thanks to You -
Bless us!

For your prophetic gift,
A testimony to us all,
Your church celebrates you
Through all ages!

Hallelujah! Thanks to You!
Hallelujah! Amen!
Hallelujah! Thanks to You -
Bless us!

praise our Lord,

Dennis

I realized the beauty of spending time with God and His Word. I also realized my sinfulness. You see, to the worldly person or the nominal Christian there isn’t anything that is really that bad with me.

When you come closer to God you begin to see and understand His wisdom, His love and His perfection. At the same time you can’t help but to see your own filth, selfishness and sin.

Paul writes about walking in Spirit and fighting against your own flesh. Specifically he says in Galatians 5:24

And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Prior to that verse Paul tells us what our affections and lusts are. Fleshy matters are sexual immorality like adultery, idolatry, hatred, envy, drunkenness, and revellings. Newer translations of the bible describe fleshy things as jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions and dissensions.

So what is so bad and sinful about me who is possibly a typical Christian? I practice idolatry. What? I don’t understand.

Yes, in my leisure time I’m an idolater. I participate in the kingdom of darkness. How? What do you mean?

In my leisure time I watch television and listen to music. To the secular and nominal Christian that’s not bad and not sinful. The singers and musicians that I listen to, whom are they glorifying? Are they glorifying self or God?

The television shows, movies and actors that I watch what are they telling me? On the screen and off of the screen whose image do they portray? Are they telling me about things of the flesh or things of the Spirit?

Who is behind our entertainment industry? Am I worshipping God by watching and listening to the products of the entertainment industry or am I worshipping God’s enemy?

I’m an idolater; I spend time with idols if not worshipping them. That’s the brutal, thorny truth. The quicker I acknowledge the sin in my life and deal with it, with the help of God the Holy Spirit, the better it is for me.

That’s only one example of sin in my life. Do I walk in the Spirit or do I walk in the flesh? How closely does my life resemble Christ’s life? Do people see in me the image of Jesus? Do they see the fruits of the Spirit such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self-control?

Am I living in Christ and dieing to self? What about you?

praise our Lord,

Dennis

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 KJV

Recently I was doing some thinking and for some reason the thought of Christmas came to mind. I’ve known for some time that there is no material gift that I need. God has provided all that I need. Complete praise and glory go to Him for that.

Nonetheless I thought if there was one gift or one wish I could have, what would it be? I wished that everyone could have enough food each day for their entire life. A solution to world hunger, that would be great!

I quickly thought then oh, what about sickness and disease? We all would still have many problems because of this. I then realized that Jesus is the solution to all of our problems.

My wish would be that Jesus returns to earth today. You see, when Jesus returns and establishes His kingdom, there won’t be any hunger, sickness, sin or death.

May our Lord’s kingdom come, may His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

praise our Lord,

Dennis

Psalm 8 possibly alludes to humanity’s inauguration ceremony in verses 5 and 6. It reads;

You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:

(NIV)

God is infinitely great and God is infinitely good. He created us according to His infinite love, with the freedom of choice, the freedom of will. Adam and Eve chose not follow and obey God, they had the choice. As a result they lost their kingdom, their crowns, God’s glory and were ashamed of their nakedness.

Today we still have the same freedom of choice and freedom of will. We can pledge our allegiance to Jesus Christ, the King of kings, and have the privileged title of Christian. Our public inauguration ceremony is baptism.

We can choose daily to renew our pledge through prayer or we can choose not to do this. We can choose to lead Christ-centered lives or we can choose to lead self-centered lives. One choice leads to eternal life and happiness. The other choice leads to death.

I am preparing for the soon return of my conquering, victorious King. The One that will free me from the prison of His enemy, the slavery to sin and my justly deserved grave of death. How about you? What are you preparing for?

Have a great Sabbath and…

praise our Lord,

Dennis

Jesus taught us to love God with all our heart or mind and to love or treat others as we would want to be treated ourselves. This is recorded in the Bible, in Mark 12 : 28-31 and reads as follows;

And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

So what is the meaning of life? The answer is to love God whole-heartedly and to love others as ourselves. It’s really that simple but takes a lifetime of practice. If you believe in this answer to the purpose of life then Jesus will provide to you the opportunity to master love eternally!

praise our Lord,

Dennis

Fret not thyself because of evildoers,
neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
and wither as the green herb.

Trust in the LORD, and do good;
so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Delight thyself also in the LORD:
and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Commit thy way unto the LORD;
trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light,
and thy judgment as the noonday.

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him:
fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way,
because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath:
fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

For evildoers shall be cut off:
but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be:
yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.

But the meek shall inherit the earth;
and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
The wicked plotteth against the just,
and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

The LORD shall laugh at him:
for he seeth that his day is coming.
The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow,
to cast down the poor and needy,
and to slay such as be of upright conversation.

Their sword shall enter into their own heart,
and their bows shall be broken.
A little that a righteous man hath
is better than the riches of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken:
but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
The LORD knoweth the days of the upright:
and their inheritance shall be for ever.

They shall not be ashamed in the evil time:
and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
But the wicked shall perish,
and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs:
they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again:
but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth;
and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD:
and he delighteth in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down:
for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

I have been young, and now am old;
yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor his seed begging bread.
He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

For the LORD loveth judgment,
and forsaketh not his saints;
they are preserved for ever:
but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

The righteous shall inherit the land,
and dwell therein for ever.
The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom,
and his tongue talketh of judgment.

The law of his God is in his heart;
none of his steps shall slide.
The wicked watcheth the righteous,
and seeketh to slay him.

The LORD will not leave him in his hand,
nor condemn him when he is judged.
Wait on the LORD, and keep his way,
and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land:
when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

I have seen the wicked in great power,
and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not:
yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright:
for the end of that man is peace.
But the transgressors shall be destroyed together:
the end of the wicked shall be cut off.

But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD:
he is their strength in the time of trouble.
And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them:
he shall deliver them from the wicked,
and save them, because they trust in him.

praise our Lord,

Dennis

Image Credits Trey Ratcliff

When I say… ‘I am a Christian’ I don’t speak of this with pride.
I’m confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say… ‘I am a Christian’ I’m not trying to be strong.
I’m professing that I’m weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say.. ‘I am a Christian’ I’m not bragging of success.
I’m admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say… ‘I am a Christian’ I’m not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say… ‘I am a Christian’ I still feel the sting of pain..
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say… ‘I am a Christian’ I’m not holier than thou,
I’m just a simple sinner Who received God’s good grace, somehow!’

Linda Perry inspired by Carol Wimmer, inspired by Jesus Christ. As always you can click on the photo, and the full image will be displayed. You can then right click on the photo and save it to your computer in order to use it later as desktop wallpaper.

praise our Lord,

Dennis

The gift that I am given
How do I handle it?
With great care or frivolous flair?

The gift that I am given
Who will use it?
Do I share it or selfishly keep it?

The gift that I am given
How do I use it?
Do I use it to assist all others,
Or just my friends, family and brothers?

The gift that I am given
How valuable is it?
Is its value difficult to assess,
Or is it priceless?

The gift that I am given
How do I use it?
Can I develop it or just give up on it?

The gift that I have received
Comes without conditions but is full of traditions.

The gift that I have received
Comes from a dear friend,
That at times I find difficult to comprehend.

The gift that I have received
Comes from a time far away,
But for some just came today.

The gift that I have received
Comes from a heart of great love
And comes from above.

The gift that I have received
Comes from my Creator,
Saviour and Redeemer.

The gift that I have received
Is my life.

Thank you Lord God
For your gift of life.

Image credit: Patrick Hajzler

praise our Lord,

Dennis

Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Romans 12: 16 (HCSB)

By clicking on the photo, the full image will be displayed. You can then right click on the image and save it to your computer in order to use it later as a desktop background.

praise our Lord,

Dennis

“And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God, Luke 12: 8 (HCSB)

You can click on the images to open up the full size version of the photos. Then right click on the photo and choose save image as or save picture as, in order to save it to your computer. This way you will have a copy of the photo on your own computer and be able to use it as desktop wallpaper at any time.

praise our Lord,

Dennis