A Way Of Life...

There is nothing more important in the life of a believer than worship to God. Psalms 95:2 says that we come before him with praise and worship. God dwells in the midst of the praise and adoration of his children. Praise and worship is a lifestyle where all aspects of our lives are surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The true adoration of a believer manifests itself in obedience and reverence to God to then be able to enter into intimate and powerful moments of worship. To enter into true worship, we must understand that God demands of us obedience and commitment to him. Paul and Silas in Acts 16:16-33 were in a Roman prison because of an event in which they were faithful to God and the Roman authorities imprisoned them. Paul and Silas were bound hand and foot in the last dungeon in that cold, dark jail. For Paul and Silas, worship was not just a devotional moment, it was their way of life. These were men completely dedicated to the Lord that understood very well that in a difficult moments only worship to God could strengthen them and help them get through that time. When worship to God is our lifestyle, we understand that no matter the situation or the feelings we face, in praise and adoration to God we will find our place of refuge and restoration. We cannot allow temporary circumstances to rob us of the worship that will lead us to see permanent victories of God in our life. It is praise and worship to God what breaks bondages, removes confusions, changes destructive thoughts and makes the enemy flee. On many occasions in life we ​​will feel like Paul and Silas, imprisoned in various situations, but if we understand that praise and adoration open the doors of all prisons, we will be able to rise from all our tribulations in the victory that Jesus already gave us from the Cross of Calvary. Paul and Silas worshipped the risen Christ in the midst of the darkness of that prison and that pure adoration caused the power of God to be manifested in that prison in such a way that even the jailer received salvation. Let us not forget that in the midst of our situations we have a cloud of witnesses who are watching how we as worshipers confront our situations. The world needs to see God's children in worship even when circumstances in life may be difficult. When we worship we are shining in the midst of darkness and it is the greatest testimony we can give to someone who does not know the power and salvation of the Lord. The circumstances of life may arise, but they cannot stop the worship of a soul that is free in Christ. That is why in the midst of any situation the way out is to raise worship to God. When we have understood who God is and the great salvation that we have obtained by grace, we adore and thank him in the midst of any circumstance. Jesus Christ is the only true God who is seated on his throne, who has defeated sin, death, Satan and gives the victory of salvation to everyone who believes in him and his redemptive work. In the midst of the worship of Paul and Silas, the glory of God was unleashed in that prison. You cannot stop your praise in the midst of your difficulties because through praise miracles will be unleashed in your life that were not on your agenda, but they are on God's agenda for your life. While you worship the living God with your obedience and your praise, in the midst of impossible circumstances you will see the God who has no limits move in your life because God abides permanently in the praise of his people. No matter what the prison you are facing is called, worship God in the midst of it and you will see how the power of the Holy Spirit will operate in you comforting you, restoring you, freeing you and raising you to the victory of Christ. It's time to obey, it's time to worship and it's time to see the glory of God.

Close to God....

We are called to stay close to God. When we speak of being close to God we are referring to continually being in his presence. Being in his presence should be the lifestyle of those of us who have accepted the lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives. Being in the presence of God requires various spiritual elements that are part of the believer's life. The first element is our intimate time of prayer each day. As human beings we have spiritual struggles that turn into emotional struggles that we have to bring into the presence of God through prayer on a daily basis. Prayer time is the time where we discuss matters with God that we might not discuss in public. The time of prayer is the time where God strengthens and restores us through the power of the Holy Spirit that is manifested in us in that personal time of prayer . Psalm 34:4 says I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears. We must seek the presence and power of the Holy Spirit and yearn for his work in us through the closeness that prayer provides us with God. The second important element to be close to God's presence is our congregational life. Congregating is a spiritual design of God so that all believers are united in the Holy Spirit, working to establish the Kingdom of God, save souls and strengthen and motivate one another to good works that please God. The church of Christ began with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the feast of Pentecost. Each believer will be connected by the Holy Spirit to the body of Christ which is his church on the face of the earth. Everything that the Church of Christ does is designed by God to keep the children of God strong, united, ministered and filled with the presence of the Lord. Psalm 133:1 says look how good and how delightful it is for brothers to live together in harmony because there Jehovah sends blessing and eternal life. The Holy Spirit will put in us the desire to pray and to congregate. Keep in mind that the flesh always opposes us praying and congregating, but we no longer live in the flesh but in the Spirit of God. Romans 8:9 says that we no longer live in the flesh but in the Spirit if the Spirit of Christ dwells in us. To be close to God and filled with his presence we need time alone with God and time to congregate and be part of the body of Christ which is his church. God longs for his children to be restored, strengthened, filled with his Spirit and able to be a blessing to others. We have to beware of all the things in this world that want to take us away from a life of prayer and our congregational life. If we maintain a healthy life of prayer and congregating we will always be strengthened in God to face the situations that we will have to live on this earth without allowing anything to separate us from God. If we are filled with his presence and we are close to the Lord through prayer and a congregational life nothing can separate us from the love of Christ that is in Christ Jesus our Lord as Romans 8:35-39 declares. The third important element that has to be in the soul of the believer is to remain firmly in the perfect will of God. Romans 12:2 says do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, pleasing and the perfect will of God. In the perfect will of God is God's care for all areas of our lives. We have to take care of ourselves because the enemy of souls has strategies to entertain us, move us away from the will of God and then destroy. As long as we are in obedience to God's plan the enemy will not be able to touch our life, he can try, but he can only do it if we get out of God's perfect will. It is important to stay in God's presence, it is the only way to stay in his will. Prayer and our congregational life will always help us stay within what is God's perfect will for our lives. Prayer, congregating, and the will of God in our lives are the most important elements that we have to keep in mind in our spiritual life to stay close to the Lord. Stay close to the one who loves your soul, his name is Jesus and he has the plan for our lives that is perfect and one day we will see him face to face. Pray, congregate and stay within the perfect will of God.

Our Thoughts .....

Every day different thoughts are manifested in our mind. Thoughts are defined as an idea or opinion that is manifested through the thought process. Thoughts are seeds that will grow roots in our speech, our character, our decisions, and our worship life. The thoughts we allow to grow roots in our minds will have a direct effect on our relationship with God and with each other. Negative thoughts are chains that are formed in people's thought system, leading them to ways of thinking far from the Word of God and consequently to self-destructive behaviors. Bad thoughts have two sources which are as follows, our flesh or fallen humanity and evil spirits that send bad thoughts that produce bad fruit. To love God and serve him it is necessary that our system of thought be transformed by the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is not possible to serve God with a mind that has been formed by sin and the fallen system of the world. The mind formed by sin and the world is a mind that is governed by a thought system that is in enmity with God. 1 Corinthians 2:16 says that we now have the mind of Christ. This means that our minds are no longer governed by our fallen nature but that our thoughts must now be directed by the Spirit of God. When we say that our mind is now directed by the Holy Spirit, we are saying that we have the discernment to detect every thought that is contrary to God in our mind and on time reject it and cast it out before it takes root in us. Now that we have the mind of Christ, we can keep a clean heart that pleases God. The door to our soul is our mind. In Matthew 5:8 Jesus said that the pure in heart will see God. By guarding your mind, you are guarding your heart. To have peace in our soul it is necessary to take care of our way of thinking. Isaiah 26:3 says that God will keep in complete peace those whose mind perseveres on God. On what thoughts does your mind persevere? God wants your mind to persevere fully in him. We cannot control the thoughts that attack our mind, but now we can reject bad thoughts through the knowledge of the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit that is in us. Our way of thinking and the thoughts that we allow to take root in us will affect all areas of our life negatively or positively. Ephesians 4:23 tells us to renew ourselves in the attitudes of our mind and put on a new self-created created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. It is necessary that we decide to renew our minds daily so that our daily life and spiritual life is a life in communion with God under the blessing and salvation of God. To be in communion with God and with others we must have the mind of Christ. To take care of our salvation and maintain a lifestyle that pleases God we must take care of our mind. What thought system governs your mind? The thought system of the Kingdom of God or the thought system of this fallen world? Make the decision today to put your thoughts on the Lord and his Word and then you will see how God will transform all areas of your life. Where there have not been changes of liberation and transformation, it is because there has not been a change of thought. Changing your way of thinking and the thoughts that govern you will completely change your way of living, your relationship with others and your relationship with God. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us Philippians 4:13.