(by pastor Norman)

“Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God” (Ps 147; NKJV). Throughout the book of Psalms, we are exhorted to praise God. In Psalm 145 we are given many reasons to praise Him; His power, glory, goodness and mighty acts, to mention just a few. I am a country boy and can’t help but praise God when I am out in His creation (Rom 1:20). Everything that breathes is called to praise God (Ps 150:6), not only in the good times but continually, at all times (Ps 34:1). We are to see our praise as a sacrifice to God (Heb 13:15). King David said, “I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth” (Ps 1.9:30; NKJV). “Greatly” here means, with passion, loudly and with strong feeling. We can praise with lifted hands (Ps 134:2), clapping (Ps 47:1) and with dancing, as King David did, dancing with all his might, whirling and twirling, when he brought the ark to Jerusalem (2 Sa, 6:13-16). We can praise God with all kinds of musical instruments (Ps 150) and the word for praise here means with rapture, howl and wild celebration. However, in all of this let us remember that our praise must come from our hearts (Ps 9:1). In Psalm 100:4, we see that as we praise God we can enter into a real closeness and intimacy with Him. Similarly, in Psalm 22:3 we read, “But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel” (NKJV). God invades our presence as we praise Him allowing His glory and power to manifest. We should all desire that. Even this reserved English boy has learned to truly praise God!

(by pastor Jean)

“And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19; AMP). God is an “over and above” God, He doesn’t just meet our needs, He “liberally supplies” them. In 2 Corinthians 9:8, the apostle Pual shows us that God will make favour and blessing come on us in abundance, so much so that we can give to others in abundance (see also 2 Cor 9:10,11). John 10:10 is a familiar verse to many, Jesus tells us He came to give us an abundant life. The word for abundant is “perissos” which actually means exceedingly abundant, over and above, more than is necessary! Wow! In John 1:16 we read that “For out of His fullness (the superabundance of His grace and truth) we have all received grace upon grace (spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift” (AMP). Eph 3:20 tells us that God is able to do, “superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think (infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes or dreams” (AMP). It doesn’t get much better than that! In the Old Testament we are told that if we tithe, God will pour out so much blessing on us that it will be too much to contain! (Mal 3:10). God is a generous God and He is our example in giving; one way we can show our love and appreciation for God is by being givers ourselves, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt 10:8).

(by pastor Norman)

God says we are blessed if we meditate on His word and delight in it (Ps 1:1-2). To delight in something is to find pleasure in it, to find it desirable and attractive. The prophet Jeremiah said, “When I discovered your words, I devoured them, they are my joy and my heart’s delight” (Jer 15:16; NLT). The writer of Psalm 119 filled the whole Psalm with emphasis on God’s truths, His word. The psalmist delighted in God’s commandments and law (verses 35, 47, 48, 92, 127). He delighted in God’s statutes (v 16), precepts (v 189) and testimonies (v 24). Statutes are written laws or rules that define boundaries; precepts are commandments given by God. God’s word is truth and life (John 17:17; 6:63) and sets us free from all of the results of sin in our lives (John 8:32). God’s word is sweeter than honey (Ps 119:103) and “The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver” (Ps 119:11; Jer 15:16). Joshua in the Old Testament said, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success” (Josh 1:8; NKJV). What a promise; surely if we embrace and believe that verse, we can’t help but delight in God’s word and make it a real priority in our lives.

(by pastor Jean)

Integrity. It’s not a word that might give you warm fuzzy feelings but it is none the less a character trait that goes right along with honesty and it means to be thoroughly trustworthy. The Oxford Language Dictionary definition of integrity is, “The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, moral uprightness.” The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about integrity. God bestows good on those who live with integrity (Prov 13:21), He protects them (Prov 2:7), they will live in safety (Prov 10:9), they will receive guidance (Prov 11:3), the person of integrity fears the Lord (Prov 14:2), their children will be happy (Prov 20:7) and they will be helped (Prov 28:18). The book of Proverbs also talks a lot about the “righteous man” who would also be a person of integrity; that person hates lying and deceit (Prov 13:5). Several Bible people are noted for their integrity, amongst them – Job, David and Joseph. “The Lord said to satan, have you considered my servant Job? No one on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears the Lord and turns away from evil” (Job 1:8; CSB). About David, God said, “He walked with a heart of integrity and in what is right, doing everything I have commanded” (1 Kings 9:4; CSB). Joseph also showed great integrity by refusing to commit adultery with Potiphar’s wife (Gen 39). To live a life of integrity demands discipline but nevertheless it pleases God (1 Chron 29:17) and brings glory to His name.

(by pastor Norman)

In 1 Peter 2:12, the apostle begs Christians to demonstrate honourable behaviour and good works appropriate for disciples of Christ. In other words, Peter expected Christians to be different from the world around them. The apostle Paul exhorted the Ephesians to imitate God and walk in love (Eph 5:1-2). Paul challenged his associate, Titus, to be an example of “good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech” (Titus 2:6-7; NKJV). Wow! That’s quite a challenging list! To his associate, Timothy, he wrote, “Be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim 4:12; NKJV). The apostle John reminds us that we will be recognized as Christians by the way we love each other with the unconditional love of Jesus (John 13:35). Jesus said He gave us an example of a humble, loving servant when He washed His disciples’ feet; then He said we should do as He did (John 13:14-15). The apostle Paul, in all humility, held up his life as an example to follow; he said, “Imitate me just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Cor 11:1; NKJV). Now that’s a verse to sit back and meditate on! How can we be an example for Christ? The apostle John wrote that if we abide in Christ we can walk as He did (1 John 2:6). In the Bible, we see that as we saturate in God’s word, we are trained to be all God wants us to be (2 Tim 3:16-17) and the Holy Spirit can change us to be more and more like Jesus Christ (2 Cor 3:18), examples for Him!