Zamar & Halal
‘Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. I will praise [zamar] thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing [zamar] unto thee among the nations’ Ps.57:8-9 [KJV]
Zamar means to pluck the strings of an instrument like a harp or guitar, to sing, to praise. A musical word which is largely involved with joyful expressions of music with musical instruments [Ps.57:8-9 KJV]. If you can play any musical instrument, my advice is that you get that musical instrument in your house and when you wake up play it to God. It does not have to be an expensive musical instrument. Everybody can play the tambourine, get it, and play it before God. I have a rattle that is just by my bedside. When I wake up, Read the rest of this entry
Barak
‘O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel [barak] before the Lord our maker.’ Ps.95:6 [KJV].
To Barak means to kneel down and to bless God as an act of adoration. Many people have an issue with kneeling down and blessing God in worship. Some people say ‘God sees my heart; He sees that I am kneeling down in my heart’. I don’t disagree with that, I know it can start from the heart. However, let your life flow from the abundance of your heart. If it is so easy for you to kneel in your heart then let it flow into your actions as part of your worship to God. ‘O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel [barak] before the Lord Read the rest of this entry
Shabach
‘O clap your hands, all ye people; shout [shabach] unto God with the voice of triumph’ Ps.47:1 [KJV].
The word Shabach means to shout, to address in a loud tone, to command, to triumph. You cannot shabach God quietly. Some people get very uncomfortable when they see people shouting praises to God because it is not civil. When you come into the presence of God, you must put aside being civil Read the rest of this entry
Towdah
‘Offer unto God thanksgiving [towdah]; and pay thy vows unto the most High:’ Ps.50:14 [KJV]
The second word used to express a kind of praise is Towdah. Towdah comes from the same root word as yadah. Towdah literally means an extension of hands in adoration, avowal, or in acceptance. The extension of hands in towdah is very different from that of yadah. With yadah, the hands are
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Yadah
‘Oh that men would praise [yadah] the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!’ Ps.107:15 [KJV].
Our ultimate goal is to live lives that are pleasing to God through Jesus. In studying the culture of the Hebrews and how they expressed praise and worship to God we can learn a lot. Personally, I believe that the most important part of any worship experience is the praise and worship. When you Read the rest of this entry
In Submission
‘So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him’ Matt.7:11
We have to live our daily lives in submission to Christ Jesus. We have to wrestle between the choice to use God as a vending machine and the choice to live our lives in complete submission to Him. And trust that God will not withhold anything good from us. Living daily in submission to Christ – following and trusting him is a decision every Christian has to make. Or are you going to choose to live Read the rest of this entry
Blessing God
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits’ Ps.103:1-2[KJV]
There is something about blessing God with what He has blessed you with. It is a sacrifice that touches God’s heart. Abraham blessed the Lord deeply by agreeing to offer Isaac. A long awaited blessing but even at that Abraham did not hold it back from God. David had been blessed with honor by God and
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Grow Relational Roots V
‘Loyalty makes a person attractive. It is better to be poor than dishonest’ Prov.19:22
The sixth and final step to growing relational roots is to demonstrate loyalty. Wikipedia.com defines loyalty as ‘faithfulness or a devotion to a person, country, group, or cause’. ‘Loyalty makes a person attractive. It is better to be poor than dishonest’. Loyalty will grow your relational root. Loyalty is usually
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Grow Relational Roots IV
“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for He is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked’ Luke 6:35
Just be nice, as simple as that! This is the fifth step to growing relational roots. In 1Sam.30:10-20, David saw an Egyptian man that was sick and had been left to die for three days. At that time David had lost his wives, children, everything he had. So he should really have no time for such an Egyptian man Read the rest of this entry
Grow Relational Roots III
‘Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!’ Ruth 1:17
The deeper your commitment, the deeper your roots. I know this is a very tough bone to swallow but this is the reality of life. It is easy to gloss over things and say all is well with every one. But we all need to face the reality of life. God has put you in that relationship. How does God want you to respond? Read the rest of this entry
