Numbers 6:25 says, “May the Lord smile on you …” Our worship is something that God enjoys and makes Him smile. It is communion with Him and we were made for that sole purpose. It makes God happy to receive worship. It is all that we actually own and can give to Him. Everything else, he gave to us. Worship is our only real gift to God. 

Since pleasing God is the first purpose of your life, your most important task is to discover how to do that. “Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.” Ephesians 5:10 (MSG) . Five acts of worship that make God smile:

- God smiles when we love him supremely. 
- God smiles when we trust him completely. 
- God smiles when we live in His Will.
- God smiles when we obey him wholeheartedly. 
- God smiles when we praise and thank him continually. 
- And God smiles when we use our abilities. 

John 4:24 reminds us that we are to worship God in spirit and in truth. That simply means that what we say should match what we do. That is the only way our worship will make God smile. I don't know about you, but I love the fact that my worship can make such a wonderful God smile.  Will you make pleasing God the goal for the rest of your life? There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that God won’t do for the person totally absorbed with the desire to make Him smile. On this Worship Wednesday let's put a smile on our Heavenly Father's face and present our lives, our heart and our worship to Him so that we can make Him…Smile.

"Its already getting better,
Its already getting easier
Gods already moving on your behalf
God did it, He did it, YES God it!" 

This song by William Murphy has been resonating in my spirit for the past few weeks. It is as though my spirit is speaking to my natural self, prompting an alignment in my mindset to expect, perceive and believe that we are in new dimension of "better". 

When I read these words form our Lord,  “Go up higher to a better place." I hear His invitation loud and clearly for those who are seeking to move on up from good to better . In this realm there is great faith, victory, and glory; of power, fire and passion in the Holy Spirit yet to be discovered, As you enter into Worship today I want you to listen to His invitation to you today with a spiritual ear from our text in Luke 14:10 (KJV), “Friend, go up higher.” 

Our Lord has already moved on your behalf and His desire is to bless you and lift you up to the better places that you have never known before. His desire is for you to soar with grace and humility on the wings of eagles, with wind of the Holy Spirit beneath you lifting you higher and higher to a better place than where you are just now. 

Beloved, may we have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to us today from Luke 14:10 (KJV), “Friend, go up higher.”…to your new dimension of easier and better!

Has anyone ever told you that you would never be "nothing"? That nothing would ever come out of your life. That not one thing will come from all that you have been through? That because your parents were nothing, you will never amount to anything?

I have! I have had family and deepest confidants to say that I would never be anything. And it cut deep and wounded me. But I am so glad that I knew deep in the recess of my soul, when these words that were spewed to wound and destroy me, that my Intelligent Designer has the power to take my brokenness and create a masterpiece.

Genesis 1:1-4 says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness".

This means that He took a bare and empty substance and made it anew, He took  away the void and the darkness and replaced it with light. He saw the potential in the raw material and made something quite glorious from it. People are surely baffled by this theory, "Something can come from nothing".  

The opening words in the book of beginnings reveal the very character and purpose of God; first He forms and then He fills. God formed the earth and then filled it with plants and animals. God formed the heavens and then filled it with stars and planets. Indeed, He took this same approach when it came to the time to create man, “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and [then] breathed [filled]…his nostrils with the breathe of life” (Genesis 2: 7). God forms and he fills! 

This is descriptive of what He does with human lives today. We are formless, empty, in darkness with no shape or meaning to life. Powerless, unfulfilled and going nowhere, with despair and sadness permeating from our very being. But God, our Intelligent Designer sees, in His creativity, what we can become; a masterpiece.

God can take the broken pieces, the broken dreams and the broken lives that people see as useless and re-create it into something.

Do you believe this truth for yourself? To be something, to be that purposeful somebody, we need the creative touch of God upon our lives. We need an infilling of His power, grace and mercy.  Our Creator has the power to re-form our lives and fill it with glory, power, abundance, favor, provision, love, joy, peace, fruitful relationships and so many other things. You see, that is God’s intention for us right from the very foundation of the world….was to make something out of nothing!

I am so thankful that He saw something in me!

Ever since my sister put me on to this song by Ledisi, "Raise Up" I have been working to put words to what the song did to my Spirit. I don’t know how to explain how these words, "Rise Up" put fire in my heart. I have been digging into Scripture over these two words and this is what I found:

“Rise up and shine, for your light has come. The shining-greatness of the Lord has risen upon you. For see, darkness will cover the earth. Much darkness will cover the people. But the Lord will rise upon you, and His shining-greatness will be seen upon you. Nations will come to your light. And kings will see the shining-greatness of the Lord on you.” – Isaiah 60:1-3

It’s time to rise up, beloved. We have left winter behind us and it’s time to rise up into our new season. It’s time to step out of our comfortable hibernation and do the thing God is calling us to do, whether it looks popular or the status quo. It is time to do it. It’s time to stop waiting to feel qualified and getting approval and remember that our Father did not send His Son to serve not only the healthy but to heal the sick, to not only love the lovable but to love the unloveable. 

Beloved, its time to let go of the titles, positions, cliques and the carefully arranged agendas and rise up. It's time to move past the unforgivness, bitterness, rejection and disappointment and rise up and embrace who He created you to be, remembering He will equip you with everything that is needed. You were meant for a purpose and what is meant for you is meant to be. Whether we feel like we can do it or not. Whether we are rejected or not. Whether we are supported or not.  Ezra 10:4 says, 

At some point in life we’ve all felt the frustration and fear of being up against situations that we can’t deal with and, worse yet, there seems to be no one to help. If you were to ask me to tell you about the times I have felt the twinges of hopelessness, my early recollections would be the year my father died. I was hopeless and felt so defeated. I struggled emotionally and spiritually. I had thoughts of suicide and had no desire to live. I had given up! 

But when my Champion stepped in and engaged in the challenges and conflicts of my life, I began to walk in victory. For me there is no greater hero, no greater Champion than Jesus. For me, He is the all time, undisputed, undefeated Champion of love! For me, Jesus is the Champion of the world!

Psalm 188:5 says this “God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid; who would dare lay a hand on me? God’s my strong champion".  The Bible also says in Isaiah 60:8 ” You’ll know that I, God, am your Savior, your Redeemer, Champion of Jacob. I’ll give you only the best". (Message)

Jesus set forth a mighty showing as “The Champ” in the spirit realm, even as He did while here on Earth.  The Bible says that in doing so, He was able to strip Satan and demons of all authority over humans. (Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14)  
 
That authority has now been given to His followers. (Luke 10:19)  All who believe in “The Champ” can now become “A Champ” over their own circumstances.  Jesus is the ultimate champion! And when we cast our lot with Him, He assures us that the victory is already won on our behalf. 

So the next time you find yourself in a full nelson up against the wall of despair, claim Jesus as your champion. As Paul declares, you may be “struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:9). Since Jesus won the battle at Calvary, you are now entitled to share in the spoils of His victory. Thanks to Jesus, the word defeat is not in our vocabulary! Let us worship Him for being our Champion!