We don't Clap to Praise God

 

Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice (Psalm 141:2).

It’s important to understand the spirituality of ministry and the place of music and expressions of worship in the house of God. Clapping, for instance, which many are very used to in church, is neither praise nor worship. While clapping is not wrong, it must be put in its proper place.

Clapping is applause; it’s a sign of approval or excitement. Spiritually, however, it doesn’t equate to praising or worshipping God. You’ve probably heard people say, “Let’s clap for Jesus.” But clapping is not how the Bible teaches us to worship or praise the Lord.

True worship is expressed with words, songs of the Spirit, and the lifting of our hands in reverence to God. For example, we saw from our opening scripture that the lifting of hands is an act of worship recognized in heaven. The New Testament praise and worship is in spirit and truth, as Jesus said the Father desires (John 4:23-24).

When a miracle happens and people clap, they’re not praising God; they’re expressing approval or excitement. The danger is that in doing so, they sometimes neglect to give God the actual worship He deserves as a result of such a miracle. This is why we must be instructed by the Word. Worship must always be rooted in knowledge, not habit.

So, while clapping has its place as a human response to events, true praise and worship must come from your spirit, expressed through your words, songs, the lifting of your hands, and other expressions in worship that the Bible talks about. This is what glorifies the Lord. We may clap in celebration of victories, but that’s not praise: “O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph” (Psalm 47:1).

PRAYER

Dear Father, thank you for the understanding of true worship and the revelation that we are the true circumcision that worship you in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Even now, I worship you from the bottom of my heart, for you’re the only true God, righteous, holy, just, gracious, pure and kind. Thank you for your glory in my life, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY ‭‭John 4:23-24 KJV But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. [24] God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

‭‭Psalm 63:3-5 NIV Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. [4] I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. [5] I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

‭‭Psalm 9:1-2 KJV I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. [2] I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING

1-Year Bible Reading Plan Mark 10:32-52 & Numbers 14-15

2-Year Bible Reading Plan Acts 24:1-9 & Psalm 56

EXCERPT FROM=> Rhapsody Of Realities Daily Devotional

God's Always Watching

 

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap (Galatians 6:7).

When you study the Scriptures carefully, you’ll notice a striking pattern with certain individuals who lost their place with God and why it happened. Take Cain, the firstborn of Adam, as an example; he had hatred in his heart against his brother Abel.

The Bible tells us that Abel’s works were righteous, but Cain’s weren’t. Instead of correcting himself, Cain allowed hatred to consume him, and he murdered his brother. He lost his place because of the evil in his heart. Also, consider Esau; for just one meal, he sold his birthright.

The Bible describes Esau as profane because spiritual things meant nothing to him. He treated the birthright casually; to him, it was intangible, so he thought it could be tossed aside in exchange for food. But God looks at the heart; He saw that Esau was profane. He wasn’t profane because he sold his birthright; he sold his birthright because he was profane.

Later on, when it was time to receive the blessing, which was tied to the birthright, he lost it despite seeking it with tears (read Hebrews 12:16-17). The lesson here is very clear: you may deceive men, but you can’t deceive God. He weighs the motives of the heart.

Therefore, position your heart rightly because your blessing, your promotion, your place in God’s plan are tied to how you revere or hallow spiritual realities. Don’t trade your divine inheritance for worldly pursuits.

PRAYER

Dear Father, thank you for granting me understanding through your Word. My heart is rightly positioned to value spiritual things and walk uprightly in reverence for you and your Word, conscious that my inheritance in Christ is precious and eternal. My heart is stayed on you and the eternal reward of my works of righteousness, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY ‭‭1 Chronicles 28:9 KJV And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

‭‭1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

‭‭Hebrews 12:16-17 KJV Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. [17] For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING

1-Year Bible Reading Plan Mark 10:1-31 & Numbers 11-13

2-Year Bible Reading Plan Acts 23:22-35 & Psalm 55

EXCERPT FROM=> Rhapsody Of Realities Daily Devotional

The Outworking of the Word in you

 

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

True Christianity is the outworking of the Word in you. When you talk, it’s the Word; when you act, it’s the Word. The Christian, essentially, is the expression or the image of the Word, such that every step you take and all the things you do are the outworkings of the Word of God.

That’s what the Lord Jesus was when He walked the earth; He was the unveiling of the Word: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14). He was the manifestation of God, the express image of His person. Thus, your life is the revelation of the Word because you’ve been born of the same Word: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23).

2 Corinthians 3:2-3 says that you’ve been manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ: “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.” The epistle of Christ is the Word of Christ.

No wonder we’re the effulgence of His glory, the manifestation of His righteousness. When you show up, Christ shows up. As He is, so are you in this world (1 John 4:17). You make manifest the savour of His knowledge, wisdom, grace and power in every place (2 Corinthians 2:14). Blessed Be God! You’re Christ alive in your world today. He manifests His love, power, compassion, and grace to the world through you. Have this consciousness.

PRAYER

Dear Father, I thank you for making me your living epistle, known and read by all men. My life is the expression of the glory of Christ. The divine life is manifested through me, and I bring others into this life through the Gospel. Your knowledge, grace, power, wisdom and righteousness are unveiled in, and through me, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY ‭‭James 1:18 KJV Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

‭‭2 Corinthians 3:2-3 NKJV You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; [3] clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

‭‭2 Corinthians 2:14 AMPC But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere,

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING

1-Year Bible Reading Plan Mark 9:33-50 & Numbers 9-10

2-Year Bible Reading Plan Acts 23:11-21 & Psalm 52-54

EXCERPT FROM Rhapsody Of Realities Daily Devotional

The Key is Walking in Love

 

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22).

Someone once wrote me a letter wanting to know how to overcome arrogance with God’s help. He had been perceived as arrogant and genuinely wanted to dismiss that trait from his life and personality. That was a wonderful desire. Simply wanting to change was his first step toward victory over it.

But here’s what you must do when you desire a change in any area of your life: act on the Word. Be a doer of the Word as read in our opening scripture. Respond to God’s Word and live accordingly. So, in dealing with arrogance, for example, you act on the Word. Ephesians 5:1-2: “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love….” The key to overcoming arrogance is walking in love.

Then the Bible says in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” The fruit of the Spirit refers to the natural product of the recreated human spirit, the born-again spirit. These qualities are part of your innate nature and love is one of them.

Galatians 5:19-21 lists the works of the flesh, and arrogance is of the flesh. Choose to walk in humility, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control. These qualities are already within your spirit. Cultivate and develop them by walking in love. Every so often, declare, “I will walk in love.” Make that decision, and you’ll experience the glory of God in your life in a remarkable way, because love is His nature and the way of victory.

PRAYER

Dear Father, thank you for your Word that purifies and renews my heart. Your love is fully expressed in me. I walk in humility, meekness and love toward others. Arrogance has no place in my spirit, for the beauty of Christ is seen and heard in my words, thoughts and actions, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY ‭‭Ephesians 4:1-2 KJV I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, [2] With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

‭‭1 Corinthians 13:4-5 MSG Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, [5] Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, ||

‭‭1 John 2:3-5 KJV And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. [4] He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. [5] But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING

1-Year Bible Reading Plan Mark 8:14-26 & Numbers 3-4

2-Year Bible Reading Plan Acts 21:40-22:1-10 & Psalm 44-45

EXCERPT FROM=> Rhapsody Of Realities Daily Devotional

Born into Divinity

 

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When you were born again, what the Bible says is that you were baptized into Christ: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” (Romans 6:3). Galatians 3:27 says, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

So, being born again, you were born into God, into divinity, by the Word, through the Spirit of God. You were actually received into Christ. That’s why the Bible says, “…If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature…” (2 Corinthians 5:17); he’s born anew with the God-life and God-nature.

Your human life was not merged with eternal life; it was replaced by it. This is what the Bible teaches. And if you don’t know it, you’ll never live in the reality of the divine life. Your knowledge of it activates the experience. That’s why in 1 John 5:13, the Spirit, through the Apostle John, tells us, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life….”

God wants you to know that you have His life in you. That life doesn’t cohabit with sickness, disease, or infirmities; it destroys them. The divine life in you is incorruptible, indestructible and impregnable to failure and death. But if you don’t know it, you’d live as a mere man, suffering the same afflictions as those without Christ.

That’s why you must understand what it truly means to be born again. It’s to have the pulsating life of Christ in you. It’s to be translated or transferred from mortality into immortality, from humanity into divinity. Blessed be God!

PRAYER

Dear Father, thank you for the revelation of eternal life that I have in Christ Jesus. I walk in the consciousness that I have the life and nature of God in my spirit. This life makes me superior to sickness, disease and darkness. I live victoriously always, demonstrating the divine life in me, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY ‭‭John 3:5-7 KJV Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. [6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [7] Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

‭‭1 John 5:11-12 KJV And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. [12] He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

‭‭Romans 6:4 KJV Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

‭‭John 1:12-13 KJV But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: [13] Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING

1-Year Bible Reading Plan Mark 7:24-8:1-13 & Numbers 1-2

2-Year Bible Reading Plan Acts 21:27-39 & Psalm 42-43

EXCERPT FROM Rhapsody Of Realities Daily Devotional