The Kindnesses of the Lord

"I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the Lord has done for us ─ yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses.” ~ Isaiah 63:7

One of the ways we worship is telling the kindnesses of the Lord, and it is certainly not worship that is restricted to a preaching minister, worship leader, minister or someone sharing thoughts at the Lord’s table. Any and all of us can tell of His kindness toward us – Isaiah calls them “the deeds for which he is to be praised.”

“If you cannot sing like angels / If you cannot preach like Paul / You can tell the love of Jesus / You can say, ‘He died for all.’ “ – There Is a Balm in Gilead (traditional spiritual)

The Place Was Shaken

"After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." ~ Acts 4:31

After Peter and John stood up to the Sanhedrin – the same ruling council that had condemned Jesus probably just a few weeks before (Matthew 26:59) – they rejoined “their own people” and prayed boldly, a prayer of praise to God and request for His inspiration and power. It was a kind of second revival – another “aftershock” - after the wind-and-fire events of Pentecost (Acts 2) and the earthquake at Jesus’ death (Matthew 27:51). Peter and John had preached Christ boldly right in the temple courts ever since. Should we not also be about the business of boldly proclaiming Jesus … praying together our praise to God … asking for His inspiration and power in us, used to His glory?

Four-Dimensional Jesus

" Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." ~ Luke 2:52

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." ~ Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27

That's right. He grew four ways: in wisdom (mentally, intellectually; in mind), in stature (or strength; physically; in the ability to do things to His glory), in favor with God (spiritually; in His soul), and in favor with men (socially; in His heart for others). So, as a community of believers, we have an opportunity to grow and fill out each other's deficits and have our deficits enriched by their gifts. Surely God wants us to grow in all four dimensions - including our worship - just as Jesus did.