Welcome back fellow Christians and music enthusiasts. In this latest edition of my Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) series, we will take a close look at another Hillsong worship song that was greatly performed by pastor Darlene Zschech during her time with them. That song is titled Shout of the King.
Shout of the King was released as part of the 2002 album Blessed by Hillsong Music. The song’s words and music were done by Ned Davies. The album itself was a strong seller peaking at #4 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Now that the details have been laid down, we can take a close look at Shout of the King starting with its lyrics and followed by an examination of the holiness of the lyrics in connection with the Holy Bible…
Lyrics
Verse 1
I give You praise for You deserve it
I give You praise for what You’ve done
I give You praise for You are able
I give You praise ’til I overcome
–
Verse 2
I give You praise when the sun is shining
I give You praise in the dark of night
I give You praise when the battle rages
I give You praise ’til it works out right
–
Chorus
The shout of the King is among us
God lives here in our praises
The shout of the King is among us
Praise Him
Praise Him
Praise Him in everything
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Bridge
Heaven opens as we sing Your praise
Angels join us as we praise Your name
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End Tag:
Praise Him
Praise Him
Praise Him
Praise Him in everything
As you can clearly see, the word praise is often present throughout the lyrics from Verse all the way to the end. There are many expressions of the words praise as the song went on. Praise related to why the Lord deserves it all, praise in times of challenges or good times, praise for the name of the Lord and so on. The Holy Bible itself has lots of scriptures about praising God and here are some I found for you all.
Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His might firmament! Praise Him for His might acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
Psalm 150:1-6 (NKJV)
Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name.
2 Samuel 22:50 (NKJV)
“He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.”
Deuteronomy 10:21 (NKJV)
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:24 (NKJV)
At this point, we can start examining parts of the lyrics and search for their relevance to the Holy Bible starting with: I give You praise for You deserve it, I give You praise for what You’ve done, I give You praise for You are able, I give You praise ’til I overcome.
As it is already made clear in the Holy Bible, we would never have existed without God. He is the definitive creator of all life, the worlds, the universe and all the universes we have yet to discover. We Christians are mandated to praise Him, give thanks to Him and help Him spread His Word in this divided world we live in surrounded by many souls that are lost and unsaved. This is the truth that Satan does not want you to realize which explains why he uses tools to separate people from God like Communism, Marxism, political correctness, terrorism, anarchy, homosexuality, sexual immorality, feminism, idolatry, wokeness, covetousness, traditions, rituals, liberalism, abortion, social division, social justice (distorted justice), secularism, religion, atheism, socialism, racism, immorality and more. In other words, the enemy will do anything to prevent people from realizing their relationship with the Lord and stop them from praising Him. Satan does not want you to know that God is deserving, God’s creations and achievements can never be matched, God is able for He is omnipotent, and we His children who know the truth will keep praising Him not only while living in the flesh but eternally when we join Him in Heaven. By being faithful and edified under the Lord, we the children of God can easily resist Satan and make him walk away from us completely rejected and defeated Learn from the following scriptures below…
You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.
Revelation 4:11 (NKJV)
In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both of which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him, we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1:7-12 (NKJV)
Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve.”
Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
Matthew 4:10-11 (NKJV)
As seen in the above scriptures, God’s authority is unquestionable and untainted. In fact, His authority stands very tall permanently for He is just, loving, caring and fully moral as our source and creator. God is the Heavenly Father and Satan knows that when we are with the Lord, he will never be able to bring us down. Satan hates it when we know the truth of God’s Word and are edified under Him. Satan hates it when we follow Lord Jesus who Himself defeated the enemy more than once, and each victory proved to be significant forever. Lord Jesus redeemed humanity which sealed Satan’s permanent status as a loser and reversed the fall of humanity that Adam caused. The Lord is worthy of all our praise. Satan deserves nothing at all.
Next lines from the lyrics to analyze are as follows: The shout of the King is among us, God lives here in our praises. When the Lord talks to us, we should really listen. When He shouts, we definitely should focus on Him and respond accordingly. Learn from the holy scriptures below…
God has gone up with a shout, The Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
Psalm 47:5-6 (NKJV)
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NKJV)
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.”
Revelation 12:10 (NKJV)
The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.
Isaiah 42:13 (NKJV)
So there you have it! Shout of the King is indeed a very holy song with an uncompromising focus on praising our Lord. Its lyrics really connect with the Holy Bible a lot. Musically, Shout of the King is one of the more energetic songs I saw Darlene Zschech led when she was still with Hillsong’s musicians. The drums, the electric guitars and the trumpets used combined with the great vocals by Hillsong in performances led by Zschech really made the song very upbeat from start to finish. So energetic and holy it is, Shout of the Lord is ideal to play to really stir up Christians attending Sunday worship services or a special worship event. This song is highly recommended!
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there.
Welcome back, my fellow faithful Christians. We are about to have another series of biblical lessons now. Today, I am about to continue the topic of the Christian habits we need to develop so that each of us can remain strong in faith with the Lord, be guided accordingly and keep on moving in the same path with God. Christian habits are necessary for us because they will keep us strong, protected and victorious under God who is watching us.
Previously, the Christian habits discussed were as follows: Prioritizing God and His Word, building up your faith, and speaking the Word of God. All the details for each of these habits are available for your reading in the past article published October 28, 2020.
With the recap done, we can now proceed on the next Christian habit.
Remember when you were told to guard your mind and control what you think about? Such important are lessons are very true for us Christians but the difference is that the stakes are much higher because we are children of God and we have responsibilities to live up to.
The stakes are higher not because there are so many bad elements and distractions all around us. It is because Satan is persistent to ruin us through our thoughts by using deception on us and exploiting our human weaknesses. Although the stakes are higher, it certainly is not impossible for us to get edified with God’s Word and live with totally solid faith in the Lord which includes controlling our thought lives. As Christians, we don’t just control what we think about, we also focus on the Lord, remember the victory of Lord Jesus and live with it. To learn more, let’s look at the holy scripture below…
“This Book of 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.”
Joshua 1:8 (NKJV)
The above scripture emphasizes that meditating on God’s Word is essential and that includes learning all the holy lessons and implementing them on your daily life. That being said, dedication and uncompromised focus on God’s Word will help you guard your thoughts no matter what happens around. Satan can try to bring you down by tempting you with riches or sex, or he can try to spark your anger to spread negativity around, or mess with your dreams with wicked visions, or manipulate you to worship idols which is a very unholy thing to do. The enemy will also try to deceive you into believing that prosperity from God is false, poverty is good and money is inherently evil. Satan will attack you with thoughts to prevent you from realizing the good life from the Lord and prevent you from getting planted in a local church chosen by God for you. Do not be surprised that the enemy will try to make you think about embracing Leftism, Communism, socialism, Marxism, homosexuality, atheism, abortion, religion, idolatry, traditions, rituals, secularism and other forms of evil just to set you apart from God. I should state that Satan loves to use worldly beings like fake news makers, Leftist activists and politicians, anarchists, terrorists, secularists, abusive publishers, irresponsible journalists, idolaters, atheists, religion-led hierarchies and wicked people to bring down Christians and keep misleading the many unsaved and lost souls to cause chaos.
That being said, do not despair because with God, you will be protected, get guided and be built up to be a very strong and uncompromising Christian. With the Lord, nothing is impossible! By having unwavering faith and living with God’s Word, your thoughts can be protected and, more notably, you can resist and reject Satan. Once you are edified, you can defeat Satan and make him walk away the loser he has always been.
Meditating with the words of the Lord can help you strengthen your soul and build up the defense of your mind. Remember always that thoughts really affect the words you speak, your physical and mental health, your joy and peace. Meditation will help you get rid of the negativity in your mind, and it also helps you to always open your heart to the Lord and have fellowship with him wholeheartedly. Now we can go to the next scripture…
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV)
The key word above is obedience as it signifies attentive hearing, to listen with compliant submission, assent and agreement. Obedience is essential for you to obey the commands of God and being obedient to Lord Jesus. With regards to controlling your thought life, healing will happen when you renew your mind with God. His Word is required and you need to believe in it to receive divine healing from Him.
Along the way, you must control your thoughts to strongly focus and believe in God. Declare God’s Word by speaking from your heart. Back to your mind, never let your thoughts be unanswered. If there are any thoughts that bother you because they go against God’s Word, answer them by standing up with Him. This also means avoiding focusing on negativity and anything that Satan attacks you with. Don’t let your guard down, be very strong and vigilant with your faith in God. Always focus on Him.
Christian Habit #5 – Anchor your heart through praise
Praise is to commend, to praise, to adore and to glorify. For us Christians, we praise only God the Heavenly Father, His Son Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit. By praising, we as God’s creations and children should also do it by heart (wholeheartedly). There is joy in fellowship with the Lord as seen in the holy scripture below…
O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
Psalm 63:1-4 (NKJV)
As I learned from a local pastor who is totally edified under the Lord, praising is the highest form of prayer. Praise is also a language of faith. Singing is one way of praising our Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus our Lord and the Holy Spirit. In Hillsong Worship’s song King of Kings, there are notable lyrics emphasizing praise that go as follows: Praise the Father, Praise the Son, Praise the Spirit, Three in one.
More on praise, learn from the following holy scripture below…
I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Psalm 34:1 (NKJV)
The above scripture is about the singing of praise is to be continual. Praise in the scripture refers to a hymn of praise or the singing spontaneous praise to God (refer to Psalm 40:3). You sing and make melody in your heart to Him. With a heart filled with praise, it will find expression in songs and words being spoken and really overflowing from our mouths.
More on anchoring our hearts through praise, learn from what Lord Jesus said in the holy scripture below…
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you praise, believe that you will receive them, and you will have them.”
Mark 11:24 (NKJV)
Through hyperbole, Lord Jesus stressed how essential and truly powerful faith is. This also involves our hearts. No matter how great or how disastrous your situation is right now, keep on being very faithful to Him, keep on praising Him and never back down! Being a strong Christian also means being fluent with praise, and you must remember this permanently. Here’s another holy scripture to learn from…
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: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalm 103:1-6 (NKJV)
As seen in the above scripture, praising the Lord is essential! God is truly merciful and forgives us. God is loving and caring for us – His children and creations – He saves us and heals us inside out upon submitting to Him and getting born again. After all of these holy teachings, it is clear that you must make a habit of anchoring your heart through praise!
Praying in the spirit is essential. Let’s start with the holy scripture below…
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
Jude 1:20 (NKJV)
Praying in the holy spirit is vital for spiritual growth. Such praying includes praying in tongues (note: for deeper understanding read Chapters 1 to 10 of the Book of Acts, plus 1 Corinthians 14:4 and verse 14) which truly helps in building yourself up spiritually. Praying in tongues, which I included in my faith article about being in the privacy of your room for fellowship with God, is the doorway to the supernatural, and it allows you to go above the natural. Praying in tongues clears up the path ahead of you and help lead you to wisdom, revelation and encouragement. By praying in tongues, the Holy Spirit will move and fulfill God’s will for you. The truth is undeniable as you can see in the following holy scriptures below (note: key phrases in bold for emphasis)…
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV)
He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophecies edifies the church.
1 Corinthians 14:4 (NKJV)
For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.
1 Corinthians 14:14 (NKJV)
Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.
Acts 2:11 (NKJV)
For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
1 Corinthians 14:2 (NKJV)
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory.
1 Corinthians 2:7 (NKJV)
For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, To whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” And, “This is the refreshing”, Yet they would not hear.
Isaiah 28:11-12 (NKJV)
The above scriptures are all related and connected. Praying in tongues is indeed praying in the spirit and the Holy Bible explains why we use a language (note: praying in tongues is done by using random syllables) others cannot understand but we are assured God hears us and understands us correctly. That being said, we should not ignore the signs of communication to us by the Holy Spirit. We should follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and you can learn from this scripture below…
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
In this topic, baggage refers not to physical baggage but varied elements that set you back emotionally and spiritually. I’m talking about human factors influenced by this screwed-up world filled by many, many unsaved and lost souls. The types of baggage that set people back include unforgiveness, fear, anxiety, stress, sin, jealousy, unbelief, homosexuality, lust, envy, idolatry, pride, dishonesty and worry. I assure you that NONE of them should be part of your Christianity as all of them are not only human and worldly, but are also tools of Satan to set Christians back and separate them from God.
That being said, always remember that Lord Jesus paid the price to redeem us all so that we live on with His victory. As God’s children who got born again, we must always be very strong, edified, fearless, compassionate, loving, caring and aggressive members of the Body of Christ! You have problems, come to the Lord directly! You can get rid of baggage by learning from Lord Jesus in the holy scriptures below plus the scripture about the armor of God…
Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
John 14:1 (NKJV)
Don’t worry or surrender to your fear. For you’ve believed in God, now trust and believe in me also.
John 14:1 (TPT)
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace, I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 14:26-27 (NKJV)
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Ephesians 6: 11-13 (NKJV)
We Christians all have a race of faith to complete. In sports terms, foot-based racing involves generating a lot of speed and maintaining stamina to ensure you finish the race. In the sport of triathlon, you need to have speed, stamina, strength and carrying no heavy weight (baggage) to ensure you complete the swim, bike and run stages that the event is composed of. Going back to Christianity, baggage that set you back with your faith in God should absolutely be removed pronto and without hesitation! Your race in faith is essential! Learn from this final scripture below in the New King James Version and the Passion Translation with key parts in bold for emphasis…
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)
As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race[d with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us.
We look away from the natural realm and we fasten our gaze onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!
Hebrews 12:1-2 (TPT)
So there you have it! This completes my current two-part teaching about Christian habits each of us must do as we live by God’s Word (the Holy Bible) and continue to pursue the Lord for holiness, enlightenment and guidance. We are truly the Body of Christ. Right now, the seven Christian habits discussed as a whole set are: Prioritizing God and His Word, building up your faith, speaking the Word of God, control your thought life, anchor your heart through praise, praying in the spirit, and get rid of baggage.
From this point on, I would like to reach out to the lost and the unsaved people reading this. You can save yourselves by submitting to the Lord willingly. No force and no coercion here. You have time and freedom to decide to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. For those who have decided to get born again now, please read the instructions and follow the prayer that I learned from our pastor.
Are you ready? Firstly, open your heart to the Lord and pray this simple prayer in sincerity from your heart:
Dear God,
I believe that Jesus is Your Son, and that He died on the cross to pay the penalty of my sins. I believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead and that He is alive! Right now, I call on the name of Jesus. Jesus, come into my heart. I receive You as my personal Lord and Savior. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me by the power of Your blood. Thank You for saving me and giving me eternal life! Help me now to follow Your plan for my life. Amen.
Congratulations! You are now a child of God! You have received Holy Spirit in your heart! This is easily your greatest decision ever made and also the greatest miracle of your life. Always praise, thank and honor the Lord. No more darkness in your life caused by politics, radicalism, toxicity, rebellion, religion, unbelief, evil, idolatry, traditions and rituals! Leave behind the darkness of your life and don’t look back to it. Remember that idolatry is evil, Purgatory is a lie, penance is a deception and Satan always uses religion and unbelief to prevent people from being saved by the Lord.
With Lord Jesus, you are already moving forward and the best is yet to come! You also have a personal relationship with God, a relationship that is strictly off-limits to others (even to your household members or biological family members).
With your new life realized, make an effort to get yourself copy of the Holy Bible (start with New King James Version), study it and apply its lessons into your life no matter what situation you are in right now. I also recommend you to join a Christian church near you and find your place in the spiritual family. Be planted when the Lord shows you the way! Worship the Lord together with them and always remember that faith, not religion, is essential in your personal relationship with God.
The Holy Bible is the ultimate authority and nothing else comes close. Remember always that Lord Jesus did not die on the cross to start religion. He died to redeem us all and showed that we must be led by faith in Him, faith in the Holy Spirit and faith in God the Heavenly Father. He rose from the dead and made His earthly presence felt once more to those who believed in Him. Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven and He promised to return in the future. His return is what we must always remember and keep living with holiness under the watch of God.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
Hey everyone! Welcome back to this newest edition of my ongoing Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) series. Are you ready to pursue God our Heavenly Father, His Son Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit through holy music? You need a worship song to keep your faith enhanced right now? This website is the place!
With the details made clear, we can start with the lyrics displayed for you all below. The analysis of the lyrics will then follow. Enjoy the lyrics…
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Verse:
We come into Your presence
With singing
Come into Your presence
With praise
And enter Your gates
With thankful hearts
We are going to celebrate
All of heaven’s waiting
Power is on its way
So we shout hallelujah
Lifting to You
A mighty roar of praise
–
Chorus:
You deserve the highest praise
That we can give and more
Lord we give You our praise
That’s what we came here for
–
Bridge:
Everything within me
Reaches out to You
Your power Your majesty
Grace and mercy too
There’ll be singing and dancing
Hearts and voices raised
You have set Your people free
Now the house is filled with praise
–
You deserve the highest praise
You deserve the highest praise
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So you have now read the lyrics. Now we can examine lines and analyze its their connections with the Holy Bible starting with: We come into Your presence, With singing, Come into Your presence, With praise, And enter Your gates, With thankful hearts. To start with, singing to the Lord is recorded in many parts of the Holy Bible. Singing is one of the more definitive forms of praising Him, honoring Him and thanking Him for being our provider, protector, creator and our eternal refuge. Learn from the following scriptures below…
I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
Psalm 7:17 (NKJV)
Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacod, And glorified Himself in Israel.
Isaiah 44:23 (NKJV)
Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.”
Exodus 15:1-2 (NKJV)
But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
Acts 16:25 (NKJV)
Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.
Psalm 100:1-2 (NKJV)
The above holy scriptures relating to singing and praising the Lord in His presence with thankful hearts are just some of the many related scriptures recorded in the Holy Bible. I recommend you study the Bible in and out, especially when it comes to singing and praising to Him.
Now we proceed to the chorus of the song with the lines as follows: You deserve the highest praise, That we can give and more, Lord we give You our praise, That’s what we came here for. There is no doubt that the Lord deserves the highest praise we, His children, can give. There is no denying that each of us were created by God with plans already written even before we got created. We were NOT created to worship idols (the carved, the living and other things) and allow Satan to harm us and separate us from God by embracing evil. The truth is the Lord created us to glorify Him, serve Him, praise Him, honor Him and live by His Word (the Holy Bible), preach His Word and help Him save the many lost and unsaved souls here on Earth. Going back to the above lines from the chorus, the most relevant holy scriptures I found relating to them are posted below. Read closely…
Oh sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge peoples righteously.” Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the people’s with His truth.
Psalm 96:1-13 (NKJV)
I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your might acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on You wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness. They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, And shall sing of Your righteousness.
Psalm 145:1-7 (NKJV)
Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His might firmament! Praise Him for His might acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
Psalm 150:1-6 (NKJV)
As seen in the above scriptures, we are mandated to not only praise the Lord but give Him the highest praise! Do your very best in praising Him! Always remember that as this is indeed essential in Christian living.
Now we can proceed with further lines as follows: Everything within me, Reaches out to You, Your power Your majesty, Grace and mercy too. Reaching out to the Lord, submitting to Him, seeking His forgiveness and establishing a personal relationship with Him by being faithful (not religious) are inevitable and they can start by seeking Him. Seek God wholeheartedly! Learn from the following scriptures below…
But seek the first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
Hebrews 11:6-7 (NKJV)
But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 4:29 (NKJV)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 (NKJV)
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sings, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.
Ephesians 1:7-8 (NKJV)
Jesus answer and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of Good.”
John 3:3 (NKJV)
As seen above, God will always welcome people who seek Him and get born again by submission to Him and accepting His Son Jesus as Lord and Savior. A real seeker of the Lord is one who is not merely interested but really seeks Him wholeheartedly and with everything from within. It is by becoming born again a seeker can truly become a child of God. Getting baptized by water does NOT really save anybody, rather it is the baptism by the Holy Spirit (receiving the Holy Spirit after getting born again) is the way to be saved, followed by receiving God’s grace, mercy, guidance, protection and more!
This leads me to one more line for analyzing: You have set Your people free. Part of seeking God and becoming His child by getting born again includes getting freed by Him from the darkness of religion, unbelief, idolatry, traditions, rituals and the wickedness of Satan. As you should know, Adam’s rebellion against the Lord set everyone back until Lord Jesus paid the tremendous price to free humanity from sin which marked God’s victory over Satan. There is a reason why each and every lost and unsaved soul around us needs to get born again even though they don’t realize it. They need to seek God wholeheartedly and make their own decision to get born again. We the children of God can help by praying for them and preaching God’s Word around. They can still be saved. Once they get saved, then it means the Lord set them free.
Indeed, That’s What We Came Here For is a really holy song. Musically, it is a fast-paced song and that makes it ideal to be played early during a local church’s Sunday worship service as it can really motivate church members to praise and pursue the Lord. Darlene Zschech’s singing of this song is unsurprisingly great and wonderful. That’s What We Came Here For is highly recommended to all!
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there.
Hello everyone! Welcome back to my ongoing series called Christian Music Appreciation (CMA). Today we will take a close look at an old worship song from the 1990s titled I Live To Know You which was released years before social media started. As of this writing, the official video of a live performance of the song is available for viewing at the YouTube channel of Hillsong Worship.
Now we can start with the lyrics of the song presented below for your reference…
Standing in Your presence
Lord, my heart and life are changed
Just to love You and to live to
See Your beauty and Your grace
–
Heaven and earth cry out Your name
Nations rise up and seek Your face
And Your Kingdom is established
As I live to know You more
–
Now I will never be the same
Spirit of God, my life You’ve changed
And I’ll forever sing Your praise
I live to know You, Lord
I live to know You, Lord
–
You’ve called me, I will follow
Your will for me I’m sure
Let Your heart beat feel my heart’s cry
Let me live to serve Your call
Now we can start analyzing parts of the lyrics and find out how they are related to the ultimate authority of reference, the Holy Bible (God’s Word). Standing in Your presence, Lord, my heart and life are changed, Just to love You and to live to, See Your Beauty and Your grace – These lyrics easily relate to our true purpose as Christians. Being creations of the Heavenly Father, we are truly meant to praise Him, glorify Him, love Him and take our rightful place by Him. We were never made to be separated from God. Follow the scriptures below…
This people I have formed for Myself, They shall declare My praise.
Isaiah 43: 21 (NKJV)
“But the hour is coming, and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4: 23-24 (NKJV)
Praise the name of the LORD; Praise Him, O you servants of the LORD! You who stand in the house of the LORD, In the courts of the house of our God, Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant.
Psalm 135: 1-3 (NKJV)
Of course, before people can enter His kingdom, everyone needs to be born again. For the newcomers reading this, this is about submitting yourselves to the Lord, ask for forgiveness and then making the sacred decision to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Getting saved and become new creations under the Lord are what the lineLord, my heart and life are changed is about. Learn from the following scripture below…
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3: 3 (NKJV)
Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new.
2 Corinthians 5: 17 (TPT)
Next lines to analyze – Nations rise up and seek Your face, And Your Kingdom is established. These lyrics symbolize the realization of people who decide to seek the Lord and be willing to do His will instead of their own will. It is a fact that we all live in a screwed-up world because Satan (a long-time loser who is immortal because Adam gave him dominion by betraying God) continues to deceive a lot of people trapping them with unbelief, religion, idols, traditions, rituals, fear, strife, violence, poverty and more of what is worldly. It was with the victory of Lord Jesus over Satan that humanity got saved and brought real hope to everyone. It is up to people to decide to rise up, seek the Lord, submit themselves to Him and get saved. Once saved, they will become true children of God and be willing to do His will as He has a plan for each and everyone! Learn from the scriptures below…
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29: 11 (NKJV)
Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever, Amen.
Hebrews 13: 20 (NKJV)
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6: 33 (NKJV)
Next lines to analyze – Now I will never be the same, Spirit of God, my life You’ve changed, And I’ll forever sing Your praise, I live to know You, Lord. While the first three lines are connected with Isaiah 43: 21, John 4: 23-24, Psalm 135: 1-3 and other related verses in the Holy Bible, the line I live to know You, Lord is itself highly significant and very in-depth.
For people who have yet to be saved, knowing is based on the academic approach of this world which itself is not spiritual. To know the Lord truly is not limited to just reading books…it is about having an established personal relationship with Him and having fellowship with Him by means of privately praying in tongues to Him, being totally faithful to Him and living on with the Holy Bible as the ultimate authority of reference of their lives. To know the Lord truly involves personal interaction and communication with faith in Him as the foundation. Of course, anyone who has yet to really know the Lord must first decide to open his or her heart to Him and get saved (born again). Be open to the Holy Spirit. Learn from the following scriptures below…
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12: 2 (NKJV)
We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
1 John 4: 6-9 (NKJV)
“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel and those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Jeremiah 31: 33 (NKJV)
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
John 14: 26 (NKJV)
God revealed to the prophets that their ministry was not for their own benefit but for yours. And now, you have heard these things from the evangelists who preached the gospel to you through the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—the gospel containing wonderful mysteries that even the angels long to get a glimpse of.
1 Peter 1: 12 (TPT)
Finally, the next lines to be analyzed are as follows – You’ve called me, I will follow, Your will for me I’m sure, Let Your heart beat feel my heart’s cry, Let me live to serve Your call. It is very clear we are all God’s creations and long before we were even created, He made plans for each and every one of us. Long before we were even born, the whole world and humanity declined since Adam rebelled against God who later sent His Son Lord Jesus to save humanity and defeat Satan. As creations of God, it should not be surprising that He calls out to us. The calls He made, we must answer immediately and with the utmost priority. Learn from the scriptures below…
So never be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor be embarrassed over my imprisonment, but overcome every evil by the revelation of the power of God! He gave us resurrection life and drew us to himself by his holy calling on our lives. And it wasn’t because of any good we have done, but by his divine pleasure and marvelous grace that confirmed our union with the anointed Jesus, even before time began! This truth is now being unveiled by the revelation of the anointed Jesus, our life-giver, who has dismantled death, obliterating all its effects on our lives, and has manifested his immortal life in us by the gospel.
2 Timothy 1: 8-10 (TPT)
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who call you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are not the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
1 Peter 2: 9-10 (NKJV)
So there you have it. The lyrics written by Darlene Zschech for I Live To Know You are truly holy in accordance to what was written in the Word of God. Very clearly Zschech, who leads Hope Unlimited Church (HopeUC) with her husband Mark, was anointed by the Lord to compose this song during her time with Hillsong Church. When it comes to the music, I Live To Know You is played with a medium pace and is soothing to listen to. It also makes for easy singing and praising to the Lord.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there.
As children of God, being faithful is essential. Along the way, we must ensure that our faith in the Lord is always strong. It is understood we study the Holy Bible (God’s Word), apply its lessons into our lives no matter what situations we are in, worship the Lord together as a spiritual family on Sunday worship services, and pray in tongues to Him every day.
To add to those, we must also develop Christian habits. As you can see in the title of this article, this is the first of a short series of literary pieces about living with Christian habits. For this article, we will focus on having habits meant to strengthen our faith in God the Heavenly Father, His Son Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Having Christian habits will keep a Christian strong, protected from the enemy and stay victorious. More on gaining habits that will keep us stay strong in faith and lead us on His path, we’ll start off with the following holy scriptures.
Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Galatians 6:6-10 (NKJV)
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in the mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:21-25 (NKJV)
But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.
1 Timothy 4:7 (NKJV)
In Galatians 6:6-10, the apostle Paul applied the general principle of sowing and reaping to the support of those who teach Christianity, to moral behavior and to Christian service. Flesh is mentioned and it is the opposite of the spirit, which is why as Christians still living in the flesh on this screwed-up world we live in, we must strive hard to be very faithful to God and live with His Word in our respective lives in a disciplined and rightful manner. As such, this means we must develop habits not of the flesh but of Christianity. Christian habits will help prevent us from falling off the path of the Lord. People who are trapped by religion, by comparison, practiced unholy habits and rituals like idol worship for example. James 1:21-25 meanwhile is a very lively reminder that we must be doers of the word and never be limited to hearing only. Verse 21 explains that salvation comes not from the use of worldly methods, but from a meek, gentle acceptance of the implanted word. Verse 22 explains that salvation leads to service and that it is self-deceiving to believe that God’s goal for church attendance is merely hearing the word instead of experiencing a transformation of life that results in ministry. Verse 23 to 25 emphasizes that those who act on the word (implementing God’s Word in life) will be blessed while those who are limited to hearing or listening won’t be blessed. 1 Timothy 4:7 is about rejecting godless myths and other forms of falsehood that will get in the way of following the Lord. Developing Christian habits will remind us to live with God’s Word.
Now that we’re done with Galatians 6:6-10, James 1:21-25 and 1 Timothy 4:7, we can proceed with the ways on developing Christian habits by remembering always that we were created to serve the Lord, glorify Him and do His will! We are all meant to follow the Lord! Let’s start with the following scripture…
Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoever finds me fines life, And obtains favor from the LORD.
Proverbs 8:34-35 (NKJV)
Christian Habit #1 –prioritizing God and His Word.
The above holy scripture should remind each of us to listen to the Lord, discern and make decisions carefully. To make decisions and take action that are not in accordance to the will of God will only lead to hardship and even unholiness. It does not matter that we experience feelings in each of our respective circumstances because God’s Word is essential. Feelings are misleading and we can suffer or even drift away from Him if we rely on them for guidance. As Pastor Donna Crouch of Hillsong Church stated before, we Christians are not the sum total of what we feel! We are not supposed to be prisoners of our feelings! Feelings should never separate us from the Lord! The truth is, whether you are in joy, in pain, in disappointment, in anger, in confusion or in an optimistic state, you must always prioritize the Lord and follow Him. This is why we have the Holy Bible which is a truly living publication that never fails to guide faithful Christians.
This brings me to another point within the first Christian habit – always feed on God’s Word. You should make it a daily habit each morning ahead to grab the Holy Bible, open it and read it. Do not reach for your smartphone, reach for the Holy Bible first and foremost. After reading, take time to pray to Him. Pray in tongues while you are in your room with the door shut as you have fellowship with God who is in the secret place. Let this be how you start each new morning ahead of you. Be assured that doing this will keep you strong and be able to resist the devil and his wicked ways.
More on feeding on the Word of God, let’s look at the following scriptures below…
But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4 (NKJV)
Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
Jeremiah 29:12
Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and might things, which you do not know.
Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)
Matthew 4:4 above is one of the most powerful expressions in the Holy Bible that God’s Word is truly essential, and Lord Jesus spoke those words as He rejected Satan who tried to tempt Him. Truly, we are the creations of God and without Him we really cannot survive and cannot enter His kingdom. The scripture also marks Lord Jesus’ appeal to Scriptures which provides the clue for interpreting the Temptation narrative. Using God’s Word, Lord Jesus triumphed over the same temptations to which Israel had succumbed during the time in the wilderness, when they forced a test upon God in time of need. As this was one of Lord Jesus’ early victories, we the faithful Christians must follow His example and keep feeding on the Word of God.
Jeremiah 29:12 and Jeremiah 33:3 make it clear that communication with the Lord by means of praying wholeheartedly is essential. We must pray to Him every day and such communication is a top priority! Do not limit your fellowship with God to Sunday worship services and meal prayers. Pray to God every day! Are you busy at work? You can pray to Him during your free time and somehow you can find yourself some privacy somewhere when you are out of your home. To pray to Him is to feed on God’s Word.
As mentioned earlier, having Christian habits will keep you strong and protected from the enemy. Learn from the scripture below…
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, ‘I have overcome the world.’”
John 16:33 (NKJV)
John 16:33 makes clear that even in the midst of a crisis or persecution, there is indeed joyful peace in the certainty of the victory Lord Jesus achieved long ago. Tribulations are part of this screwed-up world we all live in and remember that Adam’s rebellion towards God granted Satan dominion. As such, prioritizing God and feeding on His Word always will keep you strong spiritually and you will be able to overcome opposition as well as any crisis. As long as we are edified and stand with God, nothing is impossible! Next scripture…
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
1 John 5:4 (NKJV)
The above scripture reconfirms that the victory of Lord Jesus is true and very real for as long as we have faith! Religion is not mentioned at all. It is faith that will ensure our rightful place in the kingdom of God as His children as well as the citizens of His kingdom. This brings me to the next point – spending time with the Lord and having fellowship with Him every day is essential. Each of us faithful Christians must make time for the Word of God by reading the Holy Bible. Are you busy with video games or a sports activity during your free time? Put God’s Word first before you enjoy those. It should be noted that due to all the hectic activities of local societies, Christians encounter a lot of problems because they failed to make it a daily habit to prioritize God and His Word. Now, you know better.
Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
1 Samuel 30:6 (NKJV)
The above scripture shows that David took great responsibility with his faith in God. Even though he was grieving to the point of exhaustion, he did not give up. Instead David used the occasion to strengthen himself in the Lord, and this was at the same time when many other people gave in to their feelings (grief) and decided to take his life.
The point here was that even in a very difficult situation, David built up his faith and looked up to the Lord. That being said, we Christians must always take responsibility with the faith we have. Remember that God gave us His grace and our faith is clearly our responsibility. We must always strive hard to deepen and strengthen our faith in Him. It is also clear that it is according to your faith what you will receive from God. In the case of David, God gave him strength.
Powerful faith can make tremendous differences in your life. That includes miracles. All the more reason to build up your faith and be very responsible as well. Learn from the following scripture below…
who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Hebrews 11:33-34 (NKJV)
As confirmed above, the power of faith in the Lord is undeniably true. How can you build up your faith? By hearing the Word of God and implementing the lessons learned into your personal life. Symbolically, faith is the seed in your heart. The Word of God is the water of life for the seed (faith). As such, studying the Holy Bible all over again is essential and when you live by it, God’s additions to your faith will be added and then blessings, guidance and enlightenment from Him will manifest! I know because I personally experienced these since I got born again.
Keep hearing on God’s Word again, again and again. It sounds repetitive but be assured that each time you learn from God’s word, you will learn something new and refreshing. You should listen carefully to pastors whom God has chosen to spread the Word through churches and its members who have been planted. As you implement the lessons into your daily life, you will not only get blessed by the Lord, you can become a blessing to others.
Be lively with your faith. Be discerning. Be led by the Holy Spirit. Guard your faith well by guarding the Words of God from other words that are contrary. Clear your heart and make sure that it will not get filled with unholy and wicked influences. By building up your faith as a habit, you will be able to follow the Lord all the way!
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)
“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”
Mark 11:23 (NKJV)
There is indeed a need for each of us Christians to speak God’s Word to others wholeheartedly. Preach the Word verbally or do it online by means of blogging, tweeting, messaging and emailing to others. Before doing these, however, each of us must be very careful about what to say. As Christians, we are a peculiar people (refer to 1 Peter 2:9) that the many unsaved and lost souls we co-exist with in this screwed-up world cannot understand. There will be opposition towards Christianity, so be ready to brace yourselves.
That being said, once you are ready for the world, maintain unwavering faith in the Lord to gain courage and go out saying God’s words, preaching the truth, the good news and help strengthen the faith of your fellow Christians (note: be a blessing to others).
Along the way, you must not waste your tongue to speak death. Certainly you should not add to the negativity that exist around us for it is not God’s way. Again, you must keep on-track with the Lord’s path by saying His words. Truly, when you say what God says, He will make good things happen in response to what you declared.
For clarity, what Lord Jesus said in Mark 11:23 was about the power of faith in the Christian’s heart and such power can help one overcome great obstacles or challenges (which the mountain mentioned in the scripture symbolizes). Faith is indeed the key that releases the resources of heaven into a faithful Christian’s situation. In Proverbs 18:21, the tongue’s power is greatly emphasized because with it, a person can make declarations and influence others. To speak death is to declare life’s negatives as well as defeat or constant complaining. To speak life is to speak God’s perspective on any issue of life.
Ultimately, we must be very careful with the way we use our tongue. As Christians, the real and definitive way of using our tongues is by declaring God’s words and the truth as recorded in the Holy Bible.
So there you have it! The first three Christian habits emphasized here are: Prioritizing God and His Word; Building up your Faith; and Speaking the Word of God. No matter what happens, you must always have strong, unwavering faith in the Lord and that includes putting God’s Word in your heart on a daily basis. As mentioned earlier, having Christian habits will keep you strong under the Lord, protected from the enemy and help prevent you from going off the path of the Lord. Sometime in the future, another set of Christian habits will be presented here. To end this teaching, here is one final holy scripture for you all…
Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.
1 Corinthians 16:13 (NKJV)
From this point on, I would like to reach out to the lost and the unsaved people reading this. You can save yourselves by submitting to the Lord willingly. No force and no coercion here. You have time and freedom to decide to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. For those who have decided to get born again now, please read the instructions and follow the prayer that I learned from our pastor.
Are you ready? Firstly, open your heart to the Lord and pray this simple prayer in sincerity from your heart:
Dear God,
I believe that Jesus is Your Son, and that He died on the cross to pay the penalty of my sins. I believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead and that He is alive! Right now, I call on the name of Jesus. Jesus, come into my heart. I receive You as my personal Lord and Savior. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me by the power of Your blood. Thank You for saving me and giving me eternal life! Help me now to follow Your plan for my life. Amen.
Congratulations! You are now a child of God! You have received Holy Spirit in your heart! This is easily your greatest decision ever made and also the greatest miracle of your life. Always praise, thank and honor the Lord. No more darkness in your life caused by politics, radicalism, toxicity, rebellion, religion, unbelief, evil, idolatry, traditions and rituals! Leave behind the darkness of your life and don’t look back to it. Remember that idolatry is evil, Purgatory is a lie, penance is a deception and Satan always uses religion and unbelief to prevent people from being saved by the Lord. With unwavering faith in God, you can defeat Satan and all those forms of evil.
With Lord Jesus, you are already moving forward! You also have a personal relationship with God, a relationship that is strictly off-limits to others (even to your household members or biological family members).
With your new life realized, make an effort to acquire a copy of the Holy Bible (start with New King James Version), study it and apply its lessons into your life no matter what situation you are in right now. I also recommend you to join a Christian church near you and find your place in the spiritual family. Be planted when the Lord shows you the way! Worship the Lord together with them and always remember that faith, not religion, is essential in your personal relationship with God.
The Holy Bible is the ultimately authority and nothing else comes close. Remember always that Lord Jesus did not die on the cross to start religion. He died to redeem us all and showed that we must be led by faith in Him, faith in the Holy Spirit and faith in God the Heavenly Father. He rose from the dead and made His earthly presence felt once more to those who believed in Him. Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven and He promised to return in the future.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there. Also please consider making a donation to support my publishing of faith articles and CMAs (Christian Music Appreciation articles).
We are Christians living with strong faith in the Lord. The day each of us got born again and willingly accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we truly became children of God and we each live with holiness while deepening our respective personal relationship with Him.
We Christians pray in tongues, we tithe, we study God’s Word (the Holy Bible) and apply its lessons into our lives no matter how screwed up the world we live in is. We Christians don’t need religion at all and we reject idolatry, religious traditions and religious rituals. We also are defiant towards unbelief and whatever tricks Satan tries to bring us down with. As believers of Jesus, we already have His victory and not even Satan can defeat us. We are led by the Holy Spirit which we received in our hearts when we got saved.
We are the Body of the Christ. We Christians are the church who follow Jesus! As such, it is only expected that each and every one us be fearless and aggressive under Christ.
To be fearless and aggressive as Christians were key lessons from pastors I learned from. As such, let me share to you how we the Body of Christ can keep on being strong under Lord Jesus starting with being a fearless church and as a fearless Christian. Heed the words of Jesus Himself.
Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
John 14:1 (NKJV)
Don’t worry or surrender to your fear. For you’ve believed in God, now trust and believe in me also.
John 14:1 (TPT)
“If you love Me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
John 14:15-17 (NKJV)
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace, I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 14:26-27 (NKJV)
The above scriptures from the different parts of Chapter 14 of the Book of John emphasize Jesus talking about the promise of the Holy Spirit. For that alone, there really is no reason for us believers to fear at all. We only need to fear the Lord because that is essential to gaining wisdom from Him. Other than that, for as long as we stay faithful, we don’t need to fear even the most unpredictable turnout of events in this screwed up world we live in such as poverty, crime, unemployment, terrorism, violence, corruption, idol worship, atheism, religion, uncontrolled emotions, panicking, temptations and the like. Because with the Holy Spirit we are not only protected but also guided and the Lord is watching us from high above. He will not abandon us nor let evil take us away from Him. The words of Jesus in John 14 are not only still strongly relevant but are indeed living words for us to follow! Jesus, who died on the cross, came back to life, spent time with people and ascended to Heaven with the promise to return, is clearly alive!
We children of God are no longer living in sin because, clearly, Jesus redeemed us all from the darkness that started with Adam’s rebellion towards God. We are not only saved by Him but we are also new creations under Him. We Christians really have to be fearless and we are citizens of God’s kingdom! To learn more about who we are in Christ, let’s move on to the next holy scriptures.
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His might power,
Ephesians 1:17-19 (NKJV)
I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of revelation[a] to know him through your deepening intimacy with him. I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling—that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that he finds in us, his holy ones! I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power,
Ephesians 1:17-19 (TPT)
And now we, his church, are his body on the earth and that which fills him who is being filled by it!
Ephesians 1:23 (TPT)
See? We really have reasons to be the fearless church of Jesus. By having faith, we will experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power not occasionally, not sometimes but continually! As Christians driven by faith (not religion), we are indeed God’s special people (refer to 1 Peter 2:9) and there definitely should be no room for us to fear. God’s guidance and enlightenment for us are already tremendous making fear irrelevant! No fear, no panicking, no trembling and no doubting! We the fearless church of Christ can move forward with holiness and defeat Satan again and again!
To put things in perspective, after getting born again and growing with the Holy Spirit in our hearts, the Lord, who made plans for each of us since before birth, really planned for us Christians to be joined together as His Body and we the members are meant to be strong, fearless and aggressive! Believe not in your feelings, not in fear but in the Holy Spirit and remember that God and Lord Jesus are watching us. Remember also Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for humanity.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
1 Peter 3:18 (NKJV)
Suffering affects everyone. There is no doubt about that. Jesus suffered tremendously so that we will all be saved and pave the way for us into God’s kingdom. It takes faith, not religion, in the Lord for salvation to be realized. We Christians should always remember that our existence is clearly not limited to living in the flesh but also in the spiritual realm. As saved souls, we will go straight to Heaven once we die in the flesh here on Earth. We will go straight to God’s kingdom and take our respective places in it. There is no such thing as purgatory, an ancient deception of religious and evil nature! Purgatory is a lie created by the enemy who clearly influenced religious teachings and religious traditionalists which resulted distorted teachings of Christianity (by religion-driven people and institutions). We Christians have the Word of God (the Holy Bible) as the definitive and ultimate reference of faith! Upon death in this world, we the children of God will go straight to Him in His kingdom! There is nothing to fear!
Let’s move on.
And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:4 (NKJV)
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18 (NKJV)
With the Holy Spirit in us, God made a way for us to know Him and His presence. We Christians get to know Him as individual members and as a church gathered together. Even when we have nobody around us, we Christians are never really alone because we have a living personal relationship with God. We can communicate with God privately when alone and the effective way to do it is to be in our respective rooms with the door shut and pray to Him (refer to Matthew 6: 6). We have access to Him! Again, there is no room for fear nor despair here. With God, nothing is impossible and this leads me to the next holy scripture.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
2 Corinthians 4:7 (NKJV)
Treasure refers to the knowledge of God in the face of Christ. Earthen vessels are weak and breakable. The above scripture emphasizes how weak we are living in the flesh and yet we can live spiritually strong under the Lord. See the paradox? As our pastor taught us, we can only live in the flesh up to one hundred and twenty years maximum. Of course, being children of God living here on Earth, we have the Holy Spirit in our hearts and we really have missions to live in holiness, spread God’s Word and save the many billions of unsaved and lost souls before we expire and go to Heaven to join Him. Remember, with God, nothing is impossible and our being fragile as fleshly beings here on Earth should never be taken as a hindrance nor should we let it prevent us from being the fearless church of Lord Jesus!
Now that being fearless Christians has been discussed a lot already, we can move on with discussing being aggressive Christians! Let’s start with the armor God provides us in the next holy scripture.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Ephesians 6:11-13 (NKJV)
With God’s armor provided, we are already protected in the fight against evil. As members of the Body of Christ, we have the means to move forward strongly, defeat Satan and saved the many unsaved souls. Take note that in the above scripture, our battle is spiritual and not physical. We should always be able to discern between the spiritual struggle and the personal, the political and the social difficulties. We should focus on defeating Satan and his force of evil, not human adversaries. That means being aggressive with our prayers, and becoming established prayer warriors of Lord Jesus! We have the spiritual resources, the authority of Christ over evil and the Lord’s will to display His wisdom through the church (that means us Christians). No place for fear here and we have a lot of reasons to be aggressive as Christians!
Next scripture…
The LORD shall go forth like a might man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.
Isaiah 42:13 (NKJV)
Isaiah 42:13 emphasizes that we the Children of God already have a leader (the Lord Himself) to follow as well as strength to rely on so that we can strive forward. That being said, we really have to be aggressive with our prayers, our faith and spirituality since we also have the Holy Spirit in us. There is simply no room for weakness nor fear for Christians. This should also serve as a reminder, especially to the new Christians (and the souls that need to be saved) reading this, that we Christians need to be edified. Edification itself requires aggressiveness with our faith and dedication under the Lord. Apart from studying the Holy Bible and praying in your room with the door shut, you can also do other things to strengthen yourself spiritually like praying in tongues while walking around the block or around your house.
To be aggressive with our Christianity is not a seasonal thing but rather a truly, more regular thing in our lives under the watch of God. Be a prayer warrior, a Holy Bible-oriented Christian, a preacher, a tither, a helper and spread goodness to save the unsaved souls for the rest of your life in the flesh while waiting for the return of Lord Jesus. Be a doer of the Word of God! Now on to the next verse.
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;
Colossians 4:2 (NKJV)
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, be a prayer warrior with God’s Word as your definitive reference and your heart remaining open always to the Lord. We need to pray daily and this includes praying in tongues (for enlightenment read the first ten chapters of the Book of Acts in the Holy Bible). Don’t waste your time and energy on repetitive prayers (read Lord Jesus’ own words in Matthew 6:7-8) and remember the Model Prayer from Lord Jesus. Don’t give up praying to the Lord no matter what the situation is around you. Be aggressive with prayer! Be a prayerful Christian who is truly connected with the Lord! On to the next verse…
Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)
Those were powerful words from God Himself, declared before Adam rebelled against Him (which was preceded by Satan as a serpent tempting Eve). Right from the start, God made tremendous plans for us – His creations – to populate the Earth and have His authority to rule over the creatures. Thousands of years after Adam’s rebellion, Jesus came and sacrificed Himself to redeem humanity and restore mankind to fulfill God’s plan. As Christians who got born again and saved, we are God’s children and He wants us to save the lost and unsaved souls around us using His Word. Being a fearless and aggressive church is in accordance to God’s plan.
Once your goodness and holiness have been noticed by others, they will have the opportunities to pause, reflect and eventually decide to be saved without any force imposed on them. Heed the words of Lord Jesus in the following scripture…
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)
To be fearless and aggressive as Christians is inevitable. We are the children of God and we are the church of Lord Jesus. We are the Body of Christ and under His holiness, we have common purposes to live up to even as each of us maintains (and deepens) our respective personal relationship with God.
Go to work with the Holy Spirit! Be led by the Holy Spirit! Defy darkness, unbelief, religion, idols, relics, images, traditions and rituals. Move forward as a fearless, confident and aggressive Christian! Force is not necessary, but the Word of God is essential to shed light on the world that has long been darkened by Satan. We the children of God have the means to defeat Satan again and saved the unsaved souls! We the children of God have the Lord’s authority!
Now, I’d like to reach out to the lost souls and the unsaved souls reading this. Please read closely and open your hearts.
If you seek salvation now, learn that the first step is to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Never be fooled into believing that your past defined you and your future. With Jesus, you will become a child of God and a whole new creation complete with your sins from the past washed away! You will become a true Christian with a holy purpose!
Once you are ready, pray this simple prayer (I learned from my pastor) in sincerity from your heart:
Dear God,
I believe that Jesus is Your Son, and that He died on the cross to pay the penalty of my sins. I believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead and that He is alive! Right now I call on the name of Jesus. Jesus, come into my heart. I receive You as my personal Lord and Savior. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me by the power of Your blood. Thank You for saving me and giving me eternal life! Help me now to follow Your plan for my life. Amen.
Congratulations! You are now a child of God! Praise the Lord and always be faithful to Him! No more darkness in your life caused by unbelief or religion (and the idolatry, images, traditions and rituals that come with it). Your new life has begun and you are now a member of the Body of Christ. Now find a Christian church in your local community to connect with.
In ending this, here are some videos of Christian worship music for you to enjoy and praise the Lord with.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there.
In my old life, I used to be fond of celebrating Halloween. Having been Born Again, I realized my true purpose in life under God the Father and His Son Jesus. That being said, I realized how wrong it is to celebrate Halloween which is essentially evil and unholy for any Christian (including those who practice idolatry which itself is sinful). Halloween will take Christians away from the Lord and that alone is reason enough to reject it.
Halloween’s origin is Celtic by nature and it is connected with observing the sacrifices to gods under the Druidic culture. There is also Samhain, a dark lord who sends out evil souls to attack humans who try to save themselves by wearing disguises with the images of those very evil souls.
Sounds familiar? It is because there are these modern day Halloween practices that are linked to the evil rites and superstitions of Halloween. In the modern world where Halloween gets celebrated, people (including many children) go out and around their local communities wearing costumes of horror figures like zombies, demons, monsters and pop culture-related villains (examples: Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers). These costumed Halloween participants, looking horrific, would visit any household that offers candy for trick-or-treat. Wearing “non-horror” costumes like superhero attire or fantasy attire (example: dressed like a princess) does NOT reduce the evil that comes with Halloween. There is no such thing as an innocent way of celebrating Halloween.
And then there are those multimedia-related ways of celebrating Halloween like watching horror movies back to back or playing video games that carry strong horror themes. There is also the business aspect of Halloween as food retailers promote the season by linking it with selling candy and chocolate (clearly to take advantage of families or groups that intend to give away the sweets during trick-or-treat Halloween celebrations in the local communities).
Halloween trick-or-treat here in the Philippines even made its way to local government units. In October of 2016 and 2017, the City Government of Parañaque organized trick-or-treat at City Hall which attracted kids wearing costumes (including horror and superhero attire) who visited varied offices that give away candy. During those times, the City Government even organized special events at the nearby city sports complex celebrating Halloween which I find rather disturbing.
In my old life, I enjoyed celebrating Halloween and I used to ignore the claims that it was unholy and evil. While I never went out for trick-or-treat as a kid, I helped out in giving candy to costumed visitors. I also hiked around the local area photographing the Halloween activities flocked by participants, and then uploading those pics online for social media users to view. I also took time celebrating Halloween by watching horror movies.
Looking back, I honestly admit that celebrating Halloween was indeed wrong. Now that I’m a saved soul and a dedicated Christian with a living relationship with the Lord, I declare that Halloween is wrong, unholy and evil. Halloween is a popular tool used by Satan to take people away from God and Jesus. Halloween definitely should be rejected always and we Christians must always be with God. Let me discuss the following points.
“Is it okay for a Christian to celebrate Halloween?”
The answer is a definite NO. Let’s take a look at the Holy Scripture below.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.
1 Corinthians 10:21 (NKJV)
And now the Amplified version.
You cannot drink [both] the Lord’s cup and the cup of demons. You cannot share in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons [thereby becoming partners with them].
1 Corinthians 10:21 (AMP)
Very clearly, there is no room to worship both the Lord and evil. If you want to be with the side of God and Jesus, you really need to purify yourself and free yourself from whatever form of evil thrown at you by Satan. Satan is a loser indeed, however he still exists because Adam gave him dominion (read about Adam’s Rebellion) and as long as he exists, he will do anything to take you away from God, to prevent you from worshiping the Lord and will use anything (including religion and idolatry) to prevent you from making progress with the Lord. Halloween is one of Satan’s weapons against Christianity. Halloween is also a long-time tool of the enemy to embrace evil.
If you sinned by celebrating Halloween and committing other sinful acts in your past, you can still be saved (note: you need to be born again to be saved. Heed the words of Jesus in John 3:3) because God is merciful and you need to be willing to repent, submit to Him and dedicate yourself to Him with an established personal relationship with Him.
Be aware that goodness comes from God and evil comes from Satan. It’s as clear as night and day. If you are a saved soul, then it is clear you should stand with God and His Son Jesus. Being dedicated to the Lord will spare you from evil, and that takes willingness and decisiveness from your end.
Learn from this Holy Scripture.
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:1-10 (NKJV)
Each and every one of us was created to be loyal, faithful, loving and dedicated towards our Heavenly Father God and His Son Lord Jesus even as we were granted the freedom to think, act and decide. Even before we were even made, God established a plan for each and every one of us. Worshiping Satan, embracing evil, celebrating Halloween and living a life full sin and wickedness are obviously NOT part of God’s plan for us all.
By realizing the true purpose of your existence under God, you will realize that it is your destiny to be saved and to be faithful (not religious) to the Lord. Satan used a whole lot of tools to prevent God’s creations from being with Him. Satan used not only Halloween but also religion, idolatry, money, power, destruction, secularism, atheism, agnosticism, Marxism, socialism, Communism, Leftism, entertainment and a whole batch of other tools to bring Christians down and make evil stronger.
Going back to Halloween, that celebration of evil includes witchcraft which is an abomination! In our world, it is too easy for people to go out wearing costumes to look like witches and this alone spreads the influence of evil around. There are also filmmakers and other creative people out there who made witchcraft look cool or even a good custom to practice. The 1996 Hollywood movie The Craft is one such example of spreading Satan’s influence to the public and I personally recommend to you readers to avoid watching that movie (note: destroy whatever physical or digital copies you have of it) at all. In addition, I urge you to avoid spending your hard-earned money on such evil, and that means boycotting promotional products of Halloween and anything related to evil. Witchcraft and related stuff like sorcery, necromancy and magic are abominations as written in the Holy Bible. Read the Holy Scripture below.
“When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.”
Deuteronomy 18:9-12
Those abominations that look good in entertainment media are all made to deceive you and prevent you from achieving progress and purity with the Lord. From time to time, there are media reports about real life people who practice witchcraft, sorcery and other unholy customs that make this world a terrible place under the eyes of God. That is, obviously, very unfortunate because it proves how screwed up our physical world really is.
Even appearances can add to the influence of evil. You think going out in local community Halloween celebrations dressed as a witch, or as a magician or as a sorcerer (or even cosplaying as Marvel’s Doctor Strange) is okay with the Lord for as long as you don’t practice witchcraft and the like? Wrong! Imagery or appearances of evil spread evil and deceives others. Such imagery also will influence people to embrace idolatry which itself is a sin. Already there are many people who not only celebrate Halloween (Satan’s festival) but also idolized evil figures like the Jack-O-lantern, Dracula, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger and more. Idolaters will not inherit the kingdom of God! Very clearly, idolatry is unholy! Learn from the scripture below.
Surely you must know that people who practice evil cannot possess God’s kingdom realm. Stop being deceived! People who continue to engage in sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, sexual perversion, homosexuality, fraud, greed, drunkenness, verbal abuse, or extortion—these will not inherit God’s kingdom realm.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (TPT)
Rejecting Halloween Effectively
You might be wondering: how are we Christians supposed to reject Halloween and its evil effectively?
First, we must realize our purpose as Christians from the following Holy Scripture.
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in this world.
1 John 4:4 (NKJV)
And the Amplified version…
Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind].
1 John 4:4 (AMP)
With that Holy Scripture in two versions, it is clear that as children of God, we are victorious for we believe in the victory of Jesus over Satan. With God on our side, nothing is impossible and we have the power to reject fear, reject evil and reject Satan ultimately. It is by faith in the Lord, not religion and not idolatry, that Christians are special and holy. Stronger than Satan too.
With God on our side, Halloween’s global popularity can be wiped away and its influence of evil on others can be removed and be replaced with the goodness and the biblical truth emphasizing the holiness and victory of Jesus.
If you are looking for practical ways to reject Halloween (and Satan), I would suggest the following:
Instead of watching horror movies or anything that carries the influence of evil, go watch YouTube videos of Christian praise-and-worship songs like the following below.
Instead of going out on Halloween trick-or-treat, pray to the Lord in your room with the door shut (refer to Matthew 6:6 in the Holy Bible) and be aware that in this way, the Lord is in a secret place and when He sees in secret, you will be rewarded openly. If your church is open or has a holy activity at the same time as Halloween is being held on October 31, make an effort to go to church with the Lord in mind.
Instead of looking at evil images or reading materials that are related to Halloween, better read the Holy Bible or a Christian book.
Christian books that you must read.
By now, it is clear that as Christians we must always maintain strong faith, trust and dedication to God and His Son Jesus. It also means we must be pure in holiness and there definitely is no room for us to accommodate evil in all its forms. As such, Halloween must be rejected always and its evil presence only means we must persevere more to meet God’s high call. We are all God’s creations and He made plans for each and every one of us even before we were even created. Obviously we were NOT created to worship nor magnify evil at all! We are destined to be saved (be born again) and live in holiness following Jesus. We pray to Him, serve Him, thank Him and dedicate ourselves to Him for the rest of our time.
Let me end this with one more Holy Scripture.
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.
Colossians 1:13 (NKJV)
Thank you for reading. If you find this Christianity article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
If you want your prayers to be heard clearly by God, then you must do your praying properly. For one thing, you must open your heart to the Lord before you do any praying at all. Also keep in mind that faith in the Lord is done by the heart and not by the brain.
What is the most proper way to pray? The answer is the Model Prayer recorded in the Holy Bible (New King James Version), specifically at Matthew chapter 6, verse 5 to 15.
Recorded in Matthew 6:5-15are the words of Jesus in red:
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
My explanation: The scripture above points out that as we pray to the Lord, we should not be like the hypocrites who are defined as people doing public displays of praying which is improper. To really pray properly, showing off is a big no-no and praying privately is the way to do it. Each of us have intentions and personal messages to send to the Lord through prayer and to pray while being seen by others is just wrong. This brings me to the next scripture.
“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
The scripture clearly shows that praying in private (in this case doing it in the privacy of a room with the door shut) is essential. This ensures that you have not only a better environment for praying but also a clearer channel of communication between you and God who is in His secret place. We the believers of the Lord must keep up with the Lord’s requirements for whatever communication we have with Him. As part of your praying method, it is recommended to pray in tongues as it enables your spirit to pray, enables you to speak to God, enables you magnify Him and edify yourself along the way. To understand praying in tongues, I recommend reading Acts chapter 1 to 10.
We move on….
“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
This one is self-explanatory. Repetitive prayers do not work at all. Just because you repeat words of your prayer does not mean it will boost your prayer’s chances of being heard by God. You only need to pray to the Lord with a clear message that is also straight to the point. You should make yourself transparent to God when communicating with him. That is why before praying to Him, you must write down what you have in mind and make sure you pray to Him with a complete message as possible so that repeating will be unnecessary. We should understand that God prefers us to be clear and go straight to the point with Him. Repeating prayers, at least in my view, is an annoyance. A time waster event.
We move on…
“Therefore do not be like them. For Your Father knows that things you have need of before you ask Him.
The scripture points back at the hypocrites who not only do public displays of their praying but also repeat their prayers. They don’t realize that they have been doing their prayers the improper way. As such, we the believers of God know better and we must take advantage of the knowledge on praying properly and privately to Him. Note that God can see through us and anticipate what we would ask of Him. All the more reason to be clear and go straight to the point when communicating with the Lord.
Now we move on to realize proper praying…
In this manner, therefore, pray:Our Father in heaven,Hallowed by Your name.Your kingdom come.Your will be done.On earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our debts,As we forgive our debtors.And do not lead us into temptation,But deliver us from the evil one.For Yours is the kingdom and thepower and glory forever. Amen.
Never forget to pray with the above holy words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember them, reflect upon them and live by them as you practice faith in the Lord.
We move on…
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.“But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
The above scriptures explain clearly that forgiving others is an essential thing to do in order to be forgiven by the Lord. There is simply no exemption nor exceptions here. Even if you have a mortal enemy or a rival who cannot forgive you, you still must forgive that person because if you don’t then the Lord won’t forgive you.
What you just read were passages from Matthew 6:5-15 emphasizing the Model Prayer. Clearly praying to the Lord requires the proper ways of praying that includes praying to Him privately, being transparent with Him, being ready with our intentions or personal messages to communicate with Him while avoiding repetitions, familiarizing ourselves with the holy words of prayer and learning to forgive others. Also never forget that praying to the Lord has so much to do with your personal relationship with Him.
In addition, posted below is the Model Prayer from the Passion Translation (TPT) of the Holy Bible…
“Whenever you pray, be sincere and not like the pretenders who love the attention they receive while praying before others in the meetings and on street corners. Believe me, they’ve already received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your innermost chamber and be alone with Father God, praying to him in secret. And your Father, who sees all you do, will reward you openly. When you pray, there is no need to repeat empty phrases, praying like the Gentiles do, for they expect God to hear them because of their many words. There is no need to imitate them, since your Father already knows what you need before you ask him. Pray like this: ‘Our Beloved Father, dwelling in the heavenly realms, may the glory of your name be the center on which our lives turn. Manifest your kingdom realm, and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is in heaven. We acknowledge you as our Provider of all we need each day. Forgive us the wrongs we have done as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us. Rescue us every time we face tribulation and set us free from evil. For you are the King who rules with power and glory forever. Amen.’ “And when you pray, make sure you forgive the faults of others so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you withhold forgiveness from others, your Father withholds forgiveness from you.”Matthew 6:5-15 (TPT)
Before each of us were even born, God made plans for every one of us. We who believe in the Lord must prove ourselves faithful to Him so that we will know our true purpose from Him, so that we will each receive a task from Him, so that we will prosper and get rewarded by Jesus (Revelations 22:12).
I pray that you, the reader, learned something essential here and will learn how to apply these lessons into your Christian living. Finally, I recommend you read the words Jesus said in John 3:3.
From this point on, I would like to reach out to all the lost and the unsaved people reading this. Did a religious and idolatrous extremist ruin your life? Have you been living in bondage for too long? Did the atheists, the humanists and the secularists fool you and abused you? Were you victimized by crook? Have you been living as a homosexual or as a transgendered person? Are you still addicted to sex, drugs and other inappropriate elements? Did you spend an entire life worshiping statues, statuettes, images, people and relics? Are you a toxic person or one of those modern-day Leftist activists (Black Lives Matter, Democratic Socialists of America, Antifa, the abortionists and others) who got fed up fighting for worthless causes? Did you kill someone and have been living so long with the guilt?
All of the darkness related to what were mentioned above can finally end and you can decide to do it! How? You can save yourselves by submitting yourselves to the Lord Jesus willingly and realize He is the Light! No force and no coercion here. You have time and freedom to decide to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. For those who have decided to get born again now and gain salvation, please read the instructions and follow the prayer that I learned from a pastor.
Are you ready? Firstly, open your heart to the Lord and pray this simple prayer in sincerity from your heart:
Father God,
I thank You. I believe Jesus is Your Son. I believe that He died for me and redeemed me from all of my sins. He took my sins and, Father, thank You for loving me and You demonstrated Your love for me through Your Son Jesus Christ. Forgive me for all of my sins. Jesus, I open my heart to You. I welcome You to enter into my heart. I confess today that You are now my Lord and Savior. Thank You for forgiveness. I receive forgiveness. Thank You for Your blood that cleansed me from all of my sins. I will follow You, Jesus. Thank You for Your plan. I receive the Holy Spirit. And Holy Spirit, help me to follow the will of God in my life in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Congratulations! You are now a child of God! You have received Holy Spirit in your heart! This is easily your greatest decision ever made and also the greatest miracle of your life. Always praise, thank and honor the Lord. No more darkness in your life caused by politics, radicalism, toxicity, rebellion, religion, unbelief, evil, idolatry, traditions and rituals! Leave behind the darkness of your life and don’t look back to it. Remember that idolatry is evil, Purgatory is a lie, penance is a deception and Satan always used religion and unbelief to prevent people from being saved by the Lord. Also, do not ever hail Mary (the mother of Lord Jesus) because all the praise and honor belong to God, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit only.
With Lord Jesus, you are already moving forward and the best is yet to come! You also have a personal relationship with God, a relationship that is strictly off-limits to others (even to your household members or biological family members).
The Holy Bible is the ultimate authority and nothing else comes close to it for it is the Word of God. Remember always that Lord Jesus did not die on the cross to start religion. He died to redeem us all and showed that we must be led by faith in Him, faith in the Holy Spirit and faith in God the Heavenly Father. He rose from the dead and made His earthly presence felt once more to those who believed in Him. Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven and He promised to return in the future. His return is what we must always remember and keep living with holiness under the watch of God. We can do our part in building up God’s kingdom here on Earth by preaching His Word, blessing the Jewish people and saving the countless lost and unsaved souls around us by leading them to Lord Jesus. Living as a Christian is always about the personal relationship with the Lord, and it is certainly not about religion. Never let the idolaters, the idol makers, the ritual practitioners and other sinister forces fool you into becoming unholy.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there.
Author Carlo Carrasco 