Live Greater Amazed By You

Jun 16, 2008

Just arrived home from Dwight, Nebraska last night. May the Lord be praised for the young people and families in Dwight who truly showed us the Lord this past week. As I continue to travel this summer with my teammates and continue to meet so many kids and families I can’t do anything but lift my heart in praise for this experience and the many wonderful moments and gifts that Lord has blessed me with. And with that, as I was thinking about what the Lord wanted my column to be about this week, I am inspired to turn to the topic of PRAISE.

Lord I’m amazed by you
Lord I’m amazed by you
Lord I’m amazed by you
How you love me… 

Take a moment right now…STOP, CLOSE YOUR EYES, and LIFT your heart in praise to the Lord for all He has given you and done for you. Let your heart, body, and soul be lifted in great joy and love to the one who has given you everything and will never leave you. Let the fears of you heart, the stresses of the day, and worry of the future be taken away as you realize that Jesus is near. He is powerful beyond understanding, as he gives mercy and peace to those who so desperately need it. Just praise HIM. We praise you Lord Jesus; we are amazed by your love and presence in our lives. Give us your peace, a peace that the world cannot give.

I find our human nature fascinating. I had a conversation with someone this past week about what the answer is to our broken culture and more importantly our broken selves. The obvious answer is Jesus. But upon reflection I submit to you that the perfect medicine for all that we go through and deal with is PRASIE.

Picture this, what happens when you have a bad day? What happens when you lose the big game or fall short on a test?  What happens when there is a crisis and you can’t deal with the stress of the day? What happens when a friend or family member gets sick or passes away? What happens when your first love breaks your heart? All of us, when some difficult happens tend to dwell on the issues. And as we dwell on the issue we turn our eyes inwardly and often feel sorry for ourselves and dwell in our own misery. My friends, I do it all the time.

Through the great spiritual mentors in my life, I have been challenged in those moments of great despair and distress to lift my heart in PRAISE to Jesus. If you think about it, it makes complete sense. Turning our hearts in praise to Jesus, we take our eyes away from the issue and ourselves and turn them upwards to the one who gives mercy and peace. My friends, we are so consumed with ourselves and spend most of everyday with our eyes fixed on the problem, only looking to ourselves for the solution.

When we turn to the Lord in PRIASE, we look to Him and realize how great He truly is. In praising the Lord we understand that He gives us everything and that we are nothing without Him. When we lift our hearts in PRAISE we experience the love of the Lord and know that He is the beginning and end of all things. HE is the Lord!

Take this very moment, to raise your heart in PRAISE to Jesus. PRAISE Him for you life, your family, friends, gifts, and all that you have.

Let us PRAISE the Lord this day…Amen

God Bless You,

Rusty