Tag Archives: worshippers

HIGHER PRAIZ!

HIGHER PRAIZ 2

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed. O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. Psalm 65:1-2

We have thought, “O God, on Your lovingkindness, in the midst of Your temple.According to Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness. Let Mount Zion rejoice. Let the daughters of Judah be glad, Because of Your judgments. Psalm 48:9-11

Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. Psalm 134:2

 

Being Pentecostal, born and bred, means that I am accustomed, and I might add, an extremely willing participant, to exuberant praise and worship. So can you imagine my surprise, to discover that God-Honored Adoration is not necessarily limited to loud singing, hand-clappin’, foot-stomppin, shoutin’ and dancing to drum thumping, key-board tickling, guitar pick’n tunes escalating His Glory!

WHOKNU? There is a high praise in God, where the weary souls, thirsty and hungry for an escape from the chaos and confusion of this world’s clamor, finding rest, peace, security, strength and hope, fall prostrate into HIS PRESENCE!

There’s a secret place, a Cleft hued out in The Impregnable Rock of Salvation, where mere words are no longer necessary, and sighs are welcomed, giving way to hope-filled silence, birthing unspoken-bellows of acceptable obedient prayers and God-Centered Praise and Worship!

There is an epiphany where we all must ascribe to reach in God, where we practice appreciation and respect for HIM by disciplining ourselves, focusing our minds and making a conscious decision that regardless of my circumstances, I’m going to Bless Godnot just for all of His Goodness to me—BUT for WHO HE IS!

In this lofty estate, time spent waiting on The Lord is no longer full of anxious frustration, but quiet peaceful resting in child-like confident anticipation, trusting that you’re being kept safely, far from your conspirators’ reach, hidden in The Glory of His WONDEROUS PRESENCE.

As God’s Chosen, you’re surrounded by a Fortress, whose Builder and Maker is The Creator of The Universe, where we can breathe easily, waiting patiently, for as long as HE says,  fully assured that everything we will ever need and hope for comes from HIM—JESUS!

#DIDJAHEARDAT? The Holy Spirit is calling! Be still, in that ‘Peace-Filled-Knowing’ that all of your Help and Hope of Glory abides in The All-Powerful God,  EL SHADDAI…your FATHER AND your GOD!  NOW THAT’S A HIGHER PRAISE! #WOW #AWEMAAZIN, huh?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

HOPE UNDER SEIGE!

hope-under-seige

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them. I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. Jeremiah 32:38-41

 

As a child, I vaguely remember a glimpse of pride swelling up inside whenever I heard someone say,‘this is the GREATEST nation in the world’! I suppose that’s what they mean by ‘let’s make this nation great…again, huh? But, that was before I became abruptly aware that there were two nations co-existing in one! #ijs

According to historical accounts, Courage and Confidence was once the hallmark of our nation! Yet, some say that the infamous catastrophic events of 911 has radically stripped away this lofty heritage and the hope-filled future legacy  that was once ascribed to the land of the power, peace and prosperity is now being besieged by the rampant rage of darkening clouds of an evil foreboding fear, doubt, anxiety, stress, guilt, shame, confusion and condemnation!

Well, it’s not my intent to debate the inevitable result of widespread deviation from the moral standards as defined by The Holy Bible. Howeverrrr, may I submit for your consideration, that without a holy reverence, a clear vision and a Divine impartation of understanding of WHO GOD IS & WHAT HE REQUIRES OF US, people’s strength will fail and their expectations of security perishes! The past has proven that without the restraint of law and order, destruction prevails! Well, like the ol’ skool preacha used to say, “I jus lost half my churrch!” Seriously?

Honestly, when we don’t understand Whose we are, we’ll be inclined to doubt God’s ability and even His willingness to help us. Void of genuine hope and unable to trust God’s Unfailing Love, we instinctively depend upon self to take care of our needs and satisfy the desires of our own hearts. And we all know how that turns out, right?

But those of us who dare to risk resentment, ridicule and rejection from those who will slander our righteousness, labeling us as unloving and intolerant, WE DEFY the prevailing opinions of the worldly in favor of the guidelines of the Ancient Landmarks, rejoice in hope, fully persuaded that if we suffer for Christ sake, we shall also reign with Him!  #CANIGETANGOODAMEN?

Through faith and hope, TRUE WORSHIPERS develop a singleness of -heart and mind, stemming from personal intimacy with The Lord Jesus Christ whereby we experience the Abiding Presence of God, trusting wholly in His Sustaining Grace!

Instead of conforming to the ways of the world, believers don’t bail out! Hence, in the face of the calamity and chaotic circumstances, we stand steadfast, rooted and grounded in The Promises, Provision and Power, persevering in the midst of devastation, famine and plagues, confident that we’re covered! Remember Goshen, God’s Protected Place? (Ref. Exodus 8:22)

Beloved, trust 2 know that when it looks like your world is falling apart, look again! Don’t allow fear to drain your faith! From Heaven’s perspective, everything is falling right in place!  Remember, Jesus has already gone into Tomorrow to prepare a table before you, right in the presence of your enemies! (Ref. Psalm 23:5) #Didjaheardat?

IT AIN’T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, K? YOU GOTTA HOPE BEYOND THIS WORLD!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

I STILL BELIEVE

I STILL BELIEVE

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

“And he believed in the lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness”. (Genesis 15:6)

Noticed how the gods of this world constantly bombard our minds with unhealthy doses of supposedly new truths explicitly designed to attack the validity of our hope and core of our Christian beliefs? Don’t be alarmed. The Scriptures said that there’d be days like this!

Ever heard a New Millennium televangelists shun the old hymns of yesterday saying that they’re scripturally inaccurate, inappropriate and therefore no longer relevant to the New Testament Church?

Well! I beg to differ! In case you haven’t realized yet, I am unapologetically ol skool, and I say it’s time to pull some of those old songs out from the bottom of that old piano bench and put them on blast. Particularly, that one that says, ‘I know the Bible is right, somebody’s wrong’!

What these 21st Century Johnny-come-lately’s, fail to take into account is that them old saints were not performing for BET or Stellar Awards! They didn’t come to church to be entertained nor to excite your flesh. But they sang songs birthed out in the heat of personal experiences, tempered in The Word of God and seasoned by The Holy Spirit! When they sang, their songs struck your heart strings, re-affirmed their faith and ushered in The Very Presence and Power of the True and the Living God.

Today, if you need a song to lift you, strengthen and encourage you along the way, might I suggest “Lord, I believe, Lord, I believe…ALL things are possible if you only believe!” And if that doesn’t ignite your flame, try following it with one of my Pastor’s favorite, “You Can’t Make Me Doubt Him”!

When the world says, “I’ll believe it when I see it” the saints believe to see!

Facts change but Truth is forever! Remember what they said about the planet Pluto? Yeah, right! Like Mother Carter used to say, “Everything is going down–but the Word of God!”

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but Jesus Never Fails!

The question yet remains; “Whose report, will you believe?”

As for me, I don’t care what the infamous “they” say, I shall believe The Report of The Lord!

In the face of any and every thing that appears to contradict your faith, yet stand—firmly convicted, to emphatically confess ‘come what may, I STILL BELIEVE GOD!

SELAH!

“Have a WONDER-FILLED day!”

Ann Caffee