Praise, Worship, & Relationship

This week I’ve been having fun with the Lord in my praise and worship time. I’ve loved on Him and He’s loved on me. I’ve danced around with Him and He’s danced around with me, it’s been such a fun time of love and celebration of who He is. What I’ve learned from this time is that our praise and our worship stems from our relationship and intimacy with the Father. When we are close to Him and have an on-going relationship with Him then we are able to easily worship Him in spirit and in truth. When we live in that space with God, our worship flows out of us naturally like water easily flows out of a faucet.

Growing in your praise and worship comes from growing in your relationship with Christ. It’s like when you meet someone for the first time, your conversation might be kind of shallow and superficial because you don’t really know the person, but when you grow closer to that person your relationship grows deeper and you are able to share more freely with them. This is what our Daddy God desires from us. He wants us to know Him more. He wants us to grow closer to Him so that we can deepen our relationship with Him.

 

So please stop and take time out to develop and deepen your relationship with God. As you do that and get to know Him more you will feel free to worship and praise Him without restraint. As you grow closer to Him you will gain more wisdom & understanding.

 

Remember everything you need in this life was already given to you when Jesus gave His life for you on the cross, but everything in you can only be birthed out of you based upon the depth of your relationship with the Father.

God bless! 

Tracy Houston

A Word for 2014

Happy New Years everyone!! A few days ago before church the Lord gave me a word for 2014. After reading it, Daryle pointed out that it was exactly 365 words, God is truly amazing!  

The year of the choice…

In 2014 God is looking for His children to decide which way they would go. He is saying come and follow me down this narrow path, a path that many won’t travel, that many choose not to travel. He is saying follow me down this road. He is calling each of us in His body to make a choice, will we walk the narrow path and follow Him or will we choose to stay on the wide and comfortable path. The wide path may look good, and it may look easy, but it is not my will for you my children says the Lord. My children, my will for you is to be different, to go where most won’t go, to follow me and trust me. It is down this path that you will see the mysteries of the Kingdom. It is down this road that you will see doors of opportunity that you’ve never thought possible, it is down this path that you will see my glory manifested in this earth. It is down this path that you will be able to show off my glory. Yes, sometimes this path will be hard, and for some it might even feel lonely, but it is all for the glory of the Kingdom. It is for the glory of my son, so that many will know and recognize the sacrifice that He made for the world, so that many will know and recognize My love. This is the year you will have to choose if you will allow yourself to be led down this path. If you will be willing to be rejected by men, thought of as outcasts by some, all for the glory of the Kingdom. This path my children, this path will lead many to Me. You will be able to harvest and reap the lost along this path. You have to decide what is worth more to you. What you think of as comfort and coziness, or a path that will lead people out of darkness and into light. You have to decide… is your life your own, or are you willing to give it to me?  

He is talking to Believers and we have a choice to make, will we lay down our lives to follow Him? Will we put aside our will for His? This is not about salvation, we've already received that free gift. This is about the next step of giving yourself fully to the Kingdom. It's about walking out the purpose and calling He has put in your life. It's about not being lukewarm, but being passionate and radical for Him. It's about being willing to be led outside of your comfort zone. It's about being willing to stand out for Jesus no matter how crazy you might look. Its about getting outside of yourselves, realizing that this life you are living is not about you, but about others. It's about being God's love in the earth. Will you make the choice this year and be willing to leave our "comfort" aside and follow Him, or will you choose to be like the rich young ruler that walked away sorrowful because He wasn't willing to follow Jesus's direction and sell everything and follow Him? I know this isn't a fuzzy and warm New Year's message, but it is what God is saying to His body, and the fruit will be seen all over the world as Believers heed the call. My prayer is that this year the world will be impacted in a mighty way for the Kingdom. That many will be led to Jesus, and know His love, His power, and His grace! God bless!  

Tracy Houston