Noisy
How are you doing today?
Now, I know you cannot answer me directly but the question may prompt you to make a quick self-assessment to determine the circumstances, if any, you are dealing with. Sometimes this question makes me realize that I really am doing fine and it causes me to give God thanks for guiding me, providing for me, and blessing me.
Whichever case you are in, whether you are dealing with disappointments, or are enjoying stress free living, I invite you to worship the Lord. His presence will impact you wherever you stand. It will lift a burden, it will cause gratitude to rise from your heart, and you can be thankful in God’s holy presence. We promote Purpose! Ministries as being An Uncommon Gathering dedicated to welcoming the Presence of God. And when God shows up anything can happen.
Now, I do not know why anyone would object to a good time of worship, but there are those who do. Some preach that music is out of order. Some decry the unabashed expressions of adoration. And some criticize the public display of emotionalism. Yeah, well go to a football game and listen, and watch the weird ball fanatics exult over a tight panted man crossing over a white line. You go to your church and I’ll go to mine. I am going to worship Jesus and you can too if you would like to. Amen.
Let us consider the Word of God in the book of Psalms. Let us read Psalm 100.
1Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Number one:
God is not adverse to noise in his honor.
Number two:
God is not prejudiced, racial, or discriminatory.
Número tres:
Gladness is a Christian characteristic.
And fourth:
Singing is an approved form of worship.
Contrary to the opinion of the Godless, man did not create God because we were weak and needed an imaginary friend to fellowship with. Truth is, God created man then gave him free will and allows him to choose whether or not to believe in his Creator.
Pseudo deities force allegiance with the threat of destruction.
Now, unbelief concerning this man creator does have eternal consequences, but that is only because of the very drastic measures taken to draw the rebellious human nature to a loving God.
John 3:16 explains it.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Believing has its perks, here and in the hereafter.
When a man comes to terms with all of that, he can not help but to come before God with thanksgiving, praise, and blessings.
Now, that could tend to get a little bit noisy. -PJF-
And now a word from our Pastor…
What Am I Supposed to Say?
I was at work and a guest came to complain about two homosexual men that were being affectionate near him and his 4 year old daughter in the waterpark. At the end of his complaint, he asked, “What am I supposed to tell my 4 year old daughter?” and walked away extremely upset. I hear complaints like this all the time. I understand the anger and frustration of the parents that come and complain. To some extent I feel the same way. In my opinion, couples (homosexual or heterosexual) that are overly affectionate are embarrassing. I’d rather not see any of it, especially when I have my small child with me.
Children are full of questions. They ask about colors, food, cars, grass, trees, everything. And yes, if they see people behaving oddly, they will ask about them too. Most of those questions can be satisfied with a generic answer and they move on. Every now and then they persist until you give them a little more information. You know that it’s going to happen, so you might as well prepare for them.
Emily and I have had several conversations regarding the family. I always bring it back to God’s plan. God created the family to function a certain way. He created men to be dads and women to be moms. Without a dad and a mom, the family doesn’t work the way it ought to and it causes an extreme unbalance.
It is my husband and mine’s responsibility to raise our child and to keep her safe. It is our responsibility to answer any and all questions that our little girl might have. We cannot leave it up to other companies, regardless of how “safe” they claim to be. Their job is to provide entertainment for everyone. They do not care what our family values are. They only have one goal in mind: to make money.
I urge all parents and guardians to do your research. Pay attention to what’s going on in the world around you. The world is constantly changing and we can either be upset about it, or we can prepare for it. Pray and ask the Lord to give you a satisfiable answer for your child. I can’t control what we will encounter when we are out and about, but I can control how I respond to it. -SAF-
Psalm 34:8 – Taste
The Psalmist David knew something about the goodness of God. In an attempt to illustrate to us how good and great God is all he could think about was one of his senses that allowed him to experience the finer royal cuisine in the palace.
In Psalm 34:8 David declares:
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
David’s “O” is one of a plea. O, you must do this.
Yes taste. The Hebrew explains further:
To try the flavor of, to taste, to eat a little, to perceive
by the taste or flavour. Finally, to perceive mentally.
Taste (perceive) and see that the Lord is Good.
Personally, I have a little problem with children, and maybe worse with adults, who when offered something to eat outside of their accustomed menu, make a face and refuse to eat. When asked if they have had it before they will say, Oh no, but I just don’t like it.
Seems a little absurd to me. See, as a child I was like that. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. Especially as God sent me out on ministry assignments into different countries and cultures and I was confronted with something called survival, I decided I had to change my immature mindset and begin to taste some new foods before I had to go hungry. I must say I became a taster and I have enjoyed a life of wonderful eating. As a result there is hardly any food you can put before me on a plate that I will not eat and if I’ve never seen it before I will certainly taste it. What doesn’t kill you makes you fat they say. Well we won’t get into that, that is not part of this word here today.
But listen to this preacher. Don’t refuse the Savior. Don’t refuse his blessings, or his promises. Don’t be a knucklehead and just refuse to look into God’s full program just because of something someone else has to say about it. Don’t reject the powerful work of the Holy Spirit based on someone else’s spiritual taste buds. They have never tasted it either. And I’ve discovered I like and enjoy a lot of things others turn away. Amen.
O taste and see the Lord is good.
There is another one of our senses mentioned. Sight. Once you taste you see. You understand. You realize, you become cognizant of the fact that what you were rejecting really is good and good for you.
In John 3:3 Jesus says to Nicodemus:
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
See the kingdom in all its fulness. It is a wonder filled experience and adventure. Don’t reject any of it.
O taste and see that the Lord is good. You will not regret it. For blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Amen. -PJF-
St. Petersburg Pier, FL. Photo by PJ Flores ©2023 All rights reserved.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27
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Purpose! Ministries Inc.
16605 Sunrise Lakes Blvd Suite 6
Clermont, FL 34714
Sundays 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm
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Pastors PJ and Shirley Flores
Purpose! Ministries
A Praying Church - A Healing Church - A Holy Spirit Church - A Preaching Church
© 2023 Purpose! Ministries Inc. All rights reserved.
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