the Christian knows with Paul that physical death itself is his friend. In Philippians 1:23 Paul says, “I am torn between the 2 (that is living in this world or in the next world): I desire to depart & be with Christ, which is better by far.”

It's unpleasant to think about which face might have been yours or mine in the Matthew 27 story, but we must recognize the truth about ourselves; we must recognize that our face would have been there. More importantly, we must recognize that God's grace has the power to pull us out of that scene, to cleanse us from our guilt & purify us through & through. Yes, we are guilty. But once we recognize our guilt & acknowledge our culpability, we are able to receive God's grace.

If you ever decide to seek God’s will, your life may be many things, but it won’t be boring—you will truly come alive—and the world needs people who have come alive. I would simply add that the world needs people who have come alive through the knowledge of God’s will. And that’s a perfect description of the people who pray this prayer!

What's so great about being a Christian? Following Christ makes despair obsolete. When you follow him, you have a reason to be optimistic...you have a handle on the truth...you have the ability to produce results. More than anything this world has to offer, following Christ eliminates despair & fills your life with meaning. And those 3 things, my friends, are POWERFUL PERKS!

It used to be that when you expressed your opinion about a matter, only a handful of people would hear. Today, thanks to social media, you can express an opinion & hundreds of people will see it in a matter of minutes. And the more negative it is, the more attention it gets. But what if you decided that, instead of pointing all that's wrong in the world, what if you decided that from now on, on all social media, I will talk only about how good God is.

I want to draw to your attention 5 essential elements of worship. These 5 things will help you "get more" out of worship, because they'll help you stay focused on what worship really is &, most importantly, they'll help you discover what "getting more" really means.

I've been a believer most of my life—so I know all too well that when it comes time to worship—either in a public service or privately—I know there will often be obstacles to confront. These obstacles all exist either between my ears or right behind my shirt pocket. In other words, they're either heart issues or they're based on stinking thinking. Before we can enter unencumbered worship, we first must deal with some of these issues that often stand in our way.

We must get past the idea that worship is, above everything else, "something that I do for me, to make me feel good." Worship isn't about you. And it isn't about me. It's not even about us. Who is about, then? I think the answer is obvious. Worship is our time to give to God that which He is due.

When you take the time to listen to God, you have a chance to filter out all the excuses & all the escape routes & you have a chance to listen to that still, small voice—that gentle voice of encouragement from God—that says, "Get up. Don't be afraid. You can do this. I'll be with you.”

Worship is the act of putting God in his place & putting yourself in your place. His place: He is the Lord of all, worthy to be praised. Your place: you're just one of the sheep, without him you are nothing & you need him every hour.