Marshall Mabry – Undignified Worshiper of Jesus Christ – Page 9 – Some worship thoughts for followers of Jesus Christ!

Passion, Integrity and Perseverance

On March 1, 2016

As fallen man, we are prone to wander from the fold of God. It is only by God’s grace we are saved. Thanks and Glory be to God, our Father! Jesus conquered the world, the flesh, and Satan. Woe unto us! If we become grace-abusers; we can not be hot one day and cold the next. God hates the lukewarm. Faith is demonstrated through actions. No thoughts or words can demonstrate our faith better than our actions. Just as the visible results of your work demonstrate the time you spend perfecting it, so does your actions demonstrate your pursuit of perfecting faith. I believe that God would rather us “do” than speak or sing or shout. Live the life, don’t act it. Lost people want to see miracles rather the trust their hearts or ears. When they see our faith through our passion as we work, they will better trust us to listen and hear the Truth. This is the only way to their hearts.

We must never forget that Satan is a believer in Jesus Christ. Yes, a believer! He knows the real Jesus Christ. He knows Jesus better than you or I. He knew Jesus as the Son of God and as the Son of Man. Satan has seen Jesus face to face, spirit to spirit. His demons know and tremble at the name of Jesus Christ. We must never underestimate Satan or his minions. We must be on guard at all times. He uses people in the church as springboards for his agenda. He loves church splits. He loves entertainment. He loves the lost to buy into the “easy road.” He loves the “Me-Church” attitude. He loves people to get comfortable. He loves churches bringing in the ideas and methods of the world. He loves people to be consumed with busyness. If he can keep us from doing God’s work, showing God’s love, and living a life of self-denial, he can expose our lack of integrity. This crushes our witness for Christ to the lost world.

The Only Thing We Can Call Our Own is “Sin.”

By Marshall Mabry

On February 15, 2016

In Praise and Worship

Matthew 25:26
“His master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?”

All that we have that is good and perfect comes from our Father of Lights. Everything else comes from us. Our cars and homes may give us the appearance of real ownership, but when they become idols stealing our thoughts from the true Giver they become illusions to our faith. If we have truly surrendered our lives to our Savior, then even our choices are not ours. Whether we buy some convenience for ourselves or spend excess wealth on the needy — the choice is not ours, but is Christ’s alone. Jesus knows our hearts. He knows the weakness of our flesh. He said to “have faith for I have conquered the world.”

It is very hard to live in His beautiful creation and not desire comfort and joy. But, at what cost? He intends for us to work. To take care of His creation and those who can’t take care of themselves; the widows and orphans. Without believing in Jesus Christ we are orphans! Lost people place misguided trust in their property and wealth, their affluence, their limited strength and finite knowledge. Yet, even they still realize that life compared to eternity is just a moment.

Christ is the Alpha and Omega! The Beginning and the End! As we come closer to the completion of our journey through His story we must realize that we really don’t own anything. Our very breath and heartbeats were numbered before the Beginning by an Almighty God. We limit God’s greatness and define His boundaries by claiming “anything, but our sin.” By truly surrendering all, we acknowledge that He is indescribable, uncontainable, limitless, and infinite. How Great Thou Art?

Praise Jesus! Oh, the wonderful Cross! Jesus bore our sin and cast it as far as the East is to the West. Hallelujah! We are free!

(taken from a devotion March 5, 2009)

A Prayer for Friends

By Marshall Mabry

On January 31, 2016

In Praise and Worship

Holy, Gracious, Heavenly Father!

I ask you to bless my friends. I am asking You to minister to them. Where there is pain, give them Your supernatural peace. Where there is self doubting, release a renewed confidence in Your ability to work through them. Where there is exhaustion, I ask You to give them understanding, patience, and strength as they learn submission to Your leading. Where there is spiritual stagnation, I ask You to renew and revive them by revealing Your nearness, and by drawing them into greater intimacy with You. Where there is fear, perfect Your love. Where there is a sin blocking them, reveal it, bring them to repentance and break its hold over their life. Bless their finances as they learn to give cheerfully, give them greater vision, and raise up leaders and friends to support and encourage them. Show each of them Your truth, bless them with Your wisdom, and give them discernment to recognize the evil forces at work around them. Empower them through Your Word to defeat darkness and overcome sin and temptation.

I ask You to do these things for my friends, in and through the power and authority of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Throne of Grace

By Marshall Mabry

On December 29, 2015

In Praise and Worship

Every time we come to God in prayer we receive His grace by faith. It’s the only way to get it. Too many times we misuse the term “grace” as the “safety net” for our lack religious self-control. Yes, I said “religious.” Like it or not, having an intimate relationship with Jesus involves religion. We can not love Jesus without loving the widow and the orphan. (James 1:27) There are products that knowing His grace and walking in relationship with Christ produces in our character and behavior; the fruit of the Holy Spirit, humility, submission, charity and generosity, etc., Christ saved us by God’s grace through faith in Him. He freed us from being a slave to sin, not so we can continue sinning under the liberty of ‘grace,’ but through understanding His grace – recognizing and completing the good works He has prepared for us.

The achievement of comfort and pleasure are not benefits from the eternal perspective of the Holy Spirit. They are blessings from a generous God who prospers His righteous. However, they can also become idols of a temporal life and a hindrance to the Throne of Grace. The glory of God is the purpose of all created things. And, unless we truthfully recognize that our comfort and pleasure is solely in Him, we are sorely in need of His grace. Prayer is the way we receive it. In Hebrews 4, as Christians we are told to boldly approach the Throne of Grace. Even then, we can not enter in by our strength, but our Lord’s, who makes intercession on our behalf. Our loving God makes a way, even now through His amazing Grace, for us to draw near His awesome holiness.

We are the Kingdom!

By Marshall Mabry

On November 30, 2015

In Praise and Worship

As a follower of Christ, you are an ambassador of the Kingdom. You are sealed with the Holy Spirit through which Christ the Son and God the Father are ever present with you. Wherever you are – Christ is there. In our Lord’s Prayer, the very first request was for our Father’s will to be done and His Kingdom to come to earth. This should be the very first request in all our prayers.

We are the Kingdom! Wherever we go we represent eternal life through our selfless actions of love, sacrifice, and generous giving. We see a need and we respond by filling it. I believe Saint Francis of Assisi wrote his “Instrument of Peace Prayer” that sums up our mission in this world.

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.

In Matthew 10:7-8 Jesus sends his disciples with these instructions “7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” Christ’s message has not changed. We are His church. We are His bride joined with Him by the Holy Spirit. He is our King! And wherever we are – he is with us. And wherever the King is, there is the Kingdom.

Great Faith

By Marshall Mabry

On October 19, 2015

In Praise and Worship

Do you only believe what you see? What you hear? Touch? Smell? God gave us our senses to enjoy our physical world, but do we trust in them so exclusively that we lose our faith?

In Hebrews 11:1 Paul writes “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” If you can see it, control it, shape it, manipulate it, where is faith? Is that not working in your own strength? Great faith just believes! The woman with the bleeding disorder knew that Jesus could heal her – “only if she could just touch the hem of His robe.” (Matt 9:20) Her faith was so strong it drew power from Christ upon her touch. (Mark 5:30) Moreover, Jesus praises a Roman centurion’s faith for “just believing.” He didn’t need Jesus’ touch, or Jesus’ physical presence to know that Christ could heal. He just needed Jesus’ word. (Matt 8:8) Is His word enough for you?

I believe faith is best exercised and tested through the “Waiting Room.” There, we lift up our praises and petitions and wait for God to respond. It may be through a time of suffering or a time of rejoicing, but it is in the Waiting Room where we have no strength of our own, no control over our circumstances, no way of knowing the outcome good or bad. We just believe God is in control and He will handle it. The woman needed healing for herself, the centurion desired it for someone else, both were immediately healed by the measure of their faith in Christ.

Praise God for answered prayer! His way, timing and will are perfect. We are selfish by nature. We want to control the outcome of our prayers, based on what we know of good, not Who is “good.” Nothing this side of God’s glory is perfect. Down here the grass dies on both sides of the fence. (Warren Barfield) If you want to have great faith, pray for it and enjoy the wait.

“Well done! Good and faithful servant.”

By Marshall Mabry

On October 5, 2015

In Praise and Worship

Stay below people! Do not give pride a foothold in your life. Where is “self” mentioned in “well done good, and faithful servant.” “Good, faithful and servant” are key words of action, character and integrity, perseverance and fortitude in order for you to attain citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven.

“GOOD”
Are your motives pure? Do you struggle with self-control? Are there things you want out of life more important than praying for your hurting neighbor, visiting a lost, sinner in prison, helping your enemy find love at the cost of your life? What personal sacrifices are you giving up so that the widows and orphans are cared for? It is “natural” and necessary to care for your family and yourself, but it is “good” to care for needs of your neighbor and the stranger God brings along your path.

“FAITHFUL”
God gives every person talents. He entrusts His faithful with investing, multiplying and returning these talents. You can give these talents a number of different descriptive titles such as; Life, family and friends, professional skill, and personal property; Time, Talent, and Treasure; or Affluence and Influence. Whatever title helps you understand that all that you had, have, or will have comes from God. How are you using your God-given talents? For selfish gain or the glory of God? For self-sustenance or defining yourself as a “cheerful giver”? For self-preservation or supporting the “Great Commission”? The talents you sacrifice in life for the Kingdom of God will define your “faithfulness.”

“SERVANT”
Humility and humbleness are required to walk with God in life. We are called to serve, not be served! Pride is the seed of all sin. It is the focus of God’s warning in His first commandment to man. Selfish pride can not be at the heart of anything we do – in the things we do for ourselves or what we think we are doing for Jesus. Always remember, though you are precious to God, you are not more important than your neighbor.

Pride makes you feel above your station. It is especially difficult in a world that measures success through personal achievement, self-confidence, self-worth, and applauded self-esteem. Like it or not, you are not as smart, or as pretty as Satan. He will use your intelligence to deceive you. He knows you because he has studied you since the birth of Adam. But take heart! Jesus said, “greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world.” Your knowledge and obedience to God’s word will give you all that you need to have victory over the Evil one. Stay in the Word and live it out in your life! Remember always, we that follow Christ are the ONLY light in the world. Your righteous perseverance will win the crown Christ has waiting for you. And joyfully on that Great Day, you will hear these words from the our King and God, “Well done! Good and faithful servant.”

Integrity or Hypocrisy

By Marshall Mabry

On October 2, 2015

In Praise and Worship

You can not know one without understanding the other. Deep inside us there is a battle for dominance over our will. Satan’s temptations, the pressure of the world, and the weakness of our flesh are constant enemies to our soul. They urge us to assert ourselves and fight against our self control. Self indulgence? Instant gratification! Are they wrong? We need to eat, drink, sleep and other functions necessary to survive. Some might perceive that as selfishness, but they are necessary to live. However, it is when any of these obscure God’s glory in our lives that they become sin.

There is a time to be assertive and stand for righteousness. There is a time through the power of the Holy Spirit to be impatient and urgently respond. Most importantly, there is Jesus. He is the eternal object of our worship, our praise, the author of our love, the finisher of our faith. His holiness and grace calls us to be totally committed to Him and to His Kingdom. Through His grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit, let Christ’s identity be wholly yours! Be Christ-indulgent! Be Christ-esteemed! Be Christ-confident!

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)

Our spiritual life is not something that you clock in at 9 and punch out at 5. You are either all in or you are a hypocrite. You can not righteously council a brother or sister struggling with alcohol addiction in the morning and get drunk in the evening. You can not say pornography is evil and intentionally watch offensive, obscene and vulgar movies. You can not be angry with a person living in a homosexual lifestyle and have lust and promiscuity in your heart. Your integrity is nothing without the Truth evidenced in and through your life. People will trust you, if they know who you really are! It’s a lot easier to swallow advice from someone who says “I’m a struggling, sinner too!”

A Good Father

By Marshall Mabry

On September 29, 2015

In Praise and Worship

(1)Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
(2)Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Psalm 51:1-2

In my opinion, the most beautiful lamenting Psalm David compose was Psalm 51. He was just confronted by his high priest for committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband. A sin that David went to great effort to cover up.

We all can try to run and hide from our sin, but God knows. His goodness probes our minds with questions of righteousness, actions of purity, and visions of light to stir our hearts. And sometimes like David, He sends a trusted friend to confront us with the Truth to help draw us to repentance for His Name’s sake, for His glory, for His honor, for His Kingdom.

Could it be that in our most desperate, despicable acts of selfishness and pride, we are so caught up in “self” that even when God freely offers salvation we claim it through our own strength – not His grace?

Here in Psalm 51, David gives the greatest appeal for God’s mercy written for all sinners. He claims responsibility for his sin and throws himself at the mercy of God. David gives God glory for every mercy, every act of righteousness, for everything that was good in his life! You can’t claim your life, your property, or even your family. They are gifts from the Giver of all good and perfect things. The only thing you can claim in life is your sin. Yet, even then, God gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to take them away. He is the only good, gracious, merciful, loving Father. Hallelujah!

Worldly Success! Affluence and Influence: Cornerstones for Good Stewardship.

By Marshall Mabry

On August 31, 2015

In Praise and Worship

Success by the world’s definition may be considered: wide personal recognition, six-figure salary, overseer of many subordinates, expensive cars, big houses, gold and precious jewels, lots of fun stuff purchased for deriving pleasure out of this life. The list can go on and on.

If Jesus was tempted by the devil, what makes any of us think that we will not? A life spent on worldly pleasures will only be a vain labor burned up in our passing.

Matthew 4:1-11
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

We will all give an account to God for how we used the resources He gave us. This is not just money and property (affluence), but also the people He has allowed us to influence. Our children, spouses, the younger generation, our peers and co-workers.

God gives us every good and perfect gift. He created the universe for our enjoyment – our pleasure. But, He also said He “is our shepherd, I shall not be in want.” In Psalm 23, David gives us a glimpse at God’s gift of an inner peace that surpasses the world’s understanding. It is a faith that does not desire the things of the world, but the pursuit of the presence of Jesus, and joyfully labors at placing blessings in eternity.

I believe God will never withhold any of His gifts from His faithful. He even created a way for us to eternally enjoy His greatest gift – His son, Jesus Christ. Praise Him!

Success by God’s definition is an obedient, “good and faithful servant.”

(This was taken from earlier personal devotion. (September 2006))