Paid In Full

"But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth." -- Deuteronomy 8:18

"And my God will supply all [my] needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." -- Philippians 4:19

Last night as I was sitting on my bed paying this month's bills, and listening to worship music, I received a text from a friend asking what I was doing. I replied, "Paying bills and worshiping God." The reply came back, "those two things don't seem to go together."

And therein came the challenge. Paying bills should be an act of worship because my God has supplied all of my needs according to HIS riches in glory. There is no lack in the kingdom. When I pay the electric bill I can thank God that I have electricity because 1/4 of the world's population does not. And when I pay the water bill, I can thank God that I have water -- cold and hot -- on demand -- 24/7. Such luxuries to those without.

So, yes, paying bills is [or should be] an act of worship and from this point on I will be more deliberate in turning this task into worship. So grab those bills and get your praise on!

Was Prayer To Blame?

"So Moses went out of the town, and stretching out his hands made prayer to God: and the thunders and the storm came to an end; and the fall of rain was stopped." -- Exodus 9:33

I sat astounded at the news reports. Some read as if the watching world is disappointed that Hurricane Irene did not cause more damage or claim more lives. Some blame the media for dire predictions that did not come to pass (see excerpt below). Did we not pray and did God not hear and answer our prayers? Let's not blame the media or the politicians for what has been spared. Let's blame prayer!

"The media spooked Americans with dire predictions of historic destruction that the storm didn't quite deliver. Public service or unnecessary fear-mongering? Hurricane Irene — which was downgraded Sunday to Tropical Storm Irene — dumped water all along the East Coast this weekend, flooding towns, washing out roads, and blowing down trees from North Carolina's Outer Banks to Vermont's border with Canada. It was bad — at least 22 people died — but it was hardly the "end-times scenario" warned of on cable TV and by local and national politicians. In fact, "there seems to be a growing consensus that the storm was overblown by the media, says Charlie Spiering in The Washington Examiner."

Hurricane Irene

"The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" -- Matthew 8:27

Today's prayer: "Father, the winds and waves obey your voice. Please speak peace to this storm and to all in its path. Amen."