"Praising God for Your Eternal Inheritance"

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“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:3).
God has blessed you richly and is worthy of your praise.
The source of your eternal inheritance is God, whom Peter described in several ways. First, He is our blessed God (1 Pet. 1:3). The Greek word translated “blessed” in that verse speaks of that which is worthy of blessing, adoration, praise, or worship. Peter’s praise for God is an example for us to follow. Our God is especially worthy of our praise in light of the glorious inheritance He has granted us in His Son (v. 4).
“Father” to the Jewish people of Peter’s day was one designation for God. The most common Jewish blessings emphasized God as Creator of all things and Redeemer of His people from Egypt, but not as Father (e.g., Gen. 14:20; 24:27; Ex. 18:10). Yet now through Christ, we “have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! [Daddy!] Father!'” (Rom. 8:16).
As wonderful a reality as the fatherhood of God is, Peter’s reference was not primarily to God as our Father, but as Christ’s Father. Their unique relationship affirms Christ’s deity (cf. John 10:30-33). God is the Father of believers in a secondary sense because He has redeemed us through Christ and adopted us into His family (Gal. 4:4-6).
In referring to Christ as “our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:3), Peter amplifies His redemptive work. “Lord” speaks of His sovereign rulership; “Jesus” is His name as God in human flesh; and “Christ” identifies Him as the Messiah, the anointed King.
Peter’s final description of God is seen in the pronoun “our.” He is “our Lord Jesus Christ,” a personal Lord and Savior—not some distant, impersonal deity. He created and redeemed you because He loves you and wants to be intimately involved in every aspect of your life.
What a glorious God we serve! Worship Him today as He deserves to be worshiped.

"Proclaiming the Excellencies of God"

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“That you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).
You are an ambassador of the living God.
The privilege of proclaiming the excellencies of God takes us back to 1 Peter 2:9, but we consider it here because it summarizes the purpose of all our Christian privileges.
The Greek word translated “proclaim” is an unusual word used only here in the New Testament. It means “to advertise” or “publish,” and refers to making something known that would otherwise be unknown. “Excellencies” speak of powerful and heroic deeds. You are an ambassador of Christ, having the great privilege of proclaiming what God has done for His people.
That was an intrinsic part of Hebrew worship. For example, Psalm 103 says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; who pardons all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit; who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. The Lord performs righteous deeds, and judgments for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness” (vv. 2-8).
It would be an honor to be an ambassador of the United States, representing this country’s power and capabilities to other countries. But you have an even greater honor: to represent the power and capabilities of the living God. When you have an opportunity to speak for Him, you can rightly say, “I have the privilege of announcing the mighty and heroic deeds of the living God, who has called me into His service.”
Because you are in Christ, you have glorious privileges that include union with God, access to the Father, spiritual sacrifices, security, affection, dominion, possession, holiness, illumination, and compassion. What greater honor can there be than to proclaim the excellencies of the One who has granted you such marvelous privileges? (John MacArthur)

All God's Giants Were Weak People

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Moses’ weakness was his temper. He murdered an Egyptian, strike the rock he was supposed to speak to and broke the tablets of the Ten Commandments. Yet God transformed Moses into “the humblest man on earth” (Num12:3)
Gideon’s weakness was low self-esteem and deep insecurities, but God transformed him into a “mighty man of valor” (Jud6:12)
Abraham’s weakness was fear, claiming that his wife was his sister in order to protect himself. God transformed him into “the father of those who have faith” (Rom4:11)
Impulsive, weak-willed Peter became “a rock”. The adulterer David became “a man after God’s own heart”. John, an arrogant “son of thunder” became “the Apostle of Love”.
God specializes in turning weaknesses into strengths. He wants to take your greatest weakness and transform it. But would you let Him?
Hudson Taylor

Your Strengths and Your Weaknesses

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But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”… — 2Cor12:9
Each of us have weaknesses, flaws even and imperfections whether physical, emotional, intellectual, financial, relational and even spiritual. What is important however, is what we do with these weaknesses.
Most times, we deny, defend, excuse, hide and even resent them. However, this prevents God from using them the way He desires. For God not only wants to use your strengths, but also your weaknesses for His glory.

True Worship

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“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” — Matt6:33
Things fight for our worship, whether school, work, friends, movies even. In those moments it can be easy to put God on the back burner of your life; only getting back to Him when you have some extra time.
But we have to make sure we don’t let that happen. We can’t reduce a huge God to a hobby—something we just do and pay attention to on our spare time. We need to keep Him in the forefront of everything we do. He needs to remain at the center of our vision. Everything else should hinge on and flow out of His being first in our lives.
True worship is a whole-life response to how great you know God to be. It should be with everything we have, everything we are, and everything we do.

No Other God

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“You shall not bow down to them (any other gods) or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…”_ — Exodus 20:5

Consider sports fans at a game; dressed head to toe in paint, yelling and screaming, booing and cheering. Consider a pop concert; persons crying and screaming with arms stretched out reaching for that celebrity.
You see, as humans we are worshipers and we can’t help it. It’s who we are, what we do and how we were made. We therefore need to give our attention over to God. Spend time in prayer, in his word, in fellowship and walking in obedience. From out of that comes our desire to worship God. If you recognize God’s Sovereignty throughout the week, then you shouldn’t have any issues praising, crying and screaming when you meet with the believers (for church services).
What you spend the most time thinking about, doing, or giving the majority of your attention and so your worship to?

What Am I Worshipping

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Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'”_ — Luke 4:8
We either worship God or we are worshiping something else. But we can’t worship both. We must trade one for the other. Because in its very nature, worship is how we respond to the thing we value the absolute most! There can be nothing above or equal to it. The thing we spend most of our time thinking about, doing, giving the most attention to, putting all our energy into…that’s what we worship.
What am I worshiping? What things am I putting before God?
Challenge yourself to put that thing down where it belongs and put God up to where He belongs in your life: number one, the only one who deserves and is worthy to be worshiped.

Live Out Your Worship

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“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”_ –James1:22
True worship will lead us to action! As we worship the Lord we are changed and empowered. It all will mean nothing if we do not walk in that way. How can we be changed by the powerful and awesome presence of God and then return to our old ways? It would be insane! True change is seen in the way we live and in every part of our lives.
In order for our worship to be alive we need to change what we’ve been doing and make our worship and our lives not about us but about our King.
Remember when you worship the Lord, He reveals himself in a mighty way. So, live out your worship and let the Lord be glorified in and through your life.

Set Apart Your Worship

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“…let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”_ — 2 Cor7:1
Understanding that we have been made holy will help us live a holy life and offer to God holy worship. Our worship should be set apart, for we are no longer our old self with the acceptance of Christ into our lives. Our worship then should not be conformed to the patterns of this world but should be done in Spirit and in Truth.
The offering of worship, which we give, should not be a copy of what the world does. So, be careful not to get caught in the old way of life, once you have been made new. For these offerings ought to be set apart and not a “leftover” of which it doesn’t have much value.
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Worship

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The story of Cain and Abel (Gen 4:1-16) gives great insight about worship. We can gain a practical understanding about worship. First, worship is doing something. It’s stopping your normal routine and intentionally doing something for the sake of worshiping the Lord. Second, it is giving something. Both Cain and Abel brought an offering to the Lord. In the same way, in our culture, we should give something to the Lord. There is so much that we can give: time, money, energy, our lives, among others. Third, worship is pleasing someone. This is what set the worship of Cain and Abel apart. The offering Abel gave was received with favor. It was acceptable to the Lord and met the standard that God had set.
We can go through the motions and do the things that look like worship. We can give to the church, to others, and to God. However, just because we do these things, it isn’t automatic that we are pleasing God. A popular song says it well, “You search deeper within, through the way things appear. You’re looking into my heart.” (Heart of Worship by Matt Redman)
As a living sacrifice, is your life pleasing to the Lord?