Worship Journal

Worship Journal

The Majestic Name of God

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 19, 2011

Psa 9:10 “Those who know your name will trust in you,” [for your name communicates your commitment to constant and complete provision, protection and a place in your Kingdom. Your name, Elohim, means the strong and faithful One, showing your power in creation and your faithfulness in providing salvation.  Your name, Adonai, means the powerful authority who promises complete provision of all we need to live for you. Your name, Yahweh, means the holy One who is utterly independent of your creation, utterly committed to caring for it. You are the hater of sin, judge of evil and lover of your sinful creatures.  You are the great I AM, ever existent, ever powerful, ever present.  You are absolutely, utterly, completely, eternally trustable; to not trust in you is a great sin, denigrating your mighty, majestic, magnificent Names.]

“for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.” [The record speaks: you have come to the rescue of all who have called upon you: Adam, Able, Abraham, Moses, the Children of Israel (many, many, times), the Judges, David, Jehosaphat, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jesus, the Apostles, Paul–and us.]

Psa 9:11 “Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.” [You, Lord God, are worthy of praise, worship, exaltation, honor, glory and thanksgiving, for you have redeemed your people, you have rescued your children, you have released your saints from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of Light, the Kingdom of your son whom you love.

In you we are forgiven, cleansed, transformed, adopted, commissioned to special service, equipped to serve you, delighted in, dearly loved and doted on.  You have glorified your name by millions of instances of doing good to your enemies, being gracious to your rebellious children, being kind to all mankind, being holy in the face of evil, being patient in the face of rejection, being purposeful in bringing history to a conclusion.

We must worship you, Lord God,  we must exalt you, we must praise you, for there is no other possible response for those who know your name.  May you be honored in my life today, may obedience flow may praises flow, may trust reign, may glory rise to you each moment, for you are worthy, O triune, glorious, eternal LORD!

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The Wonder of Being Weak

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 15, 2011

Praise you, Lord, for the chance to praise you when things don’t go as I want  and where I am powerless to change it.  These are opportunities to highlight your glory by my weakness. Like Moses standing between Pharoah’s army and the Red Sea,  I must rely on you, for I am powerless.  When you act (not “if” you act, for you in your faithfulness will respond to my prayer), you will get the honor, not me. To you be glory, Lord, to you be honor for the privilege of trusting you in the midst of challenge and uncertainty, attack and loss.

As it says in Psa 9:3,4  “My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you. For you have upheld my right and my cause…”

Praise be to you, O warrior God, who fights for your children.   I praise you that you will engage the enemy for me, for us, for your Word, for what is right. I “commit my way to the Lord, I will trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass, He shall bring forth my righteousness as the light and my judgment as the noon day sun.” (Ps 37:5,6).   And the promise that he who delights in and meditates on your word “will prosper in whatever he does.” (Ps. 1:2,3).  So, I can rest in what you will do in the difficult situations before me,  for you are faithful.

It may not work out the way I desire, but I know that you will do what is right, for: “you have sat on your throne, judging righteously.” (Ps. 9:4b)  We may be unsure what to do, debate what is correct, have only part of the information, be prejudiced by our preferences and hang ups, but you have none of these restrictions.  You, Heavenly Father, see all perfectly, you have every scrap of information, you understand motives and intents, you know Truth totally, and you will judge in complete righteousness.  Thank you for that, for the security that it is not my  partial understanding and faulty standard but is in your perfect understanding and righteous standard that will prevail.

Praise be to you for your goodness, graciousness, greatness and glory. I praise you today, I bow before you and accept whole-heartedly whatever you desire to bring.

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My Weakness Highlights Your Perfection

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 13, 2011

I thank you, Lord, that I can praise you in every situation, especially when I am weak, unable to accomplish things in my own strength.  Thank you for my weakness, my need to wait on you, my inability to bring about what I desire—seeing people come to know you, having CPs go well, having disciples take all the advice they need, having my book sell well.  You, Lord God, are the One who is in control, who is trustable, who is loving, who is powerful.

In my weakness your power can be put on display, can be exalted and made perfect. Thank you for the role you give us of being a foil to your greatness, for being able to highlight truth.  You are the Creator, we are the creatures, you are powerful, we are poor, you are loving, we need love, you are the meaning of life, we crave purpose, you are pure, we are polluted, you are gracious, we are greedy, you are majestic, we are miniscule, you are mighty, we are miserable, you are wise, we are weak, you are awesome, we are awful, you are totally other, we are all the same.  And in spite of what we are, you love us, you desire a relationship with us, you care for us deeply, whole-heartedly, fully, eternally.


“I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;” (Psalm 9:1a) You, O Lord God are Triune, Triumphant, Tremendous,  worthy of praise. As you have loved me, cleansed me, transformed me, adopted me, delighted in me, how can I but respond with love, with praise, with admiration, thankfulness and whole-hearted rejoicing in you. You are my Lord, my King, my Shepherd, my Rock, and I rejoice in the great privilege of knowing you.  You are worthy of praise no matter what comes into my life.  I will praise you now and for eternity!
“I will tell of all your wonders.” (Psalm 9:1b) Great and many are your wonders, beginning with your character: you are Love, Light and Life; in you there is Purity, Perfection, and Power, Greatness, Grace and Goodness, Righteousness, Justice and Mercy, Riches, Rightness and Reigning.

You are Immortal, Invisible and Invincible, you are Mighty, Magnificent and Marvelous, you are God, Lord,and Sovereign, you are without beginning, with out end and without time.

You are a wonder, and we have not even come to your works: your speaking all into existence, holding all together, holding back the tide of evil, providing salvation for all your enemies, suffering disappointment, pain and grief every day as you shepherd your professed children who willfully disobey, disbelieve and disrupt. You wait patiently for the right time to move, you act from pure motives,  always do the right thing in the right way.  You weave all together into your plan to bring history to a conclusion, to eliminate evil and to usher your children into an eternity of light, love and life.  You alone are worthy of praise!  I bow before you in awe, I offer you worship in joy, I rise up before you to obey.

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God's Love Revealed

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 11, 2011

Lord, I praise you for your creativity and love of beauty: last night walking home in dark, the stars were so bright and clear, the sliver of a new moon so distinct in the sky—and this despite so much light pollution. It was a stimulating sight, a reminder of how vast the universe is, of how small and insignificant we are.

It reminds me of the privileged planet concept, noticing that you have placed this planet in just the right way in our galaxy so we can view much of what you have made, unobstructed by dust and other heavenly bodies.  You considered all the factors and hung the earth in just the right position.

I praise you, Lord God, that you do the same thing in the life of each individual who has ever lived: worked to place them in situations that would draw them to yourself. You placed the creation before them to prepare their hearts (Romans 1:18-20), you send the Holy Spirit working to convict each of their need for Christ (John 16:7-11), you send dreams and visions (Acts 9), you sent your Word, you send your children to share with them (Acts 10). I praise you for your great love and compassion, your thoroughness and diligence, your faithfulness and provision.

May I be a beacon of heavenly knowledge today to all around me in whatever I do and say; may you be glorified in my thoughts, perspectives, motives, actions and words. May those around me be drawn to you by your Spirit filling me and spilling over onto them.  May I be a strong, sweet smell of grace, goodness, godliness  and graciousness to all those I meet so that you may be glorified and pleased, so that they may be enlightened, drawn to you and enter your Kingdom of Light.

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Giving God Glory in the Details of Life

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 7, 2011

Praise you, Lord God,  that today there will be a multitude of opportunities to give you glory in a myriad of little decisions: to praise in the face of disappointment, to be patient in the face of frustration, to rest in the face of failure, to rejoice in the face of rejection.  With you there is ever enough grace, from you ever flows abundant wisdom, by you there is ever powerful protection, in your there is ever a super abundance of love.  You are all we need, you are all we could want, you are all there truly is forever.

Forgive us for trying to find what we want, need, desire and lust for in other, empty sources.  In doing so, our unbelief and rebellion wound your heart again, bring dishonor to your name and burn our souls with the caustic power of sin.

Help us to turn our eyes to you only, to repent of our foolishness before we commit it and to seek you, you alone.  May you be glorified in my life today, Lord Jesus, my King and Shepherd, my Captain and Navigator, my Savior and Lord.

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God, the Only One

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 6, 2011

Praise you, Lord God, for a new day, another opportunity to live with you, for you, by you in your power.  You are faithful, Lord Jesus, to sustain us, guide us, protect us, use us, even though we don’t deserve it.

I give you honor and praise and glory before anything starts today,  before we see any of your works, for you are worthy of worship and adoration first of all because of your wonderful being, your perfect person, your marvelous character.

You are full-orbed, exactly balanced, totally True, sinless and faultless, full of light and life and love.  You are absolutely unique: the only non-created One, the only from-eternity-to-eternity One, the only self-sufficient One, the only truly Triune One, the only Source of contra-conditional, unalterable, unending agape love, the only all-knowing all-seeing One, the only undefeated and undefeatable One, the only true Creator, the only Sustainer of all, the only One who can end all.

You are utterly other, absolutely absolute, faithfully faithful and completely complete.  You are unshifting, unchanging and unalterable—perfect, persistent, powerful. You are worthy of worship, worthy of trust, worthy of love, worthy of obedience.

May today I live in the light of who you are so that your light may shine out of my life spilling your grace onto all those around me.

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Faith Praise

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 5, 2011

Thank you, Lord, that I am not well today, giving me the privilege of resting in you rather than in feeling good physically, to live by faith rather than feeling. Praise be to you for your stability, your faithfulness, your unchanging, powerful, deeply rooted perfection.  You are wonderful, you are superb, you are my mighty rock—unshakable, unshifting, unsinkable, unbreakable.  You are always the same in your love, your commitment, your goodness, your patience, your grace, your wisdom, your knowledge, your justice, your power, your firmness.

As I am concerned about the many significant happenings occurring now in the world  (and tend to worry about them), it is wonderful to know that I can turn to you, intercede about these things and know that you will be at work in ways far beyond what I could do or imagine.

I give you praise and glory for your goodness, your greatness, your grace and your glory.  You are wonderful beyond words, trustable beyond truth, powerful beyond perception, marvelous beyond majesty. To you belongs all glory, honor, praise and exaltation, for you are perfect, holy, wise, all-knowing, all-powerful, ever loving and entirely righteous.

In you, mercy triumphs over justice, truth and grace kiss, wrath and forgiveness cooperate, grace and rebuke are balanced perfectly.  You are absolutely, totally, completely, without exception trustable: you will always do what is right, good, gracious and glorious.  May praise flow to you today from my mind, my mouth, my movement and my motives.  I bow before you in submission, I rise before you in praise, I go forth with you in obedience.

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Praise in the unknown: worship by faith

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 4, 2011

I praise you this morning, Lord,  for the wonder of having a high and mighty God, able to protect, able to work good out of negatives, able to use weakness to achieve your ends.  You certainly are the great example of good leadership: using projects to develop your people rather than using your people to accomplish your projects—every situation, every difficulty, every work, every responsibility is  the opportunity to grow, to learn, to be driven into your Word and prayer, to see you work in power, love, wisdom and goodness.

Praise you, Lord God for what you will do today in my life.  Thank you already for two big chances to trust and praise you in faith (a negative email that I could have worried about, then not finding the adaptor for my computer in my backpack, meaning I would lose much of the work possibility for the day).  These were chances to praise before seeing the outcome, knowing that you would guide in what to do. I could relax in your love and provision, pray, think clearly and be at peace.   (In the end I rummaged further in my backpack and found an extra adaptor, praise be to you).

To rest in you is a wonderful thing, for no matter what disappointment comes, we can trust you with all our heart to work in and through this for good.  To you be more and more glory in the rest of my day!

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Today: New Potential for the Positive

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 1, 2011

It is so good to be your child, Lord, so wonderful to be in your Family, in your Kingdom, in your Church, in your Plan, in your Love.  I give you praise and honor and glory for the privilege of waking up, finding you there in the  night, then again in the morning, (Ps. 139) knowing that you have been through the new day before us, planned out things which are beyond my control. You have worked already to arrange events and situations to give me the opportunity to be a grace receiver from you and a grace giver to others, a glory  giver rather than a glory stealer,  to be a “third Adam” in re-living the temptation to unbelief and rebellion, only this time choosing obedience.

You, O Lord God, give us significant situations, optimum opportunities to make choices, to stand against the enemy, to say “yes” to you, to obey your Word.  And, of course, there is also the chance of my failure in every single one of these, the possibility in our potential for disobedience which would bring pain for you.  Yet you continue to partner with us in the many events of the day, willing to suffer disappointment, hurt and loss because you love us.

Lord, today may I live, speak, act and respond in ways that will bring pleasure to your heart. May you be glorified, may those around me be blessed and may your Name and Word  be exalted.

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The Essence of God

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 28, 2011

Praise be to you, my Lord: King, General, Warrior, Judge and Shield.  I praise you that you are actively, lovingly engaged in the lives of all people on earth.  (“From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind….he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.” Ps 33:13,15)

I praise you that you hear prayer, and answer prayer in wisdom and strength.  I praise you that you are powerfully at work in the lives of those we intercede for regularly, bringing deep, godly change.  Praise be to you for your rich, ever flowing love, coming from the deep spring of your essence, for you are love itself.  It is your nature to love, to desire the best for those you have created: “The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving towards all he has made.” (Ps 145:13b)

Praise you that our ugly attitudes of selfishness, rebellion and unbelief cannot quench your love.  Praise you that your justice did not overwhelm your mercy, but that mercy triumphs over justice.

Praise you that you are persistent in your passionate pursuit of providing possibilities of salvation to those who are naturally uninterested. As you pursued Paul, as you provided for Cornelius, as you prepared Lydia, and as you pointed to Timothy, so you work in every heart (as the Holy Spirit convicts the world of their guilt because of unbelief, righteousness and judgment John 16:8-11).  I praise you, Lord God, for how fully, marvelously, majestically you have offered your love to every creature,  in spite of knowing full well that only some will accept and many will reject it.

I praise you for how willingly and wholeheartedly you suffer the pangs of sadness as  we, your professed children, so often grieve and quench your Spirit in rebellion and unbelief. Your grace and goodness, your forgiveness and kindness are overwhelming.

Praise you that you are the God of the long term, the big picture, the eternal view.   Praise you that you don’t give up on us, but persist to the end. You are the perfect High Priest, Lord Jesus, for you ever live to intercede for us!  You are the God who is worthy of worship, worthy of honor and praise and glory and exaltation.  You, the holy, pure, sinless and perfect One, completely other and independent of your creation, under no obligation to love and save, yet loving to the end the unlovely, redeeming the rebels at an outrageous rate, constantly continuing in the care of your children, providing power and provision through prayer. You are constantly teaching, transforming, taking us toward the target of becoming like Jesus.

You are a wonder, Lord God: Triune, Totally Good, Totally Trustable, Worthy of all Worship.  I bow before you this day, I give you honor in surrender to your will, praising you for all you will do in your goodness and love,  and rise up to obey you in returned love. 1Jn 2:6  “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”  Knowing Jesus is Enough for Praise!  To you be glory in my life today!

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