I have to remind myself that God’s love is greater than any challenge I face. Sometimes I forget. Here is a poem/song I wrote way back in 2010. Recently our JAM Praise Band has started sharing our original songs. This is the first one I shared. Here is our band playing – no editing or Melodyne – just a group of us who love Jesus!
There is power in harmony. When everyone works together and does their part to contribute to the whole. I am blessed to be part of an amazing worship team. We have sang together for 8 years now. It is so fun!
According to the Dictionary,
HARMONY is:
noun, plural harmonies.
1.agreement; accord; harmonious relations.
2.a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangement of parts; congruity.
3.Music.
any simultaneous combination of tones.
the simultaneous combination of tones, especially when blended into chords pleasing to the ear; chordal structure, as distinguished from melody and rhythm.
the science of the structure, relations, and practical combination of chords.
4.an arrangement of the contents of the Gospels, either of all four or of the first three, designed to show their parallelism, mutual relations, and differences
Our drummer Doug Anderson compiled this MP3 of some of our worship songs. Thanks Doug! We are blessed to sing four part harmony many times.
Being in a worship band is one of the best things ever. Using music to lead people in the presence of God and worship the King of Kings together. People get healed, tears fall, hearts are renewed, hope is reborn. I am so blessed to be able to sing with my husband and my friends. We are not professional musicians, we are just seekers who love to encounter a great God! It is an honor and a priviledge to lead people into the presence of God. God inhabits the praise of all who seek Him. Come and worship with us, no matter what country you are in!
Here is an audio of us with Days of Elijah, Let God Arise, Reveation Song, You Great Name, and You Won’t Relent. Enjoy!
Bob Rasmussen – guitar and vocals
Carmen Hanson – vocals
Mike Lyle – vocals
Doug Anderson – drums and vocals
Diana Rasmussen – keyboard and vocals
Why We Worship
“One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
and inquire at His temple.” (Psalm 27:4 NKJV)
We pray with one another aloud because the Bible tells us, “They lifted up their voice to God with one accord” (Acts 4:24)
We lift up our hands in worship because in the Bible it says, “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.” (Psalm 134:2)
We sing because in the Bible it tells us to, “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” (Psalm 98:4)
We clap and shout unto our God because in the Bible we read, “O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.” (Psalm 47:1)
“Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.” (Psalm 150:4)
We play musical instruments because the Bible declares, “And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments” (II Samuel 6:5)
We testify publicly of God’s goodness because in the Bible we read, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.” (Psalm 22:22)
We anoint with oil for divine healing because the in the Bible we read, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:” (James 5:14)
We allow the operation of spiritual gifts because in the Bible we read, “When ye come together, everyone of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.” (I Corinthians 14:26)
One of the best posts ever about praise and worship. Thank you Pure Glory!
”We have so many programs, that sometimes, we’ve programmed God completely out of the equation. We have allowed the spirit of the world to come in, in lieu of the Spirit of the Lord. Competing against one another, idolizing one another, coming to be entertained, but not changed.”
It was a vision when I first woke up this morning – the glory cloud of God coming down like a sheet. Just like Peter saw at Cornelius’s house.
The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”
But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”
And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.”This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again. – Acts 10:9-16 NKJV
The Glory of God is like a cloud – it will settle over us and our hearts and make all things new. Be ready for a visitation from the Almighty today friends. God is with us – Emmanuel!
Bible Verses on the Glory Cloud of God
Exodus 13:21-22: The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
1 Kings 8:10-12: It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. Then Solomon said, “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.
Leviticus 16:2: The LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.
Psalm 97:2: Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
Job 26:9 “He obscures the face of the full moon And spreads His cloud over it.
Job 22:14: ‘Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see; And He walks on the vault of heaven.’
Revelation 14:14: Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.
Psalm 121: 1-8 NKJV
I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.
The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.
I am so excited! I just feel that the presence of God is going to overwhelm us this Christmas Season!
Are you ready to be awed by His presence?
Are you ready to melt in His arms and just be speechless?
Are you ready to worship the King of Kings?
Yes! He was born a King, even though it didn’t look like it at the time.
Who would put a King in a manger?
I love how God shows up outside of our “box”!
He is so freaking awesome,
And He is ready to invade out time and our space as never before!
He did it before – when He came into this world.
Luke 2:8-20 In the same region there were shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord the Messiah. And this will be a sign for you by which you will recognize Him: you will find a Baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
Then suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host angelic army praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, And on earth peace among men with whom He is well-pleased.” When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying one to another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem, and see this wonderful thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the Baby as He lay in the manger. And when they had seen this, they made known what had been told them about this Child, and all who heard it were astounded and wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these things, giving careful thought to them and pondering them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.
Do not be afraid. Your God has come to you. To hold you, to heal you, to save you and your family. This world is not all there is. There is so much more. We are citizens of Heaven thanks to the Lord who decided to enter His creation as a baby in a manger.
Lord, thank you for coming for all of us. You came to seek and to save the lost. you came to give us hope, a life, and a future. You did for us what we could not do for ourselves. You are our Hope, our Joy, our Savior, and our Future! Hallelujah! Bless God! O
This past Sunday God gave us a Word I’d like to share with you. The band was playing “Break Every Chain” and God gave this Word to our friend Laura :
Word from the Lord
11-13-16
Given to Laura
chains broken 11/13
chains broken all around and laying on an old dirt floor…. like an ancient prision.
no one moves, they stay where the are not leaving- comfortable where they are. we have been freed so we must step forward out of the bondage we have been released from to carry out His will in our lives
we need to choose to walk forward from where we were
I have already released the chains .. what are YOU going to do now….
God taught me something today – through the eyes of a little child. Let’s call him E. He is less than 1 – I think about 6 or 8 months. I play in a worship band every Sunday. We are all over 40-50+. Yet we have fun worshipping the Lord Almighty and bringing his people into the presence of God. Every week little E comes to dance. Sometimes he dances in back by his parents. Today was different. Little E came right onto the stage and started dancing! It moved my heart beyond belief. I scooped him up in my arms and brought him to my piano. He stayed for a moment and played. Praise God!
Then I went and visited my granddaughter. She is the same age. I brought her a little people farm truck that made music. Guess what she did? DJ started to dance! Oh the power of a dance. I truly believe that we bring God joy when we dance in His presence. I wish more of God’s people would let loose and dance before the Lord. David danced – and look what happened!
Let go today. Rejoice in His presence and dance for joy for all that He has done!
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, – Psalm 30:11
It happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with musical instruments. The women sang as they played, and said, “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” 1 Samuel 18:6-7
Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.- 2 samuel 6:14-15 NKJV
Your worship is sacred and pleasing to God. Whether you are singing in your car to the radio, praising and thanking God, or worshipping with others – your worship ushers people into the presence of God. It’s like He just shows up and does stuff.
We are not saved for ourselves.
God wants His love to spill over onto others you meet everyday.
There’s that mom who is trying to make it on her own after her husband left. There is the elderly woman who feels so alone at night. There is the man who just lost his job and doesn’t know how to tell his family. There is the couple who smile on the outside but are one step away from divorce court. And the young teenage girl who hurts herself to stop the pain. These are people you meet everyday. They are hurting. They don’t know why or how to fix it.
We as Christians carry the Word of the Living God in us. Christ in us – the HOPE of Glory. Yet often we hole ourselves up in our buildings, go to our ‘church’ functions, and don’t reach out to the lost. I did this for years. It’s really easy to hide from the world when you busy yourself with function upon function. I learned the lingo, wore what I ‘should’, and followed the rules – for a bit.
Then the hurt squeezed out.
Have you ever tried to stuff a pillow in a box? No matter how hard you try some of it spills over. You can get it almost all in and then the corner pops out. That’s what it’s like to just ‘go’ and play church. I am speaking to myself first. After a while I took a break. Just like I took a break from my biker days, and my preppie days, and my academic days. I was looking for acceptance and love in all the wrong places. The sad part is, so were all the other people going to church. Only we were afraid to tell each other because we didn’t want other people to know how messed up we really are.
The funny thing is though, God already knows.
He brings all of his kiddos to a place to be healed and loved and sheltered from the world.
Worship is a place where God can show us what real love looks like.
Yes it happens at church, but it also happens every time a believer ushers in His presence. God is with us – Emmanuel. He shows up whenever we praise and worship him. He is with you in the car. He is with you at the job. He is with you in your home. He shows up when we pray. He is there when you go outside for a walk. He shows up when we pray with others – they feel His love and presence. God isn’t confined to a building. He is not confined to a Denomination. Anytime or anyplace we worship Him, His love spills out onto others -just like that pillow!
Source: valeriesjodin.com
Thank Goodness God squeezes out of the box we try to put Him in!
I wish I was more transparent in real life. I can here in blog land, I just type what’s on my heart. I am still learning to share in real life. Feelings are so messy. Some days I am just a blubbering idiot I think. I have a few friends I reach out to, and for that I am grateful. I gave up ‘playing church’. I gave myself permission these days to be me, flaws and all. I gave myself permission to be free from other people’s opinions of who they think I am. Today God gets to tell me that. Our identity is hidden in Christ – I think it’s way safer there than anywhere else.
I have struggles everyday. I beat myself up for all the things ‘good little christian girls’ shouldn’t do. But then, as I learned today, God welcomes me in His house anyway. He meets me where I am and loves me through it all. As I confess my faults to God and to others I trust, He forgives me and grants me grace to get up and keep living.
His Word gives me hope – I have to read it – or die. I have been hospitalized for depression. I have tried multiple times to hurt myself. I have given up more times than I can count. I have given up on people, I have given up on myself, and I have given up on love. But the thing I learned today –
God never gave up on me. And He has not given up on you either.
God is for us and with us. He forgives us and loves us. He doesn’t want us to be ‘perfect’ – let it go. Just be you. He made you and He loves you anyway!
Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’ – Deut 20:14 NKJV
And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. – John 6:35-37 NKJV
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8 NKJV
Listen, do you hear Him in your heart? He is Calling you, “Come.” The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.”
Come sit at His feet as the waterfall of His love washes over You. Be washed, be renewed, be loved. He will fill your heart as you spend time with Him!
Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
By day the Lord directs his love,
at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life.
My husband bob got a Word from the Lord I would like to share with you today. God gave his this Word at our recent Prayer Meeting to share with the Body of Christ. It has to do with the DOOR.
“My children, this door, this door that you that you keep talking about, this door that you see every Sunday, this door opens- but it opens both ways.
We don’t need just to PUSH, we need to PULL. I want you to to PUSH into areas of service and healing and outreach. I want you to PUSH during worship, and PUSH when You praise me, I want you to PUSH in your relationships.
But you are not alone, I want you to PULL Me closer, I will give you the strength, I will give you the courage and I will give you the wisdom you need. I will provide. I have never failed. PULL Me close, closer than you ever have before. Trust Me, trust Me more than ever before. I cannot fail. I cannot fail, I will not fail you. I AM the Lord your God. PULL my Word, PULL My Word around your heart and PULL My Word around your thoughts. Let it protect and guide you. Let it burst forth newly in your life and the lives around you. I AM the DOOR. I AM the access to the Father.
Keep PUSHING, Keep PULLING, and arise my Royal Children!“
Currents of possibilities
Flowing through invisibility
Surging Energy in between what is and what will be
Bringing the Kingdom from Heaven to Earth
Lighting the darkness of disbelief
God inhabits the praises of His people
Empowering victory through a song
Currents of Dunamis Power
Supercharged Praise Flows!
Dunamis Power – The Greek word is dunamis, which comes from dunamai (where the word dynamite comes from), and means force, miraculous and inerent power, strength, ability, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth.
We anoint with oil for divine healing because the in the Bible we read, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:” (James 5:14)
I have struggles everyday. I beat myself up for all the things ‘good little christian girls’ shouldn’t do. But then, as I learned today, God welcomes me in His house anyway. He meets me where I am and loves me through it all. As I confess my faults to God and to others I trust, He forgives me and grants me grace to get up and keep living.
