With His first coming, Jesus started His kingdom; in His second coming, Jesus will come to rule His kingdom.

The second coming of Christ is not to be confused with the rapture. The rapture is the event when Jesus gathers believers together with Him in the air. The second coming is when Jesus returns to the earth for battle, bringing the nations under His dominion in the battle of Armageddon. The second coming occurs after the rapture.

The Bible refers to the second coming as the Day of the Lord. It isn’t a 24-hour day, but rather a time period that belongs to Jesus Christ to take His place of authority and to cleanse the earth. The wrath of God will be poured out, purifying the world and making it ready for Jesus to reign.

At His first coming, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a lowly donkey; at His second coming Jesus will ride in on a white horse, surrounded by an army of saints.

At His first coming, Jesus entered Jerusalem as the sacrificial Lamb; at His second coming Jesus will enter as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, in strength and power.

At His first coming, Jesus was mocked as a king, tortured and crucified. In His second coming Jesus will be glorified as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Him as Lord over all.

It will be a glorious day when Jesus rules the nations, but today He wants to rule our hearts. Today Jesus is building His kingdom in us. His temple is not in a building, but instead He dwells in our hearts as our King. His power, His glory – it is seen in us. We are to represent our Lord and do the works that He did. We are to preach, teach, heal, deliver, give, and go in His name by the anointing of the Spirit that He sent to us. He is King in the hearts of those who believe, both now and forever.

Application: God’s desire is for His kingdom to expand and strengthen until the day He sends His Son to take His dominion over the nations. Our part is to yield to His lordship and to go out with the power of the Holy Spirit to win more of the people that Jesus died for. Share the Gospel message with someone today.

There are seventy sevens prophesied for the Jews in Daniel 9:24-27. Those sevens have been translated as weeks, but they are actually sets of seven years. The seventieth seven is yet to be fulfilled. The sixty-nine sevens ended at a special event. In verse 25 it tells us that the sixty-nine sevens would continue until Messiah the Prince. The Hebrew word for Prince is nagiyd. The root of this word is nagad meaning, “to be made known, to announce, to declare, to acknowledge, to be conspicuous.” When did the Jews first publicly announce Jesus to be the Messiah?

The event took place in Jerusalem, a week before Passover. The Jews were gathered in the holy city for their upcoming feast. Jesus instructed his disciples to acquire a donkey to fulfill prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, “…Behold your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey…” As Jesus entered into the city on the colt, Jewish people laid down palm branches, a sign of victory, and shouted out, hosanna, which means “save us now.” They shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David, a term signifying Jesus as the promised king, a descendent of David’s throne. The triumphal entry also fulfilled the prophetic song in Psalm 118 foretelling the words declaration, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” The Jews were not celebrating Jesus for their spiritual salvation; they were declaring Jesus as their promised king that would free them from the oppression of the nations.

The Jewish priests and scribes to become indignant when they saw the attention that Jesus was receiving, not only from the adults, but from the children who were also shouting with their parents, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” fulfilling a prophetic song in Psalm 8:2. The Pharisees called to Jesus from the loud crowd, instructing Him to quiet His followers. Jesus answered, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” Jesus said this because He knew that to fulfill scripture on that day, the end of the sixty-nine week of Daniel’s prophecy, there had to be the declaration of His kingship by the Jews.[1]

Application: The day of the Messiah’s pronouncement also included the cleansing of the temple, prophetic of the season of the Gentiles preceding the seventieth seven,[2] and supernatural healing for the blind and lame. Declare Jesus as your king today, allowing Him to rule over anything that would keep you from seeing or doing all He has for you.

We are living in a time when the Gospel has gone farther than it has ever gone before. There are thriving and growing churches of thousands in nations around the globe, doing church well and reaching multitudes of people. These churches have been planting new churches, strategizing outreaches and sending out missionaries into remote places.

Not only are churches increasing by the thousands in various countries, but through the internet the Gospel is available to any developed nation with online capability.

In addition, there are reports of people in remote areas that are hearing the Gospel preached in visions and dreams. My husband and I personally met a Christian from Iran who gave us his testimony of conversion. He was searching for the truth about God and had a vision of a man dressed in white that shared the salvation message of Jesus Christ. After that supernatural experience, he believed and accepted Christ as his savior. The end is in sight – the Gospel is going to the end of the earth! In our lifetime, we are seeing the kingdom of God expand like no other generation has seen.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:14, “This Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” The world as we know it with sin and death, disease and deformity, poverty and famine, wars and terrorism, human trafficking and pornography, drugs and abuse – it is coming to an end! By that end, the Gospel will have gone out to all nations. Daniel 8:19 says, “at the appointed time the end shall be.” I don’t believe that God is waiting on the church before He sends His Son to rule over His kingdom. I believe that God knows the day and the hour that Jesus Christ will return, and I believe that in that time period this Gospel will be preached to the end of the earth. We are seeing it happen!

Jesus is returning as a King for His Church, an invisible kingdom that has been building and strengthening over generations. Let’s continue to prepare for His return, and reach as many people as we can in the time that we have left!

Application: Who is in your world? Who needs to hear of God’s love and salvation? Don’t wait! Share the Gospel message with everyone you can.

By Melanie Stone

In the Old Testament there is a Hebrew word for singing praise, tehillah. Several times this word is used in connection with singing a new song – a song that hasn’t existed before, a new song that has a message for the time it is given. God would inspire psalmists to write songs as His message to His people. In the book of Psalms, we know that some of these songs were even prophetic, foretelling the future of Israel and of the coming Messiah.

In the New Testament, after the penalty for sin had been removed and the Holy Spirit had been poured out, God is still giving new songs. With the infilling and indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the heart of each believer, the Holy Spirit continues to give songs, and He gives spiritual songs.

What is a spiritual song? A spiritual song is a spontaneous song given by the Holy Spirit for the moment it is applicable. Just like with the gifts of the Spirit, a spiritual song is a gift from the Holy Spirit as a supernatural message from God or a song that God has for us for that moment. Ephesians 5:18-19 “…be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord….” Remember that under the old covenant God sang over His people (Zephaniah 3:17). With the anointing of the Holy Spirit, God is still singing messages to His people with spiritual songs or songs sung in the spirit.

Songs sung in the spirit are songs that are sung in an unknown language. I Corinthians 14:15 “… I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.” Singing in the spirit as an individual or as a congregation often brings a glorious experience of God’s manifested presence into our praise.

Application: We should be intentional to praise the Lord both with our understanding and with our spirit. In a worship service, when a song is over and music is playing, don’t stop worshipping to wait for the next song. Begin to sing in the spirit and learn to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in your worship in between the songs. You will learn how to flow with the Holy Spirit and hear what He is saying. It is glorious!

By Melanie Stone

As I was studying the Hebrew word for praise, tehillah, I noticed several verses that mentioned singing a new song. Psalm 149:1 says, “Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints.” Isaiah 42:10 says, “Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the ends of the earth.” In Psalm 40:3 it says that God has put a new song in my mouth, a song that gives praise to God. A song, that when people hear it, they will fear and put their trust in the Lord.

Psalms is the largest book in the Bible, a compilation of songs that the Jews sang together as a congregation. Psalmists were people who wrote songs that were inspired by the Holy Spirit in the same way that the rest of the Bible was inspired. The words that God speak carry weight and cause the world around us to change. When we speak His words, there is tremendous power behind it. When we speak as one of His children, the world around us can change. When we take those words and sing them with passion and expression, it is not only a beautiful and acceptable praise to God, but it delivers words with feeling and strength.

When we have a new song, it is a song that God has inspired for that season. It is a song that carries an anointing for that moment. A new song does not take away from the power of God’s word given in an old song, but a new song will carry a fresh anointing for what is needed at the time that it is given. It is a “now” song. It is what God is doing now, in the present, in our midst.[1]

God is still giving new songs. They are new songs that are for the church today. They are songs that give us a way to express how we feel about God and about what He is doing right now. They are songs that help us to declare God’s words over our lives right now. They are songs that I believe God wants to hear us sing to Him from our hearts and our mouths because of the love we share right now. I believe we experience a fresh anointing- an anointing to bring change for what God is doing right now.

Application: When you here a new song, give attention to what God might want to do in your church service or in your life in that moment. Be open to receive all the new things God wants to do in you, in your church, and in His kingdom – right now.

By Melanie Stone

Tehillah is a Hebrew word that means to sing a song or hymn, singing praise to someone who is being celebrated or praised. The word “psalm,” is tehillah. Psalms, the Bible book, is Tehillim, literally the Book of Praises containing songs or hymns, sung to the Lord.

In Psalm 22:3 it says that God is enthroned in the (tehillah) praises of His people. The Hebrew meaning behind the word used for “enthroned” means “to sit down, to remain, or marry.”[1] In another version of the Bible the word “inhabit” is used. God inhabits the singing praise of His people. When we praise God with our hearts and our mouths, we experience the tangible presence of God.[2]

I like tehillah in Psalm 106:12 (NIV), “Then they believed His promises and sang His praise.” When we believe God’s promises, we have joy and peace – so much joy and peace, that it causes us to sing His praise. Faith will tehillah; faith will sing praise. Our faith is a factor in a promise being fulfilled.  This was true for the Israelites in II Chronicles 20. They had an enemy determined to overtake them in battle. God instructed Israel to begin praising Him, to believe in Him (verse 20). In verse 22 as they praised (tehillah), God’s power took out the enemy. Israel didn’t even have to fight! God fought for them as they sang their praise to Him, believing His promises.

We see the same principle at work in the New Testament. In Acts 16:16-34 we read about Paul and Silas praying and singing hymns to God while they were in prison. Their belief in God and in God’s promises caused them to want to sing praise to God. Their faith was seen in their celebration of who God was, and because of their praise, God’s power was manifested. There was a supernatural shaking of the earth so that the prison doors broke open and the chains were broke free. Breakthrough happens when our faith causes us to sing our praise!

Application:  Psalm 33:1 says that “praise (tehillah) from the upright is beautiful.” You may not feel that you are perfect before God – none of us do. However, Jesus has given us right-standing before God because of our position before God. When you sing praise to the Lord, whatever your voice may sound like, God says that it is beautiful to Him.

By Melanie Stone

Like the English language, in the Hebrew language there can be more than one meaning to a word. The Hebrew word for praise, barak, means “to kneel before the Lord, to bow,” but it also means, “to bless.”

God blesses His people all the time. When God blesses us, He is doing us good. He is extending His grace. He is giving us good things. He is allowing us to partake of His life – what He has to give. I remember a moment with God that I had years ago. My husband and I were at a church conference, preparing to move to another country as missionaries. When we checked out of our hotel, we learned that someone had already taken care of our bill. I was thankful. I was thankful to the person who had blessed us, and I was thankful to God for moving on this person to bless us. As we began our drive back home, I said to the Lord, “You bless me all the time, I want to do something to bless You, but how could I ever bless You?” He reminded me of scriptures in the Bible that mention blessing the Lord with our praise. God is blessed when we honor Him with hearts of praise. I began to sing to Him in the car, blessing God with what I had, my praise. It was a beautiful exchange of love between God and me.

When we bless God, we are giving Him honor, glorifying His name. We are lifting Him up. We are promoting Him and making His name famous. We are doing Him good, being helpful to Him and to His cause. We bless Him with our song, but we also bless Him with our serve – our actions that give God what He wants. He wants us, and God wants us to reach others that He sent His Son to die for. We bless God when we give to His cause, giving from our resources to cause His kingdom purpose to advance in our city and in our world.

When we bless God, we are bringing him joy. Our gift to Him is our life, our heart. Our gift to Him is our love. Our gift to Him is our praise, and He receives what we have to give with joy because He loves us. We bless God when we show Him we want our life to be intertwined with His. What a wonderful opportunity that we have to bless God with our praise!

Application:  Do you ever feel that what you have to offer God isn’t enough? Know that your value comes from the price God paid for you – the blood of His Son. You have tremendous value and the surrender of your praise blesses the God of the universe.

There are several Hebrew words that are translated into the word “praise,” showing us that there are several different ways that we can demonstrate our love for our God. There is a Hebrew word for praise, barak, that means “to kneel before the Lord, to bless, to bow.” There are times when we lift our hands, times when we clap, times when we shout, times when we dance and times when we play an instrument. The Hebrew word barak shows us that there are also times to bow, or to kneel, before God.

There are times when we want to show God our heart to surrender to His love for us. Taking the knee before God is a demonstration of a humble heart, giving ourselves to the authority of a gracious and compassionate Father. Bowing is an outward action that conveys an inward posture of someone who is fully submitted to the Lord. There are times when we want to do something that shows God our deep reverence for Him, when we experience the awe of who He is and want to yield to His greatness. Kneeling can be an expression of our praise.

Our praise in a church worship service is merely an expression of the position our heart is in every day of the week. Worship isn’t just a time of singing before the message when we come together in church. Worship is also how we live our lives. Not only can we bow in a worship service, but we can live everyday life with our heart postured in humility. We can live a bowed life, not bent over because of lack or shame, but as surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord. We bow to Him by the way we live our life – surrendered, yielded, submitted to our loving Lord.

If we aren’t living a life of worship, then our words and are actions are meaningless to the Lord. He is looking at the heart that are in the words and the actions we do. Jesus quoted Isaiah in Mark 7:6 “…This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” When we kneel before the Lord, we don’t want it just to be just an outward expression, but we want it to be an expression of the genuine posture of our heart.

Application:  In Philippians 2:9-11 we read that one day every knee will bow at the name of Jesus. Is He your Savior – have you received His salvation? Is He your Lord – do you surrendered every part of your life to His loving authority and care? If there is an area that isn’t surrendered, I encourage you to bless the Lord by giving it to Him today.

By Melanie Stone

Zamar is a Hebrew word for praise that means, “to touch the strings of an instrument and to play unto its power.” Worship leaders and musicians are given to the church by God to lead all of us into worship. Whether we feel that we are talented in our voice or on an instrument, God is honored by our praise and meets us in our loving adoration of Him. Whether our praise is in our private time or in a congregation of people, when we actively participate in worship, we are choosing to honor God as our Father and Lord. When we worship we are making a step toward God with a desire to have communion with Him. James 4:8 (NLT) “Come close to God and God will come close to you.”

Our worship of God is a response of a surrendered heart, a heart submitted to God as our loving authority. God knows who He is. God isn’t looking for an ego boost. God is complete in Himself. God isn’t looking to keep us under control. God loves us. When we worship, God is looking to meet with us. When God’s presence is manifested, we are blessed. When God is present, His anointing is there- His power is there.

When we meet with God in worship, we invite Him to move. In I Samuel 16:14, King Saul called David to come and play his harp, because when he praised, it caused the presence and power of God to be manifested, and the spirit that was tormenting Saul would leave. Our praise honors God, inviting Him to move as He wishes. Our praise causes a change in the atmosphere where the power of God is present and available for miracles to happen.

In II Kings 3:15, King Jehoshaphat went to the prophet Elisha for the purpose of receiving a message from God. In those days the Holy Spirit could not indwell the believer, so He would only visit leaders when there was a need. The first thing Elisha did was to call for a musician. When the musician played, the anointing to prophesy came on Elisha. It was a spiritual truth then, and it is a spiritual truth now – our praise and worship draws the presence and anointing of God. Our praise ushers, or brings in, the tangible and manifested power of God.

Application: Your words carry power. Your song has spiritual ramification. Sing and play for the King, and His anointing will manifest to accomplish His desire in you and through you.

By Melanie Stone

Shabach is a Hebrew word for praise that means “to laud, commend, adore, glory.” It also means “to soothe, still, stroke, to pacify.” The word is used eleven times in the Old Testament, of which, eight times it is used to speak praise to God. Three times it is used to describe a calming of the sea[1] or a calming within one’s heart.[2]

When we praise the Lord, it brings a calming effect on our hearts. The Arabic translation of Shabach means “to swim,” which is done by stroking the water. In Psalm 89:9 shabach is used to still the waves. As we praise, we allow His presence to stroke us, to soothe us. Whatever we are dealing with in our lives, when we lift up God and praise Him for who He is, our soul is pacified.

Transformation happens in God’s presence. When we are communing with Him, His love melts our concerns. His anointing breaks our strongholds. His life gives resource to our needs. If we go into His throne room with anxiety, we come out with peace. If we go into His presence with sadness, we come out with joy. If we go into His presence with troubles, we come out with victory. God’s presence strokes us, rubs us, and soothes us.

Praise takes us there- into a meeting with God. We approach Him with our love, our honor. We approach Him with humility, surrender. We approach Him in recognition of who He is. The shabach praise will move toward God with loving exaltation, as we are in our imperfection, and then God moves toward us, in His perfection, completing us and making us whole. Whatever we lacked going in, we were full when we went out. We receive what He has already provided. We receive from the place He has positioned us into. God has made the way, but everyday we still must do our part to choose it, to receive it, and to use it. Our praise leads us to communion with God, a place where we meet with God and a place where He completes us and calms the storms in our lives.

Application: Singing or speaking words of praise doesn’t necessarily bring you into communion with God – it’s the heart in loving pursuit of His Person. God, and God alone, can complete us, giving us peace.

By Melanie Stone