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Thank You, Jesus, for ABOLISHING DEATH
“…our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light…’”
I thought I’d killed the bee, but I’d only stunned it. Before I could blink, it was moving – fully alive. There’s a difference between stunning something and annihilating it.
Paul wanted us to know, in no uncertain terms, that Jesus Christ didn’t just stun death. He didn’t weaken death’s power. Rather, as Bible commentators explain, Jesus “rendered death inoperative and deprived death of its strength.”*
When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, the curse of sin – death – was broken. The cross took care of the curse. What power! What love. Read 2 Timothy 1:10 in context. Worship Christ who ABOLISHED DEATH so that we would not have to fear it, but rather have full assurance of eternal life.
Lord Jesus Savior, we praise You, ABOLISHER of DEATH. Thank You for eternal life in You.
*Bible Gateway
Praise to God Who is ABLE
“and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was ABLE also to perform.'”
Recently, I wandered into a kickboxing class. I’d been eyeing it from across the room where I participated in another class. I kept watching the instructor and felt sure I wasn’t able to keep up with her.
Lots of people promise things. Sometimes we boast that we can get something done by a certain time or in a certain way, and then we can’t.
Imagine having full confidence that when someone says something, they’re able to deliver. Well, we have that in God. If He says it, it’s good as done.
Abraham had that confidence in God. He believed God was able to do what He promised. He believed in God’s power.
If we’re struggling with something, it’s good to remember that God is ABLE. He’s able to do what we can’t do. He’s able to keep His promises. And that’s why we praise Him!
Praise to God Who Abides Forever
“…the Lord abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment.’”
In your lifetime, how many people have you seen take positions of leadership, win elections, take over as leader of a country, and then be unseated? It happens. People and countries are left shaken … swinging between being hopeful of a new administration or fearful of the one that’s taken office.
But our Lord God wants us to know that He’s on the throne and He’s not going anywhere. First, there’s no person or spirit or power that can touch Him. Second, if they could, they couldn’t over-power God.
If we want someone in our lives who we can depend on, then we have that security in God Who ABIDES FOREVER.
We praise You, LORD, who ABIDES FOREVER .
Happy New Year! Praise to Abba Father
“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘ABBA FATHER!'”
Have you ever seen the startled look in a child’s eyes when they were afraid of something? Have you ever seen a child recognize their father in a crowded room and run to their father? Have you ever seen a child cry and call on their daddy and say “Daddy, Daddy,” or maybe even “dada, dada.”
It’s hard to believe but the Scripture says we have a relationship with God where He is our Abba Father.
What does it mean that God is Abba Father?
It means closeness. A personal relationship. That He cares about you wants you to be close to Him. That you can call on Him. You may not have had a great earthly daddy, but you have a great heavenly daddy and for that you can rejoice and praise Him.
Today we begin a new year of 365 DAYS of PRAISE!
What does that mean? Every morning when you wake, you’ll have a NEW attribute of God in your inbox.
You can use each day’s attribute as a SPRINGBOARD for your P.R.A.Y.ers.
P.RAISE God using that day’s attribute.
R.EPENT if you’ve ignored His invitation to know Him in that way.
A.SK on the basis of that day’s attributes.
Y.IELD to Him during the day.
EXAMPLE:
LORD, You are ABBA FATHER! We praise You and thank You for adopting us as Your child. Forgive us for the times we’ve rejected Your love and guidance. Help us trust You more. We yield to You.
Praise YAHWEH
“God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
Jehovah (YHWH) is one of the primary names of God. Scholar Charles Ryrie explains:
- I AM WHO I AM, the inner meaning of Yahweh – “I am the ONE who is” – emphasizes God’s dynamic and active self-existence.
- Yahweh, literally, YHWH, is the most significant name for God in the Old Testament, occuring 6,823 times in the O.T. and is especially associated with God’s holiness, hatred of sin, and gracious provision of redemption.
When we read, “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’; and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you,” we can’t help but be reminded that just as God sent Moses to rescue the Israelites from bondage in Egypt; God sent Jesus to rescue us from bondage to sin. Yahweh, a holy, loving, redemptive, rescuing God. How we praise Him!
YAHWEH, self-existent, dynamic I AM, we marvel at Your holiness and love for us. We worship You with abounding thankfulness on our hearts for who You are and all You have done. 
Have you enjoyed 365 Days of Praise? If so, dig deeper into God’s attributes in my book, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion.
Pray more purposefully & live more passionately for Christ in 2018!
Your Year End gift to help us fulfill our mission to Spread the Word & Love of Jesus is tax deducible and deeply appreciated.
Thank You, Jesus, for Being Our eXAMPLE
“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,”
Have you ever wished you had a mentor; someone to follow; someone to teach you how to do your job better, be a better spouse, or even live for Christ? Many people lack a good “example” to follow. Young girls get pregnant, but may not know how to be a good mother. Husbands may not know how to treat their wives because they grew up in a home with an absentee father. Arguing, lying, and trusting in “self” rather than God is often the norm. Yet, in the midst of a lack of good examples, our Heavenly Father provides a good example in His Son. Jesus shows us how to stand against temptation, how to live for God’s will, how to treat others, and even how to suffer for righteousness’s sake. Jesus is an eXample of how we’re to entrust ourselves to our Heavenly Father. (1 Peter 2:22-23) In a world filled with bad examples, how wonderful that we can follow Jesus.
We praise You, Lord Jesus, our EXAMPLE!
Thank you for remembering us in your year end giving. We’d like to say thank you by sending you my book/study, “The Plan A Mom in a Plan B Word: How to Raise Faithful Kids in a Flawed World” for any donation of $25 or more. Let us know where you’d like us to send your free copy, to you or a friend. Short, encouraging chapters for moms of all ages include: A Snoot or A Smile, I Have to or I Get To, Being Overly Controlling or Trusting God with My Child, Hopeless or Hopeful, Angry and Confused or Of a Sound Mind, Focusing On My Weakness or Living By Christ’s Empowerment, Stuck in Single Mom Grief or Responding to God’s Voice, My Child or God’s Child. Each chapter includes lessons from a Biblical mom PLUS A CURRENT DAY MOM SHARING HER STORY. Great for personal reflection or group study. Thank you for donating. Your gift is tax deductible, deeply appreciated, and enables us to continue to spread the Word and love of Jesus.
Praise the eXALTED CHRIST
“In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and EXALTED, with the train of His robe filling the temple.”
“I saw the Lord.” Let those words sink in.
There was a time – the year of King Uzziah’s death.
There was a place – sitting on a throne in a temple.
There was a description – lofty…exalted…the train of His robe FILLING the temple. How does that even happen?
There were others – Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. (verse 2)
There was talking. The seraphim called out to one another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” (verse 3)
Someone called out and this happened – “And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.” (verse 4)
This was Isaiah’s response – “Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’” (verse 5)
What will be your response when you see the EXALTED LORD JESUS?
EXALTED Lord, we can’t imagine what it will be like when we see YOU. Our hearts tremble at the thought of Your majesty and glory. May our awe and reverence for You be lived out in our daily decisions and behavior… in anticipation of the day, time, and place we see You.
Praise to Our WORTHY Lord
“so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”
Have you ever considered that because Christ paid for your sins you are worthy of heaven? Say that a few times to yourself and let it sink in. “I am worthy of the Lord! I am worthy of heaven!” To be found worthy is a heavenly gift. And now, because we are worthy, we’re reminded to walk in a manner worthy or “suitably” of our Lord. We may have a hazy understanding of what it means to be worthy, but we do know what it means to be suitable. A child who puts on dirty clothes for school is told to put on something suitable, something clean. In the same manner, we are to walk worthily (suitably) of the Lord.
Lord, thank You for making us worthy of Your presence and of heaven. Help us to walk worthily of You!
from If God is In Control, Why Am I a Basket Case?
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Praise to God WORKER of WONDERS
“Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in praises, working wonders?”
Do you need a “wonder” worked in your life? Do you wish you could twitch your nose or snap your fingers and presto, that for which you long would be a reality? The fact is, although those techniques work on television shows, they don’t in real life. However, God does work wonders. Sometimes those wonders take time. Other times, moments. Regardless of the timing, our Lord God is the right One on whom we are to set our gaze and our hearts if we’re in need of wonder working power.
Lord God, You are the WORKER of WONDERS! We look to You, pray to You, and praise You!
Christmas Peace
“For a child will be born to us…And His name will be called…Prince of Peace.”
“When are we getting our Christmas tree? Tonight? Tomorrow?” When I was a child, my sister and I couldn’t wait for the annual tradition of selecting a massive evergreen that would be the centerpiece in our home for the month of December.
Although most of the time it was fun to select the tree, occasionally a few stressful moments crept into our otherwise fun evening. One of us might have our heart set on a short, full tree, while the other had her heart set on a tall, willowy one.
Upon arriving home, additional differences sometimes surfaced when deciding where to put the green giant or whether clumps or single strands of silvery tinsel should decorate each bough. I wonder if God ever shook His head at how easily our Christmas feathers were ruffled over the smallest details.
What about you? What ruffles your Christmas feathers? What upsets the peace and goodwill that is sung about during this season of peace? Today, if you’re lonely, fearful, fighting an illness, or troubled over your marriage, a child, or another relationship, join me in remembering that today isn’t about everything being perfect. Today is for remembering that because of Christ, we will one day live in eternal peace under the reign of the Prince of Peace. Let go of searching for Christmas perfect and instead say of prayer of thanks for Christmas peace in Jesus.
Christmas is not the tinsel.
Christmas is not the tree.
Christmas is about God’s love,
His love for you and me.
Christmas is about the season
When in each of our lives
We thank God for our Savior
Who gives to us new life.
A baby born of woman, yet God
A God born of man, yet divine
God gave to the earth a Savior
Peace, eternal, divine.
So if you are seeking heaven
Would you look and seize the Truth
God’s gift of Jesus on earth
Is God’s gift of Peace to you.
I pray your heart is filled with Christ’s peace as you reflect on the wonder of His love. Debbie
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