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Praise to the Lord, Who RAISES THE DEAD
“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”
A dear saint and friend, Emmy Lou Andrews, was a faithful member of our Hill Country Ministries prayer team before she went to be with the Lord. She always encouraged me that God was in control. The ultimate place we see His control is over our death and eternal life. Although we are pronounced DEAD on earth, His voice will call us to life. We will experience what Lazarus did – physical death, but then hearing Jesus’s voice. We will live!
Lord, we praise You, Savior who RAISES the DEAD!
Praise to the Radiance of God’s Glory
“And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature,…”
This has always been one of my favorite ways Jesus is described: the radiance of God’s glory!
The word “radiance” is only used 5 times in 5 verses in 3 books of the Bible. In each of those, it refers to God. The writers have a glimpse of God and reach for words to describe His brilliance and the light illuminating from Him. He is light, so He’s described as brightness. Commentator Vines defines God’s “radiance” as “shining forth, of a light coming from a luminous body.”
Bless yourself and read Ezekiel’s attempt to describe God: Ezekiel 1:27, 28. Habakkuk 3:4, 11 are the other two places where God’s radiance are mentioned. Then, we read what the writer to the Hebrews said; that Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory. Christ reflects God. He glows with Him. He can’t help it. He is God. He’s His Father’s Son…masked in a human body; just waiting to get out at His resurrection and ascension. But Jesus stayed in His earthen body until He accomplished what He and His Father wanted Him to do. He redeemed us. And one sweet, glorious day, we’ll join Ezekiel and every other person who has had a glimpse of God’s radiance. We’ll fall on our faces as they did; overwhelmed by what our eyes sees. That day is coming because Jesus is returning through the clouds soon and very soon.
Heavenly Father, our hearts are overwhelmed as we read the accounts of those who have had glimpses of You. We can’t imagine what it will be like to see Your glory. We praise You now and forever.
Praise JESUS, who is QUIET in His LOVE
“The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
Today we live in what is referred to as a “fallen” world.
- We have fallen away from God.
- We have fallen from living by His commandments.
- We have a “fallen” nature that, if left alone, falls further and further into sin.
But, God is with us.
- He is the ultimate victorious warrior.
- He is joyous over us when we turn to Him for salvation, and we will see that joy one day when we are in His presence.
He is QUIET IN HIS LOVE.
No, we don’t hear trumpets and cymbals announcing God’s love. Rather, we know it in our hearts. We sense God’s presence and love.
Wherever you are right now, our Lord is with you. He is QUIET IN HIS LOVE for you … assuredly loving you.
Lord, we praise You for Your continued QUIET, LOVE for us.
Praise to Jesus, who is PURE
“Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him (Jesus) purifies himself, just as He is PURE.”
How do you feel about drinking dirty water? Not keen on the idea? How do you feel about following an impure savior? That doesn’t sound appealing either. In fact, we wouldn’t do it. We would run in the opposite direction if we discovered that the one we called Savior was deceitfully wicked. But the One on whom we fix our hope is PURE. He is worthy of our praise. He is worthy of us purifying ourselves as He is PURE.
Lord Jesus Christ, we praise You, PURE spotless Savior!
Praise to Our PROVIDER
“…does He who PROVIDES you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”
“I need help.” We’ve all been there. We’ve felt inadequate to do what we need to do. We’ve felt incapable of being who we need to be. God wants us to know that we don’t have to feel that way in regard to our relationship with Him or what He calls us to do. He makes it clear that He’s given us His Spirit. We’re not short on provisions. Instead of saying we can’t live the Christian life, we can look to God. Instead of saying we can’t accomplish what He’s entrusted to us to do, we can ask Him to fill us with His all providing Spirit. That’s something for which to praise Him!
Lord, You are the PROVIDER, who provides us with Your Spirit. We praise You!
Praise to Our Protector
“But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3).
Does the amount of evil in our day ever cause you to fear for yourself or loved ones? Recently, after speaking at a church, a young mom approached me and confided that she feared for her child. Part of her fear was because she had been molested as a child. Part stemmed because of the immoral culture in which we live. What hope do we have in the day in which we live? Prayer, obedience to God’s commands, and eternal salvation.
Prayer: In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray to be delivered from evil. We ask our Heavenly Father to protect us and others; to deliver us from evil.
Obedience: The Bible is our safeguard. It instructs in the way in which we should walk. It protects us by telling us what is evil so we don’t fall for Satan’s schemes.
Eternal Salvation: We can’t escape all evil in this life. But, Jesus has provided for our eternal protection and salvation from evil by opening the path to heaven. The Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect all who call on Him.
Lord, our PROTECTOR, thank you for protecting us from the evil one’s daily snares and from an eternity of evil. Help us walk wisely, strengthen, and keep us from evil.
Praise to our PROSPEROUS Lord
Behold, My servant will PROSPER,
He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.
Are you familiar with “prosperity theology”? It’s defined as “a religious belief among some Christians, who hold that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one’s material wealth. If humans have faith in God, he will deliver security and prosperity.” *
However, Jesus didn’t teach or live that. He preached the gospel. He taught, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy… But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven,…” Mt 6:19-20. Jesus taught that we are to build our lives on Him. He is to be the foundation of our life, so we don’t collapse when floods destroy our homes. Lk 6:46-49
What does the Bible mean, then, when it says Jesus prospers? The Hebrew word in this verse means “success.” Although during Jesus’s life it appeared that He was doing anything but prospering, He was successfully accomplishing God’s will by securing our salvation.
As family, friends, and our world suffer devastating floods and earthquakes, it’s a somber time for us to consider what we’re building our lives on and for. Is it the here and now that can easily be destroyed? Or, are we instead, storing treasures in heaven that last eternally?
Lord Jesus, Prosperous One, thank You for successfully securing our salvation with You for eternity. Help those in harm’s way to find strength and security in You.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology
Praise to the Promise Keeper
“being fully assured that what God had PROMISED, He was able also to perform.”
Have you ever promised something and then couldn’t or didn’t fulfill your promise? If you have, you know what a horrible feeling it is. Maybe we promised, “I’ll never say that again.” Then we did. Or, we may have said to ourselves or even to God, “I promise. If you’ll get me out of this mess, I’ll never do that again.” Or, “I’ll do better next time.” But, we failed to keep our promise. Or, maybe it’s hard for you to trust people because they’ve made promises to you that they didn’t keep. However, when it comes to God, we can be fully assured that what He promises, He is able to do and will do. For many, these are scary days. Natural disasters, war, disease, and civil unrest can make us feel unsure of where we can turn and who we can trust. If we’re feeling a little off base or unsure of what the future holds, it would be a good time to open our Bibles and reread God’s promises. His are the ones we know are sure and true.
Heavenly Father, in our changing world that is filled with civil unrest, disease, and disasters, we praise You that You are faithful to keep Your promises and that You are able to do what You promise. Our trust rests in You, Lord.
Praise to the Lord, the PROPITIATION for Our SINS
“He Himself is the PROPITIATION FOR OUR SINS; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
PROPITIATION. That’s a mouthful! And, it’s probably not the first word you think of when you’re praising God. “Lord, You are love, joy, peace” rolls off our tongues easier than “Lord, You are the PROPITIATION FOR MY SINS.” But, that IS who HE IS. What does propitiation mean? It means “satisfaction.” In contrast to the Rolling Stones hit song, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” Christians sing a different tune. When Christ offered His life as a sacrifice for our sins, God was satisfied. The payment for sin and guilt were satisfied, paid fully once and for all with Christ’s blood. Yes, we sing a song of praise to Jesus – for settling our sin debt with God.
Lord, thank You for being the PROPITIATION for our sins and the sins of the world!
Praise to the PROPHET
“…Jesus the Nazarene, who was a PROPHET mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people.”
Do you wish you knew the answer to your problems? Have you ever prayed, “Lord, direct me!” Or prayed, “Show me what to do.” What if you were a prophet who could foretell the future. Jesus is a PROPHET. He knew what was coming down the road. And, although the Bible doesn’t always outline the specifics of our day, Jesus used the Scriptures to point out present and future events. (a good reason to read what our Prophet said) Reading the Bible and Jesus’s words will prepare us for today and for our tomorrows. It will help answer our questions.
Jesus, You are a PROPHET mighty in deed and word. We praise You!