365 Days of Praise
Beyond Our Comprehension
Did you know that God distinguishes between when we unintentionally sin and when we intentionally sin? Yes, He notices. Yet, regardless of whether we were aware or unaware that our behavior was unholy, God still forgives us on the basis of Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross for our sins. Isaiah 53:10 explains the magnitude of their love which is beyond our comprehension. “But the Lord was pleased to crush Him (Jesus), putting Him to grief; if He (Jesus) would render Himself as a GUILT OFFERING…” Christ laid down His life as a GUILT OFFERING so that we might receive His righteousness. What a wonderful, loving Father and Son!
Heavenly Father and Jesus, we praise You for satisfying our sin debt by Jesus being our GUILT OFFERING. Your love is beyond our comprehension.
Have You Ever Wished You Had Someone to…
Have you ever wished you had someone to watch your back? Or, better, to watch over your soul – your mind, emotions, and will? The fact is, believers have just that person in Jesus. First Peter 2:25 tells us “…you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” When doing research for my book, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion about God being the guardian of our soul, I discovered that the word “guardian” is translated from the Greek word episkopos and means an “overseer, a man charged with the duty of seeing that things done by another are done rightly.” (page 98) What a blessing for us to have God as the Guardian of our souls!
God assumes responsibility for being the Guardian of our soul, but it is our responsibility to tune into Him and follow what He tells us to do both in the Bible and when the Holy Spirit prompts us during the day. Begin each day prayerfully greeting God and lifting up your soul to Him. Invite Him to fill your soul, then pay attention to His prompts throughout the day. You know how I value opening my prayer journal every morning and recording His attribute that I share with you. Being still in God’s presence with pen in hand and journal open is an invitation for God to speak; to prompt us how to pray and to what He wants us to do. If you haven’t yet tried journaling, this time in our lives is the perfect time. Prayers of My Heart Journal
LORD, thank You for being the GUARDIAN of our souls. Help us be ever sensitive to Your Word and will.
When You Don’t Know What to Do
Have you ever felt lost about what to do? I have. Probably one of the most difficult times was when I was 29 years old and received a letter from M.D. Anderson saying I had stage 1a ovarian cancer. The oncologist we selected agreed that a second opinion would be good. When we did, the second pathologist said it was not cancer. Our doctor’s advice was to treat it on the basis of M.D. Anderson’s diagnosis. We had one child but wanted more children. If we followed M.D. Anderson’s advice, I’d return to the hospital and have a hysterectomy. My husband and I didn’t know what to do. Isaiah 42:16 says “I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will GUIDE them.” God is our guide to eternal life, but He’s also our guide for daily life. When we pray, which is what Keith and I did; along with many family and friends who prayed for us, God guided us and we felt at peace about what we should do. Difficult, stressful, knee-buckling, tearful times occur; but in each and every one of them, we are not alone. Our Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit are present to guide us. Look to them. Follow them. Be assured they love you.
Thank You, Lord, for being ever present with us and for being our daily GUIDE. Guide all who are searching to follow Your will and heart today.
Will You Trust Your Prayers to God
Are you hurting, struggling, or stressed? Is being self-isolated wearing on you? If so, are you crying out to God? That’s what David did. Psalm 86:10 records his words, “You are GREAT and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God.” His words are not mindlessly spoken. Rather, they are heartfelt and spoken in the midst of his afflictions and needs. When David says, “You are great and do wondrous deeds,” he is professing his trust in God’s GREATNESS. He is looking at the heavens and saying, “You alone are God. I know nothing is too difficult for You. I know You can help, so do!” Today, we can re-affirm our faith in God’s GREATNESS. We can pray the words David prayed. Join me in praying for our nation to turn to God during this time of national crisis and that His will be accomplished. Pray for the needs on your heart. Believe that your great God hears you. Walk out your belief with a hopeful heart. He does hear you and He loves you so very much.
Heavenly Father, we believe in Your greatness. We know You see us and hear our prayers. Please forgive our sins, for ways we have strayed from faithfully loving You and following You. Show us the way You want us to walk. Increase our hunger to daily study the Bible so we walk in Your will. We love You.
The Right Person for the Job
Are you familiar with the saying, “I’m your huckleberry”? Several summers ago, my husband and I visited Glacier National Park. Right outside the park, we stopped at a restaurant that had everything huckleberry. Huckleberry pie, huckleberry pancakes. Huckleberry coffee. And, for those of you who know Keith, you won’t be surprised that he couldn’t keep from buying me a purple huckleberry teeshirt that says, “I’m your huckleberry.” I wasn’t sure what I was wearing so I did a little research. To be one’s huckleberry is “to be just the right person for a given job or a willing executor of some commission.” What does any of this have to do with Jesus? Colossians 2:9 says about Christ, “…in Him, all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” Many today are struggling. People are overwhelmed. Some who have gone to church their whole lives are striving to do and be what they think God wants. But, friends, we can never live the Christian life in our strength. In Christ, all the fullness of God lives. HE is “just the right person for the job,” for fulfilling all righteousness in us. To the degree that we understand this, we’ll live a life surrendered to Christ.
Lord Jesus, You and You alone are the One in whom ALL the fullness of DEITY dwells. May we be continually mindful of living surrendered to You.
God Himself Will…for You
Do you sometimes wish you were stronger in your convictions and more consistent in your walk with Christ? Do you ever wonder how God could love and forgive you? The answer to our questions is summed up in one word: GRACE. First Peter 5:10 explains: “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” The God of All Grace, who gave His Son to die for our sins, the God of All Grace who ransomed us, the God of All Grace who transferred us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son, that same God of All Grace will perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish us. Praise HIM, we don’t have to rely on our goodness to be approved. Reread this incredible grace gift: “God Himself will.” Say those words out loud –
God Himself will perfect me, confirm me, strengthen me, and establish me. The God of all grace has forgiven my sin by the sacrificial death of Jesus.
Glory in this truth. Celebrate Christ’s resurrection – proof that God, who called us to His eternal glory in Christ, will by grace, complete what He began in us. Praise the God of ALL grace.
GOD of all GRACE, we love and praise you. Thank You for calling us to eternal glory in Christ. Jesus, thank You for sacrificing Your life so that we can live eternally in Your glorious presence. Thank You, God, of all grace, for perfecting, confirming, strengthening, and establishing us in Christ Jesus.
Another Cloud is Watching Us
Have you ever considered how much Jesus despised the shame of the cross? Yet, He suffered through it in order to not only give us a start in our Christian walk but to also make sure that our faith is perfected, complete, and finished. Hebrews 12:1-2 calls us now to follow Christ’s example “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author, and PERFECTER of FAITH, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” We have a race to run even as Jesus did. We may not like it. We may, in fact, despise it. Yet God has set before us the joy of heaven, of being reunited with loved ones, of living in eternity where there is no sin, no shame. We may feel like we’re all alone as we self isolate. But, let’s not be fooled. There is a “great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.” What are they observing? Are we pouting or worshipping? Is our face fixed on Jesus and so our countenance is lifted up? Or, are we succumbing to ideas of worst case scenarios and walking around with a downcast spirit? This is our time to shine forth for Jesus – for the joy set before us. What is the great cloud of witnesses observing about us today?
Lord Jesus, we praise You, the FINISHER of OUR FAITH!
#BibleGateway Blogger Grid Member
Do You Know What It Is to Be Greatly Loved
Many people do not know what it means to be loved. But we do. We are the recipients of God and Jesus’s great lovingkindness towards us. Psalm 145:8 clearly states His great love, “The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.” Say those words out loud. “God is slow to anger with me. God is GREAT IN LOVINGKINDNESS toward me. God the Father has proved it by sending His Son to earth to atone for our sins. Jesus has proved it by His death on the cross. God is slow to anger. God is great in lovingkindness. Praise Him! Serve Him. Tell others.
LORD, we rejoice in and are humble by Your GREAT LOVINGKINDNESS!
What to Do in the Silence
Can you imagine the deafening silence that those who loved Jesus experienced after His marred holy body was placed in a tomb? What can be said in desperate hours and days of silence? How do followers fill their hollow hearts when it is weighed with loss or burdened by sin? Nehemiah 9 shows us. It’s a chapter that recounts people who are in sackcloth, fasting. It’s a chapter of people who, in desperation, read the book of the law and confess and worship. We’re privy to their prayer. Nehemiah 9:5-8a, “Arise, bless the LORD your God forever and ever! O may Your glorious name be blessed and exalted above all the blessing and praise! You alone are the Lord. You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down before you. You are Lord God, Who chose Abram and brought him out from Ur of the Chaldees and gave him the name Abraham. You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him…” What do we do in times of desperation and when God is silent? We bless God’s glorious name and recount His goodness.
NOTE: During this time of self-isolation, take time each day to think through your life or even that day and write down how God has been there for you. If you have a spouse or children at home or friends or family who can be reached by phone or Face Time, you could do this together. It will remind you that God has been there for you in the past, He is with you now, and will be with you tomorrow.
It will strengthen your resolve to trust Him as you refresh your memory with His faithfulness.
“‘O may Your GLORIOUS name be blessed and exalted above all blessing and praise!’” Nehemiah 9:5