365 Days of Praise
When We Question God’s Power
Lord, You are the ALL POWERFUL, omnipotent God! We praise You that nothing is impossible with You.
“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the POWER and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.” 1 Chronicles 29:11
Is Lip Service a Big Deal to God
A person who is not a Christian once asked why believers talk about God’s love but never His wrath. I thought about his question and realized I’m guilty of that very thing. Think about all the wonderful ways we look at God’s love, gentleness, and grace. Today, however, the context in which God’s actions are described as WONDROUSLY MARVELOUS is in reference to His judgment on people who claim His name, but simply give lip service to Him. God uses the prophet Isaiah to call them out in Isaiah 29:13-14. “Then the Lord said, ‘Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, therefore, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, WONDROUSLY MARVELOUS.'” He goes on to warn them about the consequences of lip service and rote worship. We might want to relegate God’s wrath to the Old Testament, but Revelation 16 speaks of God’s judgement being poured out on the earth in a future day. No doubt, God isn’t impressed with our lip service. Rather, our loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Lord, You alone are worthy of our praise. You extend mercy to those who call on Your name, but also discipline in WONDROUSLY MARVELOUS ways those who give You lip service and rote worship. Forgive us and prompt us daily to live by Your Spirit.
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Jesus is Coming!
I love to gaze on the glory of the moon. The moon – IS – something that exists. The moon – WAS – created by God in eternity past. The moon WILL BE in our tomorrows. It appears in different phases, but is still the same moon. So why would we doubt that Jesus is the LORD WHO WAS the creator, WHO IS self-existent in heaven and our hearts, and WHO IS TO COME? On December 25, we celebrate the LORD who came in the past in the appearance of a baby. But as Revelation 1:4 says, CHRIST is not only “HE is WHO IS and WHO WAS,” He is the LORD “WHO IS TO COME…” Think on it. Jesus is coming again!
Lord Jesus, WHO IS, WHO WAS, AND WHO IS TO COME, help us mindfully serve Your purposes until You return again!
Do You Hear Him
Have you ever done a study on the voice of God? Isaiah 30:30 says, “And the Lord will cause His VOICE OF AUTHORITY to be heard.” The literal translation is “VOICE OF MAJESTY.” How does God speak to us? He speaks through His majestic creation that He is glorious and that He is a God of order and unlimited imagination. God’s voice speaks to us through the Bible, the most wise and beautifully written work of all time. God speaks to us through Christ that He is sacrificial, loving, and forgiving. God’s voice speaks to us through our innermost thoughts warning us of the danger of sin and calling us to walk in His ways. God’s voice calls to us but the noise of the world often drowns Him out. However, if we willingly, purposefully choose to slip out of our beds in the mornings and quietly meet with Him – just the two of us – we hear Him. He speaks. His voice encourages our weary souls. His voice comforts us that although we’ve sinned, He forgives us. His voice encourages us that we can start again. His voice whispers, “Take this course of action…” If we take Him seriously, write down His counsel, and follow through on what He tells us, we discover He whispers even more to us. Are we listening?
Do you know someone who is deaf? If so, please share the good news of Christ with them. Free Resources for the Deaf. ASL Interpreted “Listen UP” Conference on DVD. ASL Interpreted “P.R.A.Y. with Passion” Conference on DVD.
Voice of Authority, Voice of Majesty, thank You for speaking to us. Tune our hearts and minds to recognize Your voice and rejoice in You.
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Help in Irrational Times
Do you ever feel like things are getting harder, not easier; that truth is ignored, and too often evil seems to win? If so, Christ can relate. He was pronounced “not guilty,” then crucified. How irrational was that? But Colossians 2:15 tells us Jesus TRIUMPHED over the irrational. He disarmed the rulers and authorities. He made a public display of them. And Christ is still triumphant even though we may not see it at certain times. Jesus will right what is wrong. Truth will prevail. That’s good news on a national and world level. It’s also good news for us personally. Christ, who triumphed over the grave, is able to triumph over despair in our heart and the irrational in our lives. Christ is the triumphant Lord. What do you need His help with today? He’s a prayer away.
Lord, You are TRIUMPHANT over death, rulers, and authorities. You are triumphant over despair and the irrational in our lives. Help us live holy lives in the midst of whatever we face.
“When He (Jesus) had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having TRIUMPHED over them through Him.” Colossians 2:15
Here’s Something for Which to be Grateful
Happy Thanksgiving!
Recently, someone said to me, “The only good I have is because I’m a Christian.” What did the person mean? They were acknowledging that Christ is the “goodness” in them. Christ is more than “good,” however. He is what Hebrews 7:26 defines as undefiled. Whereas our human nature is defiled, Christ is the opposite. He is “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted about the heavens.” Christ is a fitting high priest who saves us not because of who we are, but because of who He is. We have a holy, innocent, UNDEFILED Savior to whom we can look with gratitude.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for loving us and saving us! We are grateful for You and love you.
If You’re Faltering
I’ve had the blessing of holding our newborn children and grandchildren. Holding them was no problem. They weren’t heavy. As a matter of fact, it was a delight to hold them. I could intently gaze on their faces. I could pray for them. The more I held them, the deeper my love grew. Wouldn’t it have been silly if our little ones had argued, “Don’t hold me. I’m too heavy.” Or, what if they had said, “I don’t want to bother you. You don’t need to hold me.” In light of that, consider our Heavenly Father’s words in Isaiah 41:10, “I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will UPHOLD you with My righteous right hand.” In the Bible, God’s right hand symbolizes His strength. His right hand is a strong hand of righteousness. We can relax in His hands. As He upholds us, we become increasingly aware of His deep love for us. In case you feel like you are faltering, be assured – your UPHOLDER has you.
LORD, Thank You for UPHOLDING us with Your righteous right hand. Thank You for the depth of Your love for us. Thank You that we don’t have to be afraid.
“For I am the Lord your God, who UPHOLDS your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’” Isaiah 41:13
*Copyright Debbie Taylor Williams, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion. This is the book that began my collection of God’s 365 names, titles, and attributes. It features chapters that give an in-depth description of 26 of His A-Z names, and includes lined space for you to record your prayers, repentance, and praise. Also included are discussion questions for group or personal study. I pray it blesses and deepens your prayer life. It also makes a great Christmas gift for friends and family as they begin 2020. BUY NOW.
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Imagine What It Will be Like to be Sin Free
Sin. It’s here. Our sin or another person’s sin is a part of life. Perhaps one of the most glaring sins is selfishness. We want what we want. We want it when we want it. Things or people who stand in our way frustrate us. But what if sin didn’t exist? What if we were free of sin? The good news is – that day awaits us. Because of Christ, our Savior and VICTOR over death, we will one day be sin free as 1 Corinthians 15:57 reminds us. “…thanks be to God, who gives us the VICTORY through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We will one day experience the magnitude of what our Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ achieved through the virgin birth and cross. In the meantime, let us remember to give thanks to God for daily victory over sin through the Spirit’s empowerment and for eternal victory over sin through Christ. Today, let’s raise our voices in praise of Christ, who has won the VICTORY over sin.
LORD, We praise You for being VICTORIOUS over sin and death. We worship You.
When You Need Insight
Do you have a problem? Are you in a quandary about what to do about something in your life? If you are in need of insight about a course of action or a relationship, look to Christ. Why? Proverbs 3:19 tells us that He is a God of intelligence, skill, and insight which is proved by His creation of the earth and heavens. “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding He established the heavens.” The Hebrew word for understanding means “intelligence, skill, and insight.” In other words, when we look at the earth and heavens, we’re seeing evidence of God’s intelligence, skill, and insight. Trust God to provide you with the wisdom, intelligence, skill, and insight you need for daily life, decisions, and relationships. Pray.
Jesus, we praise You that You are a God of UNDERSTANDING to whom we can look for skill and insight.
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Who Can You Believe?
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Do you ever wonder who you can believe? One person says one thing and another claims the opposite. Yes, it can sometimes be difficult to know who to believe, but not in the case of Jesus’s words. Revelation 1:5 describes Jesus Christ as “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood-” Jesus is a faithful witness. A witness of what? He witnessed to us about heaven, His Father, about angels, crowns of righteousness awaiting believers, resurrection bodies, thrones, powers, kingdoms, the judgment seat, forgiveness, redemption, His Father’s house, and about Satan. Jesus testified about the fact that Abraham, Noah, Moses, and Jonah were real people and the Old Testament is true. Our confidence in the Bible and its teachings solidly rests on Christ because He is a faithful witness to us that they are true.
Lord Jesus, we praise You, the faithful WITNESS! Thank You for the confidence we have in the Bible and You because of Your Word.
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