365 Days of Praise
God’s Perspective
Perspective. It’s everything. We can look around and feel hopeless and vulnerable; wondering why God has abandoned us. Or, we can turn to the Lord, scale the heights of heaven and gaze on who God is, what He’s done, and will do. Proverbs 18:10 reminds us, “The name of the Lord is a STRONG TOWER; The righteous runs into it and is safe.” God is not uncaring and and He is not inactive. He sent Jesus to overcome the eternal consequences of evil for all who call on Him. God has given us His Spirit to comfort and strengthen us. He’s creating a new world where evil doesn’t exist. From the perspective of heaven’s heights, I’d say our God is wonderful, loving, and faithful to we who are often unfaithful. What say you?
Heavenly Father, You are a loving, good, faithful STRONG TOWER to whom we run. Help us have eyes to see with Your perspective.
How’s Your Heart Toward “That” Person
Have you ever known a hardhearted person? It seemed no matter how hard you tried, they shut you out? If you do anything wrong, they’re relentless and unforgiving. Not so with our Lord. Although He could have every reason to be hardhearted toward us when we sin, instead, He pursues and forgives us. What a TENDERHEARTED Lord we have! And, this is important – in Ephesians 4:32, He commands us to be like Him – kind, tenderhearted, forgiving each other. If there’s someone you’re hard-hearted toward, this Thanksgiving season would be a good time to “forgive, as God in Christ has forgiven us.”
Lord, we praise You that You’re TENDERHEARTED toward us. Thank You for Your mercy! Thank You for Your grace! Help us follow You and be obedient to forgive others as You have forgiven us.
Do You Ever Feel Fragile or Like You Might Pop
Do you ever feel fragile or like you might “pop” because of the daily pressure you are under? David knew what it was like to feel that way and found God to be the SUSTAINER of his soul. Listen to his words in Psalm 54:4. “God is my helper; The Lord is the SUSTAINER of my soul.” What does it mean for God to be the sustainer of our soul? It means that God revives our minds and emotions when we sit in His presence, meditate on His truths, and absorb encouragement from His Word. God, the Holy Spirit, refreshes and sustains us so we can carry on.
Lord God, we praise You, SUSTAINER of our souls. Thank You for the many times and ways You sustain us. We love and praise You!
#biblegatewaybloggergridmember
What We Learn from Stinky Feet
Have you ever thought, really thought, about Jesus washing His disciples’ stinky feet? Or, about His words in John 13:14? “If I then, the Lord and the TEACHER, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” Lord and TEACHER on His knees washing feet? Messy. Time consuming. Dirty. Unpleasant. The act had to do with more than simply washing feet, though. It was about humility, servanthood, forgiveness. Our Lord and TEACHER physically illustrated what He would spiritually do by His substitutionary death on the cross for us. It would be messy (a bloody mess). He would wash away our filth and sins. Cleansed, we are to humbly serve others and tell them about Jesus.
Jesus, Lord and Teacher, thank You for washing us and cleansing us of our sins. Make us increasingly mindful of following Your example.
Could you use sympathy instead of condemnation
Can you imagine what it would be like to go to Jesus after you failed miserably and fell into sin and He NOT sympathize with your weaknesses? What if He was unrelenting and unforgiving? But that is not who our sweet Lord Jesus Christ is. Although He is God the Son and our HIGH PRIEST, He is sympathetic with our weaknesses. Here’s how Hebrews 4:15-16 describes Jesus. “We do not have a HIGH PRIEST who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” That’s incredibly good news, but we’re not to stop there. “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” In other words, when we sin we’re not supposed to keep sinning. We’re not to hang our heads and avoid Jesus because we’re ashamed. Rather, we’re to humbly go to Him in prayer and confess, “I messed up big time. I sinned! I gave into this temptation…again. Please forgive me and strengthen me to stand against this weakness in my life.” Jesus extends grace to us when we repent, but He also admonishes us, “Go and sin no more.” Why? Because He loves us and doesn’t want us living in sin but rather in holiness. If we’ve been avoiding Jesus because of our sin, today is the day to draw near to our sympathetic HIGH PRIEST.
We praise You, our Lord and High Priest, that although You are high and lifted up, you sympathize with our weaknesses and forgive us when we repent. Help us stand against rather than give into sin.
Do You Want More Strength
An AT&T commercial once asked a group of children, “Who thinks more is better than less?” A little girl quickly responded, “We want more. We want more.” We can identify with her plea for more when we’re going through a difficult time. We want more of God’s strength. We want more of His grace to get us through our day. Second Corinthians 12:9 reassures us that God hears and responds. The verse says, “He has said to me, ‘My grace is SUFFICIENT for you, for power is perfected in weakness.'” What does it mean that God’s grace is SUFFICIENT? Does it mean barely enough? No. Rather, the Biblical word means, “to be possessed of unfailing strength, to be strong, to be enough.”* When we feel weak and like we can’t make it, God Himself is the answer to our cry.
Heavenly Father, thank You that when we’re weak, You respond to our cry for help, assuring us that Your grace is SUFFICIENT unfailing strength.
Why It’s Important to Open Our Hands and Hearts
Do you ever feel empty or drained? What about anxious or uptight? Does mad or angry better describe you? Or sad and melancholy? Whatever our condition, whatever our need, Philippians 4:19 tells us “God will SUPPLY all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Short on perseverance? Feel like you’re going to blow a fuse? Don’t know how you will ever smile again? Although we may have those feelings at times, we’re not hopeless. God offers to and can SUPPLY all our needs according to HIS RICHES in GLORY in CHRIST JESUS. Rather than hold tightly to anger or discouragement, we can open our hands and hearts to God who will pour into them His SUPPLY of glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Learn more about how to do that by pre-ordering my Bible study on 2 Peter, “How to Live by the Divine Nature.” For individual or group study.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for supplying all we need according to Your riches in glory in Christ Jesus!
Do You Wish You Had More Support
Do you ever wish you had more support at work? Perhaps you wish you had support parenting your children. Or, you may wish you had a supportive spouse or friend. I remember a night long ago when I realized that God was my SUPPORT. I was in a position where no one could help me. It wasn’t that they wouldn’t. It was that I had to go through something by myself. I was lonely and didn’t know what to do. It was just God and me. Guess what. I found that I wasn’t without help. God was with me. He was my SUPPORT. As 2 Samuel 22:19 says, “They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my SUPPORT.” If you’re looking for support today and don’t have it, look to God to fill the spot. He won’t fail you.
Lord God, thank You for being our SUPPORT. When no one else is there, or even if they are, You are the ultimate SUPPORT we need.
Please LIKE my Ministry Page HERE. When you do, it helps us spread the Word and love of Jesus.
If You’re Struggling with Darkness
As the sun rises in the east and brings light to the world, so, Zacharias prophesied in Luke 1:78 that Jesus would bring light to the world; calling Him the “dayspring from on high.” Listen to his words, “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us.” Jesus, the Dayspring of heaven, visited earth and brought heaven’s glorious light to our dark world. What light? The light of His glory. The light of His Holy Spirit enlightening our hearts. The light of His Words showing us the path of truth. The light of His radiance purifying us of our sin. The light of His presence energizing us. If you’re struggling with the darkness, ask the Dayspring from on high to rise and shine in your heart.
DAYSPRING from ON HIGH, we confess that in our world, the darkness can feel heavy. We confess we need Your light to purify us of our sin and to shine on the path we’re to go. Thank You.
If You Want Joy
God is interested in us. He wants us to bear fruit. As a matter of fact, He designed us to bear fruit. In John 15:1-2 Jesus explains our relationship to Him in this way, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the VINEDRESSER. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” Why does God prune the dead, fruitless branches from us and watch to see if we’re bearing fruit? A fruitful life brings Him glory and us joy. I didn’t understand that until I planted a garden several years ago. Then, I understood the joy of seeing a branch bear a flower and then fruit. God, is our VINEDRESSER. He watches us every day and He prunes away that which is unproductive so we can bear more glorious fruit. Certainly the apple, peach, or tomato that reaches peak ripeness is the most flavorful and delicious. Do you feel the pressure of the Father’s pruning shears on you? If so, that is proof of His love and presence in your life. Rather than resist His touch, be glad that He is near and yield to His touch so you bear more fruit and joy.
Lord, You are the VINEDRESSER. We praise You that You care about us and want us to be productive Christians. Prune us so we bear much fruit that glorifies You.
Please keep in mind the value of giving an inspirational book to those on your Christmas shopping list. Order Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion and Prayers of My Heart prayer journal here: www.debbietaylorwilliams.com/shoppe.