365 Days of Praise

It’s another day. Maybe a great day. Maybe a blah day. Or, perhaps the worst day of our life. What do we do? If we’re wise, we’ll follow David’s example. He had ups and downs and promises unfulfilled for what seemed a long time. What do we learn from him? In 2 Samuel 22:29 we find his key to success. “You are my lamp, O Lord; and the Lord illumines my darkness.” If we didn’t know the context in which he said this, we might think David is sailing through life with God as His LAMP. But when we read the verse in context, we discover he’s been in the dark, battling an enemy, and with walls to get over. (2 Samuel 22:30) Are you in the dark? Are you battling something? Are there walls you need to get over? The fact that there are dark, difficult struggles in our life is not what is unusual. The fact that the Lord of the Universe is our personal illuminator through them is incredible! There are many people, according to Jesus (Matthew 7:13-14), who do not have God as their LAMP.  If you are one of the few who does, you are incredibly blessed. The question is – are you turning to your LAMP? Are you walking  in the light He shines on your path? Are you reading His enlightening Words in Scripture? Are you following His illuminating Spirit as you quieten your heart in prayer; asking, then listening for His guidance?

Lord, the fact that You, the Lord of the Universe, offer Yourself as a LAMP to our path is unique and incredible. May we who know You respond gratefully and wisely seek and follow Your Light.

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God is ALL KNOWING as Psalm 139:4 explains. “Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you KNOW it all.”  He knows our thoughts, weaknesses, and heart better than we do. Romans 8:26,27. He knows our future. Acts 11:27,28. He knows what others are thinking, doing, and planning. He knows Satan’s schemes. There is no one to whom we can go who is more knowledgeable, loving, caring, wise, and invested in our best. When we begin our day bowed before Him, confessing our love, proclaiming His majesty, and thanking Him for His grace, His ears are tuned to the confessions of our struggles and needs. Our confidence to enter into our day, our inner peace and joy rest not in circumstances beyond our control, but in our loving Father in whom we have placed our trust. Whatever lies before us, we know our Father loves us, will be there for us, and walk with us, guiding us along the right path. The wise believer acknowledges God not only in perfunctory blessings before meals but in intimate union, studying God’s ways, joined at the spiritual “hip,” His Spirit” to their spirit from the time their eyes open in the morning til their eyes close at night. Are you wise?

Heavenly Father, You are the ALL KNOWING, OMNISCIENT Lord, who loves us so much. Awaken us to the gift of Your presence to guide us through each moment of the day. May we live joyfully because You are guiding us through our day. 

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Do you remember the account when God called Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac? I’ll never forget when the words jumped off the pages of the Bible. Abraham said to Isaac as they walked to the place where he was to sacrifice Isaac, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together.” (Genesis 22:8) Think about those words.

God will provide the lamb for the sacrifice. 

And, He did. A ram appeared in the bushes and Abraham sacrificed the lamb in Isaac’s place. And, so God does that for us.  He provided the Lamb – Jesus – innocent, holy, undefiled – to be the sacrifice for us.

God provided for Himself the sacrifice. 

God provided for Himself what no human could provide – a worthy sacrifice; heaven’s Lamb. Years later, the angelic announcement of Christ’s birth was first made to shepherds. The shepherds left their flock to find and worship Jesus, the LAMB of God. ‘Behold, the LAMB OF GOD who takes away the sin of the world!‘” John 1:28-29

Jesus, LAMB OF GOD, thank You for giving Your precious life as a sacrifice for our sins. Father, thank You for sacrificing Your Son to save us from our sins. We adore and worship You!

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I struggled with today’s devotional because first I went in one direction and then another.  The key verse is 1 Timothy 6:15 and the Lord’s attribute scheduled to be highlighted today is King of Kings. It’s a rich verse. “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the KING OF KINGS and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”  The verse is straightforward. It’s a beautiful verse to read. The context, though, goes contrary to our human bent. Would you share your thoughts as to why the glorious description of Jesus as King of Kings who dwells in unapproachable light is in the context of   1 Timothy 6: 7-19? Warning: if you read it closely, you may get a holt jolt. 

“For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.  If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.  

But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.

Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate,  that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,  who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”  Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,  storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

KING OF KINGS, give us a holy jolt to the importance of these words. 

PLEASE SHARE WHY YOU THINK CHRIST’S GLORIOUS ATTRIBUTES ARE IN THE CONTEXT OF THESE VERSES. THANKS!

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“Hell on earth” is a phrase people sometimes use to emphasize a horrible place or time they’re going through.  They feel captive and in torment.  It goes on and on and appears to them that they’ll never escape their misery. Certainly the Jews felt that way in Nazi concentration camps. So can a spouse in a destructive marriage. Or an employee who has a relentless job. So can a Christian when principalities of evil and world forces of darkness are pitted against them. That happens? Yes. Ephesians 6:12 plainly says that Christians “struggle against rulers, powers, world forces of darkness, spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Too often, though, we don’t see it. We go to church. Memorize verses. Try to live a good Christian life. Then, bam! Something horrible happens or perhaps is ongoing. All we see is what’s visible. We are deceived into thinking our problem is with a person, job, child, parent, or ourself. Paul tells us to open our eyes. Satan hates you if you’re a believer and will do everything on earth to take you down, destroy your witness, and make you miserable during your short years on earth. Why? Because he knows he can’t have you or keep you. Revelation 1:17-18 records Jesus’s words to John when he was exiled on the island of Patmos. “‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I HAVE THE KEYS of death and of Hades.” Your hell on earth, whatever it is, is not going to last. Jesus has made sure of that. Satan will be bound. You’ll be free. Jesus has the keys and is locking Satan away. In the meantime, remember, Jesus also has the keys to joy and fullness of life. If you know Christ and you know the Bible but are miserable, isn’t it time to start deeply MEDITATING on Scripture for yourself? Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes and your heart to understand God’s kingdom inspired Word. Study Ephesians 6 and arm yourself against Satan. Stand firm against what appears to be your “hell” knowing it is stoked by the invisible enemy. Or, you can keep being miserable and deceived by the enemy. But, what a pity.

Lord Jesus Christ, You were bombarded by Satan over and again. Demons nipped at your holy feet. World forces of darkness blinded the religious leaders to who You were. But you showed us and taught us the way to release. You have given us kingdom keys. May we not be blind and ignore Your holy teachings, but rather pray without ceasing and walk by Your Spirit.

TIP:  If you need help growing in your faith or prayer life, visit my website where you’ll find resources to help you. Begin with Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion,  If God is In Control, Why Am I a Basket Case,  the P.R.A.Y. with Passion Conference available on DVD or CD, or Listen UP: 31 Points about the Holy Spirit every Christian should know.  Take advantage of the many free website resources – slideshows and videos, or podcasts on a variety of topics you can listen to on the way to work or while you go about your day. Browse around. Find what you need. Begin today.  Also, I’m updating my 4 week Bible study on 2 Peter: How to Live by the Divine Nature. This is a critically important book of the Bible. If you’re interested in joining me for this  study (we’ll do it by email once a week for 4 weeks with me providing short teaching videos/podcasts), let me know. debbie@debbietaylorwilliams.com

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I need a keeper. Someone to watch out for me and over me. Why? Because sometimes I don’t know the right path to take. Sometimes I start to let my emotions crash like the waves into a pit of nothingness. I need a keeper with a capital K. And, you know what? I have One and so do you if you’re a Christian. Psalm 121:5-7 states, “The Lord is your keeper… The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.” Isn’t it nice, no…more like wonderful, to think on the fact that our Heavenly Father is our Keeper? And, He isn’t snoozing on the clouds. Psalm 121:3-4 says, “He who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber or sleep.” In other words, our Soul Keeper is alert and watching out for us. So, of all the people in the world to whom you could entrust your soul, who more wonderful than our Heavenly Father? Here’s something else that’s wonderful to think about.  Isaiah wrote, “It is You who have kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.” (Isaiah 38:17)  Isn’t that a marvelous visual? God casts all our sins behind Him and keeps our souls from the pit of nothingness.  I’m jumping up and down in my spirit over that one. The more time we spend with Christ and learning His ways, the more filled we are and the more we experience the opposite of the pit of nothingness.  We experience heavenly joy and fulfillment that only comes from intimacy with Christ.  Will bad things ever happen? Yes, because we live in a sinful world. But we aren’t destined for a pit of nothingness.  We’re destined for the throne.

Heavenly Father, Soul Keeper, we praise You for protecting us from evil and the pit of nothingness. Thank You, Lord. 

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I see it in his eyes. They are kind. His eyes say it all. His eyes tell me what’s in his heart. My husband, Keith, looks at me with kind eyes. My response? I feel the most tender of love for him.

The eyes tell us what fills the heart. And, so we wonder. What fills Jesus’s eyes?  What if you were in His presence and He looked deeply into your eyes. What if you couldn’t take your eyes away from His. What would you see in His eyes for you? You’d see kindness; kindness beyond anything you’d experienced. Kindness that causes you to love Him with every fiber of your being.

So, the apostle asks in Romans 2:4, “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His KINDNESS and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the KINDNESS of God leads you to repentance?”  What a question! Do we?  Do we think lightly of God’s KINDNESS and tolerance and patience toward us? In other words, are we going about our day hardly looking Christ’s way? When He convicts us of sin, do we look in Jesus’s eyes and sincerely apologize to Him? Or, are we like a child who is caught doing something wrong and maybe at best, mutters, “sorry.” Or do we simply ignore our Lord?

Look in Jesus’s eyes. Think deeply of the riches of His kindness.

Dear Savior, You are so kind and loving and patient. Forgive us for sinning against You and one another.  May we look deeply in Your eyes and and reflect Your kindness to others. 

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Record Christ’s attribute, KIND, in Prayers of My Heart. Click to ORDER.