365 Days of Praise

We like our freedom, right? We often hear someone say, “Nobody’s going to tell me what to do!” Maybe we’ve said those exact words. But, here’s some news that may shock you. God owns us, and He is our MASTER. Why would I say that? Because it’s true if we’re a believer. Paul explains: “Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a MASTER in heaven,” Colossians 4:1. Yes! We have a MASTER in Heaven!  Whoo Hoo! Does that make you happy or cause you to bristle?  What does it mean that we have a “master”? The word, “master” in Colossians 4:1 means “the owner; one who has control of the person.” Maybe we’ve never thought about God “owning” us, but, it isn’t a one time teaching in the Bible. First Corinthians 6:10 explains we’ve been “bought with a price.” Romans 6:16 addresses how we are slaves to the one to whom we present ourselves – sin or righteousness. Who would we prefer for our master? Satan or our Heavenly Father?  I bet you’re waving your hand for God.

Let’s think further. If God is our Master, then what should be our posture before Him? I wonder if sometimes we’re too flippant? I wonder if we’ll “about die” (if it were possible) when we’re in heaven and see His glory? I wonder if we’ll wish we had bowed before Him every morning and asked how we might serve Him. We have a MASTER in heaven. He’s a glorious, giving, gracious Master. Let’s serve Him well; with a smile on our face.

Heavenly Master, we worship and adore You and cannot wait to worship You in heaven. Let us serve You well on earth while we await our service to You in heaven.

• His MARVELOUS WORKS. In Revelation 15:3 Moses celebrates the works God has done. “’Great and MARVELOUS are Your WORKS, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!’”  In what way do you see God working in your life or in the life of someone close to you? Wouldn’t you agree God is marvelous?
• His MARVELOUS LOVINGKINDNESS.  The psalmist writes, “Blessed be the LORD, for He has made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city.” Psalm 31:21.  In these verses, marvelous means “wonderful, surpassing, extraordinary, separate by distinguishing action. Doesn’t that fit our Lord’s lovingkindness? It’s surpassing, extraordinary, and His death for our sins is distinguishable.
• His MARVELOUS SALVATION.  In Matthew 21:42, Jesus asks, “‘Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES‘?”  Jesus used the word “marvelous” in relation to God’s plan for saving mankind. It means “worthy of pious admiration, admirable, excellent, passing human comprehension, causing amazement joined with terror, extraordinary, striking, surprising.” Each of those words define how marvelous God’s plan of salvation is.
• His MARVELOUS LIGHT.  First Peter 2:9 is one of my favorite Scriptures because it defines who we are and our purpose. “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His MARVELOUS LIGHT.”  We have a message to tell of the excellencies of Christ. We are not in darkness, but rather in marvelous light; meaning “excellent, extraordinary, striking, surprising light.”

Yes, today we’re again amazed at our Marvelous Lord and bow in reverence and praise. Add “MARVELOUS” in Prayers of My Heart in whichever place you’ve chosen to record His attributes and names. I use the first column of Week At A Glance. But you can also use the Month at a Glance section if you’re not recording your 3 daily gratitudes there.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are marvelous in Your work, love, kindness, salvation, and light. We celebrate and worship You!

In Christian circles we often speak of the joy of the Lord, and rightly so. He tells us to pray in His name to our Heavenly Father so that our joy will be made full.  We share Christ’s joy when we use the gifts He’s given us. Joy is a “fruit” of the Holy Spirit in our lives. That doesn’t mean, however, that life is free of sorrow or that we’ll be on a joy ride to heaven. Far from it. I remember when Philippians 3:7-10 became my life verses. I prayed, “Lord, I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection!” I was changed after that prayer. The Holy Spirit filled me and I read the Bible with new eyes. I had an intimacy and passion for Christ that I’d not before experienced. But I need to let you in on a little secret. I stopped my prayer before the end of verse 10. I did my own edit of applying the Bible to my life. Philippians 3:10 says, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” I did NOT pray “and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” I saw the end of the verse. I read it, but I didn’t want anything to do with the fellowship of suffering with Christ. Years later, after the Lord faithfully let me know Him more fully through studying His divine nature and attributes and allowed me to experience Christ’s power in ways beyond my power, it was time for me to experience the “fellowship of His sufferings.” It hurt. It was not fun. I cried. I journaled Scriptures. And, my intimacy deepened with the Lord in a way it could not have had I not gone through that time and others since then.  Isaiah 53:3 states about Jesus, “He was despised and forsaken of men, a MAN OF SORROWS and acquainted with grief…” If you are going through a time of sorrow or grief, that doesn’t mean something is necessarily wrong with you/in you. Of course, if it’s due to sin, that is another subject which the Bible addresses and has guidance concerning. But if you are staying the course with Jesus and are suffering in some way, this is when you can get up close to Him, curl up in His arms, read your Bible with opened eyes, and discover that He’ll see you through it.

Jesus, MAN OF SORROWS, thank You for being here for us when we are going through hard, sorrowful times. Help us fellowship well with You. 

In case we ever wonder who made the heavens, earth, and us, the LORD tells us: HE DID. “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, ‘I, the LORD, am the MAKER of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself and spreading out the earth all alone…'” (Isaiah 44:24)  Is that cool or what?  So look around in wonder at the sky, earth, and sea. Take a deep breath of air. Thank God for making you and all of creation. Yes, look around. Give Him praise.

LORD, our MAKER, You are so awesome! Thank You for the glory of heaven, earth, and the wonder of the human body that shouts Your praise. 

#biblegatewaybloggergridmember

Are you tired of life as it is? God understands. He never intended us to do “life” apart from Him. He created us to share life in Him and with Him; to live by His divine nature and experience His MAGNIFICENCE. We can get back on track. We can do life better. How? First, turn from sin and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. Second, daily meditate on God’s Word to us. Why?  Second Peter 1:4  tells us “…He has granted to us His precious and MAGNIFICIENT promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”  In other words, we have the joy and privilege of learning Kingdom ways and promises. Third, begin our morning welcoming our Heavenly Father and praying, “Heavenly Father, thank You for this day. Please fill my spirit with Your Holy divine nature. Help me discern Your ways and walk through my day sensitive to Your voice.”  Yes, the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and Bible are MAGNIFICENT. Renew your mind with His ways. Saturate your heart with His promises. Walk by His MAGNIFICENT divine nature and you’ll soon discover a smile on your face.

LORD, You are MAGNIFICENT and Your promises are MAGNIFICENT. Thank You for salvation, by which we become partakers of Your divine nature. Thank You for the Bible and Your Spirit by which we walk by Your magnificent, divine promises.

Record your praise to God that He is “Magnificent” in Prayers of My Heart.  Pray for yourself and intercede for your family to learn and live by God’s magnificent promises.

“I need this. I need that.” Sometimes our human nature screams for what we want. We long for a magic genie to give us or tell us what we want to hear. Sometimes, we may be frustrated because we wish God would drop from heaven the perfect life we envision.  How do we reconcile when God, Jehovah Jireh, which means “The LORD will Provide,” doesn’t appear to provide?  First, we need to understand the context of God’s name, “The LORD Will Provide.” Genesis 22:13 is a verse with which you’re likely familiar. God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his son, as a test of his obedience. Abraham walked in faith, conveying to Isaac that God would provide the sacrifice. The Hebrew words, “Jehovah Jireh,” means “the LORD will see to it.” God seeing to that there was a substitute sacrifice for Abraham to use in place of Isaac foreshadowed Jesus “seeing to it” by providing Himself as our sacrifice. Now, what about those things on our wish list? God “sees to it.”  He has gifted us with His own Holy nature to equip us to live beyond our human nature. God “sees to” our problems by instructing us in the Bible how to do life, relationships, money, parenting, envy, anger; and the list goes on. Jesus is God’s provision. The Bible is God’s provision. The Holy Spirit is God’s provision.  He is “seeing to it” above and beyond our eternal needs. He is “seeing to” our daily needs.  Are we walking as Abraham, according to God’s Word, and thereby experiencing His provision?

Heavenly Father, we praise You, Jehovah Jireh. You are the LORD WHO PROVIDES for not only our eternity but our every day. Help us not foolishly ignore Your daily presence, Spirit, and Word, but rather see each as a bountiful gift that You’ve dropped out of heaven into our arms. 

#biblegatewaybloggergridmember