365 Days of Praise
Thank You, Jesus, BRANCH of the LORD
“‘Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the Lord, when I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land.’”
Have you ever had something growing in your yard and you didn’t know if it was a flower or a weed? That’s happened to me. The same can sometimes be said of a person. They’re in our life. They seem to be a good person, but later you find out they aren’t who they appeared to be.
The same can happen with people and books that make spiritual promises. If they’re not rooted in Christ, the initial flowery show will eventually be found to be false.
The prophet, Jeremiah, announces that there is one righteous BRANCH and that is Jesus Christ. He’s the one in whom believers are grafted and through whom we live and bear spiritual fruit.
BRANCH of the LORD, who lives forever, thank You for giving us genuine, true, eternal life in You.
Praise to Our BOUNTIFUL LORD
“They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion,
And they will be radiant over the bounty of the Lord—
…
And their life will be like a watered garden,
And they will never languish again.
Have you walked through an unwatered garden? The plants are wilted. The leaves are yellow. Little or no fruit can be found. Stroll out of that garden and into a well watered garden; one loved by the owner. What do you notice? Flowers and fruit abound. The gardener has held nothing back in order to care for each plant. When we consider whom our Lord is who reigns on high, be assured, HE is BOUNTIFUL in His love, care, and goodness.
Heavenly Father, we praise You, BOUNTIFUL Lord!
Praise to Him Who is BLESSED Forever
“For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is BLESSED FOREVER. Amen.”
Blessed means “praised.” Who are the ones who receive praise? Often it’s an accomplished athlete, musician, or artist. However, often the praise they receive is short lived when news spreads that they lied, used drugs, or weren’t who they purported to be. Those who had “sung their praises” are hurt, angry, and disappointed. If we want to do well and not wake up one day disappointed in a person, then we do well to worship and serve our Creator. He alone is worthy of our praise and is BLESSED FOREVER.
We praise You, BLESSED FOREVER Lord God!
This is one of God’s 365 attributes for which we can look up, praise, and trust Him. To learn about His other attributes and ways you can know God and praise Him, join us HERE.
Thank you, Jesus, for being BLAMELESS
“As for God, His way is BLAMELESS;…”
We hear the news – one person gives their side of a story. Then another person gives theirs. We’re told one thing, and then find out it was a lie. Is there anyone to whom we can look and fully trust? Yes! Our Lord! “BLAMELESS” in the Hebrew means whole, entire, sound, complete, wholesome, unimpaired, having integrity, entirely in accord with truth and fact. And THAT, my friend, is our LORD. It’s why we look heavenward and celebrate in praise our BLAMELESS LORD. And, it’s why we follow HIS Word as stated in the Bible; not what’s trending in culture. Be the LIGHT of the Blameless Lord today!
Lord God, we celebrate YOU, the BLAMELESS One!
Thank You, Lord, for BINDING Up My BROKENness
“I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick;”
Are you broken emotionally or spiritually? Are you sick? God is in the business of tending to the lost, scattered, broken, and sick. Rest in His arms. Put your head on His chest. Listen to the heartbeat of His love for you.
Thank You, Lord, for BINDING UP the many ways we are BROKEN. Thank You for healing us physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Praise to God’s BELOVED SON
“A voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus, at age 12, described the temple in Jerusalem as His Father’s house. He laid claim to intimacy with His Heavenly Father. At Jesus’s baptism, God the Father laid claim to intimacy with Jesus when He called Him “My BELOVED Son.” When we think of God the Father sending His BELOVED SON to earth to die on our behalf; and of Jesus leaving His Heavenly Father’s home to come to earth to die on our behalf, we can’t help but PRAISE our Heavenly Father and the Beloved Son…and wonder at their love for us!
Heavenly Father and BELOVED SON, we praise You for Your unselfish love and grace! Thank You for selflessly giving of Yourselves so we might be included in Your heavenly family. Thank You for loving us so tenderly and powerfully.
Praise to our BEAUTIFUL LORD
“One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord And to meditate in His temple.”
Do you have enemies? Are you fearful? Is there trouble anywhere? David, the psalmist, can relate. But he kept his eye on the ball. That is, he kept his eye on God and His past and present faithfulness. He knew God to be the beauty in the ashes; the righteous in the midst of evil. And David chose – just like we can (and are) to gaze and meditate on God’s beauty and His eternal temple to which we’re headed.
BEAUTIFUL LORD, we praise You. Thank You for being the beauty in our day and the One on whom we can gaze and meditate.
This is one of God’s 365 attributes for which we can look up, praise, and trust Him. To learn about His other attributes and ways you can know God and praise Him, join us HERE.
Thank You, Jesus, for BEARING MY SIN
“…He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”
Does sin weigh you down? It often does me. As long as we’re in our earthly bodies, we’re going to sin. But, and this is big – because Jesus took our sins, we’re both declared righteous and also called to righteousness.
In other words, sin is to be “dying off” in us as as we conscientiously draw close to Jesus. We learn His ways. We practice His teachings. We look at our sins through Jesus’s eyes and don’t want them to be a part of our lives.
We have an upward calling.
Yes, Jesus BORE OUR SINS in His body on the cross. But then He rose to life. And it is in and through His life that we grasp hold of the “so that…” Jesus suffered “so that” we might die to sin and live to righteousness.”
Thank You, Jesus, for BEARING OUR SINS, so that we can spend eternity with You.
One thing God convicted me of as I meditated on this verse was this: If it was so important to Jesus for my sin to be “dead” that He bore it in His body on the cross, then I do well to consider what I’m doing with the sin in my life.
Am I careless with it and allow it to remain?
Or, knowing Christ’s sacrifice, do I stand against it so that it dies and I live to righteousness.
If you’re following the P.R.A.Y. format or been to one of my P.R.A.Y. with Passion Conferences, this is how you might P.R.A.Y.:
P. raise – Lord Jesus Christ, I praise you for bearing my sin in your body on the cross so that I might die to sin and live to righteousness.
R. epent – Forgive me for not looking at sin as you do – as something to be put to death.
A. sk – Help me stand against my sin rather than fan its flame.
Y. ield – Quicken me to yield to You and to stand against sin.
Praise to Him Who BAPTIZES in the HOLY SPIRIT
“I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me,
‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’”
God sent the disciple John to prepare the way for Jesus. John baptized repentant sinners in water symbolizing the washing away of sins. Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit, immersing us into one body in Christ; empowering us to live for Him. The baptism of the Holy Spirit seals our salvation and is a promise of our inheritance.
We praise You, JESUS, that when we come to You in repentance and confess You as Lord, that You give us the gift of being BAPTIZED in the HOLY SPIRIT. Help us be ever mindful of walking by the Spirit; through whom we are sealed for the day of our redemption.
This is one of God’s 365 attributes for which we can look up, praise, and trust Him. To learn about His other attributes and ways you can know God and praise Him, join us HERE.
Praise to AWESOME GOD
He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Genesis 28:17
“Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? Exodus 15:11
Come and see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men. Psalm 66:5
We praise You, Heavenly Father, the great and AWESOME GOD!