365 Days of Praise

Did you know that God distinguishes between when we unintentionally sin and when we intentionally sin? Yes, He notices. In Leviticus 4:1-3 the Lord spoke to Moses and said, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them, if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer to the LORD a bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.”

In these verses we see several important points. First, the Lord has spoken regarding sin. Sin, intentional or unintentional, is doing what the Lord has commanded us not to do. Second, the person who sins is guilty before the Lord. Third, the penalty for a guilty sentence is death. Fourth, in God’s mercy, rather than the death sentence being carried out on the sinner, a bull took the guilty person’s sentence of death. This Old Testament sacrificial system pointed toward the day in which Christ would die on the cross as a once for all guilt offering for our sin. 

Isaiah 53:10 explains God’s love which is beyond our comprehension. “But the LORD was pleased to crush Him [Jesus], putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering…” The “if He would” was answered when Christ laid down His life so that we might be sin-free, guilt-free. What a wonderful Lord. 

Heavenly Father and Jesus, I praise You for paying my sin debt by Jesus becoming a GUILT OFFERING in my place. Your love is beyond my comprehension. 

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Have you ever felt uncertain about what to do? I have. Probably one of the most challenging times was when I was 29 years old and received a letter from M.D. Anderson saying I had stage 1a ovarian cancer. The oncologist I was seeing agreed that it would be wise for me to get a second opinion. When I did, I was told I did not have cancer. In spite of the second opinion, my oncologist’s advice was to follow M.D. Anderson’s diagnosis and have a hysterectomy.

We had one child, but wanted more. If we followed M.D. Anderson’s advice, I’d immediately have a hysterectomy. My husband and I didn’t know what to do. We turned to the Lord.

Isaiah 42:16 says, “I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, in paths they do not know I will guide them.” God is our guide to eternal life, but He’s also our guide for daily life.

When we pray, which is what Keith and I did along with many family and friends who prayed for us, God guided us and we felt peace about what to do. Instead of immediately having a hysterectomy, we were blessed by being able to quickly conceive and have our daughter, Lauren; then followed up with the hysterectomy. 

Difficult, stressful, tearful times occur, but in each and every one of those times, we can be assured we are not alone. Our Heavenly, triune God—the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit—is present to guide us. Look to Him. Follow His will. 

Thank You, Lord, for being our ever-present GUIDE. I love You and thank You for caring for me and for guiding me. 

God cares about you and what’s going on in your life. Would you like to learn more about giving your worries over to Him? Watch Debbie’s teaching on 1 Peter 5 HERE or listen to it HERE. 

Have you ever wished you had someone to watch your back? Or, better, to watch over your soul—your mind, emotions, and will? The fact is, believers have that person in Jesus. First Peter 2:25 tells us “…you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” Think about Peter’s description of our Lord: Guardian of your soul. 

When doing research for my book, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion, I discovered that the word “guardian” is translated from the Greek word episkopos and means an “overseer, a man charged with the duty of seeing that things done by another are done rightly.” What a blessing for us to have God as the overseer of our souls. 

God assumes responsibility for being the Guardian of our souls, but it is our responsibility to follow what He tells us to in the Bible and at the Holy Spirit’s prompting. 

Begin each day by lifting up your soul to the Lord, praying as the psalmist, “Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; for I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; for to You I lift up my soul” (Psalm 143:8). Then, ask the Holy Spirit to fill your soul. Read His Word, the Bible, that will guard your soul. Journal His Word. Pay attention to and follow how the Guardian of your Soul leads you. 

Lord, I praise You, GUARDIAN OF OUR SOULS. Help me be increasingly sensitive to Your Word and voice.

One of our key verses today is 1 Peter 2:25. To watch Debbie’s teaching on all of 1 Peter 2, click HERE. You can also check out her 1 Peter Bible study, “Experiencing Grace and Peace in Cultural Chaos” HERE. The study includes free accompanying videos and podcasts. You can access them by going to “Bible Studies” in the main menu or by clicking HERE.

Many people do not know what it means to be loved. But we do. We are the recipients of God’s and Jesus’ great lovingkindness toward us. Psalm 145:8 clearly states their great love, “The LORD is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.” 

Not only does God extend His lovingkindness to us, but He is great in lovingkindness. This means He possesses and bestows an abundant, overflowing measure of grace, compassion, mercy, kindness, goodness, and love upon us. There’s nothing we have done or can do to earn His lovingkindness. It’s God’s nature, as 1 John 4:8 tells us—“God is love.”

Do you need to be reminded of God’s lovingkindness today? If so, say these words out loud and personalize them:

“God is slow to anger with me. God is great in lovingkindness toward me. God the Father has proved His love for me by sending Jesus to earth to pay for my sins. Jesus has proved His great love for me by dying on the cross.” 

God is slow to anger. He is great in lovingkindness. Praise Him, serve Him, and tell others!

Lord, I rejoice in and am humbled by how You are GREAT IN LOVINGKINDNESS! 

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Are you hurting, struggling, or stressed? If so, are you crying out to God? David models that rather than continuing in our hurt, struggle, or stress, we should cry to Him. Why should we? Because God is a great God. He can do wondrous, matchless things. As David points out in his prayer, “You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God” (Psalm 86:10).

David’s words are not mindlessly spoken. Rather, they are heartfelt and spoken in the midst of his afflictions and needs. When David says, “You are great and do wondrous deeds,” he is professing his trust in God’s greatness. He is looking at the heavens and saying, “You alone are God. I know nothing is too difficult for You. I know You can help, so do!” 

Today, we can re-affirm our faith in God’s greatness. We can pray the words David prayed. We can be assured our great God hears us. We can walk out our faith in God’s greatness and ability to do wondrous deeds with a hopeful heart.  

Heavenly Father, I profess with David, “You alone are GREAT and do wondrous deeds. You alone are God.” Thank You for hearing my prayers and for doing wondrous deeds beyond my imagination. 

Are you looking for some more encouragement and Biblical teachings? Listen to Debbie’s podcasts on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify!

Have you ever experienced a time when someone was gracious toward you? Even more wonderful is the fact the Lord is gracious, as evidenced throughout the Bible.

One such instance is found in Exodus 32. You may recall that God, in His grace, used Moses to lead the enslaved Israelites out of Egyptian bondage. After their freedom, God graciously wrote the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone for Moses to give to the nation and by which they were to live. But when Moses came down from the mountain, he found the people indulging in revelry, dancing around a golden calf and worshiping it. God’s anger burned, understandably, and Moses was so furious that he threw the tablets to the ground, causing them to shatter. Fast forward. The people repented and God called Moses to return to Him on the mountaintop and to bring two more tablets of stone. Exodus 34:6 states, “Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.’”

Although the Israelites had turned away from God and worshiped idols, the Lord was gracious.

Just as God was gracious to the Israelites, He is gracious to us. When we sin, we can turn to Him, repent of our sins, and receive His forgiveness. Is there anything for which you need to repent today? If so, do it now. God is waiting to graciously forgive you. 

Lord, thank You for being GRACIOUS toward me, for not holding my sins against me, but instead, for giving me new days and new opportunities. I am thankful beyond words for Your grace. 

Would you like to experience more of God’s lavish grace? Check out Debbie’s Bible study, “Experiencing Grace and Peace in Cultural Chaos” by clicking HERE. You can also access the free accompanying videos and podcasts by clicking HERE.

Picture this. A mom is walking across the street with her child. Suddenly, a truck approaches at a high speed and swerves out of control toward them. Instinctively, the mom jumps in front of her child in order to take the brunt of the impact. Did anyone tell her to do that? No. She did it to save her child’s life because she loves her child. If there had been time for her to think about it, she would have done the same thing. Why? A mom lays down her life for her child. 

Jesus, who identifies Himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10:11, laid down His life for us. “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” 

Why would Jesus take the blow of death for us? Something worse than an out-of-control truck barrels toward people. 

The devil, with out-of-control malice and evil intentions, aims to kill us—body, soul, and spirit. Jesus stepped between the devil and us, saving our lives from his evil intentions that would have robbed us of heaven’s glory.  

What should be our response? Worship. Thanksgiving. Returning His love by serving His purposes. 

Jesus, You are the GOOD SHEPHERD who laid down Your life for me. I love You, give You eternal praise, and offer myself to serve You and Your purposes.

Would you like to learn more about Jesus being the Good Shepherd? Watch Debbie’s teaching on John 10 by clicking HERE or listen to it HERE.

Have you ever had a “bad taste in your mouth” after experiencing something unpleasant? Have you heard people say they are “fed up” with the news or that they can’t “stomach” another …..whatever. That’s where Christ followers can come in and be what 2 Timothy 2:21 describes as vessels of Christ. “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”

Yes, as Christ’s vessel, we can be intentional about making sure we are a clean vessel God can use by confessing and repenting of any sin in our life. As a cleansed vessel, we can be useful to the Lord, to pour out His goodness on others. 

How can we be a vessel of God’s goodness? What can we do? We can dish out Christ’s love in big heaping scoops. We can pour out His kindness to those who are going through a hard time. We can serve His Word to people who are deceived and offer them the way to salvation in Christ.  

Psalm 34:8 says, “O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” 

God is good. Will you be intentional about being a cleansed vessel who the Lord can use to serve His goodness to those who desperately need Him? 

Lord, You are GOOD. Use me as Your vessel to pour forth Your goodness, love, kindness, and truth to others. 

Happy Resurrection Day! He is Risen! As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus today, let’s remember to share the hope and new life we have in Him. You can share this blog post by clicking the icons below or using the “Forward to a Friend” email button. You can also introduce others to Jesus by sending them the link to this page: Meet Jesus…Experience His Grace.

Jesus is the one talking. He has just told those who were asking Him questions that they were mistaken. Imagine that. Humans can make mistakes. Then Jesus referred to people in the Old Testament. To people who consider the Old Testament irrelevant, please consider that Jesus often quoted from it. As a matter of fact, scholars have recorded examples of Jesus’ Old Testament references, citing that “in the four Gospels, 180 of the 1,800 verses that report His discourses are either Old Testament quotes or Old Testament allusions.” (https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu). Such is the case in this instance when Jesus was asked about marriage relationships after people died and were resurrected. 

In Matthew 22:31-32 Jesus answered their question saying, “…regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 

God is not the God of the dead. Think about those words. Sometimes in the past when I’ve been asked if my parents are still alive, I’ve responded that they are dead. Based on Jesus’ statement, they are not dead. The next time someone asks me about them, I’m going to say, “They’re living in heaven.” What about you? How will you respond to questions about your loved ones who are no longer with you? 

GOD OF THE LIVING, I praise You for receiving my loved ones into Your presence. Thank You that I, too, will live in Your presence one day. 

The God of the Living is always present and wants us to communicate and have fellowship with Him through prayer. Learn to pray more purposefully through Debbie’s book, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion.

Have you ever appreciated a Biblical truth but gained a deeper appreciation while reading the Bible? That happened to me while teaching Acts 10. The Lord gave Peter a vision and told him to go to the house of Cornelius, a non-Jew, and share the message of salvation with his household. Peter, who once thought that God was the God of the Jews only, was illumined and led by the Spirit to say, “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him” (Acts 10:34-35).

Paul reinforced this miraculously good news in Romans 3:29. “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also?” 

If the God of the Jews had not extended the gift of salvation through Jesus to those who are not Jewish by birth, all people besides Jews would have been excluded from heaven for eternity. The good news is, the God of the Jews opened the door for non-Jews to be saved. Could I hear a “hallelujah”? 

GOD OF THE GENTILES, I praise You for extending the glorious gift of salvation to those who are not Jews. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 

Today, on Good Friday, we remember with the utmost gratitude Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, which made a way for everyone to be reconciled to God, forgiven of sin, and to receive the gift of eternal life. If you don’t know Jesus, get to know Him today by clicking HERE. If you’d like to learn more about Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, watch Debbie’s teaching on John 19 HERE.