365 Days of Praise

What would you do if a man holding a machete threatened you, “Say Jesus isn’t the Son of God! Denounce him or die.” What would you do if you received an alarming call such as the Voice of the Martyrs reported Amir did? The caller, a member of an Islamic extremist group, warned Amir that they were watching his family and had seen his son attending church. The Islamist told Amir that if his son continued to attend church, Amir would “reap what he sows with his only son.” Do you stop going to church?

Sunday, November 3, is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.It is a day set aside for us to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being persecuted for believing Jesus’s words, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).

I invite you to join me and others throughout the world who are praying for our brothers and sisters who follow Christ in spite of being persecuted for their faith. I invite you to pray and to keep praying. Why? Our prayers make a difference as demonstrated in Acts 12:5-11.

“So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God. On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And his chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me. And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

Yes, our prayers make a difference. They reach heaven. God hears them. Your prayers make a difference in the lives of those who are imprisoned, tortured, and suffering for Christ. Pray and keep on praying. I have the last column in Prayers of My Heart designated for prayers for our nation, world, and persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ. I encourage you to sign up to receive Voice of the Martyrs which will keep you up to date with weekly ways you can pray for specific people.

Watch Sabina to better grasp the radical truth to which we hold—that Jesus and He alone is the way, the truth, and the life.

Lord Jesus, we praise You, the TRUTH and way to forgiveness of sins and eternity with You and our Heavenly Father. We pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being persecuted and tortured for You. Thank You for standing by them. Thank You for strengthening them. Thank You for Your angelic messengers who are helping them escape the hand of their torturers. Thank You that in their persecution You are present to usher them into heaven as You did Stephen. Prepare us to stand boldly for You in our society in our generation and to not take lightly the opportunity and privilege to gather with other believers to worship You and study Your word. We love You, Lord Jesus Christ, and ask forgiveness for our smallness of faith and littleness of prayer for our brothers and sisters in prison. 

Spend more time in God’s Word and walk in the light of His wisdom with one of Debbie’s Bible studies. You can purchase printed Bible studies in our shop by clicking HERE. You can also complete free online Bible studies by clicking HERE.

Have you ever considered that because Christ paid for your sins you are worthy of heaven? Say that a few times to yourself and let it sink in. “I am worthy of heaven.”

Believers are found worthy of heaven only because Christ is worthy and exchanged His righteousness for our sins. Colossians 1:10 reminds us of the implication – “so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” In other words, we’re to walk in a manner worthy of or “suitably” for our Lord.

We may have a hazy understanding of what it means to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, but we know what it means to be suitable. A child who puts on dirty clothes for school is told to put on something suitable, something clean for school. In the same manner, we are to walk worthy (suitably) of the Lord. Let’s get this right.

Journaling Tip: I wrote in the “Meditations” section of my Prayer of My Heart journal, “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,” Colossians 1:10. It’s a verse I want to put to memory. Writing and reviewing it helps keep me focused on this important calling.

Lord, thank You for making us WORTHY of Your presence and of heaven. Help us walk worthy of You!

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Do you wish you could twitch your nose or snap your fingers and, presto, what you long for would appear? The fact is, those techniques may work in movies, but not in real life. However, God does work wonders. Sometimes those wonders take time. Other times, moments. Regardless of the timing, our Heavenly Father is the One on whom we are to set our hearts if we’re in need of wonder-working power. 

Moses is one of many who needed a miracle and God stepped in. Listen to his words of praise in Exodus 15:11. “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?”

If we’re in need of wonder-working power, we can go to God, be still in His presence, ask Him for help, and listen to what He quietly impresses on our hearts. Have your Bible, pen, and journal with you so you can turn to a Bible verse He directs you to look up and so you can write down what He prompts you to do.

Imagine God’s wonder-working power in your life. It’s not a fairy tale. It’s real and it’s available for the person who seeks Christ and desires to glorify Him with their life. 

Would you like some resources to help you spend more time in God’s presence and record what He impresses on your heart? Check out Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion and the Prayers of My Heart prayer journal. 

If you were asked what the most important word in the world is, how would you reply? Would it be love, hope, or peace? Do a search on the topic and you’ll find a variety of answers such as the most important word is a person’s name. Another answer you might find is “thank you,” which is only one word in French.

The Bible has an eternal perspective on this topic. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Bible passages such as  Revelation 19:13 explain the most important Word is Jesus. “His name is called the Word of God.” Acts 4:10-12 warns us there is salvation in no other name except Jesus.

Now that you know the most important Word, why not start up a conversation with someone on the topic? It might lead to an opportunity for you to share Christ and tell them how they can be saved. If the person is already a Christian, but not closely following Christ, it gives you an opportunity to share with them how life and light are found in Jesus. Let’s not keep this Word to ourselves!

A person who is not a Christian once challenged me and asked why believers talk about God’s love but never His wrath. I thought about his question and realized that I, too, am guilty of this very thing. Think about all the wonderful ways we look at God’s love, gentleness, and favor. Today, however, let’s consider the context in which God’s actions are described as wondrously marvelous in reference to His judgment on people who claim His name, but simply give lip service to Him.

God uses the prophet Isaiah to call these people out in Isaiah 29:13-14. “Then the Lord said, ‘Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, therefore, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous.'” He goes on to warn them of the consequences of their lip service and rote worship.

We might want to relegate our Creator’s wrath to the Old Testament, but Revelation 16 speaks of God’s judgment being poured out in a future day. We may wonder, “Is mankind’s behavior and sincerity of worship a big deal to God?” The answer is, “yes.”

One of the ways we can avoid giving lip service to God is by listening to and being led by His Spirit. If you’d like to learn more, listen to this free podcast teaching: Listen UP! 31 Points Every Christian Should Know About the Holy Spirit.

Do you ever wonder who you can believe? One person says one thing and another claims the opposite. Yes, it can sometimes be difficult to know who to believe, but not in the case of Jesus’ words. Revelation 1:5 describes Jesus Christ as “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood.”

Jesus is a faithful witness. A witness of what? He witnessed to us about heaven, His Father, angels, crowns of righteousness awaiting believers, resurrection bodies, thrones, powers, kingdoms, the judgment seat, forgiveness, redemption, His Father’s house, and about Satan. Jesus testified about the fact that Abraham, Noah, Moses, and Jonah were real people and that the Old Testament is true. Our confidence in the Bible and its teachings solidly rests on Christ because He is a faithful witness to us that they are true.

Lord Jesus, we praise You, the faithful WITNESS! Thank You for the confidence we have in the Bible and You because of Your word.

Would you like to grow in your faith? Discover the many resources on our website that can help you. In addition to our books and Bible studies, we offer several free Christian resources, including podcasts, video teachings, listening guides, and more!

 

I love to gaze at the glory of the moon. The moon is something that exists. The moon was created by God in eternity past. The moon is set to rise in the night sky again tomorrow and in the nights ahead. It appears in different phases but it is still the same moon.

Why, then, would we doubt that Jesus is the Lord who was the self-existent creator in heaven and in our hearts, and who is to come? On December 25, we celebrate the Lord who came in the past in the appearance of a baby. But Revelation 1:4 says Christ is “He who is and who was,” He is the Lord “who is to come…” Think about it. Jesus is coming again!

Lord Jesus, WHO IS, WHO WAS, AND WHO IS TO COME, help us mindfully serve Your purposes until You return again!

Are you ready for Christ’s return? Would you like some resources to help you better understand the times in which we live and to shift your focus to His return and eternity? Check out End Times: What You Should Know, What You Can Do as well as Contend Earnestly for the Faith.