365 Days of Praise
Your “Appointment” Pop Quiz
True or False: God is interested in our lives, relationships, families. True or False: God assigns individuals to particular tasks? True or False: God has set times in history. If you said true to all three you are absolutely correct. Do you have Scriptures to back up your answers? If not, meditate on the following in terms of your life. Let the reality of God’s hand in individual lives, relationships, times, places encourage you.
“So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the APPOINTED time of which God had spoken to him,” Genesis 21:2.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have APPOINTED you a prophet to the nations,” Jeremiah 1:5.
“Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me.” Ezekiel 3:17
“And the LORD APPOINTED a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights,” Jonah 1:17.
“So the LORD God APPOINTED a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant,” Jonah 4:6.
“He (Jesus) APPOINTED twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach,” Mark 3:14.
“Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the APPOINTED time will come,” Mark 13:33.
“And inasmuch as it is APPOINTED for men to die once and after this comes judgment,” Hebrews 9:27.
Yes, God appoints times, people, places, events, and more. What has He appointed you to do?
LORD GOD, You APPOINT people, places, times, and events. How exciting! I want to be a part! Appoint me.
When Public Opinion Doesn’t Matter
We have to make a decision. We either believe what Jesus says about Himself or we don’t. In other words, we call Him a liar or we call Him God. Although we might want to be agreeable with people who insist there are many ways to heaven, that’s not what the Bible says. This is one time when public opinion doesn’t matter. No other prophet besides Jesus claimed to be the God. No other prophet was killed and rose from the dead as Jesus did; witnessed by hundreds. First Timothy 2:5 explains, “There is ONE GOD, and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.” If you don’t know Him, get to know Him. The account of His life and His teachings are recorded in the Bible. A good place to begin is the book of John. Pray before you begin reading, open your mind, heart, and spirit to receive Him.
Lord Jesus Christ, thank YOU for being the One God and one way to salvation. Open the hearts and minds of those who side with public opinion that there are many ways to heaven. Show them that You alone are the One God in whom there is deliverance from sin and deliverance to heaven.
When You’re Down and Out
When you think about Jesus, what do you envision? A body hanging on a cross? I hope not. Although we begin our relationship with Jesus by acknowledging His death on the cross on our behalf, there’s more to our relationship with Him. We also need to see Him resurrected, ascended, sitting at the right hand of the Father. And, by the way, we need to see Him anointed with the oil of gladness. “What?” you may ask. Hebrews 1:8-9 explains. “But of the SON He says, …Your God has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions.’” What does it mean that Jesus is anointed with the oil of gladness? It means joy is poured out all over Him. He’s rendered the devil and death powerless. He’s freed we who were held captive in sin. (Hebrews 2:14-15) Jesus accomplished what He intended to do – save us. He is full of joy. If you’re ever dragging through your day, discouraged or down, look toward heaven and remember that Christ, who is anointed with the oil of gladness, has you safe and secure in His hand. You will one day share in the glad salvation He has prepared for you. In the meantime, ask Him to fill you with gladness. Share His gladness with others who are down and out.
Lord Jesus, anointed with the oil of gladness, pour your anointing in and through us so others see and believe in You.
When You Wish You’d Handled Something Differently
Have you ever wished you’d gone in a different direction than the one you took? Have you reflected on words you said and thought, “I wish I’d said that differently.” If so, Psalm 32:8 is an encouraging reminder that we can handle things better in future days. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go…” Psalm 32:8 assures us. Yes, in addition to the Lord being our Savior and friend, He comes to us and says He’s willing to instruct us in the best way to go. That’s amazing, don’t you agree? We might wish for the top stock broker to advise us financially but not have access to him/her. We might wish for the most successful business person to be available to us, but not have a chance of getting an audience with them. But, here the LORD GOD is saying He’ll teach us. He’ll instruct us. Again, it’s amazing! He who has infinite understanding and an eternity of knowledge says He will show us the way to go forward. Why not pray now about a situation or relationship where you could use the Lord’s instruction to move you forward successfully?
Lord, You are infinite in understanding. Please instruct us today and quicken our ears to be quick to listen and obey. Thank you for the incredibly valuable gift of having access to You.
About Jesus
The Lord God Almighty named His Son Jesus. Why? Jesus means “Jehovah is salvation.” In other words, we need look no further for how to be saved from our carnal nature and hell. The answer to how we can be saved is Jesus. Only through the forgiveness of our sins by His death on the cross are we saved.
Acts 2:22-24 clearly states that our hope is in Jesus of Nazareth. “Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, …this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
If you want to live in the realm of what is impossible for you and possible only by Jesus, turn to Jesus, repent of sin, and call on Him as Lord.
JESUS, Savior, we praise You with hallelujahs for saving our souls from hell and saving us for heaven and eternity with You.
Check Your “Ask/Worship” Ratio
Lord, Most High God, forgive us for asking but not worshipping You with thanksgiving. Holy Spirit, prompt us to be grateful, thankful believers who worship more than we ask.
Praise God, Non Jews are “In,” Too!
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 chapter where the Lord gave Peter a vision and told him to go to Cornelius’s house, 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 miraculous good news in Romans 3:29, stating, “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 we who are not Jewish by birth, we would have been excluded from heaven for eternity. We would have suffered loss eternally. The good news is, the God of the Jews opened His arms and the pathway for non-Jews to be saved. Could I hear a hallelujah?
God of the Jews, we praise You for extending the glorious gift of salvation to we who are not Jews. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Remember “So That”
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 declared righteous and we’re also called to be righteous. In other words, sin is to be “dying off” in us as we purposefully draw close to Jesus, learn His ways, practice His teachings, and look at our sins through His eyes. The bottom line, we recognize we have an upward calling and we don’t want sin to be a part of our life. Here’s how 1 Peter 2:24 explains it. “…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.” Jesus bore our sin in His body on the cross “so that…” Jesus suffered so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
One thing God convicted me of as I meditated on this verse was this: If it was so important to Jesus that my sin be dead, then I should consider what I’m doing with any sin in my life. Am I careless with it and allow it to remain? Or, mindful of Christ’s sacrifice, do I stand against it so it dies and I live to righteousness?
If you follow the P.R.A.Y. format in Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion, or have been to one of my P.R.A.Y. with Passion Conferences, you recall that we can mindfully P.R.A.Y. and repent of our sin. We can ask God to help us conform to Christ’s image.
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 my spirit to quickly yield to You when I’m tempted.
Friends, I’d love to have you join me any week on Wednesdays or Thursdays for our weekly Bible Study of John. Click here for more info.
Live outside of the Texas Hill Country? No problem! My weekly teachings and Listening Guides will be added HERE each week so you can follow along or use it for a group study.
Making Tracks, But Are They the Right Ones
Have you ever wished you had a mentor, someone to follow, to teach you how to do your job better, be a better spouse, or how to walk in a way that pleases our Heavenly Father? Many lack a good “example” as seen by the normalization of arguing, lying, materialism, and trusting in “self” rather than God. Yet our Heavenly Father gives us a good example – His Son. Jesus shows us how to stand against temptation, how to live for God’s will, how to treat others, and even how to suffer when following God’s Word rather than the world. Jesus is the ultimate example of how to entrust ourselves to our Heavenly Father’s care. First Peter 2:21 reminds us of the importance of following Jesus’ example. “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,” In a world filled with bad examples, our Father provides a mentor in Jesus and tells us to follow His example. Will we this year?
Heavenly Father, thank You for providing Jesus as not only our Savior but also as an example to us. Jesus, help us follow Your example increasingly every day. We love You!
Have You Ever Wished You Had Someone to…
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 just 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.” When doing research for my book, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion about God being the guardian of our soul, 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.” (page 98) What a blessing for us to have God as the Guardian of our souls!
God assumes responsibility for being the Guardian of our soul, but it is our responsibility to tune into Him and follow what He tells us to do both in the Bible and when the Holy Spirit prompts us during the day. Begin each day prayerfully greeting God and lifting up your soul to Him. Invite Him to fill your soul, then pay attention to His prompts throughout the day. You know how I value opening my prayer journal every morning and recording His attribute that I share with you. Being still in God’s presence with pen in hand and journal open is an invitation for God to prompt us how to pray and also what He wants us to do. If you haven’t yet tried journaling, this time in our lives is a perfect time. Prayers of My Heart Journal
LORD, thank You for being the GUARDIAN of our souls. Help us be ever sensitive to Your Word and will.
Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion
Friends, I’d love to have you join me on Wednesdays or Thursdays for our weekly Bible Study of John. Click here for more info.
Live outside of the Texas Hill Country? No problem! My weekly teachings and Listening Guides will be added HERE each week so you can follow along or use it for a group study.