365 Days of Praise
Empowered
Are you a Christian? In other words, have you repented of your sins and asked the Heavenly Father to forgive you? If so, you’ve been cleansed of them. But are you living empowered? You see, John the Baptist baptized people in water for the forgiveness of their sin, but in John 1:33 he explained that Jesus baptizes us in the Holy Spirit, who seals us for heaven and empowers us for daily living.
He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 1:8 Jesus said we receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. God’s provision for believers is Holy Spirit anointed power! If we’re trudging through life and living in our own strength, it’s time to check the pulse of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Learn more about the Holy Spirit in the Listen UP DVD or How to Live by the Divine Nature Bible study…2 resources to help you live an empowered life.
Thank You, JESUS, that when we come to You in repentance, confessing You as Lord and Savior, You BAPTIZE us with the HOLY SPIRIT. Help us be mindful of the gift of Your Spirit and live by Your empowerment.
This is 1 of the 365 facets of our wonderful Lord. To get this free devotional in your inbox, click HERE.
Why AWESOME is an Important Word
A few years ago, the word “awesome” became a catchphrase for any and everything. “Can you go Monday night? Awesome!” “This meal is awesome!” “I read an awesome book!” If you’re like many, we began to tire of hearing the overused word. However, rather than throw out the word, the Bible points us in the right direction for when to use it. In Genesis 28:17, awesome is used in relation to heaven,
How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
Exodus 15:11 uses it in relation to God and His works,
Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?
Yes, we might want to scale down on our use of “awesome” in relation to mundane earthly things, but let’s use it often in relation to God.
We praise You, great and AWESOME GOD, and thank You for Your AWESOME works.
Since We Know, Are We Telling Others to Prepare
February 2021 a winter freeze took this Texas girl by surprise. Yes, I’d seen the warnings of a winter storm. In my mind that tabulated to cold weather and snow. I did think twice about the ice warning, but then went on with my life. Then it got cold. And colder. And colder. I wasn’t prepared and by the time the snow, cold, iced over roads, power outage, no water, and firewood had run out, it was too late to do anything. The days for preparing had passed. I lived in the consequences of my lackadaisical unpreparedness. As the water we had collected in bowls froze inside our home, I thought of what I would do to be better prepared should we have another winter storm. I also thought of how terrifying it is going to be for people who have a lackadaisical attitude toward Biblical warnings of judgement and hell. Yes, many people are going on with their lives and not doing anything to prepare for the salvation of their soul. Thinking of the unsaved sitting in hell with no way to get out is a horrifying thought. Equally horrifying is to neglect Christ’s call to believers to go and tell the unsaved how to be saved. If I felt stuck in the cold of my house, how will they feel stuck in the fire of hell? Friends, Jesus tells us with “all authority” in Matthew 28:18-20 that we are to be sounding the warning that a day is coming when everyone will stand before Jesus to give an account for their lives. Jesus commands us with all authority to,
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…”
Are we warning others to prepare to meet Jesus? Are we telling them how to prepare while they still have time?
Jesus, Son of God, You have all AUTHORITY in heaven and on earth. Open our eyes to the unsaved and our mouths to tell them the good news of salvation in You.
Help Others Prepare. Learn how to share your faith HERE.
Get to Know the Cloud
How familiar are you with “the cloud,” the global network of servers around the globe that store and manage data, run applications, or deliver a service? Maybe you are aware of the cloud, but not certain how it functions. On the other hand, how familiar are you with the cloud referenced in Hebrews 12:1-2?
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author, and PERFECTER of FAITH, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Who composes the cloud in Hebrews 12:1? The cloud is a great throng of men and women who lived out their faith. Through their struggles and even times of sin, they held to their commitment to God. They believed Him and therefore He was able to use them in exceptional ways for His kingdom. Hebrews 12:1-2 is a bugle call for us to rise up and join them. What might we need to do to join this hall of fame/faith?
- Lay aside every encumbrance. The Greek definition of encumbrance is a weight or burden. What are we lugging around that is holding us back from sprinting forward?
- Lay aside every sin which is entangling us. I can think of no better word than entangles to describe what sin does to us. It weaves into our life, mind, heart, and relationships. It trips us up. Sin prevents us from running the race God has set before us; that He has purposed for our lives. We are to call sin what it is, untangle it, and lay it aside.
- Run with endurance the race set before you with your eyes on Jesus. Anyone who competes in a race will tell you how important it is to not look back over your shoulder. Rather, runners look forward with their eyes fixed on the goal. Believers are to run with our eyes fixed on Jesus.
Jesus, the author of our faith. Jesus, the perfecter of faith. Is your faith in need of perfecting? Then follow Jesus. His eyes were on the joy set before Him and although not described, the joy must have included thoughts of being reunited with His Father in heaven. Jesus did what it took to complete the race before Him. He endured the cross even while despising the shame. Now, He is seated at the right hand of God’s throne. If you answered yes, that your faith is in need of perfecting, go back and read how the saints in Hebrews 11 lived out their faith. Follow their example and Jesus’s example. Lay aside the encumbrance! Untangle and lay aside the sin! Run!
Lord Jesus, we praise You for enduring the cross. Impassion us to lay aside encumbrances and sin so we run free of them with our eyes fixed on You.
Fun to Think About
Have you ever needed an architect; someone to help you design your home, office, or some other building? In Hebrews 11:10, we’re told that Abraham needed an architect, and guess who he sought? He “
was looking for the city which has foundations, whose ARCHITECT and builder is God.
Isn’t that fun to think about?! Abraham. Looking. For a city built by God. It is amazing! And, do you recall what Jesus told the disciples in John 14:2? “I go to prepare a place for you.” Jesus is preparing a place for us! We can learn from Abraham. What can we learn? To not set our hope on what we can build on earth; be it a house, career, whatever. That’s not where we’ll find our true life and joy. Those things are temporal. Jesus tells us not to store up treasures on earth, but rather to store up treasure in heaven. (Matthew 6:19-21) How do we do that? We set our minds on the things above. (Colossians 3:2) We love God first and foremost above all. (Exodus 20:3) If we realize we’ve been focused on building a life for ourselves on earth rather than building up the kingdom of God, it’s not too late to make the switch to a heavenly focus.
Jesus, we praise You, our Lord and Architect of our salvation. Fill us with a renewed awe that You are preparing a place for us. Help us focus more on You. Teach us ways we can set our minds on you.
Prayers of My Heart character trait to journal and praise God: Architect.
Am I Good Enough
Have you ever wanted to approach someone to visit or discuss an issue, or maybe just to be near them, but felt the person was unapproachable? Maybe you felt you weren’t good enough. Isn’t it incredible that our approaching God has nothing to do with our goodness? As a matter of fact, we’re not good enough to approach Holy God. So how can we get to Him? Psalm 65:4 NKJV explains. “
Blessed is the man You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts.
Our Heavenly Father is APPROACHABLE not because we’re good, but rather because Jesus opened the way for us to enter His presence through Christ. GOD. APPROACHABLE. Grace. Learn more HERE.
LORD, thank You for being an APPROACHABLE GOD to whom we can come through Christ’s cleansing blood.
DISCOVERING HIS PASSION – Care about others. Share with them the good news of God’s grace. This study guide will prepare you.
A Tip for Everyday Living
Do you like tips on money management, tips on gardening, tips on home organizing, or on some other topic. We do well to pay attention to proven tips. They help us do things smarter and in a more meaningful way. Hebrews 3:1 gives us a spiritual tip.
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.
What kind of a tip is that? The word consider in this verse means to “fix your thoughts.” In other words, as partakers of a heavenly calling, we’re to fix our thoughts on Jesus when we wake in the morning. We’re to fix our thoughts on Jesus when we get bad news. We’re to fix our thoughts on Jesus when we face a difficult decision. We’re to fix our thoughts on Jesus… all the time. Why? When we look at Jesus and consider Him, we are more likely to act like partakers of a heavenly calling than if we look at our situation from an earthly perspective and feel overwhelmed, panic, worry, or perhaps even gloat or feel prideful. If you’re not convinced this is a good tip, I encourage you to try it. You’ll discover that considering Jesus, fixing your thoughts on Him, ushers into your life increased hope, assurance, and purpose.
Jesus, Apostle and High Priest of our confession, help us remember that our confession of You as Lord and Savior makes us partakers of a heavenly calling. Help us walk out our calling well by considering (fixing our thoughts on) You.
This Makes Me Smile
It makes me smile to think about where and when Christ spoke the words in Luke 4:18,
THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.
When did Jesus say these words? He had just returned from being tempted by Satan in the wilderness. He was led by the Spirit in the power of the Spirit.” (Luke 4:14) What was His first Spirit-anointed task following His victory over Satan’s temptations? He went home…to Nazareth. I love that. And get this –
…as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.
This is a good place for us to pause and ask ourselves, “Is it our custom to gather with believers to read and hear the Scriptures? Are we raising our children with the custom of gathering with believers to hear the Word of God? If it was what God’s ANOINTED Lord Jesus did, it’s what I want to do. I’d have hated to have missed Jesus speaking in the synagogue that day. I’d hate to miss Him speaking today as I gather with others to worship Him and hear the reading/teaching of His Word.
Jesus, we praise You, ANOINTED Lord and Savior. Thank You for Your words and Your example of the Spirit-led life.
Prayers of My Heart character trait of Jesus to record in your journal and praise Him for: Anointed. Prayer to pray: Anoint me with Your Spirit to do Your will.
Do We Have Enough Holy Reverence
“Hey, Buddy.” We’re often quite chummy with people, even if while social distancing or on the phone. Some parents even call their children, “buddy.” We love to quote Matthew 11:19 that Jesus was a “friend of sinners.” But let’s not forget that the “friend of sinners” is gloriously exalted and seated at the right hand of God. Prayerfully visualize Daniel 7:9-10.
I kept looking
Until thrones were set up,
And the Ancient of Days took His seat;
His vesture was like white snow
And the hair of His head like pure wool.
His throne was ablaze with flames,
Its wheels were a burning fire.
A river of fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him;
Thousands upon thousands were attending Him,
And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;
The court sat,
And the books were opened.
And were presented before Him.”
The Son of Man may be our friend and God our Abba Father, but based on Scripture, a casual “buddy” reverence isn’t how I visualize our relationship with God. Our Lord is the all powerful, holy, Ancient of Days. Are we daily worshipping Him? Are we sharing Him with others? Are we ready for His return?
ANCIENT of DAYS, glorious One, forgive us when we don’t show You holy reverence. Help us live more for You and less for ourselves. Use us to witness to others about Your saving grace.
Prayers of My Heart character trait to record: Ancient of Days.
When Waves of Hopelessness Pound Your Heart
You need hope. I need hope. Our loved ones need hope. Where do we find it? Do we practice “self-talk” and tell ourselves we are “happy and fine” when we aren’t? Or do we kneel, look up in praise, and cry out to the One who has gone before us to heaven and intercedes for us? Hebrews 6:19 describes our relationship with Jesus in this way,
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered…”
Our hope in Jesus is an anchor for our soul. Personalize that truth. My hope in Jesus is an anchor for my soul. Think about that. It’s amazing! We don’t have to emotionally drift into an ocean of despair. Yes, waves of hopelessness may at times pound our hearts and seem like they will overwhelm us. But when you feel that way, sweet friend, place your hope in your loving Savior. You are not going to drift beyond His sight or hold. He’s got you. Our hope in Christ is an anchor for our soul.
Jesus, sweet Savior, thank You for being the anchor of my soul. Thank You that I will never drift from your grasp.