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 7 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. 

Do you ever feel like we are living in irrational times, that things are upside down? It’s not the first time. Think about Christ. He was pronounced not guilty, then crucified. How irrational was that? But Colossians 2:15 tells us Jesus  TRIUMPHED over the irrational. He disarmed the rulers and authorities. He made a public display of them. And Christ is still triumphant even though we may not see it at certain times. Jesus will right what is wrong.  He will turn what is upside down right side up.  That’s good news on a national and world level.  It’s also good news for us personally.  Christ, who triumphed over the grave, is able to triumph over the irrational in our lives.  Christ is the triumphant Lord. What do you need His help with today? He’s listening.

LISTEN

“I don’t know what to do.” How many times have you said or thought that? Perhaps you’re trying to figure out your finances. Maybe you’re at a crossroads in life and trying to figure out God’s will. Or maybe there’s a personal or business relationship that’s troubling you that needs to be handled in the wisest of ways. Whether you’re wondering whether to take your child to the doctor or your question is of another nature, look to Jesus. Why? We’ve seen in other Scriptures how Jesus is a treasure that we have within us. But Colossians 2:2b-3 gives us more insight. It says that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Jesus. Ponder what that means for you. Talk to Jesus. Look to Him. Listen to Jesus. Record what He tells you to do. Follow up on His instructions. Walk in the wisdom and knowledge you have in Jesus. It’s an incredible blessing that would be a shame to miss and can help prevent future heartbreaks.

TIP: Each morning after recording God’s attribute in the first column of Prayers of My Heart  and interceding for others, I record God’s “prayer prompt” of what He wants me to do in the ‘Meditations, Notes, and Prayers’ section. Yes, God has things for us to do. When we pause with pen in hand, we’re positioned to listen to God and do what He places on our heart. Returning to celebrate the wisdom of Christ’s ways increases the joy in our hearts. Walk daily by the Treasury of Wisdom you have in Christ Jesus. 

Prayers of My Heart is a meaningful gift for family, friends, teachers, and Bible study group members.

Have you found yourself to be disturbed by some of the changes and trends in our nation and world?  Does it seem like it’s not even the same place where you grew up? It’s interesting, but it’s almost like our Heavenly Father and Jesus are readying us. Readying us for what? To go home, to where we are citizens above our citizenship on earth. Our nation is beginning to become foreign to us because heaven is our home. It is where truth abounds, love is premiere, and relationships are characterized by kindness. Sound good? If so, keep that in mind as you go through your day. Make building your life and family on Jesus a priority.  Hold tightly to Christ and loosely to the things of the earth. Be assured when things of this earth crumble and fail, Christ will stand the test of eternity as  Isaiah 28:16 states:

Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a TESTED STONE, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.

Rest assured that if you’ve been disturbed by recent trends in our world, it is because your home is heaven and we’re each one step closer to being there. That warrants a hallelujah chorus from me. How about you?

Lord Jesus Christ, once again we’re reminded of the joy and privilege of calling You our God. You are foundational to all we believe, a pure and holy TESTED STONE.  We praise and worship You!

Have you ever known a hard-hearted person? In other words, no matter how hard you tried, they shut you out? If you do anything wrong, they’re relentless and unforgiving.  Not so with our Lord. Although He could have every reason to be hard-hearted toward us, instead He pursues and forgives us. What a TENDER-HEARTED Lord we have!  And this is important – in Ephesians 4:32 He commands us to be like Him – kind, tender-hearted, forgiving each other. If there’s someone you’re hard-hearted toward, this Thanksgiving season would be a good time to “forgive, as God in Christ has forgiven us.”

Lord, we praise You for being TENDER-HEARTED toward us. Thank You for Your mercy! Thank You for Your grace!  Help us faithfully follow You and forgive others as You have forgiven us. 

Can you imagine what it would be like to go to Jesus after you failed miserably and sinned and He NOT be sympathetic with your weaknesses?  What if He was unrelenting and unforgiving? But that is not who our sweet Lord Jesus Christ is. Although He is God the Son and our HIGH PRIEST, He is sympathetic to our weaknesses. Here’s how Hebrews 4:15-16 describes Jesus.

We do not have a HIGH PRIEST who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

That’s incredibly good news, but we’re not to stop there.

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  

In other words, when we sin we’re not supposed to keep sinning. Neither are we to avoid Jesus because we’re ashamed. Rather, we’re to humbly go to Him and confess, “I sinned. I gave into my flesh or this temptation. Forgive me and strengthen me to stand against this weakness in my life. Conform me to Your image, Jesus.” Jesus extends grace to us when we repent, but He also admonishes us, “Go and sin no more.” Why? Because He loves us and doesn’t want us to live in a habit of sin but rather to live in a habit of holiness. If we’ve sinned and been avoiding an intimate conversation with Jesus and confession of our sin, now is the time to draw near to our sympathetic HIGH PRIEST.

We praise you, Lord and High Priest, that although you are high and lifted up, you sympathize with our weaknesses and forgive us when we repent. Help us stand against rather than give into sin. 

So what do you think of the Speaker of the House? Oh, I’m not talking about the speaker of the US House of Representatives.  I’m referring to the Speaker of God’s House, the Speaker of Righteousness, as Isaiah 45:19 describes the LORD.

I have not spoken in secret, in some dark land…I, the Lord, SPEAK RIGHTEOUSNESS, declaring things that are upright.

How refreshing that we have a Speaker of the HOUSE who is a Speaker of Righteousness. While reading the Bible, we hear His righteous voice. As citizens of His Kingdom, we can ponder and practice what our SPEAKER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS says. Are we listening to the Speaker of our House?  Are we sharing the words of the Speaker of Righteousness with others? One of the ways my ministry shares what God has spoken is through our ministry page on Facebook and through Instagram. They are “microphones” we use to “go out into the world” as Jesus tells us to do. When you “Like” the page or follow Instagram, it increases Christ’s, our Speaker’s reach. Even if you don’t often use social media, you can still click HERE and check “LIKE” to help the Speaker of Righteousness’s voice reach others. You can follow on Instagram and share with others who follow you.

Thank You, LORD, SPEAKER of the House of RIGHTEOUSNESS. May we listen to and follow Your voice above all others. May we faithfully share You with others in our sphere of influence. 

Do you ever feel fragile or like you might “pop” because of the daily pressure you are under? David knew what it was like to feel that way and found God to be the SUSTAINER of his soul. Listen to his words in Psalm 54:4. “God is my helper; The Lord is the SUSTAINER of my soul.” What does it mean for God to be the sustainer of our soul? It means that God revives our minds and emotions when we sit in His presence, meditate on His truths, and absorb encouragement from His Word. God, the Holy Spirit, refreshes and sustains us so we carry on rather than break or pop. What story do you have of how God has been your sustainer?

Lord God, we praise You, SUSTAINER of our souls. Thank You for the many times and ways You sustain us. We love and praise You!