365 Days of Praise
Do You Want More Strength
An AT&T commercial once asked a group of children, “Who thinks more is better than less?” A little girl quickly responded, “We want more. We want more.” We can identify with her plea for more when we’re going through a difficult time. We want more of God’s strength. We want more of His grace to get us through our day. The truth is, we already have it. Second Corinthians 12:9 reassures us,
My grace is SUFFICIENT for you, for power is perfected in weakness.
What does it mean that God’s grace is SUFFICIENT? Does it mean barely enough? No. Rather, the Biblical word means, “to be possessed of unfailing strength, to be strong, to be enough.”* God’s strength is the answer to our cry when we are weak. Call on Him. Yield to Him. Ask Jesus to fill and empower you. He will.
Heavenly Father, thank You that when we’re weak, You respond to our cry for help. Thank You, that Your grace is SUFFICIENT unfailing strength.
Listen UP! Your gateway to understanding more about the Holy Spirit in your life.
God’s Perspective
Perspective. It’s everything. We can look around and feel hopeless and vulnerable, wondering why God has abandoned us. Or we can turn to the Lord, scale the heights of heaven and gaze on who God is, what He’s done, and what He has promised to do. Proverbs 18:10 reminds us,
The name of the Lord is a STRONG TOWER; The righteous runs into it and is safe.
Did you catch the promise? Is safe. Say it out loud. I am safe. Think through the implications for your believing loved ones. They are safe. Yes, far from what may at times seem to be uncaring and inactive people around us, God is the opposite. He is caring and He is active. Look at the ways He proves His activity in your life far beyond sending Jesus to save you. Enjoy the release of God’s Spirit in your life comforting and strengthening you. Let your mind relax in the reality of the new heaven and world awaiting you and your loved ones. Purposefully ponder your life and your loved one’s lives from the perspective of heaven’s heights. Say a prayer to the Lord thanking Him for being wonderful, loving, and faithful.
Learn more of God’s character traits in my book, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion. Here. Or Amazon.
Heavenly Father, You are a loving, good, faithful STRONG TOWER to whom we can run. Help us have eyes to see with Your perspective and walk through our days with gratefulness and hope.
When You Want to Run Away, Run Here
Do you ever want to run away from your circumstances, the evil in our world, or perhaps your own wayward thoughts? If so, go to God, who David likens to a STRONGHOLD. In Biblical times a stronghold was a high place, a place of retreat, and for many years it was David’s safe house. In 2 Samuel 22:3, after the Lord saved him from Saul, David wrote these words of praise,
My God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my STRONGHOLD and my refuge.
Is God your stronghold? If so, you are well aware that He wants you to come to Him. You are well aware that you can leave your fears, Satan’s lies, and your wayward and go to the Lord, your stronghold. Do you have a story of a time that you sought God as your stronghold? You retreated in prayer or to your Bible and by doing so, He kept you mentally, emotionally safe? I’d love to hear your story. Comment below.
Heavenly Father, thank You for being our STRONGHOLD. Thank You that we can scale the heights of heaven and Your Word and find renewed strength in Your presence.
Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion: How Praising God Can Transform Your Life – on Amazon
Running Low on Cash
“How much money do you make?” In our materialistic society, people often place value on the almighty dollar instead of the Almighty Lord. But Isaiah 33:6 addresses what we should value: “Jesus being a wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.” Isaiah reminds us that the Lord is the greatest treasure. Jesus echos Isaiah’s understanding of what true wealth is. In Matthew 6:19-21 He says,
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Christ’s command should cause us to stop and ponder. Are we storing up treasures on earth or are we storing up treasures in heaven? To the point – on what is our heart most focused – things of the earth or things of heaven?
Lord, You are a WEALTH of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. Stir our hearts to seek the treasures that count for eternity rather than the fleeting things of earth.
“And He will be the stability of your times,
A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge;
The fear of the Lord is his treasure.” Isaiah 33:6
Beyond Our Imagination – A Deeper Understanding of the Spirit
Do you know all that God has prepared for you in eternity? The answer is “no, we don’t know.” First Corinthians 2:9 says, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” Does that bless your heart? Our earthly days may be rough, but God has prepared a future beyond our imagination. The passage explains that no one knows God’s thoughts except God’s Spirit.
“For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?
Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,” First Corinthians 2: 10-12
Do these verses about the Spirit make you want to have a deeper understanding of the Holy Spirit and how you can walk by His promptings? If so, I encourage you to get “Listen UP! When the Spirit Speaks.” The Holy Spirit is God’s gift to Christians. Know Him. Listen to Him. Love and adore Him, for He is the Spirit of Christ abiding in you.
Heavenly Father, Your gift to us of the SPIRIT who SEARCHES ALL THINGS, is the most amazing gift. Thank You! Help us faithfully walk by Your Spirit.
We’d Better Get this Right
Are you reading each 365 DAYS of PRAISE? Are you as amazed as I am at not only the ways the Father, Son, and Spirit are revealed, but also through whom the revelation is made? We’ve seen how the high priest asked Jesus if He was the Son of the Blessed One, but it was a demon who acknowledged Jesus as SON of the MOST HIGH GOD. Luke 8:28 records the demon’s encounter with Jesus.
Seeing Jesus, he (the demon) cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice,
‘What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.’
A demon recognized Jesus as the Son of the Most High God. His statement is true. There are numerous gods, which by the way, is why GOD commands us, “You shall have no other gods before ME.” But there is one ultimate MOST HIGH GOD and Jesus is His Son. It’s important we get this right. The demons do.
Lord Jesus Christ, You are the all-powerful, holy SON of the MOST HIGH GOD. Forgive us when we treat You casually and don’t honor You as we should. Quicken our hearts and minds to worship and honor You above any one or any thing..
Is There Anyone You Can Trust?
The TRUTH. When listening to the news do you ever long for the truth? When questioning a child, have you ever doubted their words and said, “Tell me the truth.” If a person has lied to you once, do you wonder when they tell you something if it’s the truth? How refreshing that in John 16:13 Jesus tells us we can trust God’s Holy Spirit, the SPIRIT OF TRUTH. There’s not a lie in God’s holy body, Word, or Spirit. So when we question or wonder if we should do things our way or God’s way, the world’s ways or God’s way, we have the answer. Believe the Spirit of Truth. Follow the SPIRIT OF TRUTH. Obey the SPIRIT OF TRUTH.
Lord God, how refreshing that we can wholeheartedly trust You, the SPIRIT of TRUTH!
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. John 16:13
When What You Want is Different from What God Wants
Lord Jesus, thank You for modeling being submissive and trusting in our Heavenly Father’s ultimate will.
“He went a little beyond them and fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.’” Matthew 26:39
Jesus Wake Us Up
TIP: How to Pray for Unbelievers
Death. It seems so final. I’d been prepared for my mother’s death because she’d been ill for a long time. But the casket. The cemetery. I broke down weeping. Some family members whispered they were surprised at my grief, but all I could think of was how much I was going to miss her. So what does Jesus want us to know about death and what did He prove when He raised Lazarus and others from the dead? He wants us to know that death isn’t final. Jesus describes death as sleep and that just as a loved one rouses us from sleep by calling our name, Jesus will rouse us from death.
Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. (John 5:25)
Yes, believer, you will hear Christ’s voice (imagine that!) and will wake in Jesus’s presence. There are no better words we could hear. Who do we need to share them with?
Lord, thank You for the eternal promise and evidence that You raise those who are dead in Christ. We will see You and our loved ones again.
Lost and Found
Have you ever been lost? Perhaps you took a wrong turn in the road and didn’t know how to get to your desired destination. As bad as that is, what’s worse is to be spiritually lost which is how Jesus describes us prior to salvation. As a matter of fact, we were so lost that there was no one who could help except Jesus. In Luke 19:10, Jesus describes Himself as the Son of Man who came to seek and to save the lost – to save us and every person. Jesus left heaven’s glory to come and do what no one else could do. Through the virgin birth of Mary by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was born, the Son of Man, to seek and to save our lost souls so we could be reunited with our Heavenly Father. What good news! Is there someone we need to look for as Jesus did, someone with whom we can share the good news?
All praise to You, Lord Jesus, Son of God, SON of MAN. Thank You for seeking us and saving us. Rouse us to do as You did – to seek the lost in order to share the good news of salvation with them.
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10