365 Days of Praise

Do you ever think about pleasing God? Did you know that it’s possible to please God? Hebrews 11:5-6 states that Enoch was pleasing to God and that God is a REWARDER of those who seek Him.

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Hallelujah! Does that make you want to shout in praise of God? It does me! God “took him up” before his body died. Zap! In the air. Gone from earth. Friend, the same is going to happen to believers at the time of the rapture.  Unbelievers will look around and say, “Where’s mom?” The ones left behind who have some Bible knowledge may realize that “God took us up.” Yes. Up. Let that sink in for a minute. How can we be assured God will take us up and not leave us in our morally declining, evil world that calls evil good and good evil? We can be sure because we have placed our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins. Yes, faith. Without it, we can’t be saved. Without it, we can’t please God. Without it, we won’t go to heaven. With it, we will be saved. We will be rewarded. Are you saved? Then shout hallelujah and ready yourself for Christ’s return. He’ll be handing out rewards on the basis of what you did for His kingdom. (Remember the 10 minas story? Luke 19:11-27) If you’re not a follower of Jesus, think about the role of faith and how we exercise it all the time. We exercise faith when we get on a plane. (Is the pilot mentally stable? Will the oxygen flow correctly? Is there a terrorist on board on a suicide mission?) So, yes. Exercise your faith for the salvation of your soul. Exercise your faith that Christ is coming again just like He promised. Live in a way that pleases Him. Set your mind on the things above, not earth. Ask Him to fill you with His Spirit so you walk out His kingdom purposes. God is a REWARDER of those who seek Him. Will you seek Him?

Are you looking for peace and happiness? Do you want a better life? Only one person, our REDEEMER, has the holiness, the wholeness, the power, and grace to be our all in all. As Colossians 1:13-14 says,

He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,in whom we have REDEMPTION, the forgiveness of sins.  

Jesus is the only One able to rescue us from the domain of darkness and transfer us to His kingdom. He is the one who is able to rescue us from the sin and heartache of this world and take us to the holy heights of heaven. So we look to the cross. We look to the resurrected Lord. We look to the Bible. We look to the skies. And, we know that as Jesus kept His Word to come to us once for salvation, He’ll return to redeem us out of this world and take us to our eternal home. Our redemption is closer today than it was yesterday. Praise Him!

I know, I know, I know. We sing about Jesus’s resurrection. But is it ever hard for you to get your mind around the fact Jesus was literally dead and came back to life? Do you ever stop and ponder if you believe what you do because you’ve always been told that or if it is your own conviction?  When Jesus said, “‘I am the RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies’” (John 11:25), He was talking to a woman who was saying with her mouth she believed but who wasn’t expecting Jesus to raise her deceased brother. Jesus is patient with us just like He was with Martha. If you’re struggling to believe or you have questions, Jesus is always present for you to talk to Him. Ask Him your questions. Listen quietly in His presence. Open your Bible and ask Him to guide you through it. Keep seeking. He’s a prayer away and able to lead us to deeper faith.

Lord, You are the RESURRECTION and the LIFE. We profess our faith with thanksgiving that You are ever-present and able to lead us to deeper faith in You.

Have you ever been in a “dark place”? Perhaps you are now. Everywhere you look it’s dark and what’s worse – you don’t see a way out.  If you have been there or you are now, can you imagine what it would be like to be in darkness forever and to know that you’d never ever escape? God and Satan are powerful. They each have domains/kingdoms.  Satan’s domain is a place of evil and darkness. (Colossians 1:13)  First John 5:19 tells us the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.  That is, you lie in the power of the evil one unless you have responded to God’s invitation to rescue you from the domain of darkness and transfer you to the kingdom of His beloved Son. (Colossians 1:13)  If you’re a Christian and in a dark place today because of circumstances beyond your control or even because of sin, run to your Savior.  Stand against the darkness by singing songs of praise to Jesus. Lift your hands and voice in praise to God for His A-Z character traits we daily study. Claim your place as a child of the kingdom of light. If you have not yet responded to God’s invitation to rescue you, why not? Please consider His invitation.  If you have friends or family who don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, you can prayerfully share this with them.

Lord Jesus, You are our RESCUER! We love You! We thank You! We praise You for rescuing us and transferring us to Your kingdom. 

“He RESCUED US from the DOMAIN of DARKNESS, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” Colossians 1:13

Are the storms in your life overwhelming you…perhaps literally? Whether the storms are literal or metaphorical, fear can flood our emotions. Lightning bolts of regret can strike us to the core. Worry can flood our minds.  But God doesn’t want us to stay overwhelmed, drowning in fear, worry, and regret. That’s why He has given us His Spirit, His very presence to be with us. Just as shelters offer a place for flood victims, God calls us to come to Him for REFUGE. The Hebrew word “REFUGE” means shelter from danger or falsehood.  The more closely we stay under God’s arms of truth, the more protected we are from the enemies’ lies. Psalm 46:1 reminds us that God is our REFUGE, a very present help in trouble. Go to Him. Shelter under the truth of His love for you.

Do you feel drained or spiritually empty? You know you’re saved, but you’re tired and discouraged.  What do we do when we want to serve the Lord and energetically live for Him but we’re weary and feel like there’s nothing left for us to give? God answers our question.  In Jeremiah 31:25,  He says,

I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes. 

The LORD is our refresher! Jesus echoes this in Matthew 5:3-6. Are we poor in spirit? Are we mourning? Are we hungry and thirsty for righteousness? If so, we can go to the ever-flowing river of Life in the LORD. We can drink deeply of His Word and Spirit. We can be refreshed and our energy renewed to do what He places in our hands. What a joy. What a God!

Heavenly Father, our daily lives often leave us feeling drained. Fill us with Your presence. Renew and refresh us so we are energized to serve You and others. 

I spoke in New York shortly after September 11, 2001. Shortly after Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked three planes and flew them into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C., killing everyone on board the planes and nearly 3,000 people on the ground. Shortly after a fourth plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field, killing all on board after passengers and crew heroically attempted to take control from the hijackers. Evil reigned in the hands of the terrorists that day but evil didn’t ultimately win then and evil will never ultimately win. Christ Jesus is victor over evil! He overcame evil and sin and the sting of sin – death. All who place their faith in Christ will live eternally in His glorious presence. Today and continually we remember with gratefulness our loved ones, friends, and the many we will never know until heaven – those who sacrificed their lives for our nation. Today we also remember with utmost gratefulness the Lord Jesus who sacrificed His life for our souls. We must never forget either.

Lord Jesus, thank You for making PURIFICATION OF OUR SINS. We love and praise You for the ultimate sacrifice of Your life to make us pure as You are pure. 

“When He had made PURIFICATION of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”  Hebrews 1:3

Is there anything about you that isn’t perfect? If you are perfect, congratulations.  I’m not. As a matter of fact, the closer I grow to Christ, the more aware I am of sin in my life. If you, like me, are mindful of your sin, here are some encouraging words. Malachi 3:3 says the Lord

will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.

What good news! As Christ’s priests (1 Peter 2:9), we have confidence in our REFINER who is extracting sin from our life and clarifying us so we can stand before Him one day, perfect; so we can present to Him offerings in righteousness.

Have you noticed that people in our nation are at odds with one another? “What an understatement!” you may say. And, you’re right.  Rioting in the name of peaceful protests. Name-calling and accusations.  One faction looking at the other as an enemy.  In light of that, did you know Romans 5:10 says we were once enemies of God? Gulp. Not a good position!  How did we get on the right side of God so we’re not His enemy? “We were reconciled to God through the death of His Son.” It took Jesus’s death to reconcile us to God. The verse continues, “we shall be saved by His life.” No one wants to be on the wrong side of an issue. No one wants to be on the wrong side of God. We have Jesus to thank for reconciling us to our glorious Heavenly Father.