365 Days of Praise

LISTEN: Click #96 here to listen to today’s 365 Beyond Ourselves.

Do you ever feel sluggish? You know – blah? Can’t quite find your “get up and go” even though there are things you could be, should be doing? Nobody likes that feeling. So what do we do when we don’t feel motivated to pray, work, or get moving? We lift up our soul to God.  (Psalm 143:8)  We read God’s Word regardless of how we feel and while reading are encouraged and inspired. God’s thoughts become our thoughts. His passions are our passions. We ask our Heavenly Father to give us the mind and energy of Christ. The King James Version of 1 Corinthians 15:45 contrasts the first man, Adam, with the “last Adam,” Jesus, in this way: “The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a QUICKENING SPIRIT.” As a Quickening Spirit, Jesus arouses and invigorates us. Christ-followers are not spiritually dead. We’re alive. Pray and ask God to fill you with His Holy Quickening Spirit. Then pay attention to His promptings in your heart and mind.

TIP:  I daily open my Prayers of My Heart journal so I can record what God quickens me to pray and what He prompts me to do. Having our Bible, pen, and journal in hand shows God we are ready to listen to and follow His promptings.  

Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus who is a Quickening Spirit! Arouse and invigorate us to do Your will. 

FRIENDS, Are youFAMILIAR with myUPLIFT MINUTE BLOG? I send it out ONCE A WEEK rather than daily. You can GET BOTH or CHANGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION TO GET UPLIFT. 365 DAYS OF PRAISE highlights a CHARACTER TRAIT of GOD. UPLIFT MINUTE is 60 SECONDS of ENCOURAGEMENT. Which is your FAVORITE? Check out UPLIFT MINUTE.

“I can’t be the Christian I’m supposed to be. I can’t overcome this sin.” Have you ever said those words?  If we sometimes feel incapable of being the Christian we want to be, we’re not alone. The Apostle Paul, who was instrumental in helping spread Christianity, once referred to himself as the chief of sinners. Here’s the good news. God knows that we can’t live the Christian life by self-effort. That’s why He reminds us in Galatians 3:5 that He’s provided us with His Holy Spirit. We don’t please God by trying to improve our old self. We please God by learning to walk by His Spirit who is in us. Instead of saying we can’t live the Christian life or we can’t accomplish what God’s called us to do, we can ask Christ to fill us and accomplish His work through us. Then, we can practice walking by the Spirit. Will we walk by the Spirit perfectly 100% of the time? No, because our fleshly nature will oppose the Spirit. (Galatians 5:17) and we’ll struggle against spiritual forces of darkness/wickedness (Ephesians 6:12). But we can practice walking by Christ’s Spirit, confident that God is at work in us, perfecting us. 

Lord, thank You for PROVIDING us with Your Spirit by whom we can walk. 

“…does He who PROVIDES you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”  Galatians 3:5

Does the prevalence of evil in our society cause you to be fearful for loved ones, yourself, and even those you don’t know? Recently, after speaking at a church, a mom confided in me that she feared for her child. Part of her fear was because she had been molested as a child. Part was due to the moral decline in our nation and the increase in lawlessness throughout our world.  What hope was I able to give her?

PRAYER:  Jesus teaches us to pray, “Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” We can daily pray that for others and ourselves. We can pray that for the unsaved and those who are blinded by evil. We can pray God will open their eyes and they will turn to the Truth and Light.

The BIBLE. The Bible is a safeguard that teaches us what to do and not to do. We can teach our children to respect and obey God and His Word which will keep them from walking in evil ways.

ETERNAL SALVATION.  We can’t escape all evil influences, but, 2 Thessalonians 3:3 comforts us that the Lord is faithful and will strengthen and PROTECT us from the evil one. How we need this at this time!

Which of the above three could you strengthen to safeguard you, your family, and our world from evil?

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for Your Word that shows us how to live, for being able to pray to You, and for Christ’s faithfulness to strengthen and protect us. 

TIP: Record prayers for loved ones and our world here.

Are you familiar with the Rolling Stones’ 1965 song “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”?  Keith Richards and Mick Jagger’s lyrics, “can’t get no satisfaction” resonated with people in the 1960’s and also today. But do you know who has found satisfaction? God. First John 2:2 says, “He (Jesus) Himself is the PROPITIATION FOR OUR SINS; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”  The word propitiation means satisfaction. This verse tells us that Jesus satisfied God’s righteous requirement that sin be dealt with rather than ignored. How did Jesus do that? He substituted His life for ours. How incredible! If we haven’t thanked Jesus lately for satisfying God’s righteous requirements of the law, now would be a good time to do that. 

Jesus, thank You for sacrificing Your life and being the propitiation for our sins. We love you so! 

Have you ever called a psychic hotline or used Tarot cards because you wanted to know what was in your future? If so, you’ll be encouraged to know there’s a better option. Ezekiel 13:7 tells us not to seek knowledge by means of divination (Tarot cards, psychic hotline, etc), but rather to look to “…Jesus the Nazarene, who was a PROPHET mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,” Luke 24:19. Yes, God tells us to look to Jesus and the Bible for wisdom, insight, and comfort and to trust Him for today and tomorrow’s needs. When we want to know the future and want to know what to do we are to read the Bible and pray. Jesus is the One we are to seek. He is the One we can trust.

CHECK OUT:  Prayers for Different Occasions

Jesus, You are God’s PROPHET who speaks the truth. May we seek You and find rest for our souls knowing You are present with us today and tomorrow. 

Have you ever promised something and then didn’t fulfill your promise? If you have, you know what a horrible feeling it is. Maybe we promised, “I’ll never say that again.” Then we did. Or, maybe we said to God, “I promise if you get me out of this mess, I’ll do better next time.” Then we failed to do as we said. Or maybe we don’t trust people because they’ve made promises to us they didn’t keep. When it comes to God, however, Romans 4:21 assures us “that what God PROMISED, He was able also to perform.” In other words, we or other people may be well-intentioned but fail. Not God, though. What He promises He will do. What a blessing to know that God keeps His promises.  In the midst of failed promises and lies it’s a great time for us to read God’s promises in the Bible.  Our hearts can be at peace as we read them because we know they are true. Which of God’s promises are your favorites? Share them in the “Comment” section below. I’d love to hear from you.

Heavenly Father, in a world that is filled with lies and failed promises, we praise You for being a faithful promise keeper.  

You missed it last week? A quick repost from “Spinning Out of Control.”

Now, today’s post:

Are you familiar with the legal term “double jeopardy”? It means that a person can’t be tried for the same crime two times. In God’s system it means the same, which is an incredible blessing. Jesus was tried for all the sins we’ve committed and will commit. God has promised to not try us for our sins that Jesus has already been convicted of and paid the debt. And as if that weren’t enough of a huge eternal blessing, there’s more. Hebrews 2:17 explains that after Jesus died for our sins, He entered into God’s presence and became our High Priest. The resurrected Christ is seated at God’s right hand. What is He doing?  Praying for us. Go to Him in gratitude. Live for Him in joy.

Lord Jesus, we praise You, our Lord and high PRIEST!  Thank You for taking our place at the judgment seat and dying for our sins.  How can we serve You?

“Therefore, He (Jesus) had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high PRIEST in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”  Hebrews 2:17

Have you ever thought of God as being a Life Preserver? Psalm 116:6 describes Him that way. “The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.”  The word “preserve” in this verse means to save a life.  No doubt Jesus fits the description. He rescues those who are drowning in sin when they call on Him for salvation.  We understand the need for someone to save us from raging waters.  Do we understand the need for Jesus to save us from raging sin? We understand the need to be saved from physical death. Do we understand the need to be saved from spiritual death?

Jesus, You are the only One who can rescue us from sin and preserve our soul for eternity. We call to You.