365 Days of Praise

Jesus told His disciples He was going to die and ascend to His Father in heaven but that He would not leave them as orphans. (John 14:16-18) Jesus explained that He would send a Helper to them and that the Helper would not only be with them, but also IN them. You can’t get more NEAR to someone than to be IN them. That is God’s gift to believers.  Christ’s Holy Spirit is IN you. NEAR. Not far away. NEAR. Not inaccessible. Still not convinced? Listen to what Psalm 145:18 says,

The LORD is NEAR to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. 

Call on God in sincerity and truth. He’s NEAR.

LORD, You are NEAR, not far removed. Thank You that we can call on You in sincerity and truth. 

Are you a heavenly upside-down thinker or an earth bound thinker? I ask because Christians are called to some remarkable heavenly thinking. For instance, Isaiah prophesied what seems to be some upside-down thoughts; that God the Father would allow His Son to become a servant who would suffer for our sake.

MY SERVANT will justify the many as He will bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:11

What an upside-down thought – that Jesus would be a SERVANT who would take the punishment for our sins. We don’t think that way. We more commonly think that success, wealth, and prestige are indicators of God’s favor and will.  But that’s not what Jesus modeled or said. Jesus became God’s SERVANT and died on the cross for our sins. What should be our response? What IS our response? Do we take our Heavenly Father and Jesus for granted? Or, do we daily purpose to SERVE them…wherever however they call us? It’s some pretty upside thinking.

Lord Jesus Christ, God’s SERVANT, we bow in reverence and worship YOU! Thank You! Praise You! May we never forget how You gave Your life to redeem us. May we show our gratitude by serving You in whatever way You call us. 

Jesus came to earth as a baby so He might grow into a man, but not just any man. He came from heaven as our MESSIAH. Andrew heard John the Baptist announce that Jesus was the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world. Andrew followed Jesus and after spending time with Him, he told his brother, Simon Peter, “We have found the MESSIAH,” John 1:41.  Andrew was intentional about his search for the Messiah and after finding Him was intentional about telling others. In what ways can we be more intentional about sharing Christ with others? We can begin by praying for the unsaved to turn to Christ. I label the last column in the Week at a Glance section of Prayers of My Heart: “Unsaved.” What can we pray for those who do not know Christ as Messiah? Here are 8 suggestions.

Jesus Christ, MESSIAH, You are love, forgiveness, hope, peace, and joy! Help us be as Andrew – intentional about following You and telling others about You.

Have you ever explored a black cave with only a dim flashlight? Some time ago, I had the opportunity to walk two miles in a black cave. Did I say opportunity? It was only because I knew my time in the cave was temporary. Had I thought I couldn’t return to the outdoors and light I would have gone mad. Is that what hell is? Trapped in what Colossians 1:13 describes as a “domain of darkness?” Jesus Christ is Light. The beauty of heaven reflects His nature. Close your eyes and picture an eternity of despairing people screaming for release from Satan’s dark domain. Now open them and praise Jesus, whom Malachi refers to as “the MESSENGER OF THE COVENANT,” Malachi 4:1. 

‘the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the MESSENGER OF THE COVENANT, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,’ says the Lord of hosts.  

Having been in the cave has made me mindful of how important it is to live a celebratory life. Why? There are people who don’t know Jesus, the Messenger of the Covenant, and that He can save them from the black torment of eternal damnation. We have the opportunity to celebrate our present day and eternity. We have reason to celebrate Christ’s Light in our heart.  Are we a bright or dim reflection of Christ to the unsaved?

Lord Jesus Christ, MESSENGER OF THE COVENANT, thank You for transferring us from the domain of darkness to the Kingdom of Light! Help us be mindful and joyful about our freedom and take every opportunity to shine brightly and point others to You.

In 1953 Baskin Robbins wowed ice cream lovers by offering customers a choice of 31 flavors.  That’s a great offer for ice cream, but unfortunately, our world has adopted a “31” viewpoint concerning salvation. In other words, we’ve decided we can be reconciled to God through the plan of our choice, be it self-improvement, doing good things, or a world religion of our choosing. But not so warns God throughout Scripture such as in 1 Timothy 2:5,

There is one God, and ONE MEDIATOR also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

If we think we can make a Baskin Robbin choice of how we’re reconciled to God, we’re wrong. Dead wrong. God has warned us that the only way we can be reconciled to Him is through His Son.  Christ Jesus is the ONE MEDIATOR who can reconcile us to God for eternity.  Tell others!

Christ Jesus, we praise You, our MEDIATOR, for making peace between Your Father and our Father.

• His WORKS are MARVELOUS. Revelation 15:3 says, And they *sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great and MARVELOUS are Your WORKS, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!’”

Think. In what way do you recognize God marvelously working in your life or in the life of someone close to you? Praise Him for it.

• His LOVINGKINDNESS is MARVELOUS.   The psalmist writes, “Blessed be the LORD, for He has made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city.” Psalm 31:21.  In this verse, marvelous means “wonderful, surpassing, extraordinary, separate by distinguishing action.”

Think. In what way can you personally testify to the fact that God’s lovingkindness is “wonderful, surpassing, extraordinary, separate by distinguishing action”?

• His SALVATION is MARVELOUS.  In Matthew 21:42, Jesus asks, “‘Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS in our eyes?”  Jesus said God’s plan for saving sinners is marvelous, which means “worthy of pious admiration, admirable, excellent, passing human comprehension, causing amazement joined with terror, extraordinary, striking, surprising.”

Think on God’s marvelous plan for saving you and praise Him.

• His LIGHT is MARVELOUS.  First Peter 2:9, a favorite verse of mine because it defines the believer’s purpose states, “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His MARVELOUS LIGHT.”  We are to tell others of the excellencies of Christ and share the good news that they can live in His excellent, extraordinary, striking, surprising light.

Think. In what way are you fulfilling your divine purpose?

Friends, our Lord’s works, lovingkindness, salvation, and light is marvelous – extraordinary and amazing.  Spend time praising Him. Write out one of the above verses in the “Meditation, Notes, and Prayers” section of your Prayers of My Heart. Turn to the verse and meditate on it when you are moping rather than marvelous minded. Let His marvelous light do its transforming work.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are marvelous in Your work, love, kindness, salvation, and light. We celebrate, worship, and thank You!

                                                             

We like our freedom, right? We may have heard someone tout, “No one is going to tell me what to do!” Maybe we’ve said that. But, here’s some news that may shock you. God has the right to tell us what to do because He owns us. That’s right. He is our MASTER as Colossians 4:1 explains: “Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a MASTER in heaven,”  Yes, we have a MASTER. Does that please you or cause your hair to bristle?  What is the implication of you having a master? The word, “master” in Colossians 4:1 means “owner; one who has control of the person.” Maybe we’ve never thought about God owning us, but it isn’t a one-time teaching in the Bible. First Corinthians 6:10 explains we’ve been “bought with a price.” Romans 6:16 says we are slaves to sin or righteousness. Who do you prefer to be your master: satan or Jesus?  I bet you’re waving your hand for Jesus.

Let’s think further. Since Jesus is our Master, what should be our posture before Him? I wonder if we’re too flippant about our relationship with Him. I wonder if when we get to heaven and see Jesus in His glory if we’ll wish we had bowed before Him every morning and asked how we might serve Him. We have a MASTER in heaven. He’s a glorious, giving, gracious Master. Let’s serve Him well today with a smile on our face.

Heavenly Master, we worship and adore You and cannot wait to continue our worship of You in heaven. Remind us throughout our day to serve You well.