365 Days of Praise

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 could 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 be saved, rescued, from the domain of darkness and transferred to His kingdom. (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, turn to your Savior. 

Stand against the darkness by singing songs of praise to Jesus. 

Lift your hands and voice in praise to God. Claim your place as a child of the Kingdom of Light.

Lord Jesus, You are my RESCUER! I love You! Thank You for rescuing me and transferring me to Your kingdom. 

 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.

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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.

Psalm 46:1 reminds us that “God is our refuge, a very present help in trouble.” 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 enemy’s lies. So go to Him. Shelter under the truth of His love for you.

Lord, You are a REFUGE who shelters us from Satan’s lies, worldly deceptions, and life’s storms. Remind us to not stand in the rain of discouragement, but rather shelter under You.

The Lord is always present and wants us to talk to Him through prayer. Learn to pray more purposefully through Debbie’s book, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion.

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 we have nothing left to give? 

God answers our questions in Jeremiah 31:25: “I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes.”

The Lord is our refresher! 

Jesus echoes Jeremiah 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 Lord. We can drink deeply of His Word. We can be filled with His Spirit. We can be refreshed and our energy renewed to do what He calls us to do. What a joy. What a God!

Heavenly Father, my daily life often leaves me feeling drained. Thank You for being my REFRESHER. Fill me with Your presence so I am energized to serve You and others. 

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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, Malachi 3:3 has some encouraging words: “He [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 are included in the promise of being refined by our Lord. 

He will remove all sin from our lives. 

Jesus will purify us so we can stand before Him and the Father and present to Him righteous offerings.

Could anything be more wonderful? 

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for being the REFINER of my soul. I look forward to heaven when I stand sinless before You and present to You offerings in righteousness.

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Are you looking for peace and happiness? Do you want a better life? Only one person, our redeemer, has the holiness, wholeness, power, and grace to be our all in all.

Colossians 1:13-14 points out Christ’s role as our Redeemer.  “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. He is the only One able to transfer us to His kingdom. 

Yes, Jesus is the One able to rescue us, redeem us from sin and take us to the holy heights of heaven. So we look to the cross and our resurrected Lord. We turn to the Bible and anticipate Christ’s return. We know that as Jesus kept His Word and came 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!

Lord Jesus, REDEEMER, I’m closer to heaven today than I was yesterday. I’m closer to seeing Your incredible beauty. Thank You for rescuing me from the domain of darkness. I love You and pray Your light shines in my hearts and blesses others. 

Do you ever wonder if we’re in the end times? Would you like to learn more about the signs of the end times? Grab a copy of Debbie’s Bible study, End Times: What You Should Know, What You Can Do HERE. Access the free accompanying videos and podcasts HERE.

Have you noticed that people in our nation are often 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 looks 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? Romans 5:10 answers that question. “We were reconciled to God through the death of His Son.” It 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.

Jesus, mighty RECONCILER, thank You for reconciling me to God through Your death on the cross. I rejoice and praise You!

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Have you ever been driving and keeping your eyes on the road when suddenly a car came up too fast behind you? If so, do you remember the startling feeling? Do you remember hoping the driver would slow down rather than rear-end you?

Often, we speak of the Lord leading us, but Isaiah 52:12 also speaks of the Lord as watching out for our backs: “…the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.”

In Isaiah 52:12, God is referred to as a rear guard when the Israelites escaped Egyptian bondage. 

God is also our rear guard. He watches over us, leads us, and not until heaven will we know how many times He’s protected us from encroaching evil and danger. 

Just as it was important for Moses and the Israelites to pay attention to and follow God’s instructions, it’s important for us to pay attention and follow His instructions. 

How do God’s warnings and instructions come to us? They come through the Bible and the Holy Spirit’s promptings. 

How well are we paying attention to our Rear Guard?

Lord, thank You for being my REAR GUARD and for all the ways You watch over me and protect me. Help me be ever sensitive to Your warnings. I love You. 

In addition to being our rear guard, the Lord is also our fortress. Debbie discusses this further in her blog post, “A Good Place to Be.” To read the full post, click HERE. 

Did you see the movie, Ransom?

Mel Gibson played the father of the son who was kidnapped. There was no way the kidnapped son could free himself. The kidnappers demanded the father pay a certain price, a ransom, to get his son back.

That’s what our Heavenly Father did for us. 

We were captives in sin so our Heavenly Father gave Jesus as the ransom to pay for our freedom. 

Was it only our Father’s idea? No. First Timothy 2:6 says that Jesus was in one accord with the Father. “…Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.” 

Yes, our sweet Lord gave Himself as a ransom so we could be reunited with Him and our Heavenly Father forever.

How do we become free from sin? We say “yes” to the offer of Jesus being our ransom so we are released from captivity to sin and Satan.

Lord Jesus, I praise You, my RANSOM, my Lord. 

Would you like to learn more about how Jesus demonstrated His love for us as well as His command to love one another? Watch Debbie’s teaching on John 13 HERE.

Death. It seems so final. 

I’d 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.

What does Jesus want us to know about death? What did He prove when He raised Lazarus and others from the dead? 

Jesus wants us to know that death isn’t final. In fact, Jesus describes death as sleep. Just as someone rouses us from sleep by calling our name, Jesus will rouse us from death as He states in John 5:25. “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).

Isn’t it comforting to know that after you pass from this earth you will hear Christ’s voice and awake in His presence? 

There are no better, more comforting words we could hear. Who do you need to share them with?

Lord, who RAISES THE DEAD IN CHRIST, thank You for Your eternal promise that I will one day see You and my loved ones who have died in faith in You.

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“You look radiant.” Do people say that when they see you? Does the glow on your face cause them to comment? If you said no, neither has anyone said that about me. Guess who that is said about, though? Jesus. Hebrews 1:3 describes Him as “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature.”

The word “radiance” is only used 5 times in the Bible and each reference is to God. 

Commentator Vines defines God’s “radiance” as “shining forth, of a light coming from a luminous body.”

One day we will see Jesus in all His radiance. So remember that when things around you are dark. Jesus is radiant, not dark. Look to Him. Go through His attributes and the revelations of His divine character. Turn your face from the darkness to His glorious nature.

Nothing can extinguish Christ’s radiance. One glorious day we’ll join those who are living in God’s radiance. We’ll fall on our knees and worship Him. 

The day is coming when we will either go to Jesus or He returns through the clouds. Keep watching and living for Him.

Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus, my heart is overwhelmed when I think of how I will one day behold You in Your RADIANT glory. I praise You and look with anticipation to that day. 

Jesus is referred to as the Light several times in the book of John. Want to learn more? Watch this video clip of Debbie’s teaching on the subject.