365 Days of Praise

In the last several years, there has been an increase in the number of people wanting to know about their ancestors. However, genealogy has always been important in the Bible. For instance, consider the first verse of the first chapter of the first book of the New Testament, Matthew 1:1. It says, “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

Just in case someone might doubt Jesus’ rightful place as heir to King David’s throne, His lineage is recorded for the next twenty-five verses. Yes, Jesus is the Son of God, but He is also the Son of David. Among the many important implications, it is important to recognize that Jesus knows what it is to live in human skin –  to need a nap, to feel tears roll down His cheek, and to thirst as He hung on the cross. Jesus’ genealogy is well proved and we will one day see Him sitting on His throne.

SON OF DAVID, we praise You for willingly leaving Your heavenly home to put on flesh and live among us. We love and adore You.

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Are you dragging through your day singing the blues? If so, that can change. You see, we have a choice about the music and songs we play in our head as we walk through our day. In Exodus 15:2, Moses tells us the music that empowered his walk.

“The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him.”

The word “song” in this verse can mean music or melody. In effect, Moses says, “The Lord is my melody. He’s the music to which I walk through my day.” What music or words play in your head as you go about your day? We can make the choice to tune our hearts to God’s voice and walk through our day singing His praises. Will we?

Our Heavenly Father has a goal: to cleanse us of sin. Malachi 3:3 says, “He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.”

Malachi 3:3 explains that God sits as a smelter, or a refiner, watching over us as the heat of daily life, trials, and sufferings cause impurities to rise to the surface. He wants for us to be increasingly purified so we better reflect Christ.

What happens when sin glaringly rises in life? We have the opportunity to be appalled and confess the sin. Are things heating up in your life? If so, be assured that your Heavenly Father is close to you and watching over you. He hears your prayers and confessions. And, has anyone told you? You are reflecting Him more every day.

Lord, thank You, SMELTER of our mind, spirit, and soul. Purify us so we reflect Your image. 

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

God is a shelter. As Psalm 91:1 says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

From what does He shelter us? Snares. Enemies. Evil. How does He shelter us? He calls us to Himself. Just as we might call a child in from a hailstorm, God calls to us, “Come to Me.”

His Word shelters us from wayward thinking. His righteousness shelters us from falling for temptation. God is a shelter to the one who stays close to Him.

Have you ever been separated from someone and you desperately wanted to be with them? Whether the separation is due to death, divorce, disease, or distance, the pain of not being able to be with or even get in touch with a loved one is indescribable. “Indescribable.” That’s the word people often use when attempting to explain their loss, suffering, and sadness.

Jesus understands such depth of emotion. He loves us and created us to live in union with Him. Indescribable love drove Him from heaven’s glory to earth to seek and to save us. Jesus, separated from sinners, crossed the chasm between heaven’s glory and earth. He offers His outstretched hand to save us for eternity and to save us daily. How tightly are we holding to Him?

“For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26).

Sides. Children learn the concept of “sides” at a young age. They’re on this side or that side of the field depending on their team. They learn about historical battles and those who fought on each side. The Bible tells us that there are spiritual sides. God is on one side and the devil is on the other side. They are battling over our souls.

Ephesians 6:16 tells us how to extinguish the devil’s flaming arrows. We’re reminded that we’re not in this battle alone. Our Heavenly Father is the Captain of our side. He wins the war against Satan because of Jesus who Isaiah 49:2 describes as a  Select Arrow sent straight from God’s quiver to destroy the works of the devil and save our soul.

“He has also made Me a select arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver” (Isaiah 49:2).

Take courage. You may be in a skirmish, but if you’re a follower of Christ you’re on the right side.

Lord Jesus, God’s SELECT ARROW, thank You for coming to earth to destroy the works of the devil and take us to Your side. We love and praise You!

Want to learn more about living a victorious Christian life? Watch Debbie’s teaching on Acts 28 : The 7 Characteristics of People Who Are More than Conquerors. 

Did you ever play Marco Polo in the swimming pool? I have fond memories of playing it with my sister, Vicki. We’d take turns closing our eyes and calling out, “Marco.” The other one would respond, “Polo,” then swim away to avoid being tagged.

Some of us may think of Jesus as one who is blindly searching for us when we call out to Him. That is far from the case. Jesus has His eyes on us and is waiting for us to call on Him. Jesus is the seeker of the lost. As He explains in Luke 19:10,  He came to earth to seek and to save. He sees you. He sees your unsaved loved ones. He’s calling all to come to Him for salvation.

The Gospel of John is full of examples of Jesus seeking and saving the lost. It also recounts the death and resurrection of Jesus, which made a way for all to come to Him for salvation. Access Debbie’s free online Bible study of John HERE.

We all know what we mean when we say, “I don’t have it in me to…,” then we complete the thought. “I don’t have it in me to change.” “I don’t have it in me to keep working this hard.”

It’s important for us to recognize if we do or don’t have something in us. At the top of our checklist should be if we have the life of Christ in us. We either do or we don’t, and 2 Corinthians 13:5 advises every person to test themselves to see if they do. You see, going to church, enjoying nature, or being a nice person doesn’t make a person a Christian. A Christian is someone who has Christ “in” them. ChristIaN.

How do we get Christ in us? In Genesis 3:15, Jesus is prophetically referred to as “the seed of the woman.” As we sow a seed into the ground so a plant can spring forth, we receive the seed of Christ’s Holy Spirit into our spirit. God does the work. He sows His seed into our spirit when we come to Jesus by faith and confess Him as Lord and Savior. Why would we come to Jesus? Because we don’t have it in us to be who God created us to be. If we want to go to heaven when we die, then we need His Holy Spirit in us. If we want to live the life our heart desires, then we need His Holy Spirit in us.

The question is, do we or don’t we have Christ (the Holy Spirit) in us? It’s a consideration that has consequences eternally and now. Christians have the power and ability to live above our circumstances. Christians have the power to overcome our addictions and habits. Don’t believe the lie that you can’t change if Christ is IN you. The truth is – Christ IN you means all things are possible.