365 Days of Praise
Praise to Christ, a SACRIFICE to GOD
“…walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a SACRIFICE to God as a fragrant aroma .”
Has anyone ever sacrificed something for you? Have they sacrificed sleep so you could sleep? Have they sacrificed advancing so you could? Have they sacrificed their plans so you could do yours? Sacrifice. Sometimes we may sacrifice, but do so begrudgingly. We can tend to look out for ourselves. But Jesus did the opposite. He willingly SACRIFICED His life as a fragrant aroma for us. He thought of us, not Himself.
Lord Jesus, thank You for willingly giving up Your glory, Your comfort, Your life for us; for being a SACRIFICE to God on our behalf so that we can live in heaven.
Praise to the Lord, Our Sabbath Rest
“So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His” (Hebrews 4:9-10).
I’m tired! I’m tired of work. I’m tired of the tension in my life. I’m tired of struggling. I’m tired of taking care of…. How would you finish the sentence? God understands. He gets it.
The Bible makes a point that God rested on the seventh day after creating the world. One of the Ten Commandments is to keep the Sabbath Day as a holy day and to cease from work on it. Jesus’ work of gaining our salvation on the cross resulted in our not working for salvation; but rather resting in what Christ accomplished on the cross.
God cares about you being weary. We will one day enter God’s ultimate provision of His presence – an eternal Sabbath rest. Until then, we can thank God that life won’t always be so hard. We can thank Jesus for paving the way for our future rest. And, we can prayerfully ponder Matthew 11:28-30. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Lord, thank You for the eternal SABBATH REST we have in You. Thank You that even though our day is spinning out of control, we can come to You and find rest.
Praise to the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth
“Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth” (Revelation 1:5).
Do you sometimes wonder about our world and what the future holds? Revelation 1:5 gives us great comfort. It reminds us to look heavenward in confidence to the ruler of the kings of the earth.
While things may seem (or be) chaotic in regard to the rulers of our earth; there is One who is the supreme ruler. He reigns with justice and mercy. All praise to our Heavenly King!
Lord Jesus Christ, what a glorious blessing to know that this world is not spinning out of control. You are enthroned, RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH.
Praise to the ROSE of SHARON
“I am the ROSE of SHARON, the lily of the valleys.”
I’ll be honest. Until a few years ago, I didn’t understand why Jesus is referred to as the ROSE OF SHARON. Then, scholar Herbert Lockyer shed light on the subject for me. “Amongst flowers, the rose always and everywhere, with us now and still more in the East and of old, has held the foremost rank; and amongst the rose, the ROSE OF SHARON was chief. In the words of an ancient author, ‘If a king were set over flowers, it would be the rose that should reign over them, being the ornament of the earth, the splendor of plants, the eye of flowers, the beauty of the field.’ So, Christ’s title, Rose of Sharon, calls to our attention the splendor of Christ, His heavenly fragrance, and kingly display of love and beauty.
Lord Jesus, You are the ROSE of SHARON; the fragrant aroma of heaven. We love and adore You!
*Herbert Lockyer, “All the Divine Names and Titles in the Bible,” Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, page 247.
Praise to the ROOT and DESCENDENT of DAVID
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
David was Israel’s illustrious king. Here, Jesus points out that He is David’s descendant. His earthly ROOT can be traced to him. But He is more. He is God. If you keep reading in Revelation 22:16, Jesus continues by saying that although His earthly lineage can be traced to King David; He is more than man. He is the bright morning star; the heavenly light we are to follow. If you don’t have a personal relationship with Christ, learn more about how you can HERE.
ROOT & DESCENDANT of DAVID, bright morning star, we praise, worship, and love You.
ROCK of Our SALVATION
“O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.”
Thank God for being RIGHTEOUS in an Evil Day
“Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My RIGHTEOUS right hand”
Tragic. Frightening. Unreal. Evil. Anger. Fear. Hopelessness. Horror. Sickening. Unfair. Senseless. Panic. What words well up in you when you think about Stephen Paddock opening fire and mass murdering 59 innocent people and injuring over 500 others? We can evacuate cities when Hurricanes are predicted. But we can’t predict when evil will raise its ugly head. Everyone is asking, “What can we do?” No one has the answer for how to prevent another mass murder. Our Heavenly Father understands our fear. He promises to strengthen us and help us. How? In the midst of evil, terror, and natural disasters, a RIGHTEOUS powerful hand holds the believer. God is RIGHTEOUS and we must turn to Him in this evil day. Sign up HERE to get my upcoming monthly Faith Nugget, “Being a Good Soldier in the Battle Against Evil.”
Heavenly Father, thank You that in this evil day, You are RIGHTEOUS.
photo by David Becker
Praise God who is RICH in MERCY
“But God, being RICH IN MERCY, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),”
What powerful words these are! If someone has ever made you mad or hurt you or a loved one, then you may know what it’s like to feel resentment or harbor negative feelings toward the person. Yet, God doesn’t harbor resentment toward us. He doesn’t hold a grudge against us. Rather, on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, He forgives us and separates our sin as far as the east is from the west. God is RICH IN MERCY. How does knowing that cause you to live gratefully before Him?
Lord, we praise You and thank You for being RICH IN MERCY! What a wonderful God you are! Quicken us to imitate You and be rich in mercy towards others.
Praise to God, the REWARDER
“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.”
Do you ever think about pleasing God? Did you know that it is possible to please God? Hebrews 11:5 states that Enoch was “pleasing to God.” I can’t think of a more admirable thing to be said of a person than that they please God. I long for it to be said that I pleased God. I know you do, too. How can we please God? Believe Him. Believe that He is going to reward our coming to Him in faith. Then, go to Him in faith. Take to Him that which is overwhelming you, causing you to fear, looming like an impossible project, causing you despair. Go to Him and ask Him to miraculously fill and equip you to handle whatever He’s permitted in your life. Know, that by faith, you’ll experience His glorious equipping and empowerment to see it through. Today, in the little and big things, we can please God; knowing that He is a REWARDER of THOSE WHO SEEK HIM..
Lord God, REWARDER OF THOSE WHO SEEK YOU, we seek You. We come to YOU in faith. May we please YOU as we walk through our day, being obedient to follow Your quiet, still voice.
Praise to Christ, the RESURRECTION & LIFE
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the RESURRECTION and LIFE; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,’”
Why do you think Jesus described Himself in so many ways when He walked the earth? Why do you think He repeated Himself with only a few changes in wording? Was it because we needed to hear again and again WHO He is? Heaven is a real place and followers of Christ who are no longer with us are alive in Heaven. Believers on earth are headed to eternal life in heaven. All because Jesus is the RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. As Christ was raised, we’ll be raised. Pause and meditate on Christ’s words and that He wants us to have assurance that this life is not all there is. So much awaits us in heaven, and for that, we rejoice!
Lord, You are the RESURRECTION and the LIFE. We pray our life points others to You.