365 Days of Praise
Hellooooooo! Are We Listening?
PRAISING JESUS, OUR HEALER! AFTER 9 MONTHS OF CHEMO, SURGERY, & RADIATION, I AM CANCER FREE! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS! CELEBRATING GOD’S GOODNESS!
When Moses first asked God what His name was, He replied, “I AM.” Then, after the Israelites “played the harlot” by worshiping a golden calf, the Lord made it clear that we are to live for Him and Him alone.
In Exodus 34:11-12, 14 God states, “Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day… Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst…. for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
God clearly says that His name is Jealous. It is not okay to put things or people before God. Ouch! Does that hit close to home because other things slip in before God? How do we know if that’s happened? One way is to look at our calendar. What is our priority every day? Is it to check the news, social media, or is it to check in with God by hearing from Him through His Word and worshiping Him?
Another way is to check our bank account. Where are we spending our money? Do we give first to God’s kingdom work knowing He will provide for our needs?
A third way to check if we are putting things before God is to consider what preoccupies our mind.
Yes, our thoughts, time, and money show God and us who and what we worship. When something or someone slips into God’s place, it is important we correct, not ignore, it.
Heavenly Father, You are a JEALOUS God. May I always worship You above all else.
As believers, we can often find that we want to put God first, but we struggle against our own human nature and habits. The Apostle Peter, who struggled more than once with his human nature, boldly encourages us that we have everything we need for life and godliness in 2 Peter 1:1-4. To listen to Debbie’s teaching on the subject, click HERE.
The Cherished Gift of Intimacy with God
FRIENDS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS DURING MY CANCER JOURNEY. I HAVE A PET AT 6:30 AM TO SEE THE RESULTS OF THE RADIATION. WE LOOK FORWARD TO CELEBRATING THE HEALING POWER OF GOD. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!
Are you familiar with the literary use of juxtapositions, which places two things close together to show the contrast? No doubt you’re familiar with Charles Dickens’ use of juxtaposition in A Tale of Two Cities; “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”
In Proverbs 3:32, the writer contrasts people who are devious with those who are upright. “For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright.”
This verse not only contrasts two types of people, but also notes the LORD’s response to them. God is intimate with the upright, indicating familiarity through closeness, conversation, mutual interests, and friendship. The literal translation of Proverbs 3:32 is, “His private counsel is with the upright.” Private counsel. Think about that and the incredible fact that God is willing and wants to give you private counsel.
Yes, God is intimate with the upright. He has intimate, private counsel and conversation with those who draw near to Him as James 4:8 reminds us. He listens to our prayers. God’s Spirit intercedes for us with “groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). No greater intimacy could be experienced.
Heavenly Father, INTIMATE Lord, I cherish my relationship with You. Thank You for not only being with me, but for being in me through Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for speaking to me through Your Word and still quiet voice. I love You!
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Someone Knows Your Heart, God’s Will Is Being Your Go Between
When God says something one time, we need to pay attention. When He says it twice in the same breath, we need to sit up and pay attention. Romans 8:26-27 is just such a case. Note how these two verses describe God the Spirit.
Verse 26: “Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
Verse 27: “And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Did you note how God the Spirit is described two times as One who intercedes for us?
Yes, first, Paul explains that the Spirit helps us by being an intercessor between us and God the Father.
Second, he explains that the Spirit searches our heart and as our “go-between” intercessor, prays for us according to the will of God.
If you ever have times you are burdened, confused, or at a loss about what to pray, quiet your heart in God’s presence.
Rest assured that the Holy Spirit, who is in you, will take the reins and intercede for you with groanings too deep for words.
Holy One, what joy and peace there is knowing that You are my INTERCESSOR. Thank You for searching my heart and interceding for me with groanings too deep for words.
The Holy Spirit is an intercessor and a helper for believers. To deepen your understanding of the Spirit, listen to Debbie’s podcast teaching: “Listen UP! 31 Points Every Christian Should Know About the Holy Spirit.”
When You Are at Your Wit’s End
Have you ever felt at your wit’s end…puzzled and perplexed about a situation? Perhaps you don’t know what to do with a child or your marriage. You may feel at your wit’s end in regard to a work situation or friendship. When we feel at our wit’s end it is often because we’ve exhausted our resources. We’ve tried everything we know to do and haven’t come up with a solution. Talking things over with a friend or family member hasn’t helped. Recommended books and resources haven’t provided the answer.
When we’re at our wit’s end, we do well to “stop, drop, and pray” as I write in “Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion.” Stop and drop to our knees. Why? If we’re already “dead in our tracks” about what to do, what better place and before whom could we better stop? We bow because we are humbly aware that we need a higher power and His name is Jesus Christ.
We stop and drop to our knees because we want to hear from the Lord, who says in Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go.”
We’re bowed and quiet, looking up for divine help. We’re listening to what some call a still small voice and is, in fact, the Holy Spirit speaking into our spirit.
If you’ve never tried it before, I encourage you to stop, drop, and pray, “Lord, instruct me and teach me the way I should go… with my job, with this project, with my child, in my marriage, with this health concern.”
Lord Jesus, my INSTRUCTOR, I love and adore You and thank You for the promise that You will instruct me and teach me the way in which I should go. Help me listen well.
Would you like to develop a deeper prayer life? Get a copy of Debbie’s book, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion, to learn how.
On this National Cancer Survivors Day, we pause to celebrate every survivor, and to give glory to our faithful Lord for healing Debbie of stage 3 lung cancer. Whether you’re a survivor, currently in the fight, or standing beside a loved one, may you know the hope, peace, and salvation found in Christ alone. If you don’t know Jesus and would like to learn more about Him, click HERE.
When You Question God’s Goodness
Have you questioned God’s goodness when He didn’t answer your prayers, or didn’t answer in the timing you wanted? If so, it helps to meditate on Isaiah 40:28 which reminds us of how much higher God’s ways are than ours. “The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.”
What does that verse have to do with God not answering our prayers or not in the way we want?
Isaiah points out that God’s understanding is inscrutable. The New International Version of the Bible states, “His understanding no one can fathom.” The New King James Bible states, “His understanding is unsearchable.”
In other words, when we pray and God doesn’t answer in the way we want or the timing we want, it has nothing to do with God’s goodness. Rather, it’s important to remember that God’s understanding of what we’ve prayed about is beyond our understanding, but not His. His understanding is “inscrutable;” limitless.
Trust and faith are essential not only in our profession of faith but also our daily walk and prayer life. We can trust God, whose understanding is inscrutable, beyond what we can understand. Will you trust Him today, knowing He is good?
Lord, Your understanding is INSCRUTABLE, beyond what I can fathom. Help me look to you in faith, trusting in Your goodness.
Are you facing disappointment or struggling with unmet expectations? Get a copy of The Plan A Woman in a Plan B World to discover how to take charge of your thoughts and let God reignite your hopes and dreams.
What to Do with Cat Clinging Guilt
Have you ever felt guilty? I have and It’s a horrible feeling. What do you do with guilt? You can’t hide it, shake it, or bury it. It clings to you like a cat with nails dug in, determined to not turn loose.
However, there is One who never experienced guilt…until He took ours upon Himself. Hebrews 7:26 says about Jesus, “For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens.”
Innocent. The description of Jesus in Hebrews 7:26 hangs in the mind. It reminds me of an infant nestled in their mother’s arms or a toddler giggling; one unstained by the world. The word for innocent, akakos, which describes Jesus in Hebrews 7:26 means without guile or fraud, harmless; free from guilt.
Jesus was the opposite of we who have known the right thing to do, yet not done it. We have opened Pandora’s box. We have crossed the line. We have had thoughts and said words we wish we could take back.
Have you ever tried to imagine what it was like for Jesus to be innocent and then experience your guilt; to feel dirty? That’s what Jesus did for us. Never question His love… “while we were yet sinners, He died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Instead of languishing in guilt over sin, Psalm 32:5 shows us the way to get rid of any cat clinging guilt: acknowledge and confess our sin.
Lord Jesus, INNOCENT Savior, thank You that when I acknowledge my sins to You and confess them, You forgive the guilt of my sin. I love and praise You.
Jesus demonstrated the greatest love when He died on the cross for our sins, bearing our guilt and shame. To learn more about His ultimate sacrifice on the cross, watch Debbie’s teaching on John 19 HERE.
Are Your Feet Dancing?
Can you imagine being told that a distant relative passed away and left you all his money? “That’s nice of Uncle Fred,” you say, thinking of his modest clothing and car. Then, the executor of the estate continues, “Congratulations. You’re a billionaire.” Stunned, you realize that you never knew how much Uncle Fred possessed.
Believers may be like that in relation to our inheritance in Christ. If so, consider how David recognized the Lord as his inheritance in Psalm 16:5, “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot.”
David is mindful of the ways the Lord is his inheritance and praises Him for what he has inherited in the Lord: His goodness (v. 2), His support (v. 5), His counsel and instruction (v. 7), His steadying presence (v. 8), eternal security (vv. 9-10), and resurrection to heaven’s joy (vv. 10-11).
Do we recognize the Lord as our inheritance and praise Him? If not, we can begin today because when Christ died, we were granted an inheritance in Him. First Peter 1:3-4 states, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”
The Lord Jesus, the resurrection from the dead, heaven, the right to the Tree of Life, and so much more is our inheritance. Are your feet dancing and hands praising the Lord?
Lord, You are my INHERITANCE. I love, worship, and rejoice in you! Thank You! Thank you!
Want to learn more about the imperishable inheritance believers have in Christ? Watch this video clip of Debbie’s teaching on the subject.
When No One Understands You
Do you ever feel like no one understands you – truly understands you?
Or perhaps you have thought, “I can’t understand how you could…” in regard to another person’s actions or words?
No doubt, as much as we may love or know someone, we can never get inside another person’s head. Nor can they totally understand us. But God can.
Psalm 147:5 says, “Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite.”
The word, infinite, in this passage means innumerable. In other words, the Lord’s understanding of us and everything in the world in time and space is limitless. It is endless and impossible to measure. And the most amazing thing is He loves us.
How can we not run to Him in love and gratitude? Why would we not talk to Him about everything on our heart and mind, knowing He understands us and our situation? Why would we not quietly wait and listen for God’s instructions and guidance? (By the way, when you talk things over with God, it helps to have your Bible so when He stirs your heart you can look up the verses He brings to mind.) It also helps to have pen and journal so you can write down how He instructs you.
When no one understands, remember that God does and He loves you. Run to Him. Pray to Him. Listen to Him. Obey Him.
Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ, You have INFINITE UNDERSTANDING. Thank You for loving me and guiding me.
Would you like an organized way to record what God is speaking to you? Grab a copy of Prayers of My Heart prayer journal to write down what God places on your heart.
The Indescribable Gift
Have you ever been called a “gift” because of who you are and what you give to others?
Second Corinthians 9:15 describes Jesus as a gift. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.”
Why would Paul refer to Jesus as an indescribable gift? Jesus is a gift because He gives us salvation as Ephesians 2:8 explains. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”
Why would Paul use the word indescribable in reference to Christ? Because there are no human words that can portray the awfulness of hell from which He rescued us nor the heights and delights of heaven to which He delivered us. Not until heaven will we fully grasp the gift of salvation.
In the meantime, God’s gift of Christ is already being unwrapped day by day as He extends grace, mercy, forgiveness, and the Holy Spirit to us to be our guide, helper, and comforter.
As we read and meditate on each of God the Father’s, Son’s, and Spirit’s attributes, we more fully appreciate the indescribable gift we have in Christ and our salvation.
Who do you know who could use this indescribable gift? Will you tell them all you have, love, and appreciate about the Lord Jesus? It is when they see in you and hear you speak of Him and the gift He is to you that they will yearn to also have the indescribable gift.
Thank You, Heavenly Father and Jesus, God’s INDESCRIBABLE GIFT. Help me to be a messenger of Your gift to others.
Do you know someone in your life who needs to hear about God’s indescribable gift of Jesus? Send them this link: “Meet Jesus…Experience His Grace.”
Incorruptible
Have you ever had a cavity, a tooth that decayed? If so, you know it isn’t a good thing. Can you imagine the eternal consequences if Jesus’ body had decayed in the tomb? It’s what the Jewish leaders and Roman officials expected. It’s what many in our day claim happened to Jesus.
Why do people not believe that Jesus was bodily raised from the dead? To admit that Jesus’ body did not undergo decay would mean admitting He is God. People who don’t want to bow to Jesus deny He was resurrected; for that would make Him God.
Romans 1:18-25 points out that there are people who don’t want to be accountable to God. It also points out the consequences for such people.
“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Romans 1:21).
“Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them” (Romans 1:25).
“For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie…” Yes, God gives people over to their own demise who exchange the truth for a lie.
Jesus is the incorruptible, risen Lord to whom we are each accountable.
Jesus, I worship You, INCORRUPTIBLE LORD. May I represent You well so people see and believe You are the risen Christ.
Want to learn more about Jesus’ resurrection and the eternal implications for us? Watch Debbie’s teaching on John 20 HERE or listen to it HERE.
Happy Memorial Day! Today, we remember with deep gratitude those who gave their lives in service to our country, as well as their families.