Tag Archives: praise

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When It Doesn’t Look Good

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I Chronicles 29:10-12 (KJV), “Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.”

Sometimes life throws us a curve ball or Satan gives us a sucker punch. There are even times that we have gotten ourselves in a fine mess and things aren’t looking so good. It’s easy to start the pity party, to seclude ourselves from others, or worse find everyone we know and whine and complain about how rotten our lives are. I’ve done it. It’s our “hour of flesh” that sometimes lasts days. What a way to glorify God, Huh? Who wants to be part of a kingdom whose subjects are not happy campers. By our self indulged pity parties we are showing our lack of faith in He Who IS Faithful…

So what is a brother or sister to do in these times? Well, first if you have already started the party I just mentioned, repent! Then, if you don’t have anything nice to say, shut up! Take command over your mouth and don’t let it say another thing that may tarnish God’s reputation. Finally, think on His goodness. The Bible is full of scriptures that rehearse and meditate, sing about and praise Him. Find then and get them past your head into your heart.

Psalms 103:2-4 (ESV), “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, ho heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Remind yourself that you can bring your problems to God, yes, even that mess we made ourselves. He will help. He promised He would and He always keeps His promise. It may not be when we want or even how we want, but He always comes through. He’s our Father, through the shed blood of Christ we have been given the privilege to come boldly into His throne room just as our children never have to fear coming to us for help.

Psalms 46:1 (Aramaic Bible In Plain English), “Our God is our strong house of refuge, and he is found to us our helper always in times of trouble.”

Hebrews 4:16 (NIV), “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

One of the most important things we can do when things don’t look good, is change what we are looking at. Look to Him, look at Him, look at His creation, and then praise Him for who He is, what He has done, and what He is doing in your situation right now.

Psalm 113 (NLV), “Praise the Lord! Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the name of the Lord now and forever. Everywhere—from east to west—praise the name of the Lord. For the Lord is high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens. Who can be compared with the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high? He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth. He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, even the princes of his own people! He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother. Praise the Lord!”

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I Am Fully Yours

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Psalms 96 (AMP), “O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless (affectionately praise) His name; show forth His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be reverently feared and worshiped above all [so-called] gods. For all the gods of the nations are [lifeless] idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord, O you families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering and come [before Him] into His courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; tremble before and reverently fear Him, all the earth. Say among the nations that the Lord reigns; the world also is established, so that it cannot be moved; He shall judge and rule the people righteously and with justice. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all the things which fill it; Let the field be exultant, and all that is in it! Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy.” Before the Lord, for He comes, for He comes to judge and govern the earth! He shall judge the world with righteousness and justice and the peoples with His faithfulness and truth.”

Do you ever, like David, think about who God is, His magnificent, awesome, powerful, mind-blowing character? Then think about how small and fragile we are? I do. Yes, He is my Dad. I can be real with Him and He can be real with me. Just like He was real with David. Once when reading through the psalms I thought to myself, “David was kind of a whiner.” You know what God said to me? He said, “Kind of like you.” That wasn’t God being angry with me, or even His correction. It was my Dad being real with me. I swear I heard Him chuckle when He said it. So even though we are close and I am getting for familiar with Him every day, I have to still remember Who He Is. He is God. C.S. Lewis in the “Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe” puts it this way, when the children are in the Beaver’s home, one of them ask about Aslan, the lion who represents Jesus, “Is he safe?” Mr. Beaver answered, spluttering in exclamation, “Safe! Safe? No, He is not safe…but He is good.” He isn’t “tame.” He is wild and extravagant. He’s the wave pool, not the lazy river. He’s every adrenaline junkies dream.

But He is good. He is on our side and He loves you!

Father, I am overwhelmed by Your love! You made the worlds and set the stars, the suns, and the moons in the sky. You placed the deep waters in the earth and called forth all live. You created, in minute detail, every flower petal, every rain drop, and every downy feather on the swan. Yet, Your mind is full of me. You own everything, the cattle on a thousand hills, the very air I breathe. Yet, You gave your life’s blood to purchase me. I am fully Yours.

I was held hostage by the enemy, was a slave to my own sin. I was covered in my own blood, ragged and dirty, filled with sorrow and shame, when You came to me and covered me with Your robe of righteousness. You called me Your “Beloved,” and accepted me into Your family. You have cherished me as a loving Father, pursued me as a faithful lover, and taken care of me as a trustworthy husband. I am fully Yours.

You have captivated my heart and You alone know my inward most parts. You can discern the thoughts and intents of my heart. Preserve me in Your righteousness. Hold me in Your love. Deliver me in Your mercy and Grace. Uphold me in Your Justice. I will praise you all of my days. I will serve You with a full heart. I will faithfully pursue the calling You have placed on my life and generously give to those You love. I am fully Yours.

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Prayer To My Father

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Dear Father (Father of my heart, love, life, peace, salvation, hope, dreams, provision, health, and family),
I love God! My heart is full of love for you. I am thankful and grateful that you adopted me! You’ve cleansed me from all my unrighteous acts, delivered me from every curse and every yoke of bondage, those of my own making and those that came with my family ties. You have set me free from the law. You have made me an heir and a joint heir with Christ. I am seated with Him in heavenly places, because of my acceptance in the beloved. Because you are a loving Father, Faithful and Trustworthy, because Your Word is true, You watch over it to perform it in my life. you have sent your angels, your ministering spirits, to minister according to your perfect will, the plans and the purposes, you have for my life. You have placed a hedge of protection around me, your angels guard round about me, day and night. Because I am your child, no weapon formed against me will prosper, and every tongue raised against me, to accuse me or curse me, is already condemned! Even what the devil has planned and prepared for my harm you, in your grace and mercy, have turned it around for my good. Who is like you, Oh God? There is none other. Only you have creative power. Only you can save. Only you can change our hearts and minds and conform us into the image of Christ. You alone are worthy of all praise, honor and glory… and you are my Father. You call me your child. Let my life glorify you.
In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.