30 Days of Praise Day 19 I Thessalonians 5:18

In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus

Since we went to church last night and the time spent before it was taken up with cleaning, errands, etc, I felt a strong conviction this morning to actually take a Sabbath day. You know...relax, rest, sit quietly. Three things I am horrible at. Throughout the day I've been chomping at the bit-to go do this, go run, get ahead for the week...DO something! Instead I chose to obey the still, soft voice of my Savior wooing me to spend the day with Him. And I'm glad I listened! I've spent most of the day in bed reading Tim Tebow's book Through My Eyes and what an incredible inspiration it was! Tebow's influence for Jesus has been wide and far reaching in his young life. Each chapter starts with a Scripture, this one being one of them. I love the analogies that football lend to real life, because on and off the field, we face battles. We get hit, blocked, and even hurt in our everyday lives, face opponents that are bigger than we are, just like football players do on the field. I think sometimes as Christians we expect everything to be rosy and for us to somehow be exempt from hard times. God doesn't promise that, but He does promise that he will be with us to the ends of the earth and that His power in us will overcome the world. He also tells us His WILL for us during these times is to give thanks. Wow. So if you're ever wondering what God's will for you is, this verse is a good place to start. That means we give thanks when we're grieving or when we're happy, when we don't understand what God's doing in our circumstances, whether we win or lose, whether or not we get ahead at work, whether we get what we're asking God for or not. IN EVERYTHING, give thanks.

30 Days of Praise-Day 18 "Offering" by Third Day

Magnificent Holy Father
I stand in awe of all I see
Of all the things You have created
But still You choose to think of me

Who am I that You should suffer
Your very life to set me free
The only thing that I can give You
Is the life You gave to me

This is my offering, dear Lord
This is my offering to You, God
And I will give You my life
For it’s all I have to give
Because You gave Your life for me

I stand before You at this altar
So many have given You more
I may not have much I can offer
Yet what I have is truly Yours

This is my offering

30 Days of Praise Day 17-Psalm 52:9

I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

Today has been a tough day. It's such a strange phenomenon to go from feeling joyful, close to the Lord and at peace to struggling, doubting, and going through the day with a heavy heart. My only explanation for this is that the enemy wants nothing more than to steal our joy, our passion and our love for the Lord. So especially in the midst of sweet times of intimacy with our God, he brings attacks in all forms. If we are not consistent in our devotions and "arm" ourselves with the Sword of Truth, we are easy targets.

This verse reminds me of how amazing God is. We are spiritual beings with an eternal need to praise our Creator...not only for what He has done but what He is going to do. Since His name is perfect and without flaw, I will put my hope in it. He is Deliverer, Conqueror and in me, is greater than he who is in the world. I cling to that truth during these times of attack, and regardless of how I "feel" I will continue to praise Him!

30 Days of Praise-Day 16 Hebrews 13:15

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name.

My heart hurts a little bit today. As with all of us, there are good days during a struggle or test of faith, and there are bad days. So, instead of turning to my own self-pity (which isn't much comfort anyway) or allowing myself to fall down a spiral of doubt, I am choosing to turn to the Lord and His truth.

I thought this verse was appropriate because it says that we are to "continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise." Meaning, we are not always going to FEEL like praising God, but we are to do so anyway. If our current circumstances are not conducive to naturally praising the Lord, we are sacrificing when we still continue to thank Him and recognize Him for who He is. We exercise our faith in this way, because we put our hope in the truth of God's promises rather than focusing on the temporary suffering we're enduring. He will work things out together for good for those who love Him, He does have plans for us, He does love us.

So "through Jesus" and His strength, love, and comfort, today I am uttering the deepest praise and gratitude for everything in my life-including the pain.

30 Days of Praise Day 15-Blessed Be Your Name

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

30 Days of Praise-Day 14 Psalm 51:15-17

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

I love David. He, like most of the other men and women that God chose to include in His Word, is so real and genuine. He wasn't a super Christian, or perfect or un-relateable on some pedestal. In fact, he committed adultery and then had the woman's husband murdered so he could have her. And God had to deal with his sin. This Psalm is his response to that and his confession of his wrong-doing after Nathan the prophet made him see the error of his ways through a parable. I love how he says "Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise", as if the praises of God were so overflowing in him that just by opening his lips, one would fall out. Even in the midst of his sin and brokenness, he was praising God.

A "broken spirit" is what God requires of us when assessing our own sin. We are to confess it to Him and experience a godly sorrow over it; not condemnation, as that is never the will of God. But when we're convicted, we are also broken and need to come to the Lord for healing and restoration. Which leads me to my other favorite passage in this Psalm:

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me (vs. 10-12)

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Chuck Smith had something interesting to say about these verses found earlier in the chapter:

So the prayer for the restoring of the joy of salvation. It is amazing the way sin can just rob you. Unconfessed sin can just rob you of God's joy in your life. There are so many Christians who are borderline Christians. They try to live as close to the world and still be a Christian as they can, and they are always just trying to find out just how close that is. Always experimenting. Just living on the edge. Flirting with the other side. And they have the dilemma of having too much of Christ to be happy in the world, but too much of the world to be happy in Christ. "Restore unto me Lord, the joy of my salvation. And uphold me with Your free Spirit."

My prayer today is first that I would be so enamored with my Lord, so accutely aware of His greatness, that praises would just flow out of my mouth (figuratively-in my actions and words to others, etc) when I open it. Second, I want the joy of my salvation restored to me. I want all the cares of the world to be absorbed by the loving caresses of my Heavenly Father and to be free of worry, doubt, shame, guilt of past and present sins. I want to experience what true joy is...despite what's happening around me.

30 Days of Praise-Day 13 Psalm 100:4

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Thank you for this day Lord! Help me to honor you in it with my thoughts, actions and speech.

30 Days of Praise-Day 12 Accolades

I praise you Lord for all you have done in my life. I give you glory and honor for who you are-the First and Last, Beginning and the End, Mighty God, Emmanuel. I thank you and praise you for the trials that I'm experiencing right now in my life, for I know that you are using them for my good. Please burn away any bonds that have a hold on me as I go through this fire and help me to draw nearer to You. My greatest plea is that I would know you more, that your will would be done, that you would fill my life with your presence and strengthen my faith so that it will never be shaken.

I thank you for all the blessings I have in my life. I thank you for my amazing husband, my job, my church, my family, friends, for food in my stomach, money in the bank, for this perfect fall day. I love you Jesus. I give you all the glory both now and forever more.

30 Days of Praise Day 11-Psalm 139:13-16

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Being a woman in our strive-to-be-perfect society can be overwhelming sometimes. The pressure to have the perfect body, clothes, hair, makeup, house, etc. comes at us from every angle in our Babylon-like culture. It's nice to have the reminder that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" no matter what size of jeans wear, how nice our hair is or if we never can quite get that last 10 lbs off. God "sees" us, his children; in fact, He loved us so much that before we even took form in the womb or took our first breath, all of our days were written in His book. If that's not a God of love, I don't know what is.

Today I'm praising God for the fact that I am a beautiful daughter of Christ, clothed in perfect robes of righteousness. He saw what he has made and it is GOOD.

30 Days of Praise-Day 10 Psalm 19:1-3

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.

I wrote a poem about these verses while I was still "SLH" (Shanna Lynn Hazard). I thought it would be appropriate to share since in my life the Lord has done all of these things. To God be all the glory!

The morning skies proclaim God’s glory
The warm pinks and oranges splashed across their expanse
Remind of promises and mercies anew
Gone is the cold dark night
Replaced with the beauty of the Son
Gone are the days in murky blackness
For a new Dawn has risen
He has come to free the captives
From their painful bonds
The chains and rags that bind
His precious lambs
He has come to save the lost
Calling their names
Through the steep and dangerous
Hills of their sin and doubt
Determined to pursue until they come back to the flock
He has come to pour the fragrant oil of gladness
On dry, parched hearts,
To give new life where there was once death
To be living Water so those who drink will thirst no more
He has come to give his children new names
No longer to be defined by anything other than what He’s made
Chosen ones, beloved children, saints of God, followers of Christ
He has come to bring truth
Through the muddled confusion of our times
Slicing through the cobwebs with his brilliant Word
Letting in the light
We breathe Him in with every breath
He is in every molecule, everything that’s beautiful
He’s waiting to fill the hole that He created
In those who refuse to acknowledge Him
Those who seek and lust after empty pleasures
When the Lord of all Creation is asking them
If He can come and eat at their tables
If He can show them all He wants to give them
If He can bring the life that He so longs to give
If He can heal their pain, lift them out of their ruts
And take them into life eternal.
He’s knocking…and waiting for an answer…

SLH 12/27/05

30 Days of Praise-Day 9 Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Part of praising God is recognizing and remembering who He was, is and always will be.

Wonderful Counselor:
Another word for "wonderful" that I've read in a couple commentaries is "miraculous". So He is a God of miracles and great power. In Jesus we have a Savior who is there to comfort us, to take upon Himself all of our hurts, cares, struggles and burdens. Yet even in the midst of doing so offering us the true counsel of His word to keep us strong and moving towards healing.

Mighty God:
He is a God who's hand spans the universe, who's robe train fills the temple with glory, who defeated sin and death with "the joy" of the cross set before Him so that we could be with Him in heaven. He is able to defeat any foe, conquer any hardship and deliver us from all temptations. He is a God worthy of our worship.

Everlasting Father:
Some of us have not had fathers that are everlasting. We don't know what that means. Some may have left physically and yet some emotionally, and the end result is that our view of God the Father is skewed. We apply the characteristics of our earthly fathers to the perfect Father in heaven and we are hindered in our relationship with Him. We must apply truth to who He is and who He's proven Himself to be. He is a Father who loves His children, is never-changing, never sleeps or slumbers and in His Word promises to be with us always, even to the ends of the earth. Even better, we will have Him for eternity with no more tears or pain or humanity getting in the way of the love between a Father and a child.

Prince of Peace:
Unfortunately this world is darkened by evil and thus warfare and strife. When Christ comes back, He will establish peace on this earth. This is something that we can look forward to. On a smaller scale, when the winds and waves of my trials seem to be overtaking me, all Christ has to do is speak "Be still" and my heart is full of peace and quiet.

30 Days of Praise-Day 8 Psalm 40:3

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

The verses that preceed this one are important to keep in mind to put this into context:

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

Isn't it true that out of the slimiest pits come the greatest praises? Whether the mud or mire we're experiencing is a difficult trial or a consequence of sin, God is always there to make things new. He puts a new song in our mouths and even though we might have made a mess of things, what's even more incredible is that our lives can actually be used as a witness to others.

What an amazing, powerful God we serve! He is the author of all restoration and redemption, even when we're broken or covered in dirt and stuck in a rut. There is no situation too hard for him, no one too far gone for Him to save. All we have to do is cry out to Him and then wait patiently...which might be the most challenging part about these verses!

30 Days of Praise-Day 7 Daniel 2:19-23

During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king."

I am really enjoying my Beth Moore Daniel Bible Study. Any study in the Word is amazing and leads to peace, righteousness and a better relationship with God. But for some reason, Daniel has been extra rich in my life.

In this particular passage, Nebuchadnezzar has threatened to kill all the wise men of Babylon because none of them could tell him what his dream was and then interpret it for him. That is, except for Daniel. After urgent praying with his friends, God reveals not only the dream the king had but its interpretation, thus sparing multiple lives. Verses 19-23 of Daniel 2 are an outpouring of thanks to God for his wisdom, power and "illumination" of the situation (vs. 22's "And the light dwells with Him").

I love that Daniel gives all the credit to the Lord immediately. Nothing was done in his own power except urgently praying and then waiting to hear from the Lord about this mystery. If we truly believe that God is who He says He is, we can trust in the fact that He will reveal to us the deep and hidden things we ask of Him, give us wisdom and discerning and will answer our prayers one way or another. The key to all of those things is urgent and consistent prayer.

30 Days of Praise-Day 6 Psalm 42:11

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

I thought I would reference a commentary for today's verse. Chuck Smith always has great things to say in his commentaries and I have copied his words below:

It is important that you be honest with God. You are never going to deceive Him. You are never going to fool Him. And if you are upset, confess it. Be honest with God. "Oh God, my soul is disquieted within me." There are some people who say, "How is everything going?" "Oh great, just great, great, great." But in reality they are just covering, because things are going horribly and they are really upset. They are at their wits' end. They don't know what to do. And yet, they put up a good front. And we sometimes carry this over with God. But it is best to be honest with God. "God, I am so upset. My soul is disquieted. It is cast down. That's one of the things that people quite often cast at the Christian when something goes wrong. "Where was your God when that tragedy happened? Where was your God?" As though God is supposed to deliver us from every problem in our lives. God doesn't promise to deliver you from every problem. In fact, there is a promise that you don't really like that says, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous" (Psalm 34:19). I hate that promise. I don't like afflictions. And in afflictions people are always saying, "Well, where was your God then? Where is your God when children are starving to death in Cambodia? Where is your God when earthquakes happen in Algeria? Where is your God when Mount St. Helens blows its top? Where is your God?" It does get discouraging sometimes when we don't have answers.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? why are thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God (Psa 42:11).

Hey, I am going to come through. One of these days I will be praising God even for this trial that I am presently enduring. I will yet praise Him.

30 Days of Praise-Day 5 1 Peter 1:3-7

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

This passage of Scripture gives me chills. It's such a powerful truth and the basis of our faith. Through Jesus's death on the cross we are born into a "living hope"...the hope of our eternal inheritance that we will one day receive when we get to heaven. I am reminded of another verse in II Corinthians 4:17:

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us a glory that far outweighs them all.

When we go through hard times we can either have a pity party and wonder why God is allowing them to happen (which is a natural human reaction-no judgement intended) or we can rejoice because we know God is refining us. I think it's interesting how the Scriptures compare our faith and the refinement of our faith to gold. In the dictionary, “Refine” means several things:

*to reduce to a pure state, as with sugar, metal, or oil
*to free from moral imperfection
*to improve by pruning or polishing
*to free from what is coarse, vulgar, or uncouth, as with a refined person

Gold has to go through a fire so that all its impurities rise to the surface to be removed. Without this process, it's not "pure" and doesn't have a lot of value. However, it can be completely destroyed if the fire gets too hot (vs.7 above). So much more is true of the refining of our faith, which is "of greater worth than gold", and actually withstands the fires of our trials if we allow it to do its work. It comes out on the other side with more value than one of the most precious metals on earth-gold.

The only way to be purified is to go through the fire. One of the excerpts I read about the process of refining gold stated "The purer the gold is, the more difficult will be the process of refining." This might not sound like good news but maybe explains why trials and life gets a little more difficult the closer we get to reflecting and emulating the Lord. Even though its difficult, I wonder what would happen if we changed our perspective when hard times come upon us. If I know that God is working together all things for the good of those who love Him, submitting to the refining process in my life might be a little easier...welcomed even. I want to be like the purest gold-closer and closer to revealing Christ in my life and actions.

30 Days of Praise-Day 4 Psalm 9:1-2

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

According to Strong's, "heart" in vs. 1 is the Hebrew word leb meaning "inner man-will, understanding,soul, mind; in the midst." The same word is used in Deuteronomy 4:29:

"But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul."

and in Deuteronomy 6:5:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

So the same fervency we employ to seek our Lord's face in order to find Him, to love Him with everything we have in us-with the entire "inner man"- should be the same passion we use when we praise Him and share all he's done for us. I think praise is the natural outpouring of a relationship of someone we're in love with. We want to spend all our time and energy with them and we can't stop talking about that person. May that someone be Jesus Christ, the ultimate Lover of our souls, our Redeeming beautiful Savior and a Friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Jesus, today I want to praise you with my whole heart, all of me-my mind, soul, strength and will. I praise you for life! I praise you that I have breath in my lungs, that I am able to see the beauty of the changing of seasons, and everything I've been blessed with. Help me to appreciate the little things and pleasures that you've given me and help me to be content in any and all circumstances. Thank you, Lord for everything you are to me. May my love for you be as necessary to me as breathing and may Your love fill me up so it can spill onto others.

30 Days of Praise-Day 3 Isaiah 25:1

O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.

In context this verse and chapter are speaking about the coming of Christ and how his plan is unfolding just as he said it would. But personally, when I first read it, it struck me also that the Lord "in perfect faithfulness" has blessed us and done amazing things in our lives. The fact that he had the blessings and the direction our lives were going to take-our going in and coming out, lying down and waking,knowing the words that are on our tongues before we speak them-planned long ago says to me that He is a loving and trustworthy God. He has done and will do the things that He has planned. That's the truth about Him that I am celebrating today.

30 Days of Praise-Day 2 Psalm 8:1-5

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise...When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

I love nature imagery in the Bible. This verse and the one in Isaiah 55:12 are two of my favorites:

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

It makes me smile to think about the mountains bursting in song and the trees clapping their hands. They were created for one purpose and one purpose only: to bring praise and glory to their Creator. So even when man and woman-who were created for the exact same purpose-fail to express praise to the Lord, all of His creation cries out in our place.

God's glory is everywhere and His fingerprints are all over this world. He is evident in the moon, the stars and in His creation of man. We are so small in comparison to the universe and firmament that He holds in place, yet He loves us and desires a relationship with us so much that he crowns us with glory and honor. That is amazing to me!

Today, Lord, my prayer is to remember who I am in You...that the number one purpose in creating me is to bring glory to your majestic name. It's so easy to forget in the busyness and distractions of this world that you are the Author of all things, Creator of the universe, Holder of the stars and Lord of my life. Please don't let the rocks cry out your praises in my place; help me to shout my thanks to you from the rooftops. Help me give you the honor and glory you deserve. In Jesus' name.

30 Days of Praise- Day 1 Psalm 52:9

I thought it would be appropriate since we are fast approaching Thanksgiving to post daily about the Lord who is worthy to be praised. Lately I've allowed the struggle that I've been enduring for the last few years to consume me and blot out the truth of the true source of light-Jesus Christ. Through recent prayer, fellowship and being bathed in the Word daily, it feels like His light is shining brightly inside me again.

In my Beth Moore Daniel study we've just learned about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in chapter 3 standing alone in their refusal to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar's golden image, and then surviving the firey furnance they were thrown into as a result. A few things she said went straight to my heart during the video session:

1) There was a fourth person in that fire with the three Jews; many scholars believe it was a Christophany-an appearance of the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. Relate that to our own personal "firey trials" and we are reassured that we do not experience them alone. The God-head-Father, Son and Holy Spirit-are in that fire with us, and we become the "fourth man."

2) There are "faith dividends" for each trial we suffer and overcome, suffer through or that God allows us to suffer indefinitely from. Our faith is built, refined or perfected depending on what kind of trial we suffer. The common denominator is that our Lord is GOOD, His purposes are FOR us, not against us and He loves us enough to let us experience trials so that we draw closer to Him, look like Him and experience Him on a deep personal level.

3) Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego not only survived the fire, not ONE hair on their head was singed, their clothes were intact and God went so far as to keep even the smell of smoke off their clothes. The ONLY THING THAT GOT BURNED IN THAT FIRE WERE THEIR BONDS. That is key. Beth said that maybe what God is doing when we experience hard times is burning away the bondage in our lives. He's not doing it to intentionally hurt us, but to accomplish a purpose in us.

These are just a few of the profound things that God is showing me through this study; it's part of His message to me that He's trying to get across using every medium He possibly can (friends, church, personal devotions, my husband). Even though I've "known" it all my life, it's just now occurring to me that regardless of what we experience or go through here on earth, OUR GOD NEVER CHANGES. He is the same yesterday, today and forever and He is deserving of all our PRAISE. I want to show the Lord that even though I am hurting and not understanding what He's doing in my life, I submit to His will, believe that He will work all things together for my good, that He has plans to prosper me and not to harm me, that He loves me and above all IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED. I want to "go out" praising His name, regardless of my circumstances. I WILL yet praise Him more and more.

So join me if you'd like. Let's purpose to start each day for the next 30 days with God's praise on our lips. I'll bet it will change our entire lives.

Day 1 Praise:
"I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints." Psalm 52:9