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

I CALLED HIM BUT HE GAVE NO ANSWER

I CALLED HIM BUT HE GAVE NO ANSWER

"I called him but He gave me no answer" (Song of Solomon 5:6).

Prayer sometimes waits like a petitioner at the gate until the King comes forth to grant her request. The Lord has been known to try great faith by long delays. He has permitted His servant's voices to echo in their ears as from a brazen sky. They have knocked at the golden gate, but it has remained immovable, as though it was rusted upon its hinges. Like Jeremiah, they have cried "Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through" (Lamentations 3:44). True saints have continued long in patient waiting without reply. This was not because their prayers were not intense or because they were unaccepted. But the delay pleased Him who is Sovereign and who gives according to His own pleasure. If it pleases Him for our patience to be exercised He will do as He desires with His own! Beggars must not be choosers concerning the time, place, or form of their answer. But we must be careful not to take delays in prayer for denials. We must not allow Satan to shake our confidence in the God of truth by pointing to our unanswered prayers. Unanswered petitions are not unheard. There is a registry in the court of heaven where every prayer is recorded. The Lord has a bottle in which the costly tears of sacred grief are stored and a book in which your holy groanings are numbered. (see Psalm 56:8). You will prevail. Only be content to wait a little while. Your Lord's time will be better than your own. He will answer you to make you put away the sackcloth and ashes of long waiting. He will clothe you with the scarlet and fine linen of your heart's desire.

--C.H. Spurgeon

This is one lesson in my life that the Lord has been shouting from the rooftops for me to hear-I’ve heard it in the sermons at church, in my Bible study, my personal devotions, from friends and mentors. Ok, Lord. I’m listening!

Isaiah 61 has been one of my life passages lately which also depicts the ministry of Jesus Christ. In vs. 3, God promises to us that He will:

“give to them beauty instead of ashes, The oil of joy instead of mourning, A covering of praise for a spirit of weakness, And He is calling to them, `Trees of righteousness, The planting of Jehovah -- to be beautified.'”

(Young’s Literal Translation).

It’s always amazing to me the pictures the Scriptures use to show us continual renewal, redemption, the putting away of the old and the coming of the new. As with every process in life, it comes with a price. Change and growth hurt. But through it all, Christ is with us giving us a “covering of praise for a spirit of weakness”. We can emerge from our trials, stand before the Lord while he brushes off the firey ashes and watch him exchange them for beauty, like a Phoenix raising itself up again in new life. We’re stronger, closer to the shape that God would have us be to reflect His glory. We're “clothed with fine linen” as Spurgeon so eloquently describes above. God is always seeking to exchange our filthy rags of sin for robes of righteousness-His ultimate demonstration of that love was sending his Son Jesus to die a humiliating and painful death on the cross. He’s always seeking to do a work in our lives through waiting, challenges, “sifting.” We can rest assured that the end result will be more beautiful and blessed than we could ever imagine.

So Lord, I submit to you. I submit to the work you’re doing in my life. I sit at the gate, bended knee, palms outstretched, waiting for your healing and your promises. I feel the sinews of change, spiritual maturity and more of You weaving themselves together in my soul, strengthening my walk with you like muscle strengthens my body. There is a ripping, a bleeding as I work out my salvation, lifting the weights of trials and struggles. But always after there is repairing, renewing, strengthening…a planting of righteousness, a building of spiritual strength and the ability to rest in You.

Merry Christmas to everyone! May you remember the TRUE reason we celebrate this Christmas and that Jesus Christ is the best gift anyone of us could receive.

Psalm 18:30

Psalm 18:30
“As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.”

Webster’s definitions:

Perfect: entirely without flaws, defects or shortcomings; accurate, exact, correct in every detail

Proof: to establish genuineness or validity as by evidence, to give demonstration of; to show oneself to have the character or ability expected through one’s actions; to be found by experience.

Shield: device used as a defense against blows or hurled objects; to serve as protection for, to hide or conceal; protect by hiding

Trust: reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety of a person or thing; confident of expectation of something, hope; one upon which a person relies; the obligation or responsibility imposed on a person in whom confidence or authority is placed; to believe.

God’s way is without flaw or shortcomings. It is accurate, exact and correct in every detail. God’s word has been proven through the demonstration and fulfillment of actions-Christ’s death on the cross, Bible prophecies fulfilled, promises satisfied-and through personal experience.

God is a shield against the heavy blows and fiery darts of the enemy. He Himself is the shield that hides us in the shadow of His wings, concealing us from the wounding of the enemy.

Therefore, we rely on the integrity, strength, and ability of our God. We are confident, waiting in hope and expectation for God to do what He says He’s going to do. We believe Him.

Calvary

Jagged edge, blade of sin
Cuts my soul's life vain
Bleeding, wasting, spilling out
suffering and pain
People judging, my feet trudging
trying to walk the line
Strength is seeping, grief is keeping
me along this darkened path

Splintered tree holds nails of grace
that pierce my Savior's hands
Bleeding, loving, flowing out
suffering salvation
People following, Jesus leading
free from condemnation
Victory and freedom to those
that are believing

SLB 10/30/10