Category: Praise

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Honoring Our Mother & Father

We’ve had the pleasure of having my mother with us for the last ten days. She is ninety-six and lives about four hours away. It’s been so good to have her here. During her stay we were visited by our youngest daughter and her family on one weekend and this last weekend our son came to see Gram. Our oldest daughter wasn’t able to make it, she was out-of-state welcoming her first granddaughter into the world.

Mom was so blessed to be surrounded by her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She had a big smile on her face most of the time. (She got weary at times and took a nap, I did too.) Mom held the littlest one in her arms, watched the two and four year old play, told stories to the adult grandchildren of their childhoods and relived the milestones of her life with them. It was amazing!

It was truly a wonderful expression of one of God’s commands.

“You must honor your father and your mother. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. If you follow this command, you will live a long time, and everything will go well for you in the land that the Lord your God gives you.” Deuteronomy 5:16 ERV

Mom will be with us one more day and I will miss not having her here. She lives with my sister and her family; they take very good care of her. I will miss tucking her in at night and praying with her. Very few adults my age are blessed to still have living parents.

But we all have a loving heavenly Father. He is our Father who lives forever and who is as close to us as our next breath. He desires to tell us stories of His past. In fact, He wrote them down and put them in a wonderful book for us to read, the Bible. He wants to tell us all about His plans for our life, the good things He has in store.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen.” Jeremiah 29:11-12 NLT

There are several words in the Bible that can be interchanged for the word honor; praise and bless are just two of them. We honor the Lord when we obey Him; when we magnify or exalt His word above all others we honor Him.

“I will honor the Lord at all times. His praise will always be in my mouth. 2 My soul will be proud to tell about the Lord. Let those who suffer hear it and be filled with joy. 3 Give great honor to the Lord with me. Let us praise His name together.” Psalm 34:1-3 NLV

As long as our parents are living we should give them honor and as long as we are living we should give our Father honor and praise. It’s just the right thing to do.

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Shout For Joy

I hope things get really noisy at your house today. I want you to shout for joy – yes, shout!

Does that sound silly to you? I hope not. We shout at sporting events for our favorite team, we rise to our feet in applause at the end of a concert or public performance; we shout when we are calling our kids home for dinner; we shout when we feel someone is in danger. So why not shout for joy?

Little kids do it all the time – they go outside to play and they shout – they giggle, they laugh, they yell with glee! At this time of year, we should be child like and overcome with excitement and joy. There’s so much to be thankful for – if you’ve been following along since the first of the month you have nineteen days of things you’re grateful for. Everyone of them should be worth shouting about.

On my list from yesterday I told the Lord I was grateful for His loving correction in my life. Yes, correction – I had talked to Him about a situation I was experiencing and He lovingly showed me that I needed to adjust my attitude. I was mumbling inside and it was disturbing my joy. I was quick to repent and my whole outlook changed.

I would shout right now but it would wake up the whole house, so…I will go outside in a little while and shout.

Today is a day to shout – Shout to the Lord, with a voice of triumph!!!

Remember in the movies when the battle would be over and those that were on the winning side would shout and toss their hats and other clothing in the air? That’s the picture I see when I read this verse – shout with a voice a triumph – not a voice of defeat or depression!!!!

“All of you nations, clap your hands and shout joyful praises to God. 2 The LORD Most High is fearsome, the ruler of all the earth. 3 God has put every nation under our power,
4 and he chose for us the land that was the pride of Jacob, his favorite. 5 God goes up to his throne, as people shout and trumpets blast. 6 Sing praises to God our King, 7 the ruler of all the earth! Praise God with songs. 8 God rules the nations from his sacred throne. 9 Their leaders come together and are now the people of Abraham’s God. All rulers on earth surrender their weapons, and God is greatly praised!” Psalm 47 CEV

Verse 5 reminds me of the children of Israel when they had marched around Jericho for seven days. For six days they had walked around the city in silence. On the seventh day they were given the command to march around the city in silence again but when the trumpets blew they were to SHOUT and the walls came crumbling down.

“The LORD said to Joshua:
With my help, you and your army will defeat the king of Jericho and his army, and you will capture the town. Here is how to do it: March slowly around Jericho once a day for six days. 4 Take along the sacred chest and have seven priests walk in front of it, carrying trumpets.
But on the seventh day, march slowly around the town seven times while the priests blow their trumpets. 5 Then the priests will blast on their trumpets, and everyone else will shout. The wall will fall down, and your soldiers can go straight in from every side.” Joshua 6:2-3

In obedience, they followed the Lord’s command and victory came! In obedience today, rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice – why? Because you feel like it, probably not; because you can figure out the solution on your own, probably not; then why? Because God said so, He has a victory planned for you!

SHOUT!

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Grateful for Grandeur

I have lived in Arizona most of my life; I was born and raised here. I grew up in the desert and we took family vacations in the mountains. I lived in the small town, at that time, of Yuma. We didn’t even have a McDonald’s or a Burger King, shocking. I worked and went to college in metro Phoenix before I was married.

Dave and I moved back to Phoenix within the first year of our marriage. We started a business here. We closed a business during the gasoline shortage of 1974. We found jobs and started our family here. All three of our children were born here. We moved away for twenty-five years and returned when we retired in 2014. We’re home!

In the last year, I have realized how little of the State I have actually discovered. I learned that Arizona is the sixth largest state in land mass. I was surprised by that and I am in awe of the diversity of terrain. We have arid desert, farm land, larger metropolitan cities, ski resorts, pasturelands and wastelands. One of the things that I enjoy the most is the tremendous rock formations; there are huge, jagged rocky crags and also the smooth, round boulders that look like misplaced loaves of bread. We plan to spend a great deal of time traveling the backroads of Arizona and learning more about my home.

Do I sound like a travel log? I don’t mean too but I truly love the grandeur that God has placed before me, here in my home state. Yesterday Dave and I took a localized road trip and drove to a couple of lakes on the far east side of the Valley of the Sun. We went to Saguaro Lake and Canyon Lake; we stopped at the little settlement of Tortilla Flats and we went to the campground at the base of the Superstition Mountains.

I had never been there! It is absolutely beautiful! We are making plans to return – I can hear the Father speak to my heart there.

“The heavens are telling of the greatness of God and the great open spaces above show the work of His hands. 2 Day to day they speak. And night to night they show much learning. 3 There is no speaking and no words where their voice is not heard. 4 Their sound has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun. 5 It is as a man soon to be married coming out of his room and as a strong man who is happy to run his race. 6 Its rising is from one end of the heavens, and it makes its way to the other end. Nothing is hidden from its heat.” Psalm 19:1-6 NLV

When I see the beauty of creation my heart is filled with gratitude for the physical glory that the Lord has placed all around us. No matter where we go, creation speaks of God’s love. The snow capped peaks of the mountains, the rolling waves of the ocean, the rich green of the farmlands and the glow of a desert sunset are a reflection of God’s creativity and imagination. He was thinking of us when He designed all of this.

“Sing a new song of praise to him; play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy. 4 For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does. 5 He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth. 6 The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. 7 He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. 8 Let the whole world fear the Lord,  and let everyone stand in awe of him. 9 For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command…We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice,  for we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,  for our hope is in you alone.” Psalm 33:3-9, 20-22 NLT

I hope you will take time to read all of Psalm 33 today. The timelessness of nature is an example of the eternal power of God’s word, it was created by His word. Creation is a testimony to us of God’s faithfulness. He has left his fingerprint in creation and He uses it to draw us in to relationship with Him.

Oh yes, I am grateful for the grandeur of God’s panoramic display!

“It is wonderful to be grateful and to sing your praises,  Lord Most High! 2 It is wonderful each morning to tell about your love and at night to announce  how faithful you are.” Psalm 92:1-2 CEV

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The Smallest Details

I am amazed every time I am out in nature! God’s handiwork can be overwhelming. When we were in the mountains we took our grandson on a couple of nature hikes. We wanted him to see things that he didn’t experience at home. We found a massive Ponderosa pine tree that had fallen and the roots were exposed. Tangled in the root base were big rocks. Can you imagine the strength it took for those roots to push past them and go deeper into the earth to provide the stability for the tree’s growth?

Then just a few steps later we were looking at mushrooms. All kinds of mushrooms – yellow, pink, orange, red and white mushrooms. Why didn’t God just create one kind? They all appeared to be similar in structure – just different colors. Another opportunity to stop and wonder at the greatest of God.

And then there were the flowers…I’m not sure if they were echinacea or Spanish daisies but I had to stop. Just like I stopped for the young deer playing tag by the road side or the turkeys coming down from their roost in the pines or the herd of elk in the meadow enjoying their morning grazing. All of these sightings caused me to stop and ponder the greatness of my Father.

I understand the words of the Psalmist:

“When I look up and think about Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in their place, 4 what is man, that You think of him, the son of man that You care for him? 5 You made him a little less than the angels and gave him a crown of greatness and honor. 6 You made him to rule over the works of Your hands. You put all things under his feet: 7 All sheep and cattle, all the wild animals, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and all that pass through the sea. 9 O Lord, our Lord, how great is Your name in all the earth!” Psalm 8:3-9 NLV

What is man that You think of him? With all that the Father has made and all He has done I am awed when I think that He desires relationship with me. There is no room for self-loathing and low esteem when we realize that the God, who created the universe, loves us and desires a personal relationship with us.

Recently our daughter posted an ultrasound image of her unborn daughter to Facebook. Less than nine weeks and baby Elizabeth will be here to greet us all. Kaci has studied that image and knows every bump and wiggle – this is her and Stephen’s daughter. They are “mindful” of her existence and her development. They already have two children, Sam and Kristine, but their hearts are full of love for Elizabeth. That’s the amazing thing about a parent’s heart – it’s expandable and will have more than enough love for every child.

That’s how the Father’s heart is toward all of us, loving and expansive!

Jesus wanted us to know the depth of the Father’s love and gave this example to the disciples so that they could gain understanding and know the answer to the Psalmist question, what is man that You think of him.

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” Matthew 6:25-30 NLT

If God knows about the birds, the trees, the flowers, the elk, the deer and the mushrooms don’t you think that He knows and cares so much more for us?

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:31-33

Take a look around today. Look for the smallest details in nature; God created the minute and the great. But most importantly of all He loves us and He cares for us!

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The Face of God

Do you remember when you were a kid and the local television station would sign off for the night? No?

It used to happen like that – after the last program of the night, the announcer would come on and declare the stations call letters, soft music would play in the background and then a man with a comforting voice would quote the poem “High Flight” and the television screen would go dark. Broadcasting had ended for the day.

High Flight by John Gillespie Magee Jr.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

This is a brief biography on the author of the poem. High Flight was composed by Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee,  Jr., an American serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was born in Shanghai, China in 1922, the son of missionary parents,  Reverend and Mrs. John Gillespie Magee; his father was an American and his mother was originally a British citizen.

 He came to the U.S. in 1939 and earned a scholarship to Yale, but in September 1940 he enlisted in the RCAF and was graduated as a pilot. He was sent to England for combat duty in July 1941.

In August or September 1941, Pilot Officer Magee composed High Flight and sent a copy to his parents. Several months later, on December 11, 1941 his Spitfire collided with another plane over England and Magee, only 19 years of age, crashed to his death. His remains are buried in the churchyard cemetery at Scopwick, Lincolnshire.

A young man of 19 was so touched by what he experienced in the heavens he had to record his feelings and give glory to God!

I was reminded of this poem this morning as I was reading in the Book of Revelation – the final book in the Bible. This book of Revelation does just that. It reveals how things on this earth will culminate and how we will spend eternity. The Lord wanted John to write down the things he saw and heard in heaven; the glory, the majesty, the worship.

John recorded the words of the songs of praise that the heavenly elders and the angels, millions upon millions, were singing around God’s throne. When we join them, those of us who have accepted Christ, we will be joining that chorus. We will be in the presence of God. We will sing:

“These living beings were giving glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever. And every time they did this, 10 the 24 elders bowed down before the one who sits on the throne. They worshiped him who lives forever and ever. They put their crowns down before the throne and said,

11 “Our Lord and God! You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power. You made all things. Everything existed and was made because you wanted it.” Revelation 4:9-11 ERV

and then…

“As I looked, I heard the voices of a lot of angels around the throne and the voices of the living creatures and of the elders. There were millions and millions of them, 12 and they were saying in a loud voice,

“The Lamb who was killed  is worthy to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength,
    honor, glory, and praise.”

13 Then I heard all beings in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea offer praise. Together, all of them were saying,

“Praise, honor, glory, and strength forever and ever to the one who sits on the throne
 and to the Lamb!” 14 The four living creatures said “Amen,” while the elders knelt down and worshiped.” Revelation 5:11-14 CEV

Each morning as I see the sun christen the day with golden rays and hues of pink I am in Awe of Him, my Father God, who sits on the throne. And each evening my heart is stirred when I see the sun nearing the horizon; streaking it rays through the clouds. They turn from brilliant gold to fiery red and then to gray as the sun vanishes from sight. My heart is filled with the majesty of God.

I know why those in heaven spend their time singing – He is worthy to receive honor and glory and power forever!

God, who is worthy to receive all honor and glory is the same one who invites us to come boldly into His throne room when we are in need and there we will find help in every situation. He is the God of the universe, maker of all things but He is my father and He wants my relationship with Him to be personal.

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 NLV

Like Pilot Officer John Magee, when I look at the heavens in all their splendor I am wonder-filled and know that I have reached out and touched the face of God.

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Great Is Our God

The vastness of the mountains are just a small reminder of God’s greatness!

The joy I feel each morning is almost inexpressible! God is SO faithful, SO good, SO precious! Life’s experiences do not diminish the goodness of my Father God but instead they serve to illuminate it. Since God is unchangeable, He is always loving, always gracious, always giving, always faithful, always just and always merciful, our devotion and love toward Him should never be based on our circumstances but on who He is.

He doesn’t bring the adversary to test us but when the adversary comes if we remember who He is, we will come through any test victoriously because of our faith in God!

Don’t let the enemy steal your joy with distracting cares and anxious moments. Wake up each morning praising our God and Father who has led us in the past, is walking ahead of us in your present and preparing a glorious future for us!

”I will praise you, LORD! You saved me from the grave and kept my enemies from celebrating my death. 2 I prayed to you, LORD God, and you healed me, 3 saving me from death and the grave. 4 Your faithful people, LORD, will praise you with songs and honor your holy name. 5 Your anger lasts a little while, but your kindness lasts for a lifetime. At night we may cry, but when morning comes we will celebrate. 6 I was carefree and thought, “I’ll never be shaken!” 7 You, LORD, were my friend, and you made me strong as a mighty mountain. But when you hid your face, I was crushed. 8 I prayed to you, LORD, and in my prayer I said, 9 “What good will it do you if I am in the grave? Once I have turned to dust, how can I praise you or tell how loyal you are? 10 Have pity, LORD! Help!” 11 You have turned my sorrow into joyful dancing. No longer am I sad and wearing sackcloth. 12 I thank you from my heart, and I will never stop singing your praises, my LORD and my God.” Psalm 30 CEV

Thank you Lord that you have made me strong. I trust you!

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Time to Play and Pray

What a wonderful weekend!

We were with our youngest daughter’s family; Kaci, Stephen, Sam and Kristine. It is such a joy to live closer to our daughters and be able to spend time with them. Those years in Montana had us living too far away. We can be to everyone in just a couple of hours, even our son is only a couple hours by air.

This last weekend was NASCAR weekend in Phoenix. As you know, Dave and I are big race fans. That’s how we roll. The kids all grew up knowing the names of car drivers and their team owners. So, this race was special. It was Kaci’s first time to a NASCAR race. She compared it to going to the Super Bowl for someone who grew up in a football family. Stephen enjoyed it as well. It was a great day!

Saturday night was play time with the grandkids. Sam had been telling me on the phone that he wanted us to watch Lightning McQueen when we came. Now most of you with littler children may have seen the Disney movie, Cars, but we hadn’t. Sam had several favorite spots and wanted to make sure we saw them all. Little Kristine would shout “go, go, go” during some of the race scenes and then dance with the music. It was a family event. Sam knew we were going to the race the next day and I think this was his way of joining in.

This was one of the first times I had seen the grandkids since my back procedure and it was so special to be picking them up, having them crawl over my lap, wiggle and squirm and playing toys on the floor without pain. Thank you Lord!

But the best time of all was putting them to bed, getting them in their jammies and saying prayers. Kristine cuddled in during prayer time, gave tight hugs and kisses and then she was off to sleep. Sam picked out a book to read and then we had prayers. He prayed along with me. He had so many things on his mind he wanted to thank Jesus for, people he wanted to pray for and things he wanted to pray about. We were in no rush. There was plenty of time to make sure everything was covered in prayer.

What a blessing!

I couldn’t help but think that our heavenly Father’s heart must have been filled to overflowing with the love and childlike faith of my little grandson. I know mine was. Such a joy to see the love for the Lord that this little man has. It was definitely a weekend of making family memories.

These two verses came to mind as I was thinking on our time together.

“Teach your children right from wrong, and when they are grown they will still do right.” Proverbs 22:6 CEV

“Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.” Colossians 3:16-17 CEV

Whatever we do can, and should, be a time to thank the Lord for His love and provision. It may be something as simple as watching a movie, going to a race or saying bedtime prayers. They are all opportunities to give thanks.

What small things are you going to praise the Lord for today?

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Everyone Has Reason to Sing

“Bless the Lord oh my soul – oooooooooo my soul and worship  His holy name. Bless the Lord oh my soul, oh my soul and worship His holy name!” Those are some of the lyrics to a song written by Matt Redman called 10,000 Reasons.

I love waking up singing praise to the Father! I know He likes it too. The Psalms tell us that He inhabits the praises of His people, that means He lives within our praise. I love it – just love it. We all have reason to praise.

Yes, we do…

If God has been doing amazing things in our lives we have reason to praise. If we have been going through a particularly dry spell we have reason to praise and if we are living in a disaster zone right now, we have reason to praise.

If you are at a time when you are experiencing God’s overwhelming goodness these verses may reflect the gratitude you have in your heart. These are only a few verses from this chapter. The whole chapter is filled with so many wonderful reasons to praise the Lord.

“With all my heart I praise the Lord, and with all that I am I praise his holy name! 2 With all my heart I praise the Lord! I will never forget how kind he has been. 3 The Lord forgives our sins, heals us when we are sick, 4  and protects us from death. His kindness and love are a crown on our heads. 5 Each day that we live, he provides for our needs and gives us the strength of a young eagle.” Psalm 103:1-5 CEV

For those who think life has been dry and unproductive – nothing is happening, not good or bad, let these verses speak to you.

“The poor and needy look for water, but they cannot find any. Their tongues are dry with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer their prayers. I, the God of Israel, will not leave them to die. 18 I will make rivers flow on dry hills.  I will make springs of water flow through the valleys. I will change the desert into a lake filled with water. There will be springs of water in that dry land. 19 I will make trees grow in the desert. There will be cedar, acacias, olive trees, cypress, fir trees, and pines.” Isaiah 41:17-19 ERV

And for those who have been going through some really rough stuff lately here are some instructions for praising the Lord that will bring you to a place of peace.

“Always be filled with joy in the Lord. I will say it again. Be filled with joy. 5 Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. 7 And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.” Philippians 4:4-7 ERV

Now for anyone who doesn’t feel they’ve been included above, we have David’s instruction in Psalm 34.

“I will always praise the Lord. 2 With all my heart, I will praise the Lord. Let all who are helpless, listen and be glad. 3 Honor the Lord with me! Celebrate his great name.” Psalm 34:1-3 CEV

Praise brings strength to our lives. As I said at the beginning, the Lord inhabits the praise of His people. Almighty God comes to brings us life, joy and peace as we praise Him.

Want more joy – want more strength? Begin to praise the Father who created you – the Savior who died for you and the Holy Spirit who indwells you with power!

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Celebrate Good Times – Come On

Today is a day of celebration!! No, it’s not my birthday but thanks for asking. The reason I feel like having a party is because today is January 15, 2019 – and it’s a perfectly good day to celebrate.

“The Lord made this happen, and we think it is wonderful! 24 This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be happy today! 25 The people say, “Praise the Lord! The Lord saved us!” Psalm 118:23-25 ERV

From the beginning of time, God has planned and ordained this day. His plans are good, very good. I don’t know what He has designed for me today but I do know if I start out praising Him for His mighty works my day will fill with joy and I will see God’s goodness spreading out before me.

When I went to Biblegateway.com this morning and did a search on the word rejoice it brought up 240 references for that one word in the King James version of the Bible. This did not include the words praise or joy. That’s a whole lot of good times! Everything that God does is good; one of His attributes is goodness. God doesn’t do evil; it’s not in His nature.

“Always be glad because of the Lord! I will say it again: Be glad. 5 Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. 7 Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.” Philippians 4:4-7 CEV

Do you see that? That one word – ALWAYS! It’s an absolute. It doesn’t mean sometimes, possibly, the majority of the time, on days that begin with S or T; it’s not conditional.

ALWAYS!

We don’t rejoice because of our circumstances. There is one reason that we can ALWAYS be glad or joyful. That reason is God’s unconditional love! Each year, each day, each hour and minute Jesus walks with us and showers us with love.

“We are still alive because the Lord’s faithful love never ends. 23 Every morning he shows it in new ways! You are so very true and loyal! 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my God, and I trust him.” Lamentations 3:22-24 ERV

Rejoice – be glad! God has made this day just for us.

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Power Failure at Christmas

Do you remember those scenes from the Christmas movies when the man of the house had worked so hard at putting up the Christmas lights and when he plugged them in nothing happened?

Or worse yet, the lights came on for just a moment and then they tripped a circuit breaker. All that effort, all that work but not enough power to display it. We had a tripped circuit breaker at our house the other night. Not from too many lights; it was caused because there was too much power demand made on too small a circuit. It could have been easily averted if the cord had been plugged into another outlet with a greater capacity.

Many of us live our Christian lives in a similar scenario. We have the desire to be a witness for the Lord. We want to share His love with those around us and live the kind of life that reflects the Lord but the effort is all ours. We aren’t depending on God. We are plugged into the circuit of our own power when we should be utilizing the Lord’s power.

“As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. 32 “For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?
33 God is my strength and power, And He makes my way perfect. 34 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places.” II Samuel 22:31-34 NKJV

As Christians we are all witnesses. The question is what kind of witness are we? When we are operating in our own power we have a tendency to burn out. When we allow God to energize our lives we take on a new glow and allow His godliness to shine through us.

“God once said, “Let light shine out of the darkness!”[a And this is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts to let us know that his own divine greatness is seen in the face of Christ.

7 We have this treasure from God, but we are only like clay jars that hold the treasure. This is to show that the amazing power we have is from God, not from us. 8 We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We often don’t know what to do, but we don’t give up. 9 We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed.” II Corinthians 4:6-9 ERV

The important thing to remember is we must depend on His amazing power and not our own. When things get difficult…and they will, when life greets us with unexpected hardship, devastatingly disastrous events and serious setbacks if we are plugged into that amazing power of God we won’t quit.

“For this reason, I ask you to keep using the gift God gave you. It came to you when I laid my hands on you and prayed that God would use you. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of fear. He gave us a spirit of power and of love and of a good mind. 8 Do not be ashamed to tell others about what our Lord said” II Timothy 1:6-8a NLV

When we go through those difficult times I mentioned above and we keep an attitude of joy and stay in a place of peace those around us will notice and eventually they will want to know why we weren’t destroyed in the face of difficulty. Our actions will reveal the source of our strength. God’s light within us will come shining through.

The power that lit the sky on that first Christmas night is the power that has been made available to us. In fact, heaven is still singing of God’s power.

“I looked again. I heard the voices of many thousands of angels. They stood around the throne and around the four living beings and the leaders. 12 They said with a loud voice, “The Lamb Who was killed has the right to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and shining-greatness (glory) and thanks.”

13 Then I heard every living thing in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that are in them. They were saying, “Thanks and honor and shining-greatness (glory) and all power are to the One Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb forever.” Revelation 5:11-13 NLV

Let’s join with the angels’ chorus and sing praise to the Lamb of God, who sits on heaven’s throne. Let’s thank Him for the power He has given us.

“Jesus said to them, “You don’t need to know the time of those events that only the Father controls. 8 But the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power. Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.” 9 After Jesus had said this and while they were watching, he was taken up into a cloud. They could not see him” Acts 1:7-9 CEV

Angels We Have Heard on High

Angels we have heard on high
Singing sweetly o’er the plains:
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains
Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Come to Bethlehem, and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord, the newborn King
Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heav’nly song?
Gloria in excelsis Deo!

See him in a manger laid
Whom the choirs of angels praise
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid
While our hearts in love we raise
Gloria in excelsis Deo!

The best way I know to operate at full power is to praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow!

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