Praise Him Through It All

Lamentations 5:19 "You, O Lord, reign forever; Your throne endures from generation to generation."

 

What stands out to me about this verse of praise is that it is surrounded by verses of woe..it's the book of Lamentations!  How amazing is it that one can go through all this turmoil and still praise our great God?  It is through a close personal relationship with God, only through this type of faith can things go so wrong and yet praising God through the pain is what you are drawn to do.

 

Dear God, Thank You for all the amazing stories contained in Your Word.  Please help me to continue along a path towards a very close, very personal relationship with You so that no matter what may happen in my life I can still shout Your praises through it all.  Amen.

Pet Lovers Have Hope

Ecclesiastes 3:21 "Who knows of the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?"

 

For all parents who've had to explain the death of a pet, for all who've ever lost a pet and for all animal lovers everywhere... Ok, so I can't explain how animals can believe and be saved but they weren't the ones who ate the forbidden fruit and they are also part of God's amazing creation so who knows?  This verse helps me to think that maybe I will see my departed pets again someday.  After all, to anyone who's ever had pets, they are like one of the family, are they not?

 

Dear Lord, Thank You for Your many lessons throughout Your precious Word.  I know I have much to learn yet and will continue to be learning until the very moment I meet You face to face.  Please help me remember that we do not have to have all the answers and that sometimes hope can lie in the unknown.  Amen.

It's Not Ours

I Chronicles 29:14 "14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand."

 

It is a very hard concept for some to let go of the idea of "mine."  This world makes us look at everything as "mine," possessions, jobs, maybe even people!  But we would have nothing if not by the grace of God.  Everything is His - we are His servants charged with taking care of it, His stewards who are sent to help His kingdom grow.  It is amazing the transformation that happens within when you pray your way to this way of thinking and believing!

 

Dear Lord, Thank You for all that You have entrusted to me!  Please help me to always remember that none of it is mine, it is all Yours and that I am merely caring for it until You determine it should be released.  Amen.

Who Am I?

I Corinthians 15:10a "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect."

 

We all hold some measure of a desire to succeed, it is a heavy self-reflection to determine whether the roots of this are in the world's view of success or God's view of it.  What we must always remember though is that all that we are is only because of the grace of God.  He has blessed us through His grace with whatever gifts, talents, and so on that we need in order to fulfill His purpose for our lives. 

 

Dear God,  Thank You for Your grace and for making me who I am through that grace.  Please help me to always remember that it is all from You and to give You all the glory in all that I do.  Amen.

By Faith

Hebrews 11:29 "By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned."

 

This whole section of Hebrews is worth reading because it is filled with these reminders that with God all things are possible.  The evil one keeps trying to get to us any way he can - including by trying to undermine our faith!  But if we spend time daily with God in His word then His promises will reveal themselves on the pages time and time again!

 

Holy Father, Thank You for all You have done and continue to do through the faith of Your people.  Please help me remember that when I am faced with the seemingly impossible that You can and will make it happen if it is Your Will and if I keep my faith in You unfaltering!  Amen.

God Forgives

Ezra 9:6 "and prayed "O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached the heavens.""

 

Normally my verses are all the warm fuzzy, lift your spirit and serve God with all your spirit kind...however, we cannot neglect to remember that we do sin and fall short and there are times when we must bow our heads to the ground for our shame keeps us from God.  Here is the good news in remembering verses such as this...God forgives!  He wants to hear our apologies and then He wipes us clean once again!!

 

Dear God, Thank You for Your promise of forgiveness!  I know I am not perfect and that on my own I fall short of Your glory.  Please forgive me all of my sins and wash me clean through the power of the blood of the Lamb!  Help me to always remember it is by Your grace alone that I am forgiven and for this I shall rejoice and praise Your name so long as I have breath!  Amen.

Enduring Hardships...But Not Alone

II Timothy 2:3 "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus."

 

First this verse says to me that I need to roll with the punches, to muddle through without a lot of complaining when the going gets rough...but then it also hits me, "with us," we're not alone!  We have God on our side, we have each other to lean on!  God truly has equipped us for battle and we can do this together!

 

Dear Lord,  Thank You for the gift of fellowship & support from my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  Please help me to remember that when the going gets tough the tough have You and Your believers to lean on!  Amen.

Victorious Thanks!

I Corinthians 15:57 "But thanks be to God!  He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

 

I don't want to sound like a broken record so I won't go too in depth here...on this day which is set aside especially for giving thanks let's really get into it!  Let's remember not only all the big and little blessings but the ultimate gift!  Let's rejoice as we give thanks and let's enjoy His presence as well as the presence of friends and family.

 

Dear Lord, Thank You for sharing victory with me!  Thank You for too many things to list here, but especially for fellowship with You and this special day to remember that giving thanks to You is what it's all about!  Amen.

Tuesday's Verse: Make It Known

I Chronicles 16:8 "Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done."

 

In the spirit of thankfulness I used my concordance to look up the first time thanks is used in the Bible...not until I Chronicles!  Wow!  I know there are passages before this that call to bless the name of the Lord so that equates to praises but this is the first I could find of thankfulness...let us all in our own ways find a way to make it know what an awesome God we are thanking and what He has done, for us all!!

 

Dear Lord, I love Your holy Word!  I am baffled by the word thanks not coming up before the chapter of I Chronicles but I know upon further study that if I am to understand this then You will reveal it to me in Your time.  Thank You Lord, for everything, especially Your Son!  Amen.

Wednesday's Verse: Thank Him For His Grace

Ephesians 2:8 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."

 

Well, if you needed a reason to be thankful here on Thanksgiving Eve then I think this one tops any other blessing on our lists!  I am both excited for the relationship I have found in Christ and also sad for those who do not believe, who do not know this joy, love, grace and true thankfulness!  I hope everyone has a blessed thanksgiving and that we all focus on remembering this thankful state of the heart all through the year!

 

Dear God, Thank You for Your grace!  I want to thank You for so many things but grace through the sacrifice of Your one & only Son is the one I am most thankful for.  That kind of love is nearly unfathomable...please help me to keep remembering to thank You for this daily and praise Your name for all you have done for us.  Amen.

True Healing

Jeremiah 33:6 " 'Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security."

 

Yesterday my arthritis in my spine was so inflamed I was unable to get out of bed...I apologize for this verse coming a day late.  Healing is something we all need at some time or another in our lives, some more than others...and the Bible tells us in many different ways that God is the source of true healing!

 

Father, Thank You for Your love, grace and healing!  Please help me to remember that You will heal me when I am in need and that You want what is best for me.  Amen.

He's Got His Eye On You!

Psalm 33:18 "But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,"

 

When I am tempted to lose hope I like to think about verses such as this that remind me it's not a one way street...God has His eyes on me as I have my hope set in Him!

 

Dear Lord,  Thank You for keeping Your eyes on me as I keep my hope in You.  Please help me to always remember that You do have me in Your sight and my hope should therefore never falter.  Amen. 

Shout Joy!

Psalm 100:1 "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth."

 

Simple praises can hold such a big key to a joyful spirit.  If we can put ourselves in a praiseful mind set at the beginning of every day than keep in that mind set we will find ourselves praising and thanking our awesome Lord all through the day and there will be little time left for complaining and self pity!  I know that I complain less and sometimes none at all on the days I keep my mind, heart & soul shouting for joy for the Lord!

 

Dear Lord, Truly You have given me all I need to live, love & serve You and those around me!  Please help me to keep my heart, mind & soul intent on praising and thanking You all the day long.  Amen.

Foolish Wisdom

I Corinthians 1:20 "Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

 

This verse says two distinct things to me... First, it reminds me that no amount of "intellectual faith" can bring me as close to God as a personal relationship through Jesus Christ.  The other is that the wisdom of this world is foolish, it says it plain as day right?  So if you do not have a personal and meaningful relationship with God than it's all worthless...   "Jesus Loves Me This I Know," and that is really all we need to know, right?  Through the eyes of a child!

 

Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your precious Word which we can absorb through quiet time spent with Your Spirit.  Please help me to remember that no matter how wise I may become by man's standards it is mere foolishness in Your eyes and therefore should not be what I am striving for...help me to strive for a personal relationship with You through Your Son Jesus.  Amen.

Hope In His Laws

Psalm 119:43 "Do not snatch the Word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in Your laws."

 

Don't you just love it when a great verse gets you thinking?  This one has me pondering how important God's Word and His laws are to us...I would never have thought to say it the way David has here but yes, we do set our hopes in His laws because without them we could not also set our hope in His promises!  The laws of our Lord keep us on the right path...or so we hope!  There is not much time to go off the course here but if I were to keep going I would explore how Jesus is referred to as God the Word...

 

Dear God, Thank you for your precious Word of truth, it's laws & promises!  Please grant me as David requested and do not snatch Your Word from my mouth.  Please comfort me as I set all of my hopes in You, Your Word, Your laws and Your promises.  Amen.

Thanksgiving...and Praise!

Psalm 139: 14 "I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

 

In the anticipation of Thanksgiving when we especially remember to give thanks {though as Christians we ought to remember every day is our Thanksgiving! Someone special reminded me that this weekend} we should also remember that hand in hand with thanks should be praise.  God has done a lot of really awesome things and we need to not only thank Him but also Praise His holy Name!

 

Lord, You are our Creator and we are thankful!  We praise Your Name for all You have done, are doing and will do in our futures.  Your works & blessings are truly wonderful!  Amen.

Who's Tired?

Isaiah 40:28 "Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom."

 

Well, as completely exhausted as I am this morning it is a huge comfort knowing the my God, the One in charge of my life and He who is in true control and sovereign over all is not going to grow tired or weary.  Even when I am weak and wondering where I will get the strength to go on I do have strength from Him, our Lord will never grow weary!

 

Holy Father, Thank You for being our everlasting God, who does not grow tired or weary.  What a comfort to know You are alert and in charge at all times!  May you please help me today and always to remember that even though my body, mind and spirit may feel worn out You are always here to be my strength in all things.  Amen.

Sunday's Verse: All We Need To Know

John 3:11 "I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony."

 

I read a quote (I say that a lot, don't I?) not too long ago - and I'll probably mess this up - that said something  like this: "Why is it we believe everything we hear on the TV but we question the Bible?"  Serious food for thought!  I would venture to say that we should call this verse to mind any time we feel doubt trying to sneak in...this one reminds us that God has already told us what we need to know, He has given us His testimony and we need to simply accept and believe it.

 

Dear God, Thank You for Your precious Word, for telling us all we need to know.  Please help me to continually accept Your testimony as it has been shared with us throughout the Bible.  Amen.

Friday's Verse: Tough Love

Matthew 5:44 "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

 

There are many times I do pray for people who have been unkind to me, but I know this is often times easier said than done.  However, it is achievable!  I challenge you to try praying a quick blessing over the next person who cuts you off in traffic, or says something rude to you or in any other way does something offensive...I'm not saying it's going to come naturally (ever) but you will feel better about the choice you made!

 

Dear Lord, I know there are many people in this world who are unkind to me and those around me.  I ask You to please bless them each in the way they need it most in their lives right now.  Please help me to show Your love to them even if they have been less than loving to me.  Amen.

Thursday's Verse: The Better Covenant

Hebrews 11:40 "God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."

 

This chapter in Hebrews is all about faith, more specifically By Faith what had been accomplished by those told of in the Old Testament.  It is a great read if you have a few minutes! 

{ Bible Resources, Online Bible, Read the Bible, Search the Bible, Bible Study Plan, Passage Search, Keyword Search  } From the beginning of it all, when God created us even though He knew doing so would result in sacrificing His only Son to save us, God had planned the two covenants - the Old and the New!  He had already planned for the New Covenant to be better so that it would bring all believers under both Covenants together!  Rejoice and be glad for God has had it planned for a long time that our Covenant with Him surpasses the Old Covenant's promises!

 

Loving Father, Thank you for both of Your Covenants, I am blessed simply to be called Your child.  Please help me to remember that You planned for me to be living in this day and age and under the New Covenant which promises everlasting life with You.  Let this knowledge give me comfort and strength to face the day.  Amen.

We are weak, He is strong!

II Corinthians 12:9 "But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

 

Seems to me that some people are better at this than others...I fall into the category of people who have a hard time admitting their weaknesses and also asking for help.  God has been teaching me though to let go of this perceived strength and replace it day by day with His true strength.  What a relief to know that I don't have to be the strong one in our relationship because He wants to and by the way is way more capable of!

 

Dear Lord,  Thank You for all of Your grace filled promises in Your precious Word.  When I feel like giving in because I have tried too hard to rely on my own strength please bring me back into Your presence where I can be reminded that You are the strong one and that when I admit I am weak then Your strength is revealed in it's full power.  Amen.

Rejoice!

Romans 5:2b-4a "And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our suffering because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

 

Okay this kind of goes back to the Weekly Thoughts on attitude and perception but if you can think of this verse and the phrase, "If God brings you to it then He will bring you through it," together then you will grasp my perception of this verse...  Rejoice in suffering?  Sounds crazy but God may be using...no He probably is using our suffering to mold who we are becoming...

 

Heavenly Father, In times of suffering my instinct is to complain, cry and give up.  Please stay close to me and grant that I may feel your presence.  Please help me to remember that Your precious Will is at work in my life and that You will always lead me through the storm.  Amen.

Build Your Faith

Jude 20-21 "But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.  Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life."

 

If you ever want to read an entire book of the Bible, be uplifted and armed to battle the day but are short on time then might I suggest the book of Jude?  Only 25 verses long and I would venture to say that as with many Bible passages this can really be applied to today's world.  This particular part reminds me that while we are ever becoming Christians and ever growing in our faith we must strive more and more to cling to God and keep in His love.

 

Dear God,

I know that I need you in my life.  I am thankful for the promise of salvation and await your mercy with the eagerness of a child.  Please continue to help me to build my relationship with you and to always pray in your Spirit.  Amen.

Who Moved?

Psalm 10:1 "Why, O Lord, do You stand far off?  Why do You hide yourself in times of trouble?"

When I opened my Bible to this verse today I knew it was the right verse...just yesterday I had read an unknown quote that made me knowingly smile, "If God seems far away, guess who moved?"  Yup, we need to look back at ourselves and we'll realize we are the one who needs to come back to God because if we look deep into our hearts we'll know that He never left us to begin with!

Dear Lord, I know I've stumbled and strayed more often than I can count on two hands.  I know that if You seem far away then it is I who have been putting that distance between us.  Please help me to stay close to You, ever dwelling in Your comforting presence.  Amen.

Desires & Gifts

II Chronicles 1:11-12 "God said to Solomon, 'Since this is your heart's desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you.  And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will ever have.'"

This verse makes me smile and say, "that sounds just like you Lord!"  To reward a humble request for what is needed to serve Him with an abundent overflowing cup of all life has to offer.  

Heaven Father, I long to serve you and show your love to others.  According to Your perfect Will for my life may you please grant me wisdom to make the right choices each day.  Please help me keep the true desires of my heart in line with what is pleasing to you.  Amen.