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You are Able

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 13, 2015

We praise your name, Lord God, the Most High. You are the Source of all, you are the Sustainer of all, you are the Ruler and Ender of all. You are the final Authority, you are the Paragon of Perfection, you are the Righteous Ruler, the Holy Healer, the Powerful Protector.

There is no one like you. “For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him” (Ps. 89:6,7).

You, O God, are the greatest in power, wisdom and goodness. You are able to create stars by the billions, to hang the earth on nothing, to begin and end history, to defeat any enemy, to protect, guide and lead us in every circumstance. You are worthy of praise and exaltation all day long!

—From the devotional book EDIFIED!

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The Canopy of Jesus' Love

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 11, 2015

Today, Lord Jesus, I walk in amazement under the canopy of your love, knowing that you look at me, not with tolerance, or thinly disguised disgust because of my stubborn, selfish responses, but you see me clothed in your righteousness; you look on me with delight, with joy, with pleasure, glad to have me as your child, as your brother, in your family, in your Kingdom.

You call me to meet with you each day as you stoop low to gather me to your heart, enjoying our relationship. I praise you that, contrary to all logic, you revel in our relationship, you delight in doing good to me, you rejoice in being my rampart, you savor shielding me from harm. And all this when I deserve the opposite: there is no earthly reason for your love; no, only heavenly reasons.

I offer you praise, glory and worship, O Great and High King, Lord of Glory, Ruler of the Universe, Judge of all, Redeemer of sinners, Concluder of all history. You only are fully Patient and Profound, Gracious and Good, Pure and Perfect. You are worthy of worship!  —From the book EDIFIED!

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Paradoxical Truth

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 7, 2015

You, Lord Jesus, are a wonder, able in your incarnation to combine the unimaginable: you were both God and man, heavenly and earthly, infinite and finite, all-knowing but needing teaching, perfect but learning obedience. No one else could have been these mutually exclusive opposites!

I exalt you for your wisdom, your insight, your ability to put together things that we cannot unite even in our farthest imagination. You are the complete One, the perfect One, the holy One, the worthy One.

Glory be to you who are worthy of worship, honor, praise and exaltation. I bow before you in amazed worship; I rise up in wholehearted praise; help me to live in joyful obedience to you throughout today.

–From the book EDIFIED

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Worthy

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 6, 2015

O Lord God, you are the great I Am: wonderful in your ways, mighty in your mercy, lavish in your goodness, grace and patience. You display your glory in great acts of salvation, making you worthy of worship and wonder, of honor and exaltation, of praise and glory.

You who are our rock, our strength and our salvation, you are with us in trouble, you will save us through it and out of it. To you be Glory and Honor, Praise and Power, Majesty and Might, Exaltation and Obedience both now and forever.  –from the book EDIFIED!

 

 

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Our God is Always Near

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 4, 2015

It is so good to be able to come to you about everything in prayer, Lord God. You are the King of availability, of openness, of closeness, of presence; you are the great “I AM with you” God.

You are carefully, completely, joyfully, intimately involved in the details of our lives, not controlling our actions, but leading us in living wisely while graciously arranging events around us for our good. You are guiding and protecting us through the maze of happenings each day, helping us to live a life worthy of you, opening us to receive your joy and peace, causing us to overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

You, Lord Jesus, are the Superb Shepherd, the Good Guide, the Powerful Protector, the Perfect Provider, the Gracious Giver, the Lavish Lover of our souls.

We praise and thank you for the magnificent privilege of being your children, of having been snatched from the jaws of eternal death, the slavery of sin, and the dominion of darkness. In you we now walk in the light, clothed in eternal life and reveling in your love—all undeserved, all flowing from your gracious and good heart.

You, Lord Jesus, are worthy of exaltation, of glorification, of being lifted up before all creation. May the sweet smell of worship, honor and praise, of trust, thanksgiving and obedience rise from my life to you throughout this day.

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Purpose in Life

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 3, 2015

A new day, another opportunity to live for you, Lord Jesus, to think Truth, to give you honor and praise and glory, thereby fulfilling the reason for my existence. It is so wonderful to be given purpose rather than trying to find or manufacture it myself from the inadequate scraps of life: work, relationships, sports, abilities, activities or possessions.

In your great plan for the redemption and re-creation of heaven and earth, you, Lord God, include a special role for each of us. Your gracious desire for all people is to rescue them from the dominion of darkness and bring each one into the Kingdom of Light where we have forgiveness for sins according to the riches of your grace. You have made provision for all, but sadly, for you and many, only the willing will come.

For them you have given meaning in life: living for you in the personalized plan you have prepared for each one. In this you give us special equipping for significant roles so we can partner with you in the outworking of your desire to eliminate evil, expand righteousness, end history and enter eternity.

In this you grant us the meaning of life: giving you honor by joining you through worship, praise, thanksgiving and obedience. Every event then becomes an opportunity to fulfill this purpose by giving thanks, thereby reversing the fall of Adam as we stand in and with Truth.

Who else would or could choose His enemies to be His partners? Not only that, but make them His children and honor them with purpose, power, provision and a part in His great plans? You are worthy of honor and glory, exaltation and obedience, for you are great beyond conception, wonderful beyond imagination, beautiful beyond understanding. To you belongs all praise. May the sacrifice of thanksgiving flow from my life to you throughout today!

—From my worship journal

 

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God's loving guidance

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 2, 2015

Praise be to you, Lord, for how you will guide, direct and protect us today, as well as take us through the difficulties before us, events you will use for good and growth in us. It is so wonderful to know that you have a plan, that you have gone before and know the way out of each situation you have allowed. We can rest in your wisdom, your power, you goodness, your knowledge, your insight, your love. This world will be full of twists and turns, ups and downs, failures and successes. But in each event you are not only there, but you have gone before us, know the outcome and have arranged a way for us through it all. It is up to us to follow you so we can come out to the pleasant place you have prepared. To you be praise, glory and honor, for you are totally worthy of it. I thank you now for what you will do today.

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The Promises of Jesus

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 25, 2015

Praise be to you for your great promises, Lord Jesus, fastened at one end to your plans laid out before the foundation of the earth, then stretched over time as a canopy of protection, and fastened at the other end in the conclusion of history when all evil and sin will be swept away and confined to Hell and the lake of fire.

Your faithfulness is our shield and rampart, throwing back the attacks of the enemy. We live every day under your powerful, pure and persistent protection. And you give us a part in this, equipping us with the ever-present and portable protection in the spiritual armor (Ephesians 6:10-18). I praise you especially for the shield of faith, which we can choose to raise with praise to quench all the fiery arrows of lies and accusations the enemy shoots at us.

–From the devotional book, EDIFIED!

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The Beauty of our King

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 23, 2015

Praise be to you, Lord, for your being gracious, kind, good, wise, powerful and persistent. Your heart is one of pure motives, positive desires and great goodness. In you is rejection of all wrong, judgment of all evil, repudiation of all that is harmful, destructive and negative.

In you there is no evil, no iniquity, no sin. You are Light that overcomes the darkness; you are Life that overcomes death; you are Love that overcomes hatred; you are Truth that banishes lies; you are the Way that ends confusion and lostness.

You are the perfect One: perfect in power, in potential, in persistence and provision. In you there is no error, no ignorance, no confusion, no failure.

You are the Victor, the Conqueror, the Champion, the Overcomer, our King. And you have shared with us the end of the story so we can live in the light of the outcome, knowing that you will triumph over all falsehood, destruction, darkness and death. You will lock up evil and rule in holiness and happiness.

You will usher in a reign of righteousness and joy, of goodness and grace, of purity and power. You, Lord God–Father, Son and Holy Spirit–are worthy of worship, deserving of praise, entitled to obedience. To you be honor, glory and exaltation in my life today. Amen.

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The Privilege of Prayer

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 20, 2015

Praise be to you, Heavenly Father, for your faithfulness and desire to answer prayer.  I praise you for the concept of prayer, the idea that you want us to come to you and ask for things, to interact with you on a personal level. Thank you for wanting us to be a significant part of your great plan through prayer, that you are willing to tie your actions to our participation.

You are so much better able to do things on your own, yet you stoop to include us, even though it hampers you. You are the ultimate Father, full of love and goodness, concerned for the development of your children, including them, taking them with you, wanting to work with them more than to get things done quickly and efficiently. Relationships are of the utmost value to you, and I praise you for that. You are so patient, so kind, so gracious, so firm and consistent. You are certainly worthy of worship and praise, of surrender and obedience. May I give you all of those today.

–Worship Journal entry

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