I praise you that as I commit my way to you and trust also in you, you will bring the best to pass, you will bring forth the righteousness you’ve given me as the light and my judgment in your forgiveness as the noon day sun (Ps. 37).

I praise you that you give us your Shield of Victory, that you support us with your Powerful Right Arm, that you stoop down from your Throne to make us great as your children (Ps. 18).

To you be glory and honor and praise, O Lord God, the Triune One, the Perfect One, the Powerful One, the Most High Ruler of all. To you I bow down today, for you I rise up to live in obedience so that you may be honored. Give me the direction and wisdom you know I need for this day, O Lord, and I praise you now for what you will do.

More thoughts on  “I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths….”

You are worthy of praise for bringing us out from the shadow of sin into the light of your love,

into the warmth of your delight, the acceptance of your grace and the wonder of your goodness.

You brought us out into a spacious place because you delighted in us, even before we believed in you;

you did this because of your great love that works against all reason, against all odds, against all human idea of justice.

You are worthy of exaltation, Jesus, for you are the LORD Yahweh, the King of glory, the Savior of the world, the Shepherd of the redeemed and Leader of all who will follow.

Help us this day, this week, this month, this year, Lord, to live in the light of your goodness, to be your disciples by denying our natural selfishness so we can live in otherness.

And by obeying your Word, taking up our cross daily and following you with all our hearts. May we run with endurance the race you have set before us, looking to you so that you may finish our faith and glorify yourself in the process.

Update, they let me out of the hospital today and I am home, hopefully healed. No surgery, thank God!

Being in the hospital overnight is always an exhausting experience, but there are opportunities to share nuggets of truth, to encourage someone and pass on one of my books. God always has multiple purposes in what He does or allows.

My natural inclination is to have what is comfortable and convenient. But God is more interested in giving us challenges for growth, chances to witness and conditions conducive spread of the gospel. When we focus on our own discomfort and disappointment, our discouragement, we miss seeing the big picture. As someone said, the only way we can get that bigger picture is through revelation, which means the Word. “My ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than yours.

Personally  I find it hard not to focus on the little picture, just one tree in the forest, so to speak, rather than seeing whole sweeping panorama of the forest and beyond. To put it another way, I prefer to be distracted by my pain rather than the possibilities. But God is patient and persistent in leading us onward and upward, further into His Kingdom, on to greater vistas of His greatness, glory and goodness.

As it says in Psalm 34, “Fear the Lord, you his saints for there is no lack for those who fear Him.” Fearing God means trusting Him, caring more of what He thinks than of what I or others think. It is ever a challenge to be looking up rather than down. May we all practice living in the revelation of God, seeing the whole forest and following Him wherever He leads.

Some thoughts for Thanksgiving.

What is the purpose of our life?

To glorify God, to honor Him.

And how do we do that?

By Faith (without faith we cannot please God).

Practically speaking what does that mean?

Psalm 50:23 “He who offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving…”that is,  giving thanks for what we don’t like,

“Honors me…” There it is, giving thanks when we’d rather complain gives great honor to God,

For this kind of thanksgiving is purely by faith,

trusting God that He has a plan which includes this point I don’t like.

But, because we know His character (Wise, Loving, Gracious, All-knowing and Almighty, to name a few)

we can offer thanks to Him in any circumstance.

“and opens the way that I may show Him the salvation of the Lord!”

We give God honor, He gives us help, in everyday things as well as eternity.

So, Thanksgiving is a good time to give thanks, both

For all the good things in our lives

And for the things we prefer not to have, but came with God’s purpose.

These are practices we are called to continue all through the year. So,, “Just make up your mind and do it!”

“I will bless the Lord at all time, His praise shall be continually in my mouth, my soul shall make her boast in Him….” Psalm 34:1-2

You, Lord God, have made us new creations in Christ, welcomed with joy into your presence where we are delighted in, rejoiced over, cherished and treasured. In you we can rest securely, knowing that you have accepted us fully, finally, faithfully. In you alone we are safe, for safety is not the absence of danger but the presence of Jesus.]

Psalm 16:4 “The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.”

[In contrast to you, Lord God, every other god is false–the gods of every religion, along with the gods of comfort, power, materialism, politics and business, sex and entertainment, getting my way and controlling others.

Each one is an illusion and leads only to disappointment, bondage, oppression and darkness—the opposite of what you bring, Lord,

—–for you are Light, Love and Life,

—–you bring freedom, joy and peace

—–as well as grace, greatness and goodness.

You are the opposite of all other gods, you are the only One worthy of worship.]

“I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips.”

[I must avoid involvement in any way with these other gods, not offering them any acknowledgement or worship, time or affection; I must not put any hope in them. I must not give them any credence or credit, but look only to you, Lord Jesus, the Creator, Sustainer and Ender of all, the only true Hope there is.]

Praise you that you are the one True God, the True Vine, the True Savior, our True Lord. Help us to live like that!