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Yesterday ended with a dissatisfying taste, an emptiness which I tried at first to banish with reading and popcorn. But then you, Lord, led me in the right path, reminding me to praise you for this unpleasant sensation, as this emptiness was a reminder that my soul finds rest in you alone—and the right response is to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving!

Therefore I praise you now, Lord Jesus, for this emptiness that reminds me of the wonder and stability of knowing you, of being a child of the eternal living God. You give us all we need for life and godliness and I can praise you for both the pleasant and the painful, no matter what comes.

As it says in Psalm 11:3, “If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?”

[When everything seems to fall apart, we can look away to you, Lord God, the only sure foundation in all of existence. We can rejoice in your character, rest in your love, live in your wisdom. The instability of the world only serves to highlight the surety of your character: the Lord Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever! Praise God!

 

Your eyes, Lord Jesus, are both fiery and forgiving; your heart is both loving and firm. Yours acts of righteous grace cause mercy to triumph over justice; your thoughts are incredible, returning only good for the evil we have done.

You are consistently, faithfully at work, turning the kingdom of this world right side up, starting within us. You have rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of Light, and now you are teaching us to see things as you do:

to rejoice in persecution;

to offer thanks in difficulty;

to understand that in mercy you chasten all those you love.

With you there is hope, meaning and purpose; with you there is a future with the certainty of an eternity of joy. Praise you for the foretaste we can have now in your Word as we gaze upon your grace and beauty and are consistently transformed more and more into your image by the Spirit of power (2 Cor. 3:18).

You, Lord Jesus, are truly worthy of worship, glory and honor, both now and forever more. May we honor you all through this day with obedience to what we know to be true.

 

Lord Jesus,

my God and Lord,

my King and Master,

my Savior and Shepherd,

you have undeservedly set us, your illogically adopted children,

in such a wide and wonderful place,

in a positive position of light and love,

of grace and goodness,

of beauty and brightness,

of care and color, like the scene below.

You have brought us into a place of belonging, where all depends on your faithfulness.

From your gracious heart is an ever-flowing spring of love that waters all relationships, washing away the stains of selfishness and shame of failure.

From your deep forgiveness-filled eyes,

from your pure, grace-giving lips,

from your powerful, health-bestowing hands,

flow the messages of acceptance, cleansing, delight and favor.

In your presence we, who deserve only eternal banishment from your presence, are dearly loved, deeply cared for, doted on and delighted in.

This is not because of anything we are or have done, but because of all you are, Lord Jesus:

the King of Grace,

the Lord of Love,

the Savior of sinners

and Ruler of Restoration.

In you all is made right, all harm is transformed, all wrong will be righted in the end.

 

 

Psalm 11:2 “For look! The wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow on the string, that they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart.”

[If I fly to temporal help, I make myself vulnerable to attacks of the enemy. If I set my heart on a desired solution rather than God’s glory, I have made myself open to attack, to loss, to failure, pain and in the end death.

However, if I set my heart on praising you, Lord, rather than on having my way, my desire, my plan, than you will shield my head in the day of battle.

I may not get what I desire, but I will be able to exalt your name in praise, fulfilling the purpose you have for my life and live in the freedom of knowing you will do what is best.

What a privilege to live for you, Jesus, my Great King, the Ruler of the universe, Spinner of the Earth, Bringer of the dawn, Beginner and Ender of time. You are the One to be exalted, praised, honored, and worshiped.

So, I bow before you now in surrender, and I will rise up before you to obey you this day with all my heart. May the meditations of my heart and the words of my mouth be pleasing to you, my mighty Rock and my Redeemer. (Ps. 19:14)]

Psalm 11:1 “In the Lord I put my trust;”

What an appropriate message for me as when I wrote this in bed I was down with a severe bout of vertigo, unable to be up, having to cancel all my plans–an opportunity to join God in His plans!

[Yes, Lord, I willfully choose to trust you, not myself, not people, not circumstances, not power, nor politicians. You alone are the One to rest in, for you alone are All-powerful, All-knowing, All-seeing All-present, and All-loving.

Therefore, I choose to praise you in and for all things–all the proof we need for trusting you, Lord, is found in your faithful, sinless, pure and positive character. This is displayed in the rich outpouring of your Love in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, I choose to trust you.]

“How can you say to my soul, ‘Flee as a bird to your mountain’?”

[No mountain will save me, no mountain will love me, no mountain is impregnable. Only You, Lord God Almighty, are the actual, adequate, all-protecting refuge and strength needed; you alone are my High Tower, my Mighty Rock and my Stronghold.

To you, Lord, I will flee when worry, fear, danger, sickness or loss threaten. To you I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving—praising you when it costs me, when I don’t feel like it–thereby honoring you and opening the way for your salvation to come to me. Your help is all I need.]

I praise you, Lord Jesus, that in your mercy you bring positive pressure on us to see truth, to come to ourselves and surrender to you. You are the One we can trust, the One who is our refuge and strength, our joy and wisdom, our Loving Shepherd and Warrior King.

Through challenges and adventures (including suffering, tragedy and persecution) you give us opportunities for faith-responses, for glory-giving, for grace-demonstrations, for clenched-teeth praise, for faith-filled obedience. These are chances to fulfill the purpose of our existence: to bring honor to you, to be reflectors of your glory, to  exalt your name and your Word above all other things.

I praise you now for another day, another opportunity to live for you, to live by faith, to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving– and thereby honor you while opening the way so your daily salvation can flow further into my present and future and into the lives of those around me (Ps. 50:23).

May you be glorified.in my thoughts, actions and words today, May those around me be touched by your Spirit overflowing from me. May grace be the fragrance of my life. For your glory, may I be a strong aroma of life to those around me who are looking for truth. And through that may many more be swept into your Kingdom. Amen.

 

“And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”

[What a hope for the future: I WILL be in your presence for eternity. Therefore,

death need hold no fear,

the shortness of life no panic,

the uncertainty of the future no threat.

We dwell in the certainty of biblical  hope as we press on to what you have for us in this life, and more so in the next.

You, Lord Jesus, are the One we yearn for, live for, hope for. And our hope is as certain as your Love, as trustable as your Word, your Power, and your present Presence!

Glory and honor are due your wonderful Name, Lord Jesus. May my life give you that honor today as I trust you through praise and thanksgiving in and for all—even before I see your goodness and mercy yet.

 

Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;”

[You, Lord, constantly pour out goodness and mercy on your children; it is a certainty that in each situation you are providing these in our lives. Very often we cannot see them at the moment– but when we can look back at a difficult situation, there they are: goodness and mercy were following us!

An example is the disappointment I had recently. After waiting two weeks for an overhead door installer to come, he only did half the job and then left, saying, “I’ll be back in about two weeks!” I could see no goodness and mercy in that! But, the next day while talking to one of my disciples, I found that he had worked as a door installer and he offered to come and finish the job for me.

We both profited: he needed some extra income, I needed the help; plus he knew where to get the springs I needed at a very reasonable price. We both saw God’s goodness and mercy in the first man not finishing the job. In fact his failure opened the door to better things!

This pattern has been and will be true throughout the whole of our lives with you, Lord Jesus. You are always faithful, you are consistently good and you are deeply merciful– whether we can see it at the moment or not. Praise be to you my wonderful Shepherd!]

 

“My cup runs over.” Psalm 23:5c

[You, Lord, give us what we need–and far more. What I actually need is only air, water, food, clothing, shelter and love. But when I look at all you have given me, it is way beyond that, much more than what I need spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically, socially, financially and in every other realm.

Now it is my privilege and responsibility to share these with others, to let your blessings flow through me to those around me. For example, the joy you give me should bring joy to others as I am kind, thoughtful, positive and helpful to them, whether I feel like it or not.

The material provisions you’ve given I should be sharing around. And the spiritual riches you give I should also be passing along, for, in your Kingdom, getting and hoarding is not the norm, but receiving and giving.

So, when we go to church on Sunday, we can go filled with the Lord’s riches and grace as well as insights from our quiet times during the week. Then we are ready to give to others as they have need, as well as to receive what the Lord may have for us.

May we continually overflow with the wonder of our walk with our Shepherd, Jesus, bringing encouragement, hope and perspective to all around us.]

Psalm 23: 5b, “You anoint my head with oil;”

[Shepherds put oil on the heads of their sheep to keep away pesky insects, to heal wounds, to refresh and so when the sheep butt heads, they will slide by and not be badly injured.

Oil here can represent many things: the Holy Spirit, protection, blessing and healing. You, Lord, provide for us all these blessings and more in your gracious giving, pouring out continually from your unending, inexhaustible store of riches.

As it says in Ephesians 1:2 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who HAS blessed us with All spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians goes on to detail some of these blessings:

–He chose us before the foundation of the world.

–He has made us holy and without blame before Him in love.

–He predestined us to be adopted as His children.

–It was His good pleasure to adopt us.

–We are accepted in the Beloved, Christ.

–In Him we have redemption through His blood.

–We have the forgiveness of ours sins according to the riches of His endless grace.

— And in 1 Peter 1:3 it says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life….” ]

 

Truly He is the God of Blessing. May we continually rejoice in His goodness to us!