Praise in and for all things is really the act of surrendering to the Lord at that moment and in that situation. In addition, it is resisting the devil and his suggestion that “this situation is just awful! Poor me!”
Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my shepherd.” That means He is watching over me all the time, with great care and attention, holding at a distance what is truly bad.
He “makes me lie down in green pastures.” That is, He finds for me the situations which are profitable for growth and brings me there. He doesn’t ask if I like it, nor does He ask my opinion. He makes me lie down there until I’ve learned what is needed. In this I can cooperate with Him by praising Him for what He is doing whether I like it or not.
–From the book EDIFIED!
available from www.edifyingservices.com
All Hail King Jesus
Praise be to you, Lord God Almighty, Commander of the hosts of Heaven. To you we give glory and honor and praise, for you, King Jesus, Mighty Father, Holy Spirit, are the most High, the most Wise, the most Powerful, the most Good and the most Holy One. You are without beginning, without end, without change, without lack, without evil, sin or darkness. You are all that is good, all that is right, all that is positive. You are perfect, you are present, you are powerful, therefore we bow before you in worship and rise up in obedience to bring you honor, praise and exaltation today.
–From the book EDIFIED!
available from www.edifyingservices.com
Praise is a Privilege
Praise is a great privilege, and a great responsibility. Praise for and in all things is expressing faith in a God who controls everything for our good and His glory. Praise is certainly the gateway to surrender and freedom in Christ. Such praise comes by the working of the Holy Spirit through the Word and flows out as we obey what we know to be true.
James 4:7-10 has taken on a new depth for us as we see the importance of praise: “Submit yourselves, then, to God [by praise]. Resist the devil [by praise], and he will flee from you. Come near to God [by praise] and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded [repent of complaining and griping while we claim to trust God]. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom [treat grumbling and complaining as the serious sins they are and repent in sadness]. Humble yourselves before the Lord [by praising in faith], and he will lift you up.”
He sets us free
“You, Jesus, have given us light from your Wisdom, conviction and guidance from your Spirit, transformation and insight through your Word and worship. In you is life, in you is Light, in you is Love and in you I am free and fulfilled, forever.
“Lord Jesus, to know you is such a wonder, to give you worship is such a privilege, to love you is such an honor. You are the Creator, you are the Guide, the Protector, the Beginner and Ender of all. We can trust you fully. To you alone belongs worship and power, glory and exaltation.”
–from EDIFIED! 365 devotionals to stimulate personal worship and spark inner transformation.
Quote from the book EDIFIED! 365 devotionals to stimulate personal worship and spark inner transformation.
| “The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.” Psalm 50:1
“You are the Mighty One who spoke the universe into existence, who knows the name of every star, who holds together the nucleus of every atom. Your might is without margin, your strength is without stricture and your power is without perimeter. There is no good that you cannot do, there is no evil you cannot overcome, there is no plan that can stand against you. You are mighty in virtue, powerful in wisdom, strong in love and vigorous in justice. To you belongs all honor and worship!” |
Book Review
BOOK REVIEW:
Knowing Jesus is Enough for Joy, Period! A Practical Guide to Everyday Spiritual Warfare
S.M. Wibberly. Xulon Press 2301 Lucien Way, Suite 415, Maitland, FL 32751, 304 pages, 2010, $18.99.
–Reviewed by Dick Scoggins, founder of Fellowship of Church Planters in Rhode Island, then Training Director in England working with several miss.on organizations, and now in Los Angeles working with European and American miss.on organizations as well as The Guild (www.uscwm.org/theguild).
I love this book because it mixes strong theology with excellent practice. Steve has lived in several other cultures where he has had to look at his own western worldview and make appropriate changes to fit the new cultures. This helped him discern how to effectively “be” good news in them. His first chapter is on worldview and is suitable for all who are journeying to find a Biblical one that faces up to the hard realities of life.
The author progresses right to Spiritual Warfare where he exposes the darkness of the enemy and our role in this war. From there he goes on to practical ways to live out the life of light in a world of darkness. There are no simplistic formulaic answers, but rather biblical, spiritual practices that help us cooperate with God’s working in the difficulties and shadows of this world. He illustrates these with an abundance of examples from his own journey.
His emphasis on connecting with God through the Word and Worship is excellent. 
When I got to the sections on Psalms, praise and worship, I slowed way down. I had been exposed to this, but never really “got it”. It was so helpful to read through Steve’s personal experiences and prayers as they enabled me to go much deeper than I ever had in these areas and helped me get to a whole new level of connecting with God.
This book does an excellent job of giving enough direction for the reader to enter into the experiences Steve outlines, that of living above pressures rather than under them. At the same time it avoids the simplistic formulas which are bound to disappoint. It has an excellent mix of the practical with the mystical (personal experience with God). It is useful for personal growth, for member care and for discipleship.
I highly recommend it.
This book is available in paperback and Kindle at https://knowingjesusisenoughforjoy.com/. All profits from books bought from this website go directly to missions.
A weekly book review delivered to you from Missio Nexus
Infected with Hope
I have an infection that I want to pass on to you, an infection of hope. Biblically “hope” is a certainty based on the character of God. And what is He like?
You, Lord, are the God of hope, the God of guaranteed good. What you deem will come to pass, what you promise will happen. You are the Almighty One, unlimited in your power, unstoppable in your plans and inexhaustible in your resources.
You are the Guardian of goodness, the Lord of Love, the King of kindness, the Prince of peace, the Savior of sinners, the Light of life and the God of grace. From you flows only what is good, so we can have perfect hope (certainty) that in your power and love, in your grace and wisdom you will bring into our lives only what you will use for good. What you bring to us, whether we like it or not, whether it is painful or pleasant, will be for the furtherance of your Kingdom, the overflowing of our cup of hope, and the increase of your glory.
Nice words, but practically speaking, what does this mean in every day life? When things come that are not to our liking, we can and should respond with two acts of faith. First is to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, praising our Great God for what He has allowed.
For instance, when we recently got some unwanted, unpleasant news, we prayed, “Thank you, Lord, that our insurance did not pay for Barbara’s trip to the emergency room, meaning it will cost us more than $3000 out of pocket!” Giving thanks like this is an act of teeth-gritting faith, a faith that flows from the peace, joy and hope God pours into our lives as we trust in Him.
Second is to rewrite this event from God’s perspective: “You, Lord, are the wise and powerful One who could have made the insurance company pay, but you chose otherwise. All the money I have is yours, so if you choose to have me spend it this way, I can trust you. I let go of this money. I praise you now for what you are doing in this event, for how you are going to use it for your glory and my good. Thank you for the chance to trust you, to get up the shield of faith by praise when this event goes totally against what I would naturally like and value.”
Such a willful act of trust brings the fulfillment of Romans 15;13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that your lives may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
As I trust, the Holy Spirit will cause this hope to splash over on those around me, stimulating them to hope and trust as they hear me speak of our wonderful, powerful, trustable God. Or, on the other hand, if I complain instead or trusting, I will quench the flow of hope to all around me.
God calls us to cooperate with Him in using each event to bring more glory to Himself, whether it be by our praising when we would rather complain, or whether it be that He works in some wonderful way to change things.
In our case, God has chosen to answer wonderfully by guiding the insurance company to reverse their decision, without any direct input from us; they have said they after all are going to pay the whole $3000! This is surely the out working of Psalm 50:23: “He who offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me and opens the way that I may show him the salvation of the Lord.”
May praise be the keynote of our lives in and for all things!
Psalm 58 meditations
Psalm 58:9 “O my Strength,” [You, O God, are the Mighty One; my strength is so small, so miniscule, so inadequate. Only in you is there the possibility of being strong in might, wisdom and eternal power. So I come to you in prayer, in trust, in obedience that you may be exalted before all I meet today.]
“I watch for you;” [This is an active, positive, worshipful watching to see what you will do, to be ready to give you glory in God sightings so that I and others may give you increasing glory and trust you more.]
“you, O God, are my fortress,” [Only you can adequately protect me from my powerful enemies, whether they be human or demonic or myself. Your power is far more than adequate; mine is totally inadequate, so I take refuge in you through praise, through waiting, through offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving, through intercession. You alone, O God, are my fortress.]
“my loving God.” [You, O Heavenly Father, have made yourself my God by creating me, by buying me back, by choosing me, by calling me, by cleansing/transforming me, by adopting me, by commissioning me, by delighting in my, by rejoicing over me in song. You are loving, gracious, fully committed to the goodness of your children. Your desire is to graciously share your love and goodness with the undeserving, making your enemies your family members.]
You are so gracious, O Triune God, so good, so great in your heart of love. We must bow before such undeserved grace and kindness, lifting up your Name, your Character, your Greatness. You are worthy of worship and wonder, of obedience and service. To you be glory in all I do and think today, Lord God; may your Spirit and your hope splash over on all who meet me today. Amen.
Rejoicing in the morning
I praise you, Lord, that when I awoke this morning, you were there, watching, protecting, waiting. I praise you that in you is all we need, for you have created us to “dock” with you. Without you we are unplugged, adrift, lost and harmful to the environment. With you we are in place, empowered, employed and enjoyed.
You, Lord God, are the Master Planner, the Mighty Architect, the Magnificent Creator and the Majestic Concluder of all. You are wonderful, wise, willful and One. In you there is harmony, wholeness, holiness and happiness. With you there is potential, power, protection and provision. In you we can trust, tremble, and triumph. In you, with you and from you comes all that we will ever need.
You are majestic, marvelous, beautiful and greatly to be praised. I exalt your Name, I magnify your Character, I rejoice in your Goodness and honor your Greatness. You are worthy of all worship: whole-hearted, unified, total-commitment praise, honor and obedience.
May this be true in my life today, Triune Lord God, Ruling Heavenly Father, Commanding King Jesus, Guiding Holy Spirit. May you be lifted up before all around me, may you be exalted in my motives, attitudes, words, actions and interactions today. Amen.
In The Place Of
Thank you this morning, Lord, for the chance to trust you and offer you praise when my computer did not restart after installing the new operating system. There was the real possibility that everything was messed up and I wouldn’t be able to access anything, including all my powerpoint presentations for all my teaching in the next couple of weeks. You answered prayer, however, Lord, and after a force quit, it all started up nicely.
Praise you for such opportunities to praise in faith before getting an answer, to rest in you and to give glory and honor to you before all the unseen hosts, as well as to advance spiritually myself, cooperating with the Holy Spirit in having faith expanded, giving the Lord Jesus more room to operate in my life. You are so good to us, Lord, giving us such fine opportunities.
Being your child is such a great and positive experience. You shine Truth into the dark corners of our souls, chasing away the shadows that frighten us, giving us joy in the place of heaviness,
hope in the place of despair,
meaning in the place of pointlessness,
fulfillment in the place of emptiness,
guidance in the place of confusion,
knowledge in the place of ignorance,
understanding in the place of superficiality,
wisdom in the place of foolishness,
insight in the place of indecision,
power in the place of weakness,
self-control in the place of bondage,
freedom in place of oppression,
light in the place of darkness,
courage in the place of fear,
growth in the place of stagnation,
protection in the place of vulnerability,
shelter in the place of exposure,
good in the place of evil,
salvation in the place of condemnation,
eternal life in the place of endless death,
a future of certainty in the place of the unknown,
security in the place of fear,
significance in the place of worthlessness,
grace in the place of rejection,
fruitfulness in the place of barrenness,
belonging in the place of alienation,
a forever family in the place of loneliness,
community in the place of isolation,
your constant presence in the place of hopelessness,
adoption in the place of rejection,
pardon in the place of condemnation,
forgiveness in the place of judgment,
gain in the place of loss,
peace in the place of turmoil,
wholeness in the place of brokenness,
healing in the place of woundedness,
completeness in the place of great lack,
and love in the place of hate.
In you, Lord Jesus, is all that we need, all that we were made for, all that we long for. Your divine power has indeed given us all we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of you who called us by your own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3)
To you, Lord Jesus, belongs all honor and praise, all glory and worship, all exaltation and thanksgiving, for from you comes all goodness, all wisdom, all power, all love, all grace. May you be glorified in my life today, O Lord Jesus, King of all creation, Ruler of all galaxies, Shepherd of all your sheep and Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. Amen.