Monday
A Renewed Life
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Psalm 103:1-5 NLT)!
Our Lord is holy. He is continually blessing us. He forgives and heals. He redeems the lost. He loves each of us more than we can understand or deserve. He fills our lives with His presence and with good things. He renews us daily.
We praise you, Lord. We thank you, Lord. Amen.
Tuesday
Our Awesome God
I was reading through this psalm and looking for something that I thought God wanted to tell me or to tell each of you. Well, I couldn't break this psalm up. It is so good to relate to how great our God is. So please read this and meditate on these verses:
Let all that I am praise the Lord.
O Lord my God, how great you are!
You are robed with honor and majesty.
You are dressed in a robe of light.
You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens;
you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds.
You make the clouds your chariot;
you ride upon the wings of the wind.
The winds are your messengers;
flames of fire are your servants.
You placed the world on its foundation
so it would never be moved.
You clothed the earth with floods of water,
water that covered even the mountains.
At your command, the water fled;
at the sound of your thunder, it hurried away.
Mountains rose and valleys sank
to the levels you decreed.
Then you set a firm boundary for the seas,
so they would never again cover the earth.
You make springs pour water into the ravines,
so streams gush down from the mountains.
They provide water for all the animals,
and the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
The birds nest beside the streams
and sing among the branches of the trees.
You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home,
and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor.
You cause grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for people to use.
You allow them to produce food from the earth—
wine to make them glad,
olive oil to soothe their skin,
and bread to give them strength.
The trees of the Lord are well cared for—
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
There the birds make their nests,
and the storks make their homes in the cypresses.
High in the mountains live the wild goats,
and the rocks form a refuge for the hyraxes.
You made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to set.
You send the darkness, and it becomes night,
when all the forest animals prowl about.
Then the young lions roar for their prey,
stalking the food provided by God.
At dawn they slink back
into their dens to rest.
Then people go off to their work,
where they labor until evening.
O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.
Here is the ocean, vast and wide,
teeming with life of every kind,
both large and small.
See the ships sailing along,
and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea.
They all depend on you
to give them food as they need it.
When you supply it, they gather it.
You open your hand to feed them,
and they are richly satisfied.
But if you turn away from them, they panic.
When you take away their breath,
they die and turn again to dust.
When you give them your breath, life is created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
May the glory of the Lord continue forever!
The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made!
The earth trembles at his glance;
the mountains smoke at his touch.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.
I will praise my God to my last breath!
May all my thoughts be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
Let all sinners vanish from the face of the earth;
let the wicked disappear forever.
Let all that I am praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord (Psalm 104:1-35 NLT)!
Folks, this is how awesome our God is! Please take the time to read Psalm 104 above or in your Bible. We serve an awesome God!
Lord God, thank you for your amazing Word. But most of all, thank you for your love, mercy, and grace. You are truly the Creator – of all things. You love us no matter how broken we are. Lord, let all that we are give praise to you. Praise the Lord! Amen.
Wednesday
Miracles Of All Sizes
Praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?
Who can ever praise him enough (Psalm 106:1-2 NLT)?
Can we list the miracles that God has done in our lives? When are the times you can say, “God did that!” in your life?
It's not necessary to list them here, but it would be nice if each of us did list not only the big stuff but the small things too. I need to sit down with a pad and pen and make a list. How about you?
Thank you, Lord, for working large and small miracles in our lives. We so don't deserve your kindness, but you call us worthy. When you call us worthy, then that is enough for each of us to raise our hands high and praise you. We thank you and praise you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Thursday
We Have Strayed
Save us, O Lord our God!
Gather us back from among the nations,
so we can thank your holy name
and rejoice and praise you.
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
who lives from everlasting to everlasting!
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord (Psalm 106:47-48 NLT)!
Our nation has truly strayed away from our God. The world has too. I guess our nation and people have been some of the last to turn their backs on our Creator.
I realize not everyone has strayed, but a good portion of our country has fallen into the "follow the world" mentality. We must diligently pray that we (our people) will return to God.
It's a real shame and travesty. America was founded on the Word of God. We have served Him for over 200 years, but we have moved away from Him. It is not too late, but the lamp is growing dim.
Please join me in praying for our nation, our people, and the world.
Lord God, save us. Bring us back to you. Help those who haven't strayed to be strong and faithful. Help those who have started walking away to turn around and come back. Lord, remove the scales from the eyes of those who say there is no God. Help us, Lord. We are sinful – a broken nation, people, and world. Lord God, Father of creation, save us. We pray in the mighty name of your Son, Jesus Christ – our Savior and King. Save us! Amen.
Friday
Stuck In a Quagmire
Some wandered in the wilderness,
lost and homeless.
Hungry and thirsty,
they nearly died.
“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he rescued them from their distress.
He led them straight to safety,
to a city where they could live.
Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
For he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things (Psalm 107:4-9 NLT).
We all are wanderers. We all will stray from time to time. It's human nature. But if we continue to stray, we could become lost and homeless. Our worldly desires can kill us.
Have you called out to the Lord? "Jesus, help me!” He loves to pull the lost back into His amazing arms of grace. Are you ready to return to the safety of His presence? Don't forget Jesus will satisfy all our needs. Have you asked Him to help?
Lord God, please step from your throne and grab us by the nap of our neck and pull us out of our quagmire of sin and distress. We need you, Lord. Please come. Help us, Lord. We ask and pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Saturday
No Comparison
Praise the Lord!
Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the name of the Lord
now and forever.
Everywhere—from east to west—
praise the name of the Lord.
For the Lord is high above the nations;
his glory is higher than the heavens.
Who can be compared with the Lord our God,
who is enthroned on high?
He stoops to look down
on heaven and on earth.
He lifts the poor from the dust
and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes,
even the princes of his own people!
He gives the childless woman a family,
making her a happy mother.
Praise the Lord (Psalm 113:1-9 NLT)!
Nothing can compare to our God. Nothing. I'm so thankful for that fact.
I love the fact He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth. He is enthroned above the highest of highs. He lifts each of us from our lowest of low places and has a wonderful home for us in His midst. He uses His church (us, the people) to reach out to all those in need of family, friends, and relationships.
Yes, we should praise the Lord all day long.
Dear Lord, forgive us for not giving you the praise you deserve. Help us to always put you first in all that we do. Help us to be "the church" and reach out to those who need to be a member of our family. Lead us and direct our paths today and every day. We pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Sunday
Prayer Time
I love the Lord because he hears my voice
and my prayer for mercy.
Because he bends down to listen,
I will pray as long as I have breath (Psalm 116:1-2 NLT)!
Prayer is our two-way communication with our Lord, and the most important way we can spend time with Him.
Every minute we pray is time well spent.
Are you spending quality time in prayer? Are you not only pouring out your heart's desires and needs but also praying for others? Are you being selfless or selfish in your prayer time? Are you spending time in silence by listening for God to speak to your ears or your heart?
Yes, I firmly believe that God speaks to us in our prayer time to touch our hearts and souls. Listen for Him. Open your mind and heart for Him to speak to you.
Lord God, help us to dedicate time for prayer each day. Help us to be still and listen. Help us not to be selfish in our time with you, Lord, but help us to pray for others. Lead us, Lord, by your Holy Spirit so we might be closer to you through prayer. We ask and pray this morning in the Holy Name of Christ Jesus, our Savior. Amen.
(Editor's Note: "God Has a Gift for You" is the good news that restores the broken relationship we have with God because of our sin.)
