Overcoming Praise

On October 3, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 107: 8                (Amplified)

Oh, that men would praise [and confess to] the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!


We have plenty we can celebrate about the goodness of God. He has freed us from every burden and sin and has set us up on the high places with Him. Now let us boldly praise His name and tell of his goodness. Also, confess the victories of the Lord. Confess his victories in your life and over all the works of the devil. Confess His healing in the face of the devil’s sickness. Proclaim your liberty. Say it aloud. “My God has overcome every evil thing in this and in the age to come. He has set me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8: 2) and I praise you Lord that you have. I praise your name and glorify you because you are worthy of all praise.”

It’s that easy, though I admit that it sometimes takes practice. Confess His word. Let it come out of your mouth. Thank Him from the bottom of your heart. Give Him praise. It all works together for your overcoming in His name.

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Praise Him

On September 29, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 9: 1 – 2                           (Amplified)


I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee; I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

The dictionary says that to praise is to commend the worth of, express approval or admiration of and also to laud the glory of as in song; glorify; extol. The noun is commendation and glorification. When we praise the Lord, we are to extol His greatness. This verse shows, I believe, a good example of one who knows how to praise the Lord. I imagine, though, that there are plenty of us who spend little time praising Him. I am impressed that God would have us turn our attention to praise. We need to learn how to praise Him and we need to praise him continually.

Praise is a powerful tool. It helps in our relationship with Him and it also helps unlock the power that he has stored up for us. God used praise to defeat armies. He can use praise to defeat every enemy and obstacle that you face.

Let us all learn to raise our voices to tell of his glorious nature. It is really good to praise Him in your private time. That is when you can be most free. Don’t use your time with God only to ask Him for all kinds of things. Spend some time recognizing his greatness and all that He has already done for you.

Today is a good day to turn our hearts and minds to worshiping Him anew. Praise Him with a new heart and a new voice. Let Him hear how precious He is to you and how deep your love for Him really is.

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Recovery

On August 22, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 35: 26 – 28          NIV

May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace. May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.” My tongue will speak of your righteousness and of your praises all day long.

It has taken three days to share with you the insight and emotional outpouring of David which is found in the 35th Psalm. I wanted to give you this psalm because I know that we all have been in David’s shoes emotionally.

One of the key points we can glean from this passage is that David knew his Bible. In this passage he essentially prayed Genesis 12: 3 which reads, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.” It is always wise to pray the promises God has already given us. Where there is a passage which relates to our circumstance then we already know God’s will. In this case, all we have to do is line up our prayer with the promise God has already given.

The other point which I think is key is to notice how David ends this Psalm. He was certainly in great distress and poured out his heart to God but when he gets to the end he has reached the point of declaring God’s greatness. That is one of the keys to David’s success and to his great relationship with God. There are other psalms wherein David begins with a recitation of his troubles but always at the end he has laid his problem at the throne of God and taken up his instrument to sing praises to the Most High. This is a very valuable lesson. It is acceptable to lament your woes. It is okay to tell God your troubles and your feelings, but do not end your conversation there. Keep communicating with God until you reach the praise and thanksgiving stage. Keep praying until your trust in His saving grace has returned to you. Remember too, that our New Testament instruction from Jesus is to pray for our tormentors. Their actions will return to them because of the bad seed they have sown. However, we now have the power and authority to even save them from themselves because in Jesus we can pray for their healing and a reversal of their fortunes. It certainly is not the easiest thing in the world to do but we have Jesus, and in him all things are possible, even praying for our enemies.

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Rescue Me!

On August 19, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 35: 17 – 20, 23 -24         NIV

Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my life from their ravages, my precious life from these lions. I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise you. Let not those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; let not those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye, they do not speak peaceably, but devise false accusations against those who live quietly in the land.

23 Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord. Vindicate me in your righteousness O Lord my God.

Yesterday we saw David forlorn and depressed. He moaned under the weight of his grief. In today’s portion of Psalm 35 we see David beginning to transition. He is beginning to look for the answer and he knows that his God is the answer. He recognizes God as his vindicator and his own role as praising and thanking the Lord for his salvation.

As you listen to David’s words you may think that his problems are not that different from our own. Perhaps we would be well advised to view our role in the battle in the same way as does David. David understood the lesson from 2 Chronicles 20: 12 – 25. In this great adventure the people learned how to fight a battle. God told them, “You need not fight in this battle” (v. 17). Instead they gave themselves over to praise and thanksgiving while God routed the enemy for them. They didn’t even go down to where the battle took place. They stood on the high ground and praised their God.

Maybe your tormentor, like King Saul, seems misled and unreasonable. That is what David had to contend with. He said his enemies hated him without cause or reason. It is said of Saul that he was influenced by an evil spirit, or that he suffered from a mental disorder. Those who plague us have their own issues. Often, probably most often, their suffering is the genesis for the agony they cause us. This, I believe, is why Jesus taught us to pray for those who persecute us. (Matthew 5: 44). They have their own pain and it is that hurt that causes them to persecute us without cause.

So what do we have to say to these things? Look to God to be your vindicator. Stand in trust. Pray to the Lord your God giving Him praise and thanksgiving. Sing to Him with a glad heart for all that He is. Expect Him to rescue your precious life from the roaring lion. Stand and see the glory of the Lord.

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The Architecture of Prayer

On May 9, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 13: 5

But I have trusted in Thy lovingkindness; my heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation.
This is a psalm of David described as a prayer for help in trouble. This part of the psalm certainly does not sound like he is praying for help though. The structure of this prayer is so insightful. David begins with his woes but by verse three is makes his petition to the Lord. Then by verse 5 of this six verse psalm, he has shifted into trust, thanksgiving and praise. David knows that despite the appearance of some problems in his life, his God will rise up and save him. He confesses that his trust is in the Lord and that ends his troubles. He knows what the end of the story is going to be and he sings his praises to the Lord.

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Silenced Songs

On March 25, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 27: 6       NIV                         Index Card 9

I will sing and make music to the Lord.
This one is a little personal to me but certainly you can adapt it to your situation. The reason this verse is so important to me is that although I love to sing, I am embarrassed by my voice, so I tend to keep it to myself. It is quite deep and I rarely let anyone hear my true voice. Because I was embarrassed by my voice I said no to my pastor when she asked me to join the praise team. I have regretted that for 30 years now. I hate singing rounds because my voice stands out so much. This is my promise to the Lord that I will not reject His invitations anymore. I will sing and praise Him and let the chips fall where they may, even in public.

Now in truth, I have a decent voice, well, at least I can carry a tune. There are folks who don’t sing to the Lord because they don’t like their voices or think they can’t sing well. I at least sing to the Lord when I have the house to myself and Dad likes it. Sometimes He will even ask me to sing to Him. With a chuckle I comply. Some folks, though, won’t even sing when they are alone because they think their voice so bad. I have learned that God loves your voice. Do you know that even if you can’t carry a tune in a bucket it still sounds beautiful to the Lord. I don’t know how it works, maybe it undergoes a metamorphosis as the sound waves travel through heaven, but it sounds good when it reaches His ear. And brother, if you are singing praise from right out of your heart then even Pavarotti doesn’t sound any better than you. You have the ability to bless God’s heart so sing and make music to the Lord.

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Knowing and Trusting

On March 14, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 13: 5

But I have trusted in Thy lovingkindness; my heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation.

This is a psalm of David described as a prayer for help in trouble. This part of the psalm certainly does not sound like he is praying for help though. The structure of this prayer is so insightful. David begins with his woes but by verse three he is making his petition to the Lord. Then by verse 5 of this six-verse psalm, he has shifted into trust, thanksgiving and praise. David knows that despite the appearance of some problems in his life, his God will rise up and save him. He confesses that his trust is in the Lord and that ends his troubles. He knows what the end of the story is going to be and he sings his praises to the Lord.

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