November 19, 2024

Peer Pressure

June 8, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

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!
Let them (publicly) exalt Him also in the congregation of the people
and praise Him in the company of the elders.
Psalms 107:31-32 AMP

In that day you will say: “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name;
make known among the nations what He has done,
and proclaim that His name is exalted.
Isaiah 12:4 NIV

Exalt –

to extol, make plain, raise up, lift up glorify

The old hymn says, “The Lord liveth and blessed be my Rock. And let the God of my salvation be exalted” (quoted from Psalm 18:46).  Because of our salvation and all God has done (is doing, and will do) for us, we should be extolling His virtues, making plain His grace and mercy and, most of all, glorifying Him.  We are called to do this publicly.

Beth Moore has a wonderful acronym for the word “STOP:”

  • Savor
  • The
  • Observable
  • Presence

If we are observing and savoring God’s Presence in our lives, shouldn’t we be sharing it with others as well?  As adults, most of us feel like we have outgrown the peer pressure stage.  But, have we really?  How many times have we hesitated to speak up?  And let fear of embarrassment or ridicule temper our remarks?  Or let the fear of mis-speaking keep us quiet?

I have not kept Your righteousness to myself, sealed up in the secret places of my heart;
instead, I boldly tell others how You save and how loyal You are.
I haven’t been shy to talk about Your love, nor have I been afraid
to tell Your truth before the great assembly of Your people.
Psalm 40:10 The VOICE

Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth!
Psalm 46:10 AMP

I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings And shall not be ashamed.
Psalm 119:46 NASB

We should not be ashamed or afraid to exalt our Lord.  When we publicly acknowledge and praise Him, not only does it honor God, it encourages other to trust Him.  Instead of hiding His love in our hearts, let’s shout it out. After all, it’s all about Him.

I will shout for joy as I sing Your praises;
my soul will celebrate because You have rescued (ransomed) me.
Psalm 71:23 The VOICE

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Lord, we come before You today with humble hearts in awe of all You do for us. Help us sing Your praises boldly, not only in our hearts but publicly as well.  May our praise glorify and honor You and tells others of Your great love for us.  In Your Holy Name we pray, Amen – so be it!

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Give Thanks To The Lord

June 7, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love
and His wonderful deeds for mankind.
Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of His works with songs of joy.
Psalms 107:21-22 

Give thanks to the Lord (for He is good)
For He is good
Give thanks to the Lord (for He is good)
For He is good
Give thanks to the Lord (for He is good)
For He is good
His love endures forever

His love will reign forevermore
His power will reign forevermore
His grace will reign forevermore
His peace will reign forevermore
His love will reign forevermore
His power will reign forevermore
His grace will reign forevermore
His peace will reign forevermore

His love endures forever (praise the Lord)
His love endures forever (Hallelujah)
His love endures forever

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A Quick Reminder

June 6, 2014 by

“What has God done for you lately?”   Whenever I’ve been asked this question in the past, I thought it was cheesy.  Why does it matter what God has done for me?  (Or better yet) why do you want to know?  I used to think that my struggles were my struggles, and my victories were my victories, and the things that God did for me…were for me.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love
and His wonderful deeds for mankind.
Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of His works with songs of joy.
Psalms 107:21-22

The answer to my questions are simple.

SOMEONE NEEDS TO KNOW OR BE REMINDED THAT GOD IS ABLE.

Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves,
others will praise God for the obedience
that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ,
and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you,
because of the surpassing grace God has given you.
2 Corinthians 9:13-14

We can forget sometimes that our God is able.  Oh, how we can forget!!  When bills pile high and the fridge is empty…we can forget.  When the bank account says $0 and the gas tank is on ‘E’…we can forget.  Those are times it’s easy to forget that God is able.  But hearing about how God provided for a brother or sister can be a quick reminder of our God’s ability and a spirit-lifter.

When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy,
and they shared her joy.
Luke 1:57-58

So. I ask again… “What has God done for you lately?”

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Thank You, God, for being a God who answers prayers and gives perspective. Thank You for being taller than any mountain we could approach.  And thank You so much for providing us with sisters and brothers to help nudge us on when we are temporarily dazed by our circumstances.  What an awesome God we serve.  Amen.

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More Than Enough

June 5, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And declare His works with rejoicing.
Psalms 107:21-22

Thanksgiving and rejoicing…those are two beautiful words.

I think it’s wonderful that we can practice thanksgiving at any time during the year; that the act of being thankful isn’t limited to a holiday in the fall.  I’ve decided that one of the best feelings to have is when I can take a deep breath, and offer a true Thank You to my Heavenly Father.

For me, I know that the idea of these two words was somewhat intimidating.  I would wonder what thanks I could offer that would be sufficient, that would truly express the praise He deserves for all He has done in my life.  I knew that I could never meet the requirement (or that’s what I thought).  But I came to learn that He didn’t place requirements on the thanks we offer.  He just said to sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving.  And how we can—with the gifts we’ve been given, offer thanks through writing, through song, through helps, through whatever method you can.

I learned that thanksgiving and rejoicing are everyday acts.  They are things we can do when we wake up, when we’re working, when we’re talking to friends.  They are things that can become part of our character, things we can practice, and things that can become second nature.  This is definitely something that I have been working on and something that I want to continue to work on.  Daily He is by my side, helping me in these endeavors.  This week let’s focus on thanksgiving…let’s focus on rejoicing!

Let’s Pray: Dear Lord, thank You for Your love and kindness, for Your patience, and for the gifts You gave us that we can use to offer You thanks.  At times we may not know how to offer thanksgiving, it may not feel adequate, but to You it is beautiful.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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An Attitude of Gratitude

June 4, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Let them praise the Lord for His great love
and for the wonderful things He has done for them.
Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about His glorious acts.
Psalms 107:21-22

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A sacrifice can be defined as ‘something valuable given to God.’  An offering can be defined as a ‘gift or anything presented to God.’  According to the Lexham Bible Dictionary , all sacrifices are offerings but not all offerings are sacrifices.  In the Old Testament there were two primary reasons for sacrifices and offerings. One reason was for atonement/restoration and the other reason was for worship and thanksgiving.  Sacrifices and offerings were needed to approach God.

Jesus became our permanent sacrifice, our eternal sin offering. But that does not mean we no longer need to bring offerings before the Lord. We can still bring a sacrifice of praise, a peace offering before God. Psalm 96:8 (NLT) encourages us to do so.

Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
bring an offering and come [before Him] into His courts.

The idea behind a peace offering was communion with God; sitting down to a meal with God and drawing close to Him. Through praise we can come into communion with God. Our praise celebrates His mercies, His goodness, His provisions and our redemption. In the Old Testament sacrifices served to restore relationship with God and to please Him. Praise gives us the opportunity to do the same. We can bring a ‘thank you’ offering to the altar and a grateful heart to God. Sharing what God has done encourages others and keeps our victories fresh in our minds.

As Charles Spurgeon states:

“Such things are worth telling, for the personal declaration honours God, relieves ourselves, comforts others, and puts all men in possession of facts concerning the divine goodness which they will not be able to ignore.”

Psalm 73:28 (NLT) reminds us that when we draw close to God we can’t help but sing His praises!

But as for me, how good it is to be near God!
I have made the Sovereign Lord my Shelter,
and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things You do.

And, don’t you know, that pleases God.

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Heavenly Father, You are deserving of our praise. May our hearts and our lips joyfully ring out in worship of You. We come to You with a grateful heart, thankful for all You have done for us.  We know that if we don’t praise you, even the rocks will cry out Your name.  Our desire is to please You and we know our praise is pleasing to You.  Let an attitude of gratitude inhabit all that we do. In Your name we pray, Amen – so be it!

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Sacrifices and Joy

June 3, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love
and His wonderful deeds for mankind.
Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of His works with songs of joy.
Psalms 107:21-22

When one reads the Bible and thinks of sacrifice, they probably think about animal sacrifices to God.  However, most cultures do not do animal sacrifices anymore.  It is, in today’s modern world, an outdated practice in most cultures. Yet there are other ways to make sacrifices for God’s glory.

As parents, we sacrifice our time to raise Godly children.  We sacrifice our time to ensure that our children know who God is when we could be doing something else.  We sacrifice our own wants and wants of the flesh to bring glory to God through serving at church or in other capacities, working in various ministries, etc.  These are  just some ways we do “sacrifice thank offerings”—by giving up our own time to serve Him in some capacity.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 15:13

When we accept Christ or witness others accept Christ, we are filled with joy.  We are joyful that one of the lost has found their way back into God’s arms again.  We take that same joy and tell of God’s great works and miracles through song and praise.  We tell of His wondrous life and works with joy to anybody who is yearning to hear His story of peace and redemption.  We become filled with the hope that the Holy Spirit brings us.  We spread this hope and joy and peace through sacrificing our time and selfish human desires to serve and worship God.

“My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead
and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”
Luke 15:31-32

As in this parable about the prodigal son, the father had made great sacrifices to provide for his family.  He gave the one son his inheritance who then squandered it.  But, when that son returned home, the father was overjoyed.  In this parable, we can see God as making sacrifices for us, those who choose to ignore Him and refuse to follow Him.  However, when we come back to Him and accept Christ, He is overjoyed.  We are alive again, and we can tell of the great joy and miracles that God brings us through voice and song.

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Dear Heavenly Father, we are overjoyed that You love us.  We sing with joy of the wonderful blessings You give us and of the miracles You perform.  May we be strong witnesses of Your love and grace.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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God’s Steadfast Love

June 2, 2014 by

 Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love,
for His wondrous works to the children of man!
And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of His deeds in songs of joy!
Psalms 107:21-22

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The Book of Psalms contains about 100 references to God’s “steadfast love”.  In Psalm 136 alone it appears 26 times, once in each verse.  We quickly start to see God’s steadfast love is the reason for our hope.

It is He who remembered us in our low estate,
for His steadfast love endures for ever;
and rescued us from our foes,
for His steadfast love endures for ever;
He who gives food to all flesh,
for His steadfast love endures for ever.
Verses 23-25

 The psalmists all praised God for His unceasing, unchanging love and called upon it over and over again.  When they were oppressed by enemies, heartbroken, stumbling, poor and hungry, they remembered and rejoiced in His love for them.  We can have hope for our lives now and our eternal lives in the future because, whatever happens, God loves us more than we can comprehend.

He will always protect us and provide for us. In Psalm 33:5, David observed, “The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.” In Psalm 86:13, “For great is Your steadfast love toward me.” In Psalm 98:3, “He (the Lord) has remembered His steadfast love and faithfulness.” The loving-kindness of God—His goodness and mercy—is eternal.  It’s persistent.  It’s a stubborn love God has for His children.  He won’t turn His back on us.  And He won’t give up on us or let us go.

God’s steadfast love brings Jonah to mind.  Jonah could run, but he couldn’t hide or get away from God.  The Lord used a storm to get Jonah’s attention and a very large fish to transport Jonah back to the shore where he had made his wrong turn.  Even the hardship of Jonah’s experience was God’s loving-kindness.  He could have wiped out the wayward prophet in a heartbeat.  But, determined to show His loving-kindness to the huge city of Nineveh through Jonah, God kept him alive.  Psalms 33:18-19 sums it up this way,

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
on those who hope in His steadfast love,
that He may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

Today, let the Psalms refresh you as you read over and over again of God’s infinite love for us (both in size and time).  Let’s thank God for a hope that can be secure in His love. And this is a reason we can offer sacrifices of thanksgiving to this wonderful God who does wondrous things.

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Father, we thank You for Your steadfast love over us Your children who are called by Your name.  I honor You for there is no any other to receive the honor. You alone are worthy of our sacrifice of praise.  May You continually shower us with Your goodness and mercies all the days of our lives.  We thank You and bless your Holy name.  In Jesus’ name,  AMEN!

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional

Deeds

June 1, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love,
for His wondrous works to the children of man!
And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of His deeds in songs of joy!
Psalms 107:21-22

Reading the background of these verses, it amazes me how we are in such rebellion.  No matter how good we are, we cannot become better by our deeds. When we become ill, we pray for our heavenly Father to heal us, to make us better.  We pray when we lose our jobs.  We pray when we are in any kind of trouble.  What I want to do is praise my Father for whatever may come my way.  I want to sing for joy and dance with passion!

I believe it is this heart-change that allows us to see that God is not the image we have of our earthly father.  God is so not that man!  God wants us to love Him because He first loved us.  God has given us the Psalms and the other accounts to remind us of how He wants what is best.  He knew we would make mistakes…He knew we would need His loving arms around us all the time.

As God spoke and His word was done, we also can speak and proclaim His Word throughout all of the world.  We can speak them over our lives and the lives of those we love. We can speak the healing Scriptures over those that are hurting. For example we can pray,

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Yahweh is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never grows faint or weary;
there is no limit to His understanding.
He gives strength to the weary
and strengthens the powerless.
Youths may faint and grow weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
But those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary;
They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

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Father, give us courage to seek You everyday, with every waking moment and every breath we take.  Help us to not be afraid of what others may think if we begin to pray Your Word and proclaim it over our family, our church, and our nation.  We love You and want to experience life to the fullest!  In Your name we pray, Amen!

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Break Through The Chains

May 31, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

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!

For He has broken the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron apart.

Psalms 107:15-16

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Break through the chains in my life
Tear down the strongholds and the walls
Deliver me from all bondage and strife
That I may hear when You call and give You my all
Oh, Lord, my all I give You my all!

O Lord, my soul desire is to serve You
To honor You in everything I do
I surrender and lay down my life to You
Oh, Holy Spirit, come down and break through

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Protector

May 30, 2014 by

So thank God for His marvelous love,
for His miracle mercy to the children He loves;
He shattered the heavy jailhouse doors,
He snapped the prison bars like matchsticks!
Psalms107:15-16 (The Message)

God is our Protector.  When you review the Bible and history there are many times He rescued His people from certain extinction.  I have heard many people say they do not like history, but we need to know what was, to know how to prevent it from happening again or to know the signs to watch for.

When we search for miracles in God’s Word we read about Joseph. I recall that God used Joseph’s life as a foreshadowing of His Son Jesus coming to Earth, living among mankind, performing miracles and, while fulfilling God’s purposes, forgiving those who had wronged him.  How many of us can say that we have done that?  As Joseph forgave his brothers, God forgives us.

As we move forward in the Scriptures, we read where God used Moses to bring out the Hebrew people from Egypt into the Promised Land after the Egyptians endured the ten plagues. After the people were let go then they were led through the desert and came up to the Red Sea, where God performed yet another miracle in parting the Red Sea.  Let us not stop there, because the entire exodus from Egypt was a miracle in that no one starved, no one died (unless they angered God), no one grew thirsty, and their clothes never wore out.  God protected them in miraculous ways they would never have considered.

Moving forward a few hundred years, let’s go into the New Testament and meet the disciples in the Book of Acts as written by Luke. In Acts we see where the Holy Spirit empowers each person to carry out God’s purposes. Not by using tricks, but by the Spirit of the Living God.

In today’s times, we have seen men like Billy Graham share the Word of God in a miraculous way.  Through the recordings of his early messages Mr. Graham is reaching more people than ever before imagined.  Television, when used correctly, is a powerful tool for the spreading of the Gospel of Christ to the nations and the world.  With Mr. Graham’s outreach, it has allowed other ministries to reach out further than ever anticipated to peoples who would not have had the opportunity to hear the Gospel.

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Father, give us the tools we need to spread Your Word to the nations.  Empower us to train the next generation of missionaries to take the Gospel to those still living in dark places.  We look forward to serving You and we thank You for Your protection from the beginning of time…from then to the end of time.  Please bless our kids and empower them to carry Your Word to the nations.  In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.

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