November 25, 2024

I Will Stand In The Congregation

November 15, 2014 by

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Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
I will praise and give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart
in the council of the upright and in the congregation.
The works of the Lord are great, sought out by all those who have delight in them.
His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
the Lord is gracious, merciful, and full of loving compassion.

Psalms 111:1-4AMP

I will stand in the congregation, and I will exalt You
Let the children of Your salvation lift Your praises, too
Hallelujah!

I will stand in the congregation, and I will praise Your name
With Your people in ev’ry nation I will shout this praise
Hallelujah!

Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!
You’re the only inspiration for my praise, O God
Hallelujah!

We will join as a congregation and we will exalt You
We will sing as all creation lifts the song anew
Hallelujah!

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This Week…Psalms 111:1-4

November 14, 2014 by

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Over the next few weeks, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, we will be focusing on gratitude, thankfulness, and giving thanks to Almighty God Who has so richly blessed us.  As the Scripture passage quoted in this beautiful graphic (made just for us!), we will be joyfully proclaiming our ‘thanksgiving to Him with psalms’.  Over the past few days Ahmee, Ann, Cynda, Laura, and Tina have focused their writing to bring our attention to the following verses.

Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
I will praise and give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart
In the council of the upright and in the congregation.
The works of the Lord are great, sought out by all those who have delight in them.
His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
The Lord is gracious, merciful, and full of loving compassion.
Psalms 111:1-4

Cynda asked us, in The Power of Public Praise to consider this: “Where would we be if David and the other authors of the Bible had not shared their praise with us?  Our knowledge of God would be severely limited.  What if friends or family that had seen God work in their lives—deliver them from trouble and despair—hadn’t shared their praise with us?  Our knowledge of His faithfulness would not be as deep.  If we do not share our praise publicly, we risk limiting someone else’s knowledge of God.”

~   ♥   ~

Tina gave us a wonderful acronym T.H.A.N.K.S. to help us remember things to be thankful to God for in Expressions of Thanks!

Throne

  • We are to bring our request to the throne of the One who can grant them.

Heaven

  • When we call upon the name of Jesus, He will take them to our Father as our Intercessor.

Answered

  • God will, in His wisdom, answer our prayers.

Noble

  • Our thoughts should always focus on what is good and noble. We are to train our thoughts on what is right and pure.

Knowledge

  • Our Father will give us a much greater knowledge of His Word. We will want to fill our minds and thoughts with His words, His goodness, His mercy, and His ways.

~   ♥   ~  

In Grateful for His Works, Ann encouraged us to be grateful.  She wrote, “Sisters, it is the will of God for us to be grateful for what He has done.  Each time we should show a grateful heart to the Lord.  Do not murmur when you face adversaries; think of His wondrous works and His care for you night and day.  In fact we need to be grateful and sing new songs to Him…the songs that will be like a sweet aroma to Him.”

~   ♥   ~  

Ahmee asked a really good question in Thankful for Life Itself:  “How often do you thank God for your life?”  She went on to remind us that in Psalm 139:14 David praised God for ‘…making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.’  And that we as human beings who are wonderfully complex.  We know to thank God for all good things.  Therefore, should we not stop to thank God for making us?”

~   ♥   ~

Laura shared with us her heart in her family’s loss of their little baby, along with a simple reminder of how thankful we are for the little ones in our individual families AND church families in Little Bundles of Thanks:  “…when we dedicate our children to the Lord we are thanking Him for sending us this little bundle of joy that brings love, pain, heartache, and everything else that goes along with it. In the company of other believers, we thank God for this little person and pledge…to teach the child to be a person who loves and honors God through worship and service.”

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~   ♥   ~   *

Oh, Lord, what joy and privilege we have to come before You singing out our gratitude and thanks for all You have done and are doing for us, Your daughters!  May we reach out to those around us—whether we spend time with them each day or we just ‘happen’ to meet them in the grocery store—sharing with them how good, how kind, how gracious, how merciful, how generous, how compassionate, how forgiving, how wonderful You are!  With our whole hearts may we sing Your praise and give You honor and glory!  Thank You, dear Lord, thank You for Your goodness, Your grace, Your mercy, Your love.  We love You and adore You…and we praise and thank You!  In Jesus’ name, amen.  HalleluJAH!   ♥

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The Power of Public Praise

November 13, 2014 by

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Hallelujah! I will praise the Lord with all my heart
in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
The Lord’s works are great, studied by all who delight in them.
All that He does is splendid and majestic;
His righteousness endures forever.
He has caused His wonderful works to be remembered.
The Lord is gracious and compassionate.
Psalms 111:1-4

This is the time of year we begin to focus on all we are thankful for.  We offer our praises and thanks to God.  Why?  Because it brings us great pleasure and comfort to remember all He has done for us.  Our praises delight us but most of all, it delights God and brings Him glory and honor.

But as I reread the first verse (in the above passage) I wondered why it is so important to praise Him publicly.  Being a bit of an introvert, the words ‘assembly’ and ‘congregation’ are disconcerting to me.

Hebrews 2:12 (AMP) states we are to “…declare Your [the Father’s] name to My brethren; in the midst of the [worshiping] congregation I will sing hymns of praise to You.”  And 1 Peter 2:9b (NLT) shows us our praise “…can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.”  Praise reveals God’s wonderful works, His mercy and grace, to others.  Our praise reveals His works in our life.  Those works give others insight into the very character of God.

  • God’s works are magnificent – just like Him
  • God’s works are awe-inspiring – just like Him
  • God’s works are glorious & honorable – JUST LIKE HIM

Ok, you get the picture.  Just look at the list of characteristics given in this passage – great, splendid, righteous, wonderful, gracious, compassionate, glorious, majestic.  Those describe God.  Think about it this way:  Where would we be if David and the other authors of the Bible had not shared their praise with us?  Our knowledge of God would be severely limited.  What if friends or family that had seen God work in their lives—deliver them from trouble and despair—hadn’t shared their praise with us?  Our knowledge of His faithfulness would not be as deep.  If we do not share our praise publicly, we risk limiting someone else’s knowledge of God.

1 Corinthians 14:16 asks the following question:

Otherwise, if you bless and render thanks with [your] spirit
[thoroughly aroused by the Holy Spirit],
how can anyone in the position of an outsider
or he who is not gifted with [interpreting of unknown] tongues,
say the Amen to your thanksgiving,
since he does not know what you are saying?

This made me ask myself, ‘If I am thanking and praising God in private how will anyone else understand much less remember the wonderful works He has done in my life?’

2 Corinthians 9:13 (HCSB) sums it up this way:

They will glorify God for your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ,
and for your generosity in sharing with them and with others
through the proof provided by this service.

Others will glorify God when we share our praise with them.  Our public praise helps others see and understand the wonderful works of our faithful God.  That is why our public praise is important; because that’s really what it is all about, isn’t it?

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Father God, thank You for the wonderful works in my life.  Thank You for the times I have seen Your hand at work in my circumstances.  Please help me to be willing to share my praise with others so the can catch a glimpse of Your glory.  In Jesus’ name I ask this – Amen, it is so!

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Expressions of Thanks

November 12, 2014 by

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Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.
Full of splendor and majesty is His work, and His righteousness endures forever.
He has caused His wondrous works to be remembered;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
Psalms 111:1-4

Thank:  to express gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment

In the Southern culture, we are taught from the crib to say ‘thank you’.  If you did not say thank you growing up you were quickly reminded to say it.  How much more should we say it to our Heavenly Father.  Without Him, we would have nothing.

T-hrone
We are to bring our request to the throne of the One who can grant them.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

H-eaven
In Heaven, when we call upon the name of Jesus, He will take them to our Father as our Intercessor.

Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is,
because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Romans 8:27

A-nswered
God will, in His wisdom, answer our prayers. Not always the way we want, but as our Father, Who knows best, does.

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also;
and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
John 14:12-14

N-oble
From Scripture our thoughts should always focus on what is good and noble. We are to train our thoughts on what is right and pure. Not dwell in the negatives of our lives. When we search and find the light, we will feel lighter and free!

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable
—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4:8

K-nowledge
As we begin to train our thoughts …away from the negative and begin to go to the positive… our Father will give us a much greater knowledge of His Word.  We will want to fill our minds and thoughts with His words, His goodness, His mercy, and His ways.

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness,
Who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~   ♥   ~   *

Father, thank You for Your blessings.  Thank You for giving me the opportunity to share my heart with others.  Thank You for being You and for standing with me.  Jesus, thank You for being my Intercessor.  Holy Spirit, thank You for Your touches that bring me back to You.  Continue to give me strength when the way becomes weary.  Help me keep my focus on Your light!  In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

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Grateful for His Works

November 11, 2014 by

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Great are the works of the Lord, they are pondered by all who delight in them.
Psalm 111:2

This psalm praises the Lord for His physical and spiritual blessing as well as for His providential care over those who love and fear Him.

I am so grateful to the Lord for His works and deeds which no one can fathom. He who delights in them is blessed. God is a wonder and He has done so many wondrous things that you and I are witnesses to today.

I am so grateful that the Lord works wonders that transform people to the point of realizing Who God is, Who Jesus is, and being able to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. As it says in Exodus 15:11, the Lord is “majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders…” who is like unto Him? No one.

And that is why I am so grateful for being part of His Kingdom because whatever my Lord has I am a partaker and so I lack nothing. He created me in His own image and likeness.  How does a father feel when a child is born and resembles the father? They are always in jovial mood! It is the same way with my God whom I resemble—in His own likeness He created me—I am so grateful.

I can scale a wall because of Him and I am so grateful. He performs miracles…He displays His power among the peoples…with His mighty arm He redeems His people (including me!) I am so grateful.

You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known Your might among the peoples.
You with Your arm redeemed Your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
Psalms 77:14-15

I am so grateful to my Lord for great are His signs and mighty are His wonders. His kingdom is eternal and His dominion endures from generation to generation.

Sisters, it is the will of God for us to be grateful for what He has done. Each time we should show a grateful heart to the Lord. Do not murmur when you face adversaries; think of His wondrous works and His care for you night and day. In fact we need to be grateful and sing new songs to Him…the songs that will be like a sweet aroma to him. I am sure more blessings will follow you.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~   ♥   ~   *

Lord, I am so grateful for what You have done in my life and what You are yet to do in my life and the lives of my friends and relatives. May You continually be praised… and receive all the glory and honor. For Your works and deeds, Lord, we are so grateful. Be praised for everything in my life…in Jesus’ name, I pray.  Amen

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Thankful For Life Itself

November 10, 2014 by

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Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with His godly people.
How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!
All who delight in Him should ponder them.
Everything He does reveals His glory and majesty.
His righteousness never fails.
He causes us to remember His wonderful works.
How gracious and merciful is our Lord!
Psalms 111:1-4

Let me ask you a question:  How often do you thank God for your life?

I myself thank God for the lives of those He has graciously placed in my life.  I thank God for my three best friends.  I thank the Lord for my awesome boyfriend.  I thank the Lord for my wonderful mother.  I imagine that you have people in your life that you are so thankful God placed in your life, but what about your own life?

I seldom thank God for my life.  I thank Him for my health, job, food, money, peace of mind, guidance (and the list goes on), but I don’t think to thank God for my actual life.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
Psalm 139:14

Think—how often do we combine the words wonderfully and complex?  Complex typically has a negative connotation.  This verse blows that connotation out of the water, saying that we as human beings are “wonderfully complex.” We know to thank God for all good things.  Therefore, should we not stop to thank God for making us?

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~   ♥   ~   *

Thank You, Lord for taking the time out to make me.  Among all the unfathomable amount of people that You have masterfully crafted, thank You for including me.  May I honor You with this amazing opportunity to live among Your creation and point people back to their Mighty Creator.  I am so thankful to be here on this Earth as Your ambassador.  Amen.

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Little Bundles of Thanks

November 9, 2014 by

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Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.
Full of honor and majesty is His work, and His righteousness endures forever.
He has gained renown by His wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful.
Psalms 111:1-4

In this season of the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years), we often forget that this is a time to thank God for all we have.  The Lord had a plan when He did His great works.  God made everything for His glory.  As a group of believers, we should give thanks to God when we are together and when we are not.  The Lord is present at all times, and He hears our prayers of thanks.

On Mother’s Day, many churches hold baby dedications to thank God for the birth of new little ones.  When our son was born, we were going to a Methodist church, so we had a christening.  We had already decided to do his christening the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  We had the same plan for our daughter.  When our daughter was born, we had already moved to a Baptist church.  Baby dedications are done there in May.  I was able to talk to our Pastor and the Children’s Director about doing a dedication service the Sunday before Thanksgiving for both children.  The reason for doing all this at Thanksgiving was that I had miscarried our first pregnancy.  When we got pregnant with our son, it was in November.  We wanted to give thanks to the Lord for getting us through the miscarriage and sending us our son to us.   We wanted to do the same with our daughter.  I don’t know about my husband, but I wanted to honor and thank God for our blessings—especially during such a special time of year.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

Going through rough times can teach anyone to be thankful.  Losing a child can make one thankful for the little ones we do have.  I know I have a very soft spot for my son because I took a hard hit when we lost our first.  I still think about that one to this day.

As a group of believers when we dedicate our children to the Lord we are thanking Him for sending us this little bundle of joy that brings love, pain, heartache, and everything else that goes along with it.  In the company of other believers, we thank God for this little person and pledge to teach him/her the Judeo-Christian values for which our country was founded and to teach the child to be a person who loves and honors God through worship and service.

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Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for our children and the children of our friends and family.  You send us a great gift when you send new little ones to the church.  We pledge to teach them Your ways and to honor You through service.  We thank You for Jesus and the sacrifice You made as a father.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Show Me Your Ways

November 8, 2014 by

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Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore He instructs sinners in His ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them His way.
Psalms 25:8 and 9 NIV

Show me Your ways
Teach me Your paths
Lead me in Your truth, O Lord
On You I will wait

You are upright
Teaching sinners the way
The humble You guide in justice
The humble You teach Your ways

All Your paths O Lord are mercy and truth
And Your secret is for those who fear You

You will teach me the way I should go
You will guide me in the fear of the Lord
In Your presence, You will give me rest

You will show me the path of life
In Your presence is fullness of joy
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore

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God our Teacher

November 6, 2014 by

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Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in His ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them His way.
Psalms 25:8-9

No one is perfect.  No one is without sin.  If we were, we certainly would not be in this world.  We would be in the glory of God at this very minute.  However, we fall short—way short.  We needed Someone to teach us how we should act and worship in order to reach God’s glory.

Without Someone’s perfect ways and blood, we could not ever hope to reach God’s glory in the end.  We would be looking forward to an eternity of doom.  God instructs us to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior so that we may be reunited with Him in the end and be able to spend eternity in Heaven.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Colossians 3:16

Jesus becomes our Guide and Teacher once we enter into a relationship with Him.  The relationship works to help teach yourself and others how God expects us to live.  We live in the Word to keep ourselves from falling in line with the world and with Satan. We become wiser the longer we stay in the Word of God and immerse ourselves in our relationship with Christ.  When we become wiser through God, we can help others become closer to God.  By allowing God to be our Teacher, we gain the wisdom to be able to discern what is right and wrong. We become humbled and are able to teach others about God.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~   ♥   ~   *

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for being our Father and Teacher.  With Your teachings we can walk the right paths and look forward to the glory of God in eternity.  Thank You for giving us the wisdom needed to teach others and be able to discern right from wrong.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Being Teachable

November 5, 2014 by

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Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore will He instruct sinners in [His] way.
He leads the humble in what is right, and the humble He teaches His way.
Psalms 25:8-9

We have heard the phrase, “You are not too old to learn,” right?  We, as believers, continue to learn every day.  Each day is a new opportunity to learn about the wonder of our God.  He shows us what is available to us.  All we have to do is look and take action.

When we attend a Bible study, we have set certain expectations for ourselves and for the group.  God wants us to seek after Him and be teachable.  We can do this by becoming humble.  We are to ask God to reveal His heart to us and we need to be receptive to His Word.

When the psalmist writes, ‘therefore will He instruct sinners in His way’, he is telling us God wants us to follow the one true path to Heaven—which is through Him and belief in His Son, Jesus.  Then He wants to lead the afflicted in what is right and wants to teach them His way.

When we go through strife, it seems we become more teachable in those moments.  Our defenses are down and we are more willing to receive the instruction of the Holy Spirit.  Why?  Because we are seeking answers that are outside of our own understanding.  While we continue to seek His will for our lives, we will grow in knowledge.  It is only when we become comfortable and complacent that we begin to forget to seek Him first.

Let’s pray,

Father, thank you for your unconditional love. Thank you for sending your son Jesus as an example for us to follow. Thank you for the Holy Spirit, our helper in all things. With praise and thanks and gratitude for your great mercy and grace. Forgive us when we take our eyes off of your will and look at things with our eyes, not with yours. Train us to seek your will, not ours. In Jesus’ name, Amen

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