I’ll Turn Every Blessing Into Praise

I’ll Turn Every Blessing Into Praise

Jesus followers—and even people who are unsure of God—often respond to tragedy by first appealing to God for help and then questioning His intentions. Either way, difficulty has a way of making us aware of our dependence on God. In these moments when He is all we have, hopefully we can realize that He is all we need.

For Job of the Bible, this was no mental exercise. Job actually experienced the loss of everything he held most dear in life. How did he respond? His book is where we get the phrase, “blessed be the name of the Lord!”

In both trial and blessing, a grateful heart returns praise to God. When we fail to praise God for His blessings, we make fertile soil for poisonous seeds of pride in our hearts. Ideas like, “I deserve this, I earned this, and I did this,” begin to take root and overshadow God’s providential work in our lives. When we instead return God’s blessings as praise, we make fertile soil for God to do abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine.

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Daily Desperation for God…

In order to live with an ongoing, unending awareness of God’s presence, you must develop the habit of having a daily desperation for God.

Psalms 63

1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;my soul thirsts for you;my flesh faints for you,as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,beholding your power and glory.3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,my lips will praise you.4 So I will bless you as long as I live;in your name I will lift up my hands.5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,6 when I remember you upon my bed,and meditate on you in the watches of the night;7 for you have been my help,and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.8 My soul clings to you;your right hand upholds me.9 But those who seek to destroy my lifeshall go down into the depths of the earth;10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;they shall be a portion for jackals.11 But the king shall rejoice in God;all who swear by him shall exult,for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

How do you have a day with God?

Q: How do you have a day with God?

A: You live with an ongoing, unending awareness of God’s presence.

Colossians 3

1If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 8But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. 12Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Psalm 84: better is one day with God than thousands elsewhere.

We must let go of the good to grab hold of the better. Living a better life begins with understanding this one key thought from Psalm 84: better is one day with God than thousands elsewhere. His ways are better than your ways. His love is better than life. His blessings are better than material possessions. This week you will read from God’s Word about what it truly means to have a day with God.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,O Lord of hosts!2 My soul longs, yes, faintsfor the courts of the Lord;my heart and flesh sing for joyto the living God.3 Even the sparrow finds a home,and the swallow a nest for herself,where she may lay her young,at your altars, O Lord of hosts,my King and my God.4Blessed are those who dwell in your house,ever singing your praise! Selah5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,in whose heart are the highways to Zion.6 As they go through the Valley of Bacathey make it a place of springs;the early rain also covers it with pools.7 They go from strength to strength;each one appears before God in Zion.8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah9 Behold our shield, O God;look on the face of your anointed!10 For a day in your courts is betterthan a thousand elsewhere.I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my Godthan dwell in the tents of wickedness.11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;the Lord bestows favor and honor.No good thing does he withholdfrom those who walk uprightly.12 O Lord of hosts,blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Better is One Day…

“We are Overcomers.”

The overcoming life is obviously one that is lived in Christ; every day we have to remind ourselves by saying it out loud so we can hear ourselves, “Today, my life is lived in Christ.” There are two weapons in our possession to overcome; the first weapon is the blood of the lamb and it establishes who we belong to. The blood of the lamb marks us as his chosen and sets us apart as God’s children. It not only sets us apart but protects us as well. We cannot truly live everyday life victoriously without grasping the truth about the blood of the lamb. Jesus Christ’s shed blood was the price that was paid for our freedom. And this is the reason we are able to stand in God’s presence unafraid and also enjoy all his blessings. It is the blood of the lamb that justifies us or acquits us from a guilty verdict and allows us right standing with God.

The second weapon granted to the believer is the spoken word. Our testimony of the goodness of God in spite of hopeless situations and circumstances are like poison to the enemy, because he always banks on us taking the natural response when we face troubles by confessing what we see. It puts him in a state of chaos when a believer can maintain confidence in God and keep expressing that confidence verbally. The only way the enemy is allowed to gain strength over us is when we stay quiet and don’t engage our mouths with the promises of God and the testimony of our past deliverance.

Power Thought: Even though I may have trials and tribulations in everyday life, I am assured that Jesus Christ overcame the world for me.

“Know the Lord is with you.”

One of the most important keys to fulfilling your God-purpose is knowing that the Lord is with you. It is an awesome feeling to know you have support in the natural sphere of life like family, friends, coworkers, peers, and acquaintances, and be that as it may, the ingredient in making this phase perfect is knowing that the Creator of the universe, the one who brings the world as we know it into existence out of non-existence goes before you and backs you up. With this kind of knowledge, there is no way to fail, but there is an assurance that the very purpose you were created for will come to be a reality, because the one who authored it is with you.

As I have explored the Bible about the lives of many men and women God chose to use, I found that the common denominator was that the Lord was with them. God used ordinary, and even the least of men, and women to accomplish great feats that would preserve future generations. They had faults and flaws; however, these short comings did not keep them from accomplishing their God-purpose. We must remember; in order to fulfill the God-purpose, we must have God in it.

My friends, the present situations that we face in our lives should not deter us from fulfilling the God-purpose because we as believers are equipped with the assurance of knowing that God is with us. Being able to fulfill the God-purpose in our lives may never happen the way we think it should happen, but when we know the Lord is with us, it does not matter how it is going to happen, but, rather, it matters that we know who is with us while it is happening.

Power Thought: I am determined to fulfill my God-purpose – not in my strength and abilities, but in the Lord’s strength and abilities.

Broken Crayons Color The Same…OnPurpose!!

Rose-colored Glasses

Holy. How often do you see yourself as holy? That’s not a term we usually apply to ourselves? Perhaps you’ve never married, but not by choice. Maybe you’re divorced, abandoned or abused. You might have had a baby outside of marriage, or you may have even aborted a baby. How holy does that leave you feeling?

And yet, if you are God’s child, he sees you as holy, no matter how damaged, broken or deserted you feel. You may wonder, How can he see me that way after everything I’ve done? It’s because he is looking at you through rose-colored glasses. These heavenly glasses have crimson lenses that have been tinted by the blood of his Son, Jesus — the Darling of the universe. Heaven’s precious Prince. The Savior of the world.

The Father cannot see the ugly stains, blotches and blemishes of what you may think is your unholy life. He cannot see your past failures or sins because they are filtered from his view by rose-colored lenses that have been drenched in the royal-red blood of his Son at Calvary. By that sacrifice, Jesus made it possible for you to be perfect forever — yes, holy! You may have trouble wrapping your finite human mind around such an infinitely divine concept. But it’s true nevertheless, and you can celebrate your holiness. Look forward to eternity with the Father, who loves you more than life itself — the life of his own dear Son.

And when you look into your mirror, see what your Father sees through rose-colored glasses…OnPurpose!

Mary Hollingsworth ~ Taken from Fulfilled
See Leviticus 11:45

Share this:

Our purpose is to do what is right, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of others.  #Integrity #Purpose
The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. #BusyBody #Serve
Don’t be so quick to offer your #opinion – it isn’t valuable from the sideline:  It doesn’t require you to  sacrifice nor are you held accountable  – it’s easy to look sharp when you haven’t done any work. #SeeThePoint #Humility
Be quiet, stay in your lane and look at what YOU bring to the table.  #MYOB #Scripture

Check these scriptures for yourself.
2 Cor. 8:21
Luke 10:2
1 Th. 4:11
Know Your Purpose
See His Plan
Study His Word…OnPurpose!!
#1OnPurpose
#BrokenCrayonsStillColor
#MichelleRoberts

Hands…Do It!

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…”  Ecclesiastes 9:10, NIV

Are you being a blessing and living a productive life where you are today? Are you doing everything to the best of your ability? I know a lot of times we think, “As soon as I get a better job, then I´ll start working hard.” “As soon as I get over this sickness, then I´ll cheer up, then I´ll have a better attitude.” Or “As soon as my significant other changes, I´ll start working harder at my relationship.”

But really, God says here that he wants us to do everything with all of our might, no matter what the circumstances are. He wants us to become more productive today! I believe he wants us to have a good attitude and do the right thing even when the wrong thing is happening to us.

See, we have to be faithful in the wilderness if we´re ever going to make it into our Promised Land. Remember, God is keeping the records. If you´ll keep doing the right thing with all your might, in spite of your situation and circumstances, then you are sowing a seed for God to bring you up higher and also open the way for Him to bless you real good.

Comfort me with Your love O God
Wrap me up in Your strong embrace
Shelter me from the storm O Lord
Envelop me in Your tender care
By day I pour out my heartbreak to You
By night I give you my racing thoughts
In You I take refuge
In You I will not be afraid
For you hold me strong, You hold me safe
Calm my fearful heart O God
Still my anxious mind O Lord
For all my life is found in You
All my being is given to You
All my hope begins in You

Do It…OnPurpose!!

On my way to PERFECT!

2 Corinthians 4:18 ~ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

All this, I mean everything that our eyes can see is temporary,including ourselves. All these things on earth will come to pass. The sooner we know and except that, we will become more able to except some of the downs of this life, and move on.

We know God has prepared a glorious place for His Saints and it is eternal.  It has no end. Therefore, we have no need getting so “caught up” in the pursuit of this world’s treasures. Now don’t get me wrong, the scriptures do say, “He came to give us life,(this life)more abundantly…” and My faith makes me hold on to His Word.  He promised it, and His Word is all good.

O Lord, Open my eyes to see where you would lead me.
Awaken my ears that I would hear your voice guiding me.
Inspire my mind that I may comprehend your love for me.
Soften my heart that I would offer grace to those I meet.
Watch my feet that I would tread upon your kingdom paths.
Guard my heart from selfishness that I would give freely.
Inspire my words that I may speak of hope and healing.
O Lord, I follow you. Amen!

I’ll see you in the “eternal”resort, where we WILL be made perfect…OnPurpose!