Morning Devotional December 31, 2014

John 12:43

 

“For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

 

As we leave the old year and enter the new, pay attention to where the praise of the world is focused. We see those of the world focus on praising this one and that one for their accomplishments in the past year. No thought to the God of Heaven. But we expect that from them. Don't we? After all they are not God's children.

But also notice many of those who wear the name of Christ. There are those who we believe to be the children of God. Yet they follow after the example of the world and not after the example of their Savior. They will celebrate with the darkness of the world and not with the light of Christ.

So at this time of remembering the past year remember Who it was that gave you that year. Remember the One who brought you through that year. And remember to give thanks to our Heavenly Father for it all.

As for the year to come, waste not your time and energy on silly resolutions but instead strive to live your life according to the Word of God.

 

John 12:46

“I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.”

 

If you are a child of God flee the darkness and concentrate on the Light.

If you have not been saved and the Holy Spirit is calling you “believe on the name of Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”

 

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional October 12, 2014

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

As I read of our brothers and sisters in Canada are celebrating their nation's Thanksgiving Day tomorrow, I am reminded of the verses above.

The Lord tells us in His Word several times we are to give thanks to God for everything in our lives. But I believe the most important thing we have to give thanks for is the grace and mercy our Lord showed upon us when He offered Himself as the sacrifice for our dead and lost souls. What a joyous moment that is when our Lord sends His Holy Spirit to prick our hearts and show us what evil lost sinners we are. And that moment when our Lord opens our understanding and gives us the faith to believe His Son, Jesus Christ, is our only hope for salvation.

What a glorious revelation to see what has been hidden from us. What a blessing to know that the Holy Father has chosen us from before the foundation of the earth to be His child. What a miracle the Great Physician performs to change us from death unto life. Praise the Lord for our salvation!!! Praise the Lord for giving us eternal life and saving us from our sins!!!

And even after all this we still fail Him. What wicked sinners we are. Even after all He has done for us and has given us we still struggle with the sins of this life. We still forget to turn to Him in our greatest times of need.

Even though He has given us the Great Comforter to dwell within us we still forget who are and who's we are. We must remember we are children of the King of all creation! We are joint heirs with the Son of God! Without Him we are nothing and we have nothing.

We must remember to “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

So as our brothers and sisters in Canada celebrate their Thanksgiving Day tomorrow I pray that they remember to give thanks to the only one who deserves our thanks. Give thanks to our Heavenly Father.

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!

 

Morning Devotional October 5, 2014

I Chronicles 29:11-14

 

“Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reighest over all; and in thy hand is power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.”

O what a glorious God we serve!!!

King David, in this prayer praises the Lord for all the blessings He has bestowed upon the nation of Israel. At the end of David's reign as king, as he is about to pass the keys of the kingdom over to his son Solomon, prays a prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God who has blessed the people and their king. My favorite part of this prayer is the last verse where David so humbly says: “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort?” Who are we? What gives us the right to come before the Almighty God and proclaim His name and to sing His praises? Where does this willingness come from? The willingness to want to worship God. The one and only true God. The one who sent His only begotten Son to die a horrible death so that our sins would be forgiven and washed cleaned. The one who gave us eternal life. A life in eternity with Him.

David answers these questions in the same verse: “For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.” Praise God!!! Our worship and admiration for Him is not dependent upon us. For with out His Holy Spirit living within us we would have no desire to worship Him or to praise His name. David knew that all things come from God. The very will to worship God. The very will to want a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father. Is not our own will but His will bestowed upon us.

 

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!    

Morning Devotional September 28, 2014

I Chronicles 16:7-36

7 Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren.

8 Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.

10 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

11 Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.

12 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

13 O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

14 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

15 Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations;

16 Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac;

17 And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,

18 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance;

19 When ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it.

20 And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people;

21 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,

22 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

23 Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation.

24 Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.

25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.

26 For all the gods of the people are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.

27 Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.

28 Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.

29 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

30 Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.

31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigneth.

32 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein.

33 Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth.

34 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

35 And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.

36 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord.

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!

 

Morning Devotional September 27, 2014

Psalm 16:11

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

 

What a glorious picture of our savior we see in this verse.

First:

David says “Thou wilt shew me the path of life”. Who is the path of life for us? None other than Jesus Christ; the Son of God. In John 14:6 Jesus tells Thomas “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” So according to Jesus, if we desire to see the Father we must follow Him. He is the only way to the Father and eternal life.

 

Second:

David says “in thy presence is fulness of joy”. Where does our true joy come from? None other than Jesus Christ; the Son of God. Jesus said in John 15:11 “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” Oh the joy we have when we are living and loving our Savior. Oh the joy of knowing we are His and He is ours!!! Not just for now but for all eternity!!!

 

Third:

David says “at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Remember, David is speaking to God the Father here. So who sits at the right hand of God the Father? None other than Jesus Christ; the Son of God. Mark 14:62 “And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” Jesus said He would be sitting on the right hand of God. Also Peter tells us in I Peter 3:22 “Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.”

 

So from this one short verse we see Jesus is our Path of Life. Which leads to eternal life with our heavenly Father. We see that if we are in His presence we will be full of joy (remember, He said He would never leave us nor forsake us. If we don't feel His joy it is not Jesus who left us it is us who is ignoring His presence.). And lastly, because Jesus is at the right hand of God we have an advocate. Someone who stood in our place and took on our sins and was sacrificed for our sins so that His people could have “pleasures for evermore.”

 

Praise ye the Lord!!! 

Morning Devotional July 6, 2014

Colossians 2:8
 

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

As a continuation from yesterday; we see here where Paul gives his warning to the church at Colosse about false teachers.

We see so many in the religious world who claim the name “Christian” who teach contrary to the Word of God. We hear them teaching doctrines that are far from the truth. Yet so many will follow after these false teachers and false doctrines as though they are truth. Even with all the warnings the Lord gave us in His Word we still find false teachers and false doctrine the main stay in religious circles today. It's as though no one is paying heed to the very Word of God.

Man will take a plain simple truth from the Holy scriptures and stretch it and twist it until he gets what he wants out of it. Then he will teach it to as many as who will lesson. If it sounds good, if it sounds pretty, and sweet then the people will fall for it every time.

As sinful men there are times when we grow weary of hearing our sins preach on. It is in those times of weakness that the ole devil puts those thoughts in our head that our sin is no worse than anyone else. It is in those times that we are most venerable to kind, soft, pretty words from the false teacher. It is those times that the traditions of men seem to sound good, even when we know better. We follow after the crowd and fall right off the cliff into the doctrines of devils.

And this is why I constantly stress that all God's children turn to His Word when in these times of weakness. If you are hearing preached things that are contrary to what the Word of God says or you are hearing things taught that are not what you have heard in the past. Do as the Bereans, study DAILY the things that you hear preached and taught. Make sure the preacher you are setting under is preaching the whole of God's Word and not half truths and false doctrines.

Beware of those who preach a health, wealth, and feel good gospel rather than the true Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Beware of those who preach the philosophies of the man with the intent to deceive the people. Beware of those who teach the traditions of man as though they are truth. Follow Christ and Christ alone!!!

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!  

Morning Devotional July 5, 2014

Ecclesiastes 12:9 & 10

 

“And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find out acceptable word: and that which was written was upright, even the words of truth.”

 

Oh that the preachers today would use the wisdom given them by God to teach the people knowledge. How many preachers do we know out there who are giving into the wants of the people and not to the truths of God's Word? How many people are seeking a preacher who will teach the milk of the Word but shy away from the meat of the Word? How many have persuaded the preacher to not preach on sin but to preach only love, joy, and peace?

We see in the religious world today a people who demand to wear the name “Christian” who have no right to that name. We see a people who have a strong desire to go to church and hear about what Jesus can do for them but will swell up and burst if they are asked to do something for Jesus. We see a people who are gluttonous, greedy, and selfish. Demanding others forgive them of their sins but refusing to forgive others of theirs.

 But, the preacher stands by with the wisdom God has given him and plays right along with the worldliness of the people. Shame on the preacher who has traded the teaching of the proverbs and the commandments of our Lord for fun and games and joke telling. Shame on the preacher who has substituted the truth of God's Word for fairy tales and play acting. Shame on the preacher who has traded Bible study time for a feast of food and drink.

So many have fallen into the trap of modern religion. So many are experimenting even now with different plans and schemes to draw in the people of the world into what used to be a church of God.

But let us not forget to examine ourselves. Where do we stand? Are preaching the Word of truth or the words the people want to hear?

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!

  

Morning Devotional June 7, 2014

Jeremiah 23:23,24

“Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.”

What a wonderful God we serve! What a glorious thought to know He is everywhere we go. Even when we seek to hide ourselves from Him, He is there.

When we run from Him trying to hide our sin, He is there.

When we think all is lost and there is no hope for whatever our situation may be, He is there.

Sometimes we forget how much our God is everywhere. Sometimes we forget that while we sin against Him no one sees. But He sees. Because He is there.

When our lives seem to be crashing down around us and our loved ones seem to not care and all we have longed for seems to escape us. He is there.

And yet it is in these times we seem to most forget that He is there.

Our Great Heavenly Father is there when His most sinful child needs Him.

When we feel all alone and feel no one cares. He is there.

Through our grief and pain. Through our joys and happiness. He is there.

Always remember our Lord is there!

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!  He is there!!!

Morning Devotional May 2, 2014

Jeremiah 6:16

“Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.”

 

Oh how we have strayed from the old paths today. For the sake of technology or culture or trying to keep up with the live style of our friends and neighbors we have forsaken not only the old paths of our society but of our religious believes and of the Holy Word of God. In chapter 6 of Jeremiah God was warning the inhabitants of Jerusalem of the coming destruction. But they continued on with their worldly ways and refused to heed the warnings of God.

So we see ourselves today. In His Word, God has warned us of what is to come and we are not heeding His warnings. As a nation we have turned our backs on God. We have voted in every evil politician that comes along and then we whine because they do not do what they promised. We have allowed those of all kinds of sinful thoughts and deed to over taken the land and change the very laws that were set up by our forefathers who originally based our laws on the moral laws of God's Word. Yet, we as God's people set back and bask in the rays of a financially prosperous time where we can have much more than we need. We have become spoiled by the blessings the Lord has given us and now we are beginning to pay for our laziness.

When we think back on the old paths, most especially where the Lord's churches are concerned, we think of a time when preaching the Word, the whole Word of God was what the people wanted and that was what they got from the messenger. But today for the sake of the new paths many have substituted games and motivational speeches and comedians and various programs. Entertainment has taken over for the preaching of the Word. We sit back and we see the children of the last twenty years or so grow up and to be rebellious to their families and to the Lord's Word and all the while we continue the same old cycle that put them there. Instead of offending them with true Gospel message we give them a watered down version. Instead of feeding the Lord's sheep we tell jokes to keep their attention or we bring in the latest entertaining singers or speakers to tickle their ears.

Oh how many times I have heard those who say they wish their pastor would teach them more of the Word. How many times I have heard those say they wish there was more Bible study time in their church. Pastors, Preachers, and Teachers; I encourage you preach/teach the whole Word of God. Don't just get hung up on current affairs or in the new paths. Preach/teach the doctrines of our forefathers. The doctrines our Lord taught when He walked the earth. The old doctrines. The unpopular doctrines. The Lord's sheep need to be feed and if we offend any with His Word then it is His business to convict them and not for us to worry whether they will visit the congregation again.

Warn the people of the coming destruction. Go to the scripture and show the people what happens when a Holy and Righteous God chastises His children for following after the world of sin.

Preach the Word. Preach the whole Word of God.

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!        

Morning Devotional April 10, 2014

John 6:63

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

 

As the children of God there is nothing we can brag about in this old flesh. Matter of fact if it were not for the quickening of the Holy Spirit of God we would still be dead in our sins.

With out Jesus' blood being shed on the cross we would have no eternal inheritance. We would be doomed to an eternity in hell if left to our own fleshly way of live. If not for the grace, mercy, and love of our Heavenly Father, His Son, and His Holy Spirit we would be dead eternally.

There is nothing we could ever do to save ourselves or to stop our down slide to the pit of hell without the Grace of God our Heavenly Father who, before he even spoke the first word on day one of Creation, loved us and chose us to be His children.

What a glorious thought! To know that we are children of the King and Joint Heirs with the Son of God! Never forget whose you are and who He is that loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son to die for your sins.

Oh! what a Heavenly Father we have!

Oh! how  we ought to praise His name continually!

 

I Corinthians 1:30, 31

“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!

 

Morning Devotional April 3, 2014

Romans 8:8

“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”

 

Oh what a shame to find ourselves living in the flesh. How often in our busy, everyday life do we find ourselves living in the flesh or rather living according to this world? In our modern society we are under attack from all sides by the devil and his minions. For the most part we are at our weakest point spiritually when we are out in the world. Whether on the job or out with friends or at home watching television or listening to the radio or maybe even reading a book or newspaper, we are under constant attack from the enemy of God.

So how do we please God while in our everyday life? In Ephesians 6:11 the Lord told us “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Read the Word, pray constantly, sing unto the Lord in your mind, quote scripture to yourself throughout the day. Keep your mind on things of God and not on things of the world.

Praise the Lord, give God the glory for everything, turn all your trials and temptations over to the Lord. As His children we have a Comforter, the Holy Spirit of God, that lives within us. We have free 24/7 access to the throne of God, our Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, His Son, through prayer.

So pray daily that God will keep you from the flesh so that you can rightly please Him. Also remember to pray for each other as well. Our brothers and sisters in Christ need our prayers. They are tempted and tried just as we are.

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional March 13, 2014

Luke 12:32

“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

In many places in the New Testament we see small congregations of the Lord's people meeting to worship and to praise Him. Yet today the ever growing trend in the “religious world” is that the larger the “church” the more the Lord must be blessing them. But as in this verse in Luke and in several stories recorded in the book of Acts we see in the early days of Christianity, as the Apostles and other men were traveling around preaching the gospel and organizing churches that there were small groups meeting and worshiping and studying the Word of God. In most of the cases we are never told of the numbers, we just know they were small congregations.

Many of these were meeting in someones home or in some cases they were meeting out in the open at different places. But the fact is not all of the churches mentioned in the scripture were large in number like the church in Jerusalem or the church at Antioch.

This misconception of how a church is to be large in number has brought about many false professions and false conversions. All for the sake of growing the Lord's church.

Folks, the fact is our Lord never promised us the numbers would be great. He never promised us that there would be great numbers of people following after a man of God who was preaching the truth. Yet like the rest of the “religious world” many a good sound preacher/pastor has fallen into the train of thought that if the numbers are great the Lord must not be in it. What a shame! So many of God's true churches have been left without a pastor because of this very thing.

I know of men out there who would rather sit at home than to go work a small church. In several places in the four Gospels we see where Jesus often times was teaching only the twelve. We read in John 6:66 that after Jesus preached a hard hitting sermon that “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” Leaving just the twelve with Him.

A great concern I have is that there is a large number of true Landmark Sovereign Grace Baptist churches in this nation of ours who are without a pastor and, because each congregation is small in number, many pastors and churches have written them off as being “dead”. We should be ashamed of ourselves if we honestly believe a church is dead just because the Lord has not provided them a pastor at this time our the number attending is low. It is obvious the Lord still has a work in those areas were these small churches are. Are we not to show our faith by example to the world? What greater statement of faith for a church than to continue the Lord's work even when they have no pastor or even when the numbers are down.

Remember what our Lord said in Matthew 18:20? “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

As Landmark Sovereign Grace Baptist we should be very well aware that the truths we teach and preach are not going to draw the large crowds that so many are expecting today. Yes, there are large  Landmark Sovereign Grace Baptist churches out there, but for the most part the congregations are very small.

What I have found in my travels is that most of the time those very small congregations are more loving and more compassionate to their visitors and to each other and to those other churches they fellowship with. Because of their lack of a pastor many of them are starving for fellowship and teaching. Yet I see men who refuse to go preach and teach because of the small numbers.

I also recognize that the Lord does not seem to be raising up new preachers. Yes there are some out there but there are far more churches who are in need of a pastor than there are God called men to fill the positions.

We need to be in much prayer for these small churches. Pray the Lord strengthens them spiritually. Pray the Lord gives them the man they need or that this is another sign that our Lord's coming is soon. 

Praise ye the Lord!!! 

Morning Devotional March 10, 2014

I Chronicles 16:34

“O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.”

On this first day of the work week we should be thanking the Lord for all that He has given us. Our job, a way to get to that job, our home, the means to pay for that home, our family, the means to provide food, clothing ,and shelter for that family, our friends, and let us not forget the day the Lord gave us yesterday. That glorious day of worship.

That day that many of us have off from our job to sing praises to our Lord and to listen to His Word preached. The day our Lord has set aside for us to worship Him along with His people in one of His churches. What a wonderful experience we have, what a glorious blessing our Lord has provided for us by placing us in one of His churches with people of like faith where we can all come together and worship our Heavenly Father and sing the praises of our Lord and Savior.

Yet God has His people all over this world who have no place of worship or have no one to preach to them or to teach them the wondrous Word of our Heavenly Father. I find it very sad that we here in the United States, a nation founded on Biblical principles, would have so many of the Lord's true churches that are without a man of God to preach the Word to them. The nation which for the past 200 years has sent out more missionaries around the world than any other nation has now become the nation that has the greatest need for missionaries of any nation in our world today.

Our nation, which claims to be “One Nation Under God” is starving to death for the true teachings of the Word of God. We have been so blessed by God with material things and finances that we, as a nation, have forgotten where and who we came from. The sins of our nation are great. Possibly greater than any nation since the flood of Noah's day. Speaking of Noah, did not our Lord warn us that in the days just before His coming again things would be like it was in the days of Noah? (Matt. 24:37)

Sadly in my travels the last two years I have seen very few men that the Lord has raised up to preach His Word. Fewer men of God to preach the Word and more and more churches searching for a Pastor. What can this mean? Brother and Sisters I believe this can mean only one thing. Our Lord's coming is soon!

Do we give up? Do we stop preaching and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ because He is not sending out new pastors and teachers? No! Our Lord instructed us to work till He came. We are to work the fields of our Master until His coming to take us to that glorious home He has prepared for us.

I encourage you all to carry on the fight! Carry on with the Lord's work He has given unto you! Never surrender to the temptation of the devil by giving up! Continue to wage the war against this old world  full of sin and death! Pray that the Lord stands with you and for you in this fight!

For this is not a battle for the weak but for the strong. We must be strong in His Word and strong in the faith He has given us. As the Apostles and the first church did in Acts 4:24-31 pray for boldness to stand-up for and to speak the Word of God. Pray for the boldness of those men of God who are out there in different parts of our nation and the world, that the Lord will give them boldness to carry on with the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and with the teaching of His people no matter what the conflict may be where they are.

As men we can not fight this fight alone. Only by the Grace of God can we have the proper armor our Lord has provided for His children. 

Remember our main verse; “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” Give thanks unto the Lord daily! Why? Because He and He alone is the only one that deserves our praise! He and He alone is the only one who shows us true mercy for ever! He and He alone provides us with the boldness to fight the fight!

Praise Ye the Lord!!! 

Morning Devotional March 8, 2014

I Chronicles 16:23, 24, 25

“Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.”

As the children of God we are to show the world our gratitude to our Heavenly Father constantly. Here in these verses we are told to sing to our Lord and to show daily what His salvation means to us or has done for us. We are to declare His glory to even our harshest enemies. We are to proclaim His Word and His works to all the world. Why? Because our Lord, above all others, above all the false gods the world over, is the only one worthy to be praised! Praise Him in every aspect of your life. Praise when you down. Praise Him when you are up, Praise Him when the world seems to be coming down around you and there seems no way out. Praise Him! Praise Him!

 

Praise Him! Praise Him! By: Frances J. Crosby

 

1.    Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest archangels in glory;
Strength and honor give to His holy Name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
In His arms He carries them all day long.

•       Refrain:
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!

2.    Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died.
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong.

3.    Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever;
Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet, and Priest, and King!
Christ is coming! over the world victorious,
Pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong.

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional March 2, 2014

Proverbs 31

Proverbs 31 is the one chapter most Christians turn to when they think of what is supposed to be the “perfect” wife or the example of the “perfect” wife. I like many of my preacher brethren have preached and taught this many times. But after going back and reading this chapter again by the encouragement of another pastor, I see where I for one have missed some very important aspects of this chapter. For one I have usually started my sermons/lessons with verse 10 and went through the end of verse 31. Now that being said, let's go back and look at verse 1.

“The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.”

Notice who this chapter is about. King Lemuel. Also notice it is him telling what he learned from his mother. A prophecy or lesson she learned from the Lord. Notice she starts by telling him not to give his strength unto women in verse 3 and that kings are not to drink wine and princes are not to drink strong drink in verse 4. Two of the things of the world that had ruined many a king in Israel. Look at the kings down through history and even the world leaders today. Women and strong drink are very much a part of their lives and at times are their down-fall.

Now to the real reason I bring up this chapter. Notice after Lemuel's mother is finished talking about strong drink she to telling him about a woman would is to be the example of a king or ruler's wife. Yes that is right, I said a king or ruler's wife. Something I think we have some many times missed here in this chapter is the fact that this story of the “perfect” wife is being told to the king by his mother. Not to the every day citizen. So many times we as Christians have taken the last 22 verses of this chapter and assumed this is God's example of the “perfect” wife. We assume this is how God wants all wives to be. But read verses 13-27. The things we see this woman seeking after, buying, and doing are the things of a woman who has great wealth. She is not poor by any means. Also notice in verse 15. She has “maidens” or servants. Another sign that she is wealthy. But also notice she does a lot of the work herself. It tells in verses 13, 16, 17, 19, 22, and 24 that she works with her hands. This was the custom of the day when this was written. Though the king's wife had servants if she was a godly woman she would not be to good to work herself. Setting an example for her children and servants.

Morning Devotional February 17, 2014

I Chronicles 16:8

“Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.”

We, as God's children should be continually giving thanks to our Lord. There is so much we owe Him for. Much more than we can ever repay. Our Lord has given us so much. Our very life depends upon Him and Him alone. Our very existence in this world comes from Him. Without Him we have nothing, we are nothing.

“Call upon His name”, Call upon the name of the Lord often. Never forsake the one we owe our all. Make His name known to everyone around us, to everyone we know, and come in contact with. Make known to them the blessings He has bestowed upon us. Be not afraid or ashamed to praise His name no matter where you are or who you are with.

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!