DAY346

Psalm 136:17-26 | to him who struck down great kings, His love endures forever. and killed mighty kings—His love endures forever. Sihon king of the Amorites His love endures forever. and Og king of Bashan—His love endures forever. and gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures forever. an inheritance to his servant Israel. His love endures forever. He remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever. and freed us from our enemies. His love endures forever. He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

TAKE AWAY: OUR LOW ESTATE

God of mercy
Sweet love of mine
I have surrendered to your design
May this offering stretch across the sky
And these hallelujahs be multiplied

PRAYER: Abba, All I can think to say after reading today’s devotion is thank You. When I was unloveable, You loved me anyway. When I was drowning, You rescued me. When I was blind, You opened my eyes. When I was bound, You set me free. When I was weak, You were strong. When I couldn’t go on, You carried me. May my praise be multiplied, God of mercy.

Multiplied by NeedToBreathe

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DAY 345

Psalm 136:10-16 | to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures forever. and brought Israel out from among them His love endures forever. with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever. to him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures forever. and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever. but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; His love endures forever. to him who led his people through the wilderness; His love endures forever.

TAKE AWAY: AND WONDERS OF HIS LOVE

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:18-19)

If only I could fully understand… I know that God loves me because I believe that His Word (the Holy Bible) is true. Plus, I have literally felt His love on occasion. But I wish I could truly comprehend the height and depth of God’s love because I think that would help me to love people better. I know in my brain that I have been unloveable by my own standards, yet He loves me anyway. I know I need to stop judging others and just love in the same way my Father loves me.

PRAYER: Abba, You are love. Sometimes I feel like my heart is incapable of really loving anyone at all. I’m selfish and judgmental and unforgiving, and those things keep me from loving others as You have commanded. Please rid me of all the things that prevent me from demonstrating agape love for all people. And thank You for loving me first.

Love So Great by Hillsong Worship

DAY 344

Psalm 136:1-9 | Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. His loving devotion endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His loving devotion endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His loving devotion endures forever. He alone does great wonders. His loving devotion endures forever. By His insight He made the heavens. His loving devotion endures forever. He spread out the earth upon the waters. His loving devotion endures forever. He made the great lights—His loving devotion endures forever, the sun to rule the day, His loving devotion endures forever, the moon and stars to govern the night. His loving devotion endures forever.

TAKE AWAY: PRAISED THEOLOGY

“So you must not rest content with biblical knowledge and sound doctrine but you must turn it all into worship that encompasses your whole heart and life.” (from the devotion)

Funny (not funny) how God does things. This morning, during prayer time with my husband, I began by thanking God for all He’s done for us over the past 4+ years. But then I voiced my concern that, without the legal mess hanging over us, without having to ask daily for Him to give us justice over our adversaries, without having to be 100% dependent upon God for that deliverance, I’m afraid that my life will settle back into a routine in which I’m not constantly needing Him.

I asked Him to help me grow to a new level of trust and obedience and to help me share the gospel of Jesus.

PRAYER: Abba, I will continue to pray daily to grow in You. Help me to trust and obey. Help me to love others as You love me. Help me to share my faith with all whom You put in my path. Help me to live a life of gratitude that reflects Your enduring love.

Dream Small by Josh Wilson

 

DAY 343

Psalm 135:13-21 | Your name, O LORD, endures forever, your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages. For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them,
so do all who trust in them. O house of Israel, bless the LORD! O house of Aaron, bless the LORD! O house of Levi, bless the LORD! You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD! Blessed be the LORD from Zion, he who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD!

TAKE AWAY: THE GODS NOT TO PRAISE

“Idols are usually good things turned into ultimate things because we look to them to give us the significance and security that can come only from God.” (from the devotional)

PRAYER: Abba, I don’t want to turn any good thing into an idol that takes my focus away from You. Help me to get my heart right so that, in the new year, which is now free from legal distractions, thanks to You, I can enter into Your presence with a sincere heart, fully trusting You to lead me where You want me to go. All I need is You and I want to love You with ALL my heart, soul, mind and strength.

All That Matters by Worship Central

DAY 342

Psalm 135:1-12 | Praise the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord; praise him, you servants of the Lord, you who minister in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant. For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession. I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, the firstborn of people and animals. He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings—Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan—and he gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to his people Israel.

TAKE AWAY: THE GOD TO PRAISE

“I know that the Lord is great…” And because He is great, I want to praise Him constantly. No wonder the “living creatures” never stop saying…

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Revelation 4:8-11

PRAYER: Abba, I know I can thank You forever for all You’ve done for me. Thank You for delivering us from the evil schemes that were inflicted upon us. Thank You for my family and friends. Thank You for my health and prosperity. Thank You for loving me and saving me. I know I can praise You forever for all the things in the universe that never cease to amaze me. Thank You for dogs and all the other animals You created. Thank You for the stars in the heavens and the vast oceans and the sandy beaches. Thank You for all the things I love and take for granted.

10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman

 

DAY 341

Psalm 134 | Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.

TAKE AWAY: WORSHIP

I love worship music. It’s on in my house as soon as my husband leaves for work. I’m listening to it right now… “Jesus I Believe” by Big Daddy Weave is currently playing. It’s most natural for me to worship God through my creative side—music, writing, drawing, etcetera. I love doing all the things contained in this blog—writing the thoughts that come to mind when I read the scripture passage and the devotion, choosing or creating the featured image, and searching for just the right song to accompany my post.

I love being on the tech team at my church. My job is put the words to the songs on the big screen, so that means that I’m at worship practice on Thursday afternoon and at the crack of dawn 😴 on Sunday morning, as well as all three services on Sunday. I get to hear the song choices in advance and they often stay in my head for days. Yesterday, the worship pastor said he’d like to assemble a team of church members who are interested in writing songs for the worship team. Of course, I’d be interested in doing that!

PRAYER: Abba, You are the reason for worship! It is because of Your presence in my life that I desire to sing and write and create things that bring glory to You. Thank You, Abba, for being I AM. You are everything to me and I can’t wait to worship You in person.

Come Now Is The Time To Worship by Brian Doerksen

DAY 340

Psalm 133 | How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

TAKE AWAY: UNITY

BROKEN TOGETHER by Casting Crowns

What do you think about when you look at me
I know we’re not the fairytale you dreamed we’d be
You wore the veil, you walked the aisle, you took my hand
And we dove into a mystery

How I wish we could go back to simpler times
Before all our scars and all our secrets were in the light
Now on this hallowed ground, we’ve drawn the battle lines
Will we make it through the night

It’s going to take much more than promises this time
Only God can change our minds

Maybe you and I were never meant to be complete
Could we just be broken together
If you can bring your shattered dreams and I’ll bring mine
Could healing still be spoken and save us
The only way we’ll last forever is broken together

How it must have been so lonely by my side
We were building kingdoms and chasing dreams and left love behind
I’m praying God will help our broken hearts align
And we won’t give up the fight

PRAYER: Abba, You know what I’m dealing with. Only You can break through my husband’s mind blocks and help him to see clearly. I ask You, in Jesus’ name, to heal us and change us and save us.

Broken Together by Casting Crowns