Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I pray all is well with everyone, and you're enjoying the end of another workweek (for most). TGIF! I can't shout that loud enough! It's a beautiful day and we're embarking on a beautiful weekend, I'm so excited. I'm looking forward to spending time with friends and family. Planning to spend lots of time outside, I need to get the tire fixed on my bike, so I can hit the trails downtown. I ask for your prayers for my uncle, who's been battling cancer for a few years now. His condition isn't really improving, so we need the healing power of the Lord. Please join my family and me in praying for his healing. It's written in James 5:16: Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. We need each other to survive, thanks for your love and support. Have a wonderful weekend!

Today's scriptures are about praising the Lord. We hear people say things like, "Praise the Lord", and "To God be all the glory" a lot, but not enough. I know I say it all the time; it's like second nature. Jesus said: it's by the Spirit that we can proclaim the Love of God. It makes sense, because the Spirit of the Lord lives inside of us, and once that Spirit gets in your Soul, it's hard to contain it. When you turn on a light in a dark room, the light outshines the darkness every time. When we praise God, we're showing our love for Him, as He's commanded: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and love your neighbor. By spreading His word, and our testimonies, we're showing love to everyone around us. We're giving a great and wonderful gift. Our praise is another way of saying thank you. When we're saved, Jesus enters our heart, and becomes a part of us, and God starts a transformation in us. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph. 9:10). As we go through life we grow in our Spirit and in our Faith. We start off as babes in Christ, and a seed is planted in our hearts. God begins to feed that seed with love, and as the seed blossom we evolve, almost like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. We die to our old self, and our old ways, and blossom into righteousness. We're made into the likeness of Christ, filled with love. That love becomes so overwhelming that we can't help but Praise Him. Sometimes we won't notice, but people around us will. It doesn't matter where you are, or what you're doing, the Spirit will speak through you, and people will listen. It's a gift to praise God. I was reading the book of Acts, and thought about how brave Jesus' disciples were. They proclaimed the Gospel to everyone, even when their lives were in danger. They were put in prison, beaten, and stoned, and still they couldn't help but Praise Him. They did that because they witnessed the love of God for themselves, and they wanted everyone around them to experience it. They faced horrific conditions and were put in some tough situations, all to sing praises to the Lord. Nothing or no one could stop them. That's what happens in Spiritual growth. When I was working at the Grand Hyatt in Kauai, HI, I was on a 12-week Externship. I met with the Executive Chef on week 6 and then on week 12, to go over my progress. He commented on "my strong Faith", and he said it could be a problem when working as a Chef in some kitchens. I thought to myself, "how does he know I'm a Christian, I never mentioned it to him or anyone else…?”. He knew because I was at a point in my Faith walk where I unconsciously Praised God, and it just poured out of my Spirit. I sat there in the Chef's office and said to him: "on the contrary, I'm going to excel in everything I do, because of my strong Faith, it could never be a hindrance". I know in my heart that God is the reason for every breath that I take, it's by His grace that I was even in Hawaii doing my Externship, and He's given me the gift to be able to cook. I'll continue to praise Him every chance I get, because I love Him with all my Heart. See, when Jesus is in your Soul no one could take that away from you. The government has taken God out of the schools, the constitution, the workplace etc, but they can't take Him out of your heart. They can't stop our praise! It's up to us to get to know God for who He is, to experience that love. It's our responsibility to teach our children about Him, its not their school, television, radio, or the government’s job. We also need to lead by example, and when they see God working in our lives, they'll begin to experience it in their own. Our praise not only pleases God, but it exalts Him to other people. You don't have to start a ministry, or write a daily e-mail, etc; just Praising Him whenever the Spirit touches you would suffice. It's up to us to show Him love, that's all He's asking. Now that Jesus' blood has covered our sins, love is all that He requires of us. He knows how weak we are when it comes to sin, so He took care of it. He only asks us to acknowledge Him, and give praise. Considering what He's done for us, I don't think that's too much to ask. If you don't know who Jesus is, then I urge you to get to know Him. He's our Lord and Savior, and He's waiting on you to invite Him into your heart. Once He's in your heart, Praise becomes inevitable. My favorite verse today is: By him ... let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

ENJOY! http://www.bible.com/scripture-detail.php?juli=2454939&dtype=Scripture
http://www.intouch.org/site/pp.aspx?c=cnKBIPNuEoG&b=4943197
http://www.intouch.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=cnKBIPNuEoG&b=4949629&ct=6865991

I love you!