The High Praises of God in Our Mouth

Thoughts and emotions are fickle and lead many of us on a wild dance. When we are happy, we live a productive life; but the moment we meet a crisis or feel discouraged, we lose all hope. Some react to stress or depression by sleeping all the time, or our soul may invent psychosomatic illnesses or we turn to addictions.

This behavior causes us to receive even more criticism and rejection, and this denunciation increases our feelings of separation from the people we love. Trusting in Christ may not change our circumstances, but it certainly alters the way we view life. We belong to the eternal family of God (Ephesians 2:19). In Christ, we can accomplish anything, which He leads us to do (Philippians 4:13).

The more often we focus on the goodness and greatness of God, the more His praise rests on the tip of our tongue. The least little blessing that comes our way is reason to erupt into high praises to our Lord and King (Luke 1:46-47; Psalm 149:6). In addition to this, we get excited about His spiritual blessings, as well as His mercy and grace in our life (Ephesians 1:3).

Even our failings are not failures, because there is forgiveness with our God (Psalm 130:4). We will not lose the war for our soul, simply because we lost a battle. Christ in us already obtained for us our eternal security in Him (John 5:24). Our soul – our mind, emotions and will – magnifies the Lord and our spirit rejoices in God our Savior (Luke 1:39-56).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for transforming the personality of our soul into the mind of Christ, Your divine nature and the fruit of Your Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:16; Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Peter 1:4; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Remind us that You inhabit our praises (Psalm 22:3). With high praises to You in our mouth, and the two-edged sword of Your Word in our hand, we can vanquish any negative emotion and overcome any enemy of our soul (Psalm 149:6). Help us not to allow our flesh, which is dominated by our physical senses and emotions, to dictate our behavior; but help us to allow our faith in You, as well as our praises to You, to change our feelings (Deuteronomy 30:19). We choose to walk in Your joy, precious Lord.

Thought for the Day:

Our success in life pivots entirely on our obedience to Christ and following the leading of His Holy Spirit.

Perfect Perfectionism

The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day are ideal examples of religious perfectionism (Matthew 5:20). They took the words of the prophets and the law of God and turned them into a formula for success rather than a guide for life. They perfected their outward behavior without having an inner change of heart. They were clean on the outside, but inside they were full of decay and corruption (Mathew 23:27).

They reeked of inner darkness and death, which comes from the flesh. Jesus wanted to create a clean heart in them (Psalm 51:10), and to transform their carnality into perfect spirituality by His Holy Spirit. Jesus wants to do the same thing for us today. He desires to give us His new nature and to mold in us a new, pliable heart instead of the stony one, which is the result of life’s devastation (Ezekiel 36:26).

As God’s Spirit changes our nature to that of Christ, then our behavior changes right along with it (2 Peter 1:4). The more we affirm the work of God’s Spirit in our life, the freer we become from the lies and bondage of Satan and his demons. Our identity no longer derives its strength from our carnal efforts, but from the love, which Christ has for each of us.

We consistently act in accordance with Biblical principles rather than by perfectionistic perceptions of God’s law. We stand in the power of Christ within us, knowing without a doubt that we are children of God, co-heirs with Christ and part of His beloved Body of Authentic Believers (1 John 3:2; Romans 8:17; 1 Corinthians 12:27). We walk in the victory of Calvary with the assurance of eternal life.

Prayer:

Father God, eternal life starts the moment we acknowledge our sins and surrender our life to You (Mark 1:14-15). Our intimacy with You, Your Son and Your Spirit grows each moment of every day for the rest of our life; as we spend time in prayer, Bible reading, fellowshipping with other Christians and worshipping together as Your Body on earth. Christ did more than forgive our sins, although that is the reason for our praise to Your name; but He also came to accept us into Your eternal family and give us an abundant life in You both now and forever (John 17:3; Ephesians 1:6).

Thought for the Day:

Eternal life is not the duration of our life, but rather the value of our life in Christ.