His Constant Care

Praise the Lord. This is truly a great day to praise the King of Kings & Lord of Lords. He is still constantly caring for us in everything that we do. He is still watching over us & protecting us. It's amazing to me that He not only planned & executed our rescue from the kingdom of darkness & translated us into the kingdom of light, but He also has provided this in such a way that we never have to go back under Satan's power or authority again. The Lord has provided a deliverance that is so complete & awesome that Satan doesn't even have a chance as long as we walk in the power & authority that has been freely given to us by Almighty God. Think of it - God has made us new creations in Christ Jesus so we are no longer spiritually dead; we are in fellowship with the Father; He has actually poured His life into us; we know the perfect wishes & desires of God through His Word; & we even have the Holy Spirit's guidance in every area of our lives; and let us not forget the power of attorney to use the mighty Name of Jesus!! Wow!! Praise the Lord!!

Still Praising the Lord

What a great day to praise the Lord. Maybe everything hasn't gone your way today, but the Lord is still for you. Maybe you don't feel like you want to praise the Lord because His enemy has be bugging you & you feel like you just can't shake him off, but the Lord's enemies are all still defeated. Maybe you feel like you can't find the Lord today, but He's not lost & He's even closer to you than your very own feelings. I've felt these ways before but it has never stopped the LORD from being faithful to me. As a matter of fact, He has loved & cared for me before I even knew that I needed Him. He had sought me out & had drawn me back to Himself even before I knew I was lost & needed Him. He has always been faithful & moved by compassion for me even when I was 'fickle' at best. Once again I am convinced that it is because of His character, goodness & mercy that I will continue to praise Him. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!!

He's Beyond My Widest Imagination

I praise the Lord again today. He is still the King of all Kings & Lord of all Lords. It is so amazing to me that He has accomplished His will without being unjust to anyone involved. The Lord is seeing His will come to pass without violating anyone's free will. Though mankind was foolish & believed a lie from the father of lies; though mankind had turned over their authority to God's enemy; and though all of mankind was spiritually dead & could not even communicate with God or had a right to come into His presence without being consumed; the LORD Himself conceived the perfect plan that so confounded His enemies, that there was nothing they could do to stop it. AND the LORD Himself has given His children the authority that Jesus was given to continue to overcome his enemy in the same way that Jesus did!! Blessed be the Name of the Lord. Since He is for us, who can be against us?

Ongoing Fellowship

Praise the Lord for the opportunity to have ongoing fellowship with Him. Not only has the Lord provided a way for mankind to come back to Him. He has also provided the way for continuing fellowship. To top this off, He has even provided a way to restore my fellowship if I have broken it with Him. He continues to draw me to Himself & does so with cords of compassion that He has initiated & that cannot be broken. Blessed be the Name of the Lord God Almighty. Though with man, it was (& is) impossible, with God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. Thanks be for His unbroken, ongoing fellowship.

He's Revealed Himself

I'm still praising the Lord today. The Lord is so awesome that it boggles the mind (if you would sit down and actually try to figure out everything He has done, is doing, & will continue to do). As a matter of fact, the Lord & His attributes are something that really transcend time as we know it. By this I mean that it would absolutely take all of time to begin to even describe the greatness of the Lord. Think about that for a little while - if every nanosecond of time was completely exhausted just thinking about the greatness of God, even when time had 'run out', there would be more about the greatness of the Lord that would need to be considered to cover all of His amazing attributes. To top it off, we wouldn't even know where to begin if He had not taken the action of actually revealing Himself to us through His Word. Think about this - He spoke to mankind Himself (Adam & Eve in the garden); He also sent Jesus so we could look at Him and see what He (God) actually thinks, likes, dislikes, & does; and He has given us His infallible Word in a written form that we can look at, touch, read & understand. All I can say is Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! He has revealed Himself to us & HE is great. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

Still Singin' Praise

Hey, what another great day to praise the Lord. If you saw my entry yesterday, you know I had some problems with my voice. Though I'm not quite back to my tenor voice yet, I'm above the bass range & into the baritone range to sing praises to my Lord. And of course, I'm always able to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. At any rate, the Lord God Almighty is still worthy of all praise, even if I must do so in a raspy voice. So join me today in magnifying the Lord!! Blessed be the Name of the Lord!!

Daddy Sang Bass, Daddy Sang Tenor

Hey I'm just praising the Lord again today. Normally when I sing, I'll sing tenor; however today I'm singing bass. Yesterday I couldn't sing at all, so things are looking up! Yesterday my physical condition only allowed me to make a joyful noise, but hey, that's enough to still make a sound & still praise Him. Today my voice is a little higher allowing me to at least sing bass to praise my Lord. Maybe tomorrow I'll be back up to my normal tenor voice, but one thing is certain - I'll be praising the Lord, be it a joyful noise, singing bass or singing tenor. He certainly is worthy!!

Seated with Christ

I thank the Lord today because He has been with me all day. Today hasn't gone even close to the way I had it planned. On days like today, I used to say I was 'under the weather', but some of my friends would ask me what I was doing there since I'm supposed to be seated with Christ in the heavenlies. Being seated with Christ is something I cannot deny, because I am in Christ. So even though I feel like I'm 'under the weather', I'm not really there - it just looks that way. My physical symptoms will change & my head will stop hurting eventually, but even right now I am still in Christ & all of may hope is in Him. I am still praising Him for everything He has done for me. Regardless of how I feel or where I may be or not be, I still praise Him. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!!

Praising Him For Prayer

Blessed be the Name of the Lord! I was just thinking today about what a tremendous blessing it is to be able to communicate with Almighty God. He speaks to me through His Word & I know that His Word is supernatural & has within itself the power that makes it come to pass. Not only do I have the privilege of knowing what His thoughts, wishes and desires are, but because He has opened the way for me, I also have the joy of being able to speak with Him & be in His presence at any time. I have an open invitation from Him & can go into His presence whenever I need to interact or communicate with Him. I have the privilege of learning His ways & cooperating with Him to bring His desires to pass. It is so awesome that Almighty God wants to interact & spend time with me. Blessed be the Name of the Lord Who has taken the initiative, made a way, & actively pursues me to be able to communicate with Him on a continuing basis!!

Father God Running

Wow! What an awesome Father God we have! I was thinking back over my childhood recently. Have you ever been in trouble with your father before? Have you ever felt like you were in so much trouble that just thinking about what a punishment may be just sent you into a daze? Have you ever heard those awful words "Just wait till your father gets home?" Have you ever rehearsed what you were going to say to your father when you were in trouble & having that empty, sick feeling that no matter what you said, you were still going to 'get it'? Well, I must admit that I have had these feelings before (more than I care to admit). That's why when I read the story in the Bible that most call "The Prodigal Son", I tend to think of it more like "The Awesomely Merciful Father." Just think about it - this young man had wasted everything that had been given to him & all his 'so called friends' were gone; he was starving to death even though working hard in a job he just hated; & then he came to his right mind & made a decision that he would rather be his father's servant than die. All this time that he was suffering, he didn't know his father had been longingly looking & waiting for him to come back so he could restore fellowship with him. My experience has taught me that this is exactly how Almighty God is toward me. I've learned that when I fail Him & feel like running away or trying to make up some excuse, that He's always there running toward me when I turn to Him for restored fellowship & He always accepts me into His arms. What an awesomely fantastic Father God we all have!!

He Is Love, Bless His Name !

I'm praising the Lord again today. He is still the same & His attitude toward me has not changed. He is still loving me & watching over me. One time I tried to figure out when the Lord actually started loving me. I thought about different things I've done, as well as the things I've been through. I thought about different situations & circumstances I had survived when I surely should have died. I thought about His planning who parents would be to give me the exact genetic makeup that I have. I thought about the many, many different families I lived with who have contributed to my upbringing. I wondered about all the people who must have prayed for me & cared about me. I thought about the individuals the Lord brought across my path & into my life that not only said they cared for me, but actually showed me by their actions & even sacrifices what the very love of Jesus looked like. I came to the conclusion that God has always loved me & has always planned for my well being & my good. He is such a gracious God & He loves me because He actually is love. He has always been love & will never cease to be so. It has nothing at all to do with me & has absolutely everything to do with Himself. So once again I just must say -- Blessed be the awesome & most wonderful Name of the Lord!!

He's True & Just in All of His Ways

I am praising the Lord today thinking about how He is true & just in all of His ways. He is so amazing because He wanted to have fellowship with His creation even after we had made it impossible. He had to find a way to restore fellowship & do it in the correct way. He had to be true & honest & not violate His character. God was working with mankind who had been given a free will & man had already chosen to follow someone else (Satan). Even though Satan had lied about the character of God & mankind had believed him, man was really stuck because he was now spiritually separated from God & had no way of communicating with God unless the Almighty took the initiative to do something. Fortunately for mankind, with God nothing is impossible. And because He continued to be true to His character; because He wanted to demonstrate His Love; and because He did know the proper and just way - He actually put into motion the plan that would not only make the way for mankind to be able to come back to Himself, but did it in such a way that even every single child can understand and put into action. So once again I say with everything that is within me -- Blessed be the Name of the Lord!!

Because of Who He Is

Blessed be the Name of the Lord. He has been watching over me & protecting me today. His thoughts toward me have been full of compassion. He loves me & has been directing me in what I have done. He has made me aware of His presence although nothing unusual has happened. He has been with me as I have been reading His Word & made that Word truly alive for me. He has brought to my memory other times He has spared my life & protected me in the past. I've had cause to remember His extreme provision & mercy in my life over many years. As a mater of fact, all of my memories of His interactions with me have been good & uplifting. Blessed be His wonderful Name!! I have no reason to think He will ever change & I believe that I will always be in His love & care. And all of this is not because of who I am or what I have one or may ever do; it is all because of who He is. Blessed be the Lord God Almighty!!

Praise Him for His Desires

Praise the Lord! I am so grateful that the Holy Spirit is with me day by day to guide & comfort me in everything that I go through. He reminds me of the things that Jesus has said in the gospels & clarifies the teachings of the Lord. He illuminates the very desires & wishes of Almighty God that are expressed in His Word so I can clearly see what they are. He empowers me to desire to do the very things (God's desires) expressed in God's Word & these very things set me free in every area of my life. I find that as I study, meditate, & agree with God's thoughts & desires that He has expressed so clearly, that those desires actually become mine, too. Though I was once alienated & estranged from God without hope, He has drawn me to Himself with cords of compassion & stays with me & lives through me each day. Blessed be the Name of the Lord! May His desires continue to be done!!

God Is For Us

Blessed be the Name of the Lord! I am so delighted in the Lord. As I think of His awesome power & His wisdom, I am thankful that His ways are higher than man's ways. I am thankful that His plans are better than all of his enemies plans & their attempts to usurp His authority. I praise Him that His Word has within it the power to make each of those individual words come to pass and that none of His words return to Him void of accomplishing their purpose. I am blessed that He has always existed, will always exist, & that time is not issue for Him. Yet, even though He inhabits eternity & is bigger than can be imagined, He also lives within each of His children to guide & protect them. Think of it - He has not been caught by surprise by anything that has ever happened (or may happen). In His goodness & faithful lovingkindness, He has always had solutions to problems before the problems ever existed. He has made a way of escape before we even realized any way was needed. Even now, He is looking out for us & providing for us in every circumstance we may encounter. God is for us! Who can be against us? Blessed be the Name of the Lord!!

Choosing His News

I praise the Lord because the time of His return is getting so much closer. He could return before I finish this blog update. As I look at what is being reported as going on in the world; what our leaders & other world leaders are reported as doing, it just makes me lift up my eyes to the sky. I used to get discouraged when I watched the news or read the newspaper. It used to bother me when I would receive different stories from friends on my facebook causing me to notice how far things have gone. But then I realized once again that the Lord is still really in control. He has foreseen all of these things happening & has told us in His word that they would happen. But He doesn't stop there because he has provided a way of deliverance for evryone who cares to receive it. So when I have to make a choice between focusing on "the news" or focusing on what He has provided, it's really a 'no-brainer' for me. I choose Him, His word, His way, & His presence.
By the way, He'll be back soon.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!!

To Know Him Is To Praise Him

There are so many reasons to praise the Lord. Sometime when I am contemplating the greatness of the Lord I really begin to feel rather selfish because I notice all of the many, many things that He does are for me. Perhaps one of the most amazing things about God is that He chooses to even let mankind know about Himself at all. After all, if it wasn't for the revelation of God in His Word, no one would know anything of any substance about Him at all. Oh, we would still have a hunger for Him and that gnawing emptiness without really knowing Him. We would realize certain things about His attributes displayed in the world around us that we couldn't really explain or adequately define. However, as far as actually knowing Him or the many attributes of His amazing character, we would be at a complete & total loss. And what a tremendous loss it would be. So today I just want to say one more time, "Praise the Lord!"
Thank You Lord for revealing Yourself to me in Your Word. Thank you for being full of goodness, truth & mercy. Thank you for being able to communicate with spiritually dead people; for paying the price; & making us spiritually alive again so we can truly know You & communicate with You forever and ever. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!!

Praising Him

Praise the Lord. His goodness never ends. It's so good to know that he is with me & watching over me right this minute. Sometimes I tend to really cry out to Him when I feel I'm in trouble or I've done something wrong. I tend to really want His attention when something unexpected comes up. But my situation at this moment doesn't fall into any of these categories. Yet I am still thinking of Him & praising Him right now. The particular need that I have for God is not just His deliverance when I'm in trouble or dealing with an unexpected situation, but it is His presence so I can fellowship with Him. I have a desire to know Him & interact with Him. This is something that never could have occurred if He did not take the initiative, so I praise His glorious Name, since He did everything that was needed so I could know Him. Now He continues to reach out to me & direct me by His Spirit. So it doesn't matter if I'm in trouble or not, I can still know of His love for me & praise Him. Blessed be His Name forever.

He's the Same

He still hasn't changed, so lets praise the Lord!! That's right, He still loves & cares for us. His tender mercies are still over all of His works. Even though we may not always exercise faith in His Name, appreciate His goodness or honor Him by keeping His commands, He still hasn't withdrawn the offer of love & forgiveness available right now through Jesus. Even though we may not feel or understand His continued awesome love for us, He doesn't stop loving. Even though His thoughts are higher than the heavens above the earth, those thoughts are are still good & gracious toward us (even though we can't fathom them).
We might as well face it. HE LOVES US and will not change. He has demonstrated His love even to the degree that He continues to draw us towards Himself that we may receive His mercy & be with Him forever. So lets praise His Name & continue to glorify Him in all that we do. He is certainly worth it!!

Real Praise

Just because you cannot see something doesn't mean it's not real. And some things that are seen would actually be better for you if you couldn't see them. Take air for example. If you can actually see the air (because of smog or pollutants, etc.) it isn't nearly as healthy as if you were in the mountains or the country somewhere with the ability to look for miles not actually seeing anything. This was so clear to me when I was in Japan & had returned from a musical tour on the northern island. As our plane landed on the main island & we were deplaning, I could not only see the air, but I could actually taste the difference in the atmosphere. Believe me, it was no comfort that I could see & taste the air.
I just wanted to share this today because there have been times when I cannot feel or maybe even perceive the Lord, but He is there. And just because I can't see Him with my physical eyes doesn't mean He isn't real. So I choose to praise the Lord all of the time, even though I don't see Him with my eyes or when I don't always necessarily feel He is with me. You know, it's sort of a funny thing because when I take this attitude, I find it isn't too long before I start to sense His presence again. He was really there all of the time & it's great to praise Him when I feel like it & also when I don't feel like it. Have a great day & praise the Lord with me!!

Just Remembering

What another great day to praise the Lord! It's amazing the things that remind me of the Lord & His greatness during the day. I was thinking about this as I was substitute teaching in a carpentry class at the high school today. As I reflected back over my school years & remembered the shop classes I had taken (wood, metal, etc) I can actually recall different jobs I had worked because of the knowledge obtained while in those shop classes. Although I do not work professionally as a carpenter or mason, there were times when the Lord actually provided work for me in the past. Then I thought about Joseph & how he provided for his family and probably also taught Jesus the skill of carpentry. Overall, it was a good day because of this (even though it was kind of nasty outside). I am reminded again & again by small things how great God is & how much He really loves & cares for us in ways that may seem insignificant at the times we are going through them. May His Name be praised forever & may He case you to see something today that causes you to appreciate, love & praise Him in a new way you never have before. Praise the LORD.

Praising Him Together!

What a great time was had today praising the Lord together! I love getting together with my brothers & sisters to praise the wonderful Name of the LORD! At one time in my life I used 'to go to church' just because I had to (especially on Sundays), then I learned that everyone who has accepted Jesus for Who He is and what He has done are really "the church."
-- Think of it, the Lord's church is not any building, it's people.
-- Jesus didn't die for buildings, He died for people!
-- God doesn't make buildings 'new creations', He makes people new creations.
-- He isn't calling buildings unto Himself, He is calling every person unto Himself.
So on mornings like today, when the church assembles together, we can all enjoy His presence, be changed, & magnify Him for Who He really is. Blessed be the Name of the Lord. And besides the group of people that I gathered together with, there were many, many other gatherings all over the planet just to lift up His glorious Name!
I am reminded again & again that it's not about me, but it's all about Him!!
Blessed be the Lord God Almighty!!

Praise Him For His Forgiveness

One of the things I really thank & bless the LORD for is His forgiveness. It's amazing to me how His plan is so great & all encompassing that He has prepared a way for me to be right with Him even after I sin. He has said that if I confess my sin He is faithful & just to forgive my sin & cleanse me from all unrighteousness. One time I heard an older wise man say, "God didn't find out about your sin when you confessed it to Him because he knows everything. When you confessed your sin, that's when you took care of it." This is so true & it's wonderfully amazing! When I sin, I go to my Heavenly Father & take care of the problem. When you think about it, my sin is no longer any of Satan's business because he is no longer the lord of my life (after all, he tries to get me to give up altogether). Jesus is the Lord of my life, so He deals with any sin. When I go to Him & confess what I have done realizing all of my sin(s) were put on Him, ask for forgiveness & believe His Word, my sin is taken care of & I can truly enjoy His presence.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord Who has saved me to the uttermost!!

Birthday Blessings From Above

Well, today is another great day for me to praise the Lord. I really magnify His Name today because of His provision that my son is going to be with me forever in Heaven. Today is Josh's birthday & we will be celebrating. Although I & my wife are responsible for bringing him into this world as an expression of our love, he was still born a sinner like everyone else because of man's fallen nature demonstrated through Adam's rebellion against God. However, because of Josh's acceptance of our Heavenly Father's gracious gift of eternal life through His Son, Jesus, Josh will now live forever in communion with Almighty God, too. It is such a joy for me to know that because of God's remarkable plan that not only will I live with in communion with Him forever, but so will Josh, his brother, Ben, and my wonderful (better than I desire) wife Susan be in the presence of our loving Heavenly Father forever & ever. It is my prayer that you, too, will know the joy of your entire family living in God's presence forever. This is certainly His will & pleasure to do for us all. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

New Mercies Every Morning

I am contemplating the goodness and mercy of the Lord again today. I am so grateful that His mercies are new every morning and that His mercies are over all of His works. Where would we be without the mercy of Almighty God? It is certainly not by any good works or actions that I have accomplished that enable me to stand before God or even be able to approach Him. It is only by His goodness and mercy. He is so good and merciful to you and me that He came up with a way to allow us to come back into His presence without being consumed. He has accomplished this in such a way and with such wisdom that all of His enemies could not stop it from coming to pass. His enemies were not knowledgeable enough or powerful enough to really even successfully begin to stop Him! Not only this, but His plan is so amazing and simple that even a child who just believes, trusts and takes God at His Word can experience His mercy, forgiveness, and approach Him to have sweet fellowship. What a truly awesome God He is!! Blessed be the Lord God Almighty!!