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not always exercise faith in His Name, appreciate His goodness or honor Him by keeping His commands, He still hasn't withdrawn the offer of love & forgiveness available right now through Jesus.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!!