Tag: God is holy

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Praying and Praising

The power of prayer

Psalm 23 and 24 teach us both practical ideas for praying and praising God. He is our Shepherd and He is our provider and protector. Here’s an idea you might use as you meditate on these psalms: ACTS (A = Adoration, C = Confession, T = Thanksgiving, S = Supplication) You can build your own prayer using this as a springboard:

A….Lord you are my shepherd and You alone are sovereign, and know each created being that has life and breath.

C…Lord, look within my heart. Cleanse me where I am found not to be blameless, where my motives are impure. Reveal to me if I have any untruthfulness or have made any promises with no intention of keeping them. Cleanse me that I may be pure and holy before you as I enter my time of worship.

T…Lord, I know and am thankful that you promise godly people are rewarded by the Lord, and vindicated by the God who delivers them.

S….Lord, how wonderful to know these promises and pray that all who choose you will know them as well. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

You might close with a summarized and personalized Aaronic blessing: Lord may you bless and keep me as you make your face to shine upon me. Be gracious to me and bless me with your peace.

What prayer will you offer today using A-C-T-S?

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Exalt the Lord!

Psalm 99 Twice in this psalm, we read: “Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy hill, for holy is the Lord our God.”  To Exalt is to raise high, to elevate. This Hebrew word has the idea of lifting high and can refer to God or man. In this psalm, the writer encourages the reader to lift God high and praise Him highly.

How do you exalt the Lord? Do you do it in word or deed, or prayer? Do you stop and remind yourself that He alone is worthy of all praise and worship? The writer reminds us that God is holy; there is no other like Him. He will not share His glory with another. The prophet Isaiah explained that He who is holy would pour water on parched ground. He will pour His Spirit on the children. [Is 44:3]

Do I take time to reflect on God’s holiness and what it means to me personally?

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Who is God to You?

God is holy and just

Revelation 16 God is Just

John wrote: “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy aloud, and blessed are those who hear and obey the things written in it because the time is near!” [Rev 1:3]These words remind the first-century church as well as us today that God is still on the throne; he is omnipotent, omniscient, and sovereign. Men continue to disregard the words of scripture, but God will reign supreme for He is: “just – the one who is and who was, the Holy One – because you have passed these judgments,” Then I heard, “Yes, Lord God, the All-Powerful, your judgments are true and just!” From the OT to the NT, the same theme is ever-present:  “As for the Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are just. He is a reliable God who is never unjust; he is fair and upright.”  [Deu 32:4]

Oh, the patience and longsuffering of our God to bring to pass His righteous judgments. And that is why at this season we pray as David prayed: “You are just, O Lord, and your judgments are fair” [Ps 119:13] and why the wise still seek Him before it is too late to know His promise: “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.” [Prov 8:17]

May we know Him and give Him the honor due His Name. 

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“A Manual on Prayer”

how to pray

Luke 11:2-5 Our greatest need is to pray. When asked, Jesus gave his followers a simple manual consisting of three basic elements of prayer followed by these words: “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”[vs 28]

First; begin at the beginning:  Hallow the Father’s name for he is holy and abides in heaven: “The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven.” [Ps 11:4]

Secondly; seek God’s forgiveness for sins of omission and commission so that you are able to forgive others. “But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.” [1Jn 1:9]

Lastly; seek God’s protection and direction so that we remain faithful. Claim the promise that Jesus has “Disarm[ed] the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” [Col 2:15]

We ask then how should we pray? Pray shamelessly and with confidence: “let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.”[Heb 4:16] for “we have boldness and confident access to God because of Christ’s faithfulness” [Eph3 :12]

Prayer is how we remove the barriers that keep us from true fellowship with God so the question is: how does your prayer life measure up?

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