Victory in Jesus.....

Psalm 20:5  “May we shout for joy at your victory and raise the standards in the name of our God.  The LORD grant all your requests!”

1 Cor. 15:54-55  “Death has been swallowed up in victory!  Where O death is your victory?  Where, O death is your sting?”

Heavenly Father,

Victory!  Everyone loves the cry of victory!  In times of war every victory is a reason to shout for joy.  Every victory is a reason to wave our flags and banners and rejoice in our strength and our over-coming of the enemy.  Our strength in the eternal victory over death and sin comes through Jesus Christ.  Our God!---our Christ!---our Lord and Savior has “swallowed” up death and risen in strength and power and eternal victory. 

We fight daily battles in the war against evil and strive to bring the love of Christ to the world.  It seems ironic or wrong somehow to speak of war and love together.  To think of battles and our gentle Savior.  To want to fight when Christ willingly died.  But Christ was in a battle that wasn’t fought with guns or swords.  Christ fought his battle against sin with righteousness.  Christ fought anger and evil with love.  Christ conquered death by dying.  

We die and our bodies cease, but Christ’s death was a beginning.  From the “ashes” of his death came new life.  From his loving sacrifice came grace.  Christ not only died, but more importantly, he arose---arose victorious and resplendent in victory!  By his resurrection, we also will arise victorious.  Death cannot kill us now.  Death is just one instant between worldly life and eternal life.  We die in Christ to live in Christ.  Death is not victorious.  Death has no “sting”. 

Shout for joy---we are victorious!  Lift your banners---our God reigns!  The LORD “grants all our requests” and salvation and victory are ours!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  As the old song says: “Victory in Jesus, my Savior forever, he sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood!”  Thanks you!  amen

"Who is like you, O LORD?".......

Psalm 35:9-10  “My soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation; my whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, O LORD?”

John 10:10  “I came that they may have life and have it to the full.”

Heavenly Father,

I want my “whole being” to exclaim, “Who is like you, O LORD?”  I want to draw away from the world and explore the wonder of your being and my relationship with you!  I heard a preacher say recently that the Bible doesn’t mention “a personal relationship with Jesus”.  I think he is wrong about that, or didn’t mean it the way it sounded.  Everything about scriptures, to me, implies the seeking of a relationship with Jesus!  We have to come to him.  We have to know him.  We have to have a relationship in order to accept what he did for us.  A stranger would not die to save me---only a personal Savior would do that.  Only one who loves me.  Sacrifice comes from love.  Jesus came to bring life---not just for me, but for everyone.  He came “that they may have life and have it to the full”.  What is life “to the full”?  The Message calls it “better life than they ever dreamed of”!  We are good at dreaming about worldly and material things that would please us or make us happy but do we dream spiritual dreams?  Do we dream of a “full life”?  A full life to me is eternity in your presence, away from the anchors that weigh us down in this world. A full life is knowing that I’m home in my Father’s arms.  A full life is the peace and harmony of your righteousness.  Knowing Jesus, and accepting his gift of salvation is the first step of the journey home.  “My whole being”---whole through Jesus Christ----can now exclaim, “Who is like you, O LORD?”  No one!  No one else is my God or my savior!  No one else is “life to the full”!  No one else is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, I AM!  My soul will rejoice!  My whole being delights in his salvation, Jesus Christ!  Amen.

Sing praise from the heart and soul.....

Psalm 71:23-24  “My lips shall shout for joy as I sing your praises; my soul, also, which you have redeemed, and my tongue day by day shall discourse on your justice.”.

John 11: 25-26  “I am the resurrection and the life: whoever believes in me, though he should die, will come to life; and whoever is alive and believes in me will never die.”

Heavenly Father,

“My lips shall shout for joy, as I sing your praises.”.  I wonder how often it is only my lips that are singing and not my heart and soul?  I don’t like thinking things like that, but the truth is that I am a sinner, and I never praise or obey as whole-heartedly as I should.  Praise music draws my heart and soul closer to you than any other time.  The words and tunes fill my heart and lift my soul away from the world and upward in thought and spirit.  When I reflect on Christ’s words of salvation and hope: “ I am the Resurrection and the Life!…he who believes in me will live even though he dies, whoever lives and believes in me will never die!”……I know that this is our eternal promise that salvation and eternal life are ours through Jesus Christ.  This makes my heart rejoice!  This makes me want to sing!  This pulls the emotion from me and tears my focus from the world!  How do people who don’t sing worship?  I can’t fathom an answer to that.  I can’t imagine not singing.  My voice in song has always been the outlet of my emotions and soul and spirit.  In my youth this encompassed music other than praise music, but the result was still the same….my lips sing what my heart feels.  My soul is released in music.  I guess others release emotion through art or writing or just deep thought and prayer.  I don’t know.  But like the song says….”I love to sing your praises!”  That verse was the theme for my Tres Dias weekend and I realize how appropriate for me that it is. “Sing to the LORD a new song!  Sing to the LORD all the earth!”  May my lips always sing what my heart and soul feel in thanks for my salvation.  You have redeemed me, O LORD!  I am glad and rejoice!  Amen.