Challenge of Praise

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I’d like to challenge you today with this scripture…

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the heavens;

Praise Him in the heights!

Praise Him, all His angels;

Praise Him, all His hosts!

Praise Him, sun and moon;

Praise Him, all you stars of light!

Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,

And you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

For He commanded and they were created.

He also established them forever and ever;

He made a decree which shall not pass away.

Praise the Lord from the earth,

You great sea creatures and all the depths;

Fire and hail, snow and clouds;

Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

Mountains and all hills;

Fruitful trees and all cedars;

Beasts and all cattle;

Creeping things and flying fowl;

Kings of the earth and all peoples;

Princes and all judges of the earth;

Both young men and maidens;

Old men and children.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

For His name alone is exalted;

His glory is above the earth and heaven.

And He has exalted the horn of His people,

The praise of all His saints—

Of the children of Israel,

A people near to Him.

Praise the Lord!

He is so very good. He deserves our praise!

Live For The Eternal

As I visited with my ailing relative today, I was reminded again of how sweet heaven will be when we are all there together. There will be no more sickness and no more pain. Our loved ones will never die, and we will never worry about crises, heartaches, destruction or even the threats of such. We will say no more goodbyes, and the trivial things of this world will have all been lost.

If I had but one piece of advice to give, it would be this: No matter what you seek in this life, all things will eventually fade away, only those things which are eternal will remain. Never allow the temporary pleasures to blind you from the eternal treasures. Live for those who matter, and let all the rest simply fade with the time of life’s journey. Recognize and acknowledge your reality. Cherish the ins of value, and make sure you are both ready for the other side; so together, you might worship your King in eternity…

My Rock

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He is my Rock when the waves of life crash in. He is my Fortress when the enemy of my soul threatens to consume. He is my Deliverer of the temptation for my own demise. He is my God, in whom I trust and take refuge from every storm. He is my Shield who protects me when I refuse to protect myself, and He is the Horn of my Salvation when I have found trouble and cannot escape. He is my Stronghold of strength that never lets go, no matter how far I try to run and no matter how deep the muck and mire becomes…Thank you for who You are and who I am not. ❤

Listen Up and Receive

Proverbs 15:31-33
“The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.”

Have you ever met anyone who just wouldn’t listen to wisdom? You know, that one to whom you could talk till you’re “blue in the face;” yet, he or she just simply refuses to open his or her ears to hear. To be honest, when this happens, I have to fight genuine anger within my heart and then I have to fight pure pity.

To watch someone who is so stubborn in their own will to refuse God time and time again infuriates me on the onset, because it is as if I am standing at the top of a waterfall screaming out to her of the coming danger. I am jumping up and down, waving my arms, yelling at the top of my lungs, desperately trying to make her see that if she continues to travel in her canoe, ignoring the rushing rapids, she will find herself busted and destroyed in just a short time, maybe even beyond repair. It is as if I am furiously throwing all lifelines out to help him get to safety, and yet, despite all my efforts, he shoves the ropes off the boat and scoffs at my concern.

Then, the undesirable but inevitable happens. She finally realizes the error of her ways, but it is now too late. She violently attempts to turn around, only to find the craft is teetering over the edge and racing toward the rocks below. There is nothing more you can do, except wait until he steps out of the destruction and finds himself again. You can pray, and you can cry, and rightly you should; yet, until he decides to remove himself from the debris, you will be struggling in vain.

That is when the pity and the sorrow settles into my view. To see her fighting against the hope which remains breaks my heart. To see her waring against her Maker draws tears to my eyes. To see him clawing and assaulting his Savior, refusing the grace and mercy right within his grasp, shatters my serenity and peace.

There is hope for all who are lost. There is redemption for all those broken and shattered by their own muck and mire. He loves you. He will redeem you. He is waiting there for you to see. Just call on His name. You will never be the same.

Decrease Me. Increase You. 

You teach me through Your Word that I need a reformation. I need reproofing, and I need transforming to be more of who You desire me to be. Yet, I find myself, time and again, pushing against Your sovereignty. I find myself entangled in my own desires, my own selfish perspective.

I wish that You would decrease me that I might increase You.

You draw out of my soul the ugly, the begrimed and the despised things. You point to the waywardness of my heart and challenge it to change. You mark those fleshly wanderings and call them to a duel. You refine and chastise to remove that wretched sin.

I wish that You would decrease me that I might increase You.

You extract the waste that Your purity might flow. You entrap the filth that Your Spirit might invade. You ensnare all that is lost that Your anointing might abide. As the mire is expelled, Your holiness can thrive.

I wish that You would decrease me that I might increase You.

I find that as I yield my heart and surrender my will, You are enabled to dig deep within my soul. You eliminate all that is not like You. The fire refines me. Your love renews me.

I step back from the pruning to see there is so much less of me, and then I realize there’s so much more of You. ❤

 

His Mercy and Goodness

His goodness simply amazes me again and again. His mercy isn’t just for one moment, one breath in time. It endures forever! This is the God I serve!

I am amazed. I just stand back in total awe and surrender, humbled by His grace and love. A God so Mighty, so true, and so faithful; yet, He cares for me? He cares enough that He sent His only Son to die a horrible death to atone for my sins before I was even created in my mother’s womb! “WHAT?! Are you kidding me??”

It is so incredible to even fathom. It is so mind-boggling that I cannot comprehend. The depth of love, mercy and grace He extends is so overwhelming. Once experienced, you’ll never be the same, and you’ll never want to be different 💗

No wonder the Psalmist repeats the phrase, “… His love endures forever,” 26 times in Psalm 136…

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.

to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever.
who made the great lights— His love endures forever.
the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.
the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever.

10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures forever.
11 and brought Israel out from among them His love endures forever.
12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever.

13 to him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures forever.
14 and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever.
15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; His love endures forever.

16 to him who led his people through the wilderness; His love endures forever.

17 to him who struck down great kings, His love endures forever.
18 and killed mighty kings— His love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites His love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan— His love endures forever.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures forever.
22 an inheritance to his servant Israel. His love endures forever.

23 He remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever.
24 and freed us from our enemies. His love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

What Holds You Back?

What holds you back from loving Jesus?

Is it 

SIN…

DISBELIEF… 

FEAR…

LIES…

APATHY…

NEGLIGENCE…? 

Whatever it is, these things are not worth it. He loves you, and He waits for you to come to Him. He waits patiently, and He waits lovingly. He waits wth anxious anticipation to show you all He has. 


In Him, you will find unconditional love and unending grace. You will find unmerited favor and undeserving mercy. You will find rest. You will find peace. You will find strength, and you will find HOPE. Without hope, our hearts grow weary and our lives grow dim. Without hope, we all persish. 

Love Me Challenge #27

Oops! So sorry, I thought I had posted this. 


What have I accepted about me through this LoveMe Challenge? I have definitely accepted that I’m unique. I’m quiet. I’m scarred. I’m doing some things right. I’m flawed. I have a past, and I have a future. I am loved, and I am an overcomer!

This has been fun! I hope you have enjoyed it, too. 😊

He Knows Your Name

Some people struggle with remembering names and faces of people whom they meet. Some people never forget a face, while others never forget a name. Personally, I work hard to remember both. 

You see, I work extra hard to remember a person’s name, not because I’ve got some “great gift,” but rather, because I know what it means to my heart when someone remembers mine. I have a very difficult name to remember, especially my full name, and so, often, people might mispronounce it or just ignore it all together. In school, so many made fun of my name that, when I entered college, I just decided to go by a nickname. Those scars of being made fun of, eventually healed, but they caused me to realize how precious a name can be to someone. 
I have not mastered this goal of remembering names, but I can say, I work hard on it. When someone asked me the other day if I remembered their name, my mind went absolutely blank! My eyes went to the “deer in the headlights” mode, I broke out in a cold sweat, and I couldn’t have remembered the person’s name to save my life! 

I could remember the last name. I could remember the spouse’s name. I could even see the spouse’s FB page in my head, but that first name just wasn’t going to break through the mental blank my mind had created! Ugh! What a terrible moment! I wanted to cry…yes, literally, I wanted to crawl away and cry. Remembering someone’s name means that much to me. 

Later on, this moment caused me come to a wonderful revelation. One that I know very well; however, in those hard moments of life, sometimes, my heart will try to deceive me to believe I don’t know this truth: Jesus knows my name!

He not only knows my name, but He knows every intricate little part of me. He knows the number of hairs on my head. He knows my likes, my dislikes, my hopes, my fears, my doubts and my dreams. He knows every time I’ve cried, every time I’ve laughed. He knows every sin I’ve committed and every aspiration I hope to have. He knows my name, and He loves me!!


You know else, He knows yours, too! He knew you before you were even born. He knew what you were going to look like and where you’d be right now. He knew what your life would be like, and He knew what your name would be even before you received it. He loves you so much, and He longs for you to know Him. I encourage you today, give Him a chance. I promise you, He will not disappoint. 

Love Me Challenge #23

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Some might say my best feature is my smile. My friends might say it’s my eyes. I’ve heard others say it might be my hair or my tall physique. My husband would say…well, he just left the room when I asked him; so, I guess, I won’t be getting his answer for this post. If you ask me, my first response would be, “I don’t know.” This is really a difficult one for me, because I don’t like looking at myself and trying to figure out these kinds of answers. I’d rather talk about you and brag on your best feature(s). That is much more fun!

Yet, if I could say what I’d like my best feature to be is not something you will see at first glance, and it might not even be something you’ll notice at our first meeting of one another. However, once you get to know me, you’ll see I have a quiet, gentle way about me, and I have a knack for noticing small details. Sometimes, this trait will make me excruciatingly slow and meticulous, but when I’m “on it,” it allows me to see things others might miss. It causes me to see a pain in someone’s eyes when all the room sees their smile. It creates within me an ability to connect with the quiet, the lonely and the fearful. It allows me to see past the facade and smokescreen that someone may be giving in order to see the inner need to just belong and be loved.

I may not always see those little details, and I may very well “miss it” from time to time; however, when I’m listening closely to His voice and being in tune with His direction, this small ability becomes a great big asset in the Father’s hands, to be used for His glory, not because I’m ‘all that’ but because HE is.