Good morning and Happy New Year!
We haven't posted in a while. The words were in us, but they just weren't ready to be shared. And now that they are ready, we have so much we want to share that you may be inundated with a few posts back to back in the next few days. But, we want our first two Face to the Wall posts of the New Year to be about praise and gratitude.
God has shown His kindness to us in so many ways. In 1 Peter 2:9 the verse begins by telling us who we are, but ends by revealing to us one of the reasons we are all those things..."that you may proclaim the excellencies (praises) of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." Stew and I know that we were transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light at the day of our salvation, yet we believe that every day God continues to call us into His marvelous light. His marvelous light that dispels any darkness of circumstance, sin, or attacks the enemy might try to use to overshadow our day. And, the doorway to that change from circumstantial life vision to Kingdom living God vision is praise.
Psalms is laced with the thought of overcoming praise in almost every chapter...
praise the Lord
give thanks with a whole heart
praise Him in the midst of others
give thanks to the Lord
thank Him for His steadfast love
offer sacrifices of thanksgiving (often thanksgiving comes with a cost...a choice)
tell of His deeds with songs of joy
speak out His mighty deeds
rejoice in Him
believe His words and sing
don't forget all He's done
magnify Him with thanksgiving
And, many of these were written by David. A man just like us. A man who fought unworthiness, sin, the possibility of defeat and loss of life...yet always chose "but God!"
Godly praise identifies us as His, displays Him for all to see, and reveals Who is the keeper of our hearts in and above all that life on earth offers. It encourages us to stand stronger in the One who loves us most and reminds us, and others, of just Who our God truly is. It shows Whose Kingdom we belong to and lifts up the One we love and Who loves us. The only way we make it through anything life throws our way, even cancer, is by remembering Who He is, believing we are His, trusting in what He says, and declaring it from the roof top of our hearts
So, we will end this post by simply declaring Our Father's (how I love being able to say those two words!) excellencies...
Father...
Thank you for your loving mercies and tender kindnesses. Thank you for calling us to be Your very own and offering us all of Who you are. Thank you for Your life giving love that fills every part of our being and every area of our life. Thank you for the gift of Your Son Jesus Christ, and the Comforter You have given each one of us through Your Holy Spirit. Thank you for the inheritance that is ours in You...an inheritance that isn't just received in Heaven but one we get to partake of even now.
You are:
Holy
Mighty
Wonderful
Powerful
Loving
Kind
Forgiving
Compassionate
Healer
Redeemer
Hope
Graciousness
Merciful
Glorious
Grace
Faithful
Wisdom
Just
Righteousness
Good
You are:
our Shelter
our Fortress
our Stronghold
our Deliverer
our Shield
our Rescuer
our Refuge
our Salvation
our Strength
our Joy
our Victory
our Home
Father, we are amazed and shout it from the roof tops how thankful we are that You chose to love us...that You are our God. We love you.
In Jesus Name,
Amen!
Thanking the Father for You,
Stew and Deb
*We would love for you to comment on this post by simply sharing one declaration of His excellencies. One praise to Him about Him. It would honor Him, encourage others, and cause us all to remember Who our life is about.
