PRAISE Daddy Day!

Psalm 150

Praise the Lord! Praise God in the sanctuary; praise Him in the heavens of His power!

Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to the abundance of His greatness!

Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with the lute and harp!

Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with stringed and wind instruments or flutes!

Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals!

Let everything that has breath and every breath of life Praise the Lord! PRAISE THE LORD! Hallelujah!

I am declaring this PRAISE Daddy Day! Just praise Him today! All day!

Let's Praise...

Daddy God, You ARE Worthy. You are Holy. Bless Your Holy Name. You are Mighty. You are Loving and Kind. You ARE Truth. You are full of Grace and Forgiveness. You are Mighty in Battle. You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You are the Great I AM! You are my Rock and my Shield. You are Wise and Perfect. You are the Creator of all things. You are the Great Physician. You are my everything. I love You, Lord. I praise Your Name. Thank You Jesus. Thank You. Praise You. (feel free to keep praising your King!) In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen!

In Love with my Daddy,
Lara ;)

Philippians 3:13 (KJV)
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.

I have the memory of an elephant. LOL. I can tell you who, what, where, how, and why I was hurt or abused...If I let myself dwell on the past. Maybe you don't have the "beat a dead horse" syndrome...hey, more power to ya! I'm speaking to anyone with the following symptoms...

~ Holds a grudge.
~ Has difficulty letting go of hurts, anger, disappointments, etc.
~ Brings up the past in an argument.
~ Dwells on the coulda, shoulda, woulda's...
~ Let's their mind reflect on the past.
~ Can't let go of the past.

If you suffer from one or more of the above symptoms, I have FANTASTIC news! There is a CURE! And guess what? There are no harmful side affects...well, other than a sore flesh.

THE CURE:

Step One: Give it to the Father

Step Two: LET it GO!

Step Three: Look forward. Press on.

Step Four: REPEAT until it works!!!

Bottom Line: LET GO OF THE PAST!

You will NEVER find happiness there. The only thing you will find is anger, pain, and disappointments. Don't keep reminding yourself and your husband of all his past failures. Get OVER it! I'm sorry if this seems abrasive, but it's the Truth. LET IT GO! If you don't YOU will be miserable until you do. YOU will only hurt yourself and those you really love. Release it to your Daddy and LEAVE it there!

It's YOUR choice. You CAN do it....IF you really want to.

Let's Pray,

Daddy God, Thank You for Your Word. Please help me to let go of (you fill in the blank). I no longer want this baggage. PLEASE take it from me and help me to look forward and press on. Please send Your Holy Spirit to remind me to let it go when I try to pick it up again. Thank You, Daddy. I RELEASE it to You. Thank You so much for taking this burden from me. Thank YOU! THANK YOU! Praise You Jesus! Thank YOU! I receive Your Peace, Lord. I receive it. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

In His Love and Service,
Lara ;)

Prayer Life

Prayer should be a very important part of every Christian's life. One reason that we should pray is that it delights the Lord.

Proverbs 15:8 - The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, extremely offensive to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight!

Another reason we should pray is, we can be assured that He hears our prayers. Just knowing that the Almighty God takes the time to listen to us should make us want to talk to Him.

Proverbs 15:29 - The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.

I Peter 3:12 - For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their prayer...

Prayer brings healing and restoration.

James 5:15-16a - And the prayer [that is] of faith will save him who is sick, and the Lord will restore him; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess to one another you faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray also for one another, that you may be healed and restored...

As Christian wives and Mothers it is especially important that we pray. Our prayers are very powerful weapons. Our prayers are vitally important to our husbands and children. We can impact their lives in a huge way with our prayers.
James 5:16b ...The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes a tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. Amplified
...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.(KJV)

If you are reading this devotional, and you do not have a consistent daily prayer life, this is your wake up call. You are no longer ignorant. You must...we must pray. We must pray every day.

Romans 12:12 Rejoice and exult in hope; be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation; be constant in prayer. Amplified
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. NIV

Philippians 4:6 - Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

You don't need a special book of formula. Just talk to God like you would a close friend. That is what He wants from you more than anything. He wants a personal relationship with you. You cannot have a relationship with someone you never talk to...or only talk to when you’re in trouble...

Let's Pray,

Daddy God, thank You for hearing my prayers. Thank You for wanting to hear me. Lord, I want to have a closer relationship with You. Forgive me for the times I have put the cares and activities of life before You. I commit to You today...I will actively pursue a consistent daily prayer life. I will pursue You, Daddy God. Thank You for loving me. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

Prayerfully,
Lara ;)

The Two Most Important Commandments - LOVE (part 4 -Final)

At the beginning of this study, I gave you our foundation Scripture Matthew 22:37-38. In it Jesus was telling a lawyer about two commandments. The first was what we have been discussing.

I would like to end this study with the second commandment that Jesus gave in Matthew 22:39; And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as you do yourself.

I don't know about you...but...that is a very hard thing to do. It is not impossible though. We have to choose to Love.

Other Christians can be very difficult to love...for a variety of reasons that I am sure you are aware of. Yet in the book of John, Jesus tells us why it is important to love each other. John 13:34-35 says; I give you a new commandment; that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another [If you keep on showing love among yourselves].

Jesus doesn't just mean our brothers and sisters in the Lord...He means our enemies too. In Matthew 5:44 Jesus said, ...Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. But wait...He goes even further in Luke 6:27-28; But I say to you who are listening now to me: Make it a practice to love your enemies, treat well (do good to, act nobly toward) those who detest you and pursue you with hatred. Invoke blessings upon and pray for the happiness of those who curse you, implore God's favor upon those who abuse you and misuse you.

WHEW...those are some pretty strong words. This is no easy task. Let's go deeper...

WHAT IS LOVE?

I'm sure you've heard it and/or read it...

I Corinthians 13:4-8 - Love endures long and is patient and kind; love is never envious nor boils over with jealousy, it is not boastful and does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited; it is not rude and does not act unbecomingly. Love (GOD'S LOVE IN US) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. Love never fails...

There really isn't anything more I can add. God has explained "what" love is thoroughly. The next question would be...how?

HOW DO WE LOVE?

In part one of this study we learned that the Scriptures tell us that if we love God...we will keep His commandments. Well, this is one of His commandments. Obviously, we don't just snap our fingers and suddenly have the kind of love described in I Corinthians. It comes gradually over time as we study and learn His Word (His ways). The Word says that God is Love in I John 4:16. So, if we pour enough of God into our lives and spirits...we will automatically love more like He loves. It is what naturally happens as we submit our lives to Him and His will. We grow the "fruit" of love.

We cannot beat ourselves up when we fail. The enemy would love that. We must press on. Make it a point to read I Corinthians 13 as often as you can. Get it in you. And PRAY!

Note: All Scripture was taken from the Amplified Translation.