Praise
and Strength
TODAY’S
SCRIPTURE
The LORD is my strength and
my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and
I will give thanks to him in song.
Psalm 28:7, NIV.
TODAY’S
WORD
Praise and strength go hand
in hand. When you give God praise, He gives you strength. When you thank God in
advance for the answer, that’s what keeps you encouraged.
Remember, you’re not going
to stay strong in faith by complaining. Complaining drains you of strength and
energy. You’re not going to stay determined if you’re talking about how bad it
is. No, switch over into praise. “Business may be slow, but Lord, I want to
thank You that You prosper me even in a desert.” “The people coming against me
may be powerful, but Lord, I want to thank You that You are all-powerful.”
Praise will keep you moving forward!
So often we think, “I’ll
give God praise after the problem turns around.” But if you don’t learn this
principle to thank God in advance, you won’t have the strength you need to wait
for the promise. Every morning when you wake up, start the day by saying,
“Father, thank You that my dreams are coming to pass. Thank You that this
problem is turning around. Thank You that You are bigger than this obstacle.”
Keep praising Him and keep receiving His strength so you can boldly embrace the
victory He has for you!
PRAYER
FOR TODAY
Father, today I give You
praise because You are worthy. Thank You for working in my life even when I
can’t see it. I bless You and receive Your strength today in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
***
“No prophecy ever originated from humans. Instead, it was given by the Holy Spirit as humans spoke under God's direction.” (2 Peter 1:21 GW)
The Bible is the most read book in history. It’s also the bestselling book in history and the most translated book in history.
Yet it’s more than that. It’s also God’s Word — God’s very breath. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (NIV).
That means the Bible isn’t just a good idea. It is God’s Word to us. One of the reasons I can know that the Bible is true and trustworthy is that it has thousands and thousands of prophecies that have come true and will come true in history. Every one of the Bible’s prophecies have either come true exactly as God predicted or will come true sometime in the future.
The Bible contains more than 300 prophecies about Jesus alone — all written a thousand years before he was born. The Bible prophesized about when he’d be born, where he’d be born, and how he’d be born. He couldn’t have manipulated his birth to fulfill those prophecies.
It also predicted how he would die. A thousand years before Jesus died, David described Jesus’ death on the cross in one of the psalms. He didn’t use the word “crucifixion” because no one knew that word then. Long before the Romans were even thinking about crucifying people, David described it.
Only God could have known that.
What are the odds that I could make 300 predictions about you and every one of them would come true? It’s so astronomical, you couldn’t write the number down. It takes more faith to believe that the Bible’s prophecies were a coincidence than to believe that God planned them.
The Bible says, “No prophecy ever originated from humans. Instead, it was given by the Holy Spirit as humans spoke under God's direction” (2 Peter 1:21 GW).
During Bible times, nobody wanted to be a prophet. The law in Israel was that a prophet of God had to be correct 100 percent of the time. If you were wrong just once, then you were considered a false prophet and would have been put to death. A prophet better be right!
And the Bible prophecies were right — every one of them. You can trust the Bible because what the Bible predicts comes true.
Talk About It
- Do you trust that the Bible is true? Does your doubt keep you from hearing what God wants to say to you
- How is the Bible useful in your life? Do you only use it for encouragement, or is it also a tool for rebuking, correcting, and training in your life?
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