Be Sober

Photo from Listening to God Forum

I've never been a devil chaser.  I've always been uncomfortable with those types of Christians.

In fact, just this week I was talking with an employee about her grievous misdeeds that I witnessed from our camera footage at work. I had her look at what I'd seen on camera, and then let her explain her actions from her viewpoint.  She talked at length.  When, at the end of her monologue, she started to get into talking about Satan getting the best of her, I finally cut her off.

Yet....

I try, by God's grace and power, to take the Word at what it says.

I can't get around this passage here in Ephesians 2:1-3, especially the second verse:

 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,(NKJV)


John McArthur points out that the word "world" used in this verse is Kosmos and that it:

"does not represent simply the physical creation but the world order, the world's system of values and way of doing things-the world's course And as Paul makes it clear, the world follows the leadership and design of Satan"

John Piper has a truly worthwhile sermon on these very same first 3 verses in Ephesians; it's entitled Why we need a Savior: captive to an alien power, by nature children of wrath.I appreciate how in this sermon Piper explains the analogy of Satan being the prince of the air as well as the corroborating scriptures he brings in to verify that Paul is indeed speaking about Satan in this verse.

Piper explains the analogy of prince of the air this way:

"Air is everywhere.

Air is where we live. Between heaven above and earth beneath is the realm of air, and that is the habitation of man. Sometimes we say things like, "there's excitement in the air". What we mean is that excitement seems to be gripping everybody. Its influence is so widespread that it simply must be in the air.

That's Paul's point, the influence of the power spoken of in verse 2 is so pervasive, that it can be called the power of the air."

Scriptures which corroborate that the prince of the power of the air is Satan are:

Ephesians 6:12: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.(NIV)

Matthew 12:24, note the second part of the verse where the Pharisees are talking about Satan and refer to him as "the prince of demons"(NIV).

2 Corinthians 4:4 where Paul is referring to Satan as the "god of this age" (NIV, NKJV).

John 12:31, John 14:30, & John 16:11 where Jesus refers to Satan as the "ruler of this world" (NIV, NKJV)

Luke 4:6 when Satan is bragging to Jesus he proclaims that he has authority over this world.   

It's apparent that Satan has some power in this world.  1 Corinthians 2:14 indicates that the natural man is greatly influenced by this power because he can't understand the things of God.  As a Christian, between the pervasive influence of Satan on my culture, and the pull of my own flesh, I can be influenced too. I'm reminded of 1 John 2:15-17 that talks about the sources of temptation, one of which is simply my own flesh. 

What does all of this mean to me, today, in my life? 

Do I need to become a "devil-sighter"?  Must I always be on the look out, trying to see where Satan is working?  I am reminded of 1 Peter 5:8-9 which could be interpreted to indicate that I'm to be on the look out for Satan.  However, I'm intrigued by the Amplified Bible translation of these 2 verses in 1 Peter:

 Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. ⁹ But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.]

This translation speaks to me about an approach to life, more than about looking for the devil under every rock.  I need to seek, by His Spirit within me:

• to live a well balanced and self-disciplined life
• to live in the realization that there are spiritual forces around me
• to be firm in my faith 

Repeatedly in my life it comes back this. Staying in the word from which my hope and faith is derived.  I'm reminded of Romans 12:1-2 where I'm told to constantly stay in the Word so His Spirit can change the way I think.  God is constantly reminding me to speak His truth and not the lies in the culture around me. Oh Father, You know me. You know that I can't do this on my own. I'm so much like water; I just want to run along the easiest path of least resistance.  Change me. Empower me.  Help me stay close to You.  Because I so desperately need You.  Thank You for loving me.  Thank You for giving me Your Holy Spirit.  I can never thank You enough.
  
As I've been doing this study today a song by an old music group named Petra has been coming to my mind: Not of this World. You can click this title to find the lyrics and listen.





 
  

Can't do it on my own

Photo taken from The Vigilant Christian

If I had any question about getting good on my own, Ephesians 2:1-10 answers those questions once and for all.  Right there, in the first verse, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit Paul writes:

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins"

Dr. Wayne Barber explains that:

"The word dead in the Greek language is the word Nekros. It comes from the work nekus which means corpse".

The staff over at verse by verse ministries made a point that stirred my heart:

"Just as a corpse cannot revive itself to life, neither can an unbeliever revive his own spirit into new life." 

I could not bring salvation to myself.  Only God by His grace could bring life to my dead spirit that was separated from Him by my sinful condition. Then, I think about Colossians 1:6 that tells me:

"as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him"

This brings me to what is stirring in my heart today.  The idea that, just as I could not bring my dead spirit to life in Christ, in daily life I continue to be unable to bring about God's goodness on my own.  I need Him.  It is only by His power that I can change.


What does this mean to me, specifically and practically, in my daily life?

I keep struggling to speak words of God's truth and faith over my work situation instead of the words of overwhelm, exhaustion, and don't-want-to-be-there that keep coming to me. Perhaps the whole struggle is because I'm trying to do this instead of asking God to teach me how to rely on His Holy Spirit within me.  I'm reminded of Jesus' words in Matthew 11:28-30, I'm especially fond of the way Peterson has paraphrased them:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Oh Heavenly Father, teach me how to walk with You and work with You.  Empower me to make time throughout my day to come to You. Teach me Your unforced rhythms of grace.

Called to Hope

Graphic from Jeremie Claey

Ephesians 1:17-18 (NEV):

¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

Paul is praying that the Ephesians would increase in their understanding and wisdom of the hope of their calling. Scripture repeatedly shows me this theme of hoping in God:                  

Psalm 42:5 (NASB):
Why are you in despair, o my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?  Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.                                                                

Proverbs 3:5-7 (MSG):
Trust God from the bottom of your heart;  don't try to figure everything out on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!     
             
Jeremiah 17:7 (TLB):
But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and has made the Lord his hope and confidence.

I appreciate these thoughts of John Piper's on hope: "Hoping in God does not come naturally for sinners like us. We must preach it to ourselves, and preach diligently and forcefully, or we will give way to a downcast and disquieted spirit." 

This is so true.  Left to my own, I'll become ungrateful and discontented.  I'll get discouraged by circumstances.  I need God's Hope.  I'm not a baby Christian any more. Babies need to be fed, but adults feed themselves.  I need to feed, or as Piper puts it, preach, hope to myself.
I'm sitting here thinking about areas of my life where I'm hope-challenged:

•  Being able to really make things better at work
• Things ever being right for my mentally ill sister
• Having the kind of romantic life I'd like to with my husband
• Being able to lose weight and be more healthy  

 I'm trying to think of practical ways I can preach hope to myself in daily life. The things that come to my mind are replacing lies with truth, engaging in an attitude of gratitude, and listening to hope filled messages.

I need to pray that I would become aware of the hope-destroying  lies in my head.  I need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit within me and let Him act like a lie detector for me.  When I recognize the lie, I need to replace it with the truth.  As I'm reading the word,  I need to write down those verses that are truths for areas where I struggle.  Oh Father, help me receive Your Rhema word.  Thank You that You, the God of the universe, are willing to speak to me.  May I take the time to come before You so I can listen and learn.

I need to live my life with an attitude of gratitude. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells me that this is how God wants His people to live:
Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.  
In Philippians 4:8-9 direction is given on what to think about:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Oh Father, help me focus on all that is good in my life and constantly be thanking You.  Help me not have such a negative radar where I'm always discontent because things didn't go my way.  Please empower me to have an appreciative heart for all that is good in my life.

I'm blessed with so many resources.  I drive an easy 40-minute drive to work and it provides me with an opportunity is my car to listen to Christian music and messages.  Having those messages on in the car puts my mind in the right place.

I'm actually feeling really grateful right now.  What a thing to be called to - Hope.  I'm not primarily called to financial genius, fame, beauty, or war; I'm called to Hope.    

Endless Energey, Boundless Strength

This is an ebook by Rob Hayes (I've never read this book)

This passage that I'm focusing on today, Ephesians 1:15-23,  has long been a favorite of mine.  I'm especially
partial to the way it reads in The Message paraphrase:

^15-19 That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!
^20-23 All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but        forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.  

I've prayed this over my oldest son since 2006 when he entered into the US Army academy at West Point.  I'd heard how rigorous and difficult it was there so I started praying this over him and have continued to pray this over him periodically.  

What's captivated my attention so much about this passage is the phrase "endless energy, boundless strength".  I struggle in my life with being tired.  I don't know if it's because I have such high pressure jobs, a thyroid condition, or I'm just a less energy kind of person.  Whatever the reason, it's a huge struggle for me.  I want more energy and I want it bad. Yet somehow in my life there has been a disconnect; I know the Scriptures about God giving us energy and I want to live for Him, but I still find my self oh so tired on a daily basis - why? More importantly, how can I change this?

As I've been praying about this, reading, and researching I came across an interesting article by Barry Hall.  I found these statements of his insightful:

"For God to be your God, He knows He has to presence Himself with you intensely enough for you to be refreshed by it and be able to trust Him. He designed you with the needs you have because He wants you to depend on Him--He wants to prove He can be a better God to you than the little "gods" of this world. Repent by coming to the place where you can trust God as your adequacy. The apostle Paul wrote, "Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5). It is entirely realistic for you to experience the presence of God to such an extent that this verse becomes true for you—every moment of every day. "

"The Psalmist wrote, "...O Lord God, You are my confidence..." (Psa. 71:5). It also says, "The Lord is their strength, And He is a saving defense to His anointed." (Psa. 28:8). Repenting by trusting God to draw near and be your strength allows you to experience the anointing of God. 


" Your need can be what drives you to draw near to God and receive His presence. "

"Repentance is a process of humbling yourself from thinking you have to achieve His presence and simply receive it. Repentance will help you find it easier to believe you can draw near and receive."

So, what does all this mean to me?


I keep thinking about that passage from John 15, the 4th through the 8th verses:

⁴ “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
^5-8 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples. (MSG)

Last week I looked at how I need to come closer to God, to spend more time in the Word.  I haven't done that. I haven't made myself get up earlier and I'm so exhausted by the time that I get home from work that it's a struggle to make myself walk a couple of miles on the Nordic track just so I can get some exercise into my day.  Then I crash; I eat dinner in front of the TV and go to bed early.

So it's got to be in the morning that spend more time with God.  To start my day with more than 3-5 minutes reading and thinking about a devotional.  I recognize that I need more.  Maybe other people don't need more, but I do.

Oh God, please help me.  You know how I have such a hard time getting up in the morning.  Please help me think about getting up to be with You instead of about getting up to go to work.  I'm going to take You at Your Word and, by Your strength and ability, try this.  I'm going to get up early daily for the next couple of weeks and dig into Your Word.  I need more energy - please teach me how to abide in You and receive Your presence and strength.  Thank You that You put up with me. Thank You that You want to be near me. 

Getting my soul into a happy state

Photo from Lindsy D Briggs

Today I want to spend some time on Ephesians 1:15-16 :

ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. (NIV)

This stood out to me because repeatedly over the past few months God has been prompting me to spend more time in prayer for others.  Repeatedly I've failed.

What is it about spending time in intercessory prayer that makes it so hard?

I've been thinking about this and I've come to the conclusion that the answer to this question is: My Flesh.

I want what is easy.  I want what I want...be that pretty clothes and shoes, TV, food, lightweight reading, day dreams, 30 minutes more sleep in the morning...the specifics aren't what's important - it's that I want whatever it is I want, when I want it.  I frequently have lacked discipline.  I say I'm going to spend time in prayer, but then I don't, because I'm pursuing these other things.

So I've come to this study time this morning ready for self flagellation.

I'm feeling downcast and terrible.  I know I'm bad.  I'm ready for God to "really give it to me". But you know what He does instead?  As I've been researching, reading and seeking some answers, God has shown me love, grace, and hope.  He's supplied me with a different recipe for victory over my flesh:

Keep my heart happy by resting in His promises

 

God used an insightful and profound message by John Piper to help me see this truth. Piper's message was taken from the text of Galatians 5:16-18 :

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law.(ESV)

I think these verses resound for all of us.  I think we all know, all too well, the struggle between the flesh and spirit.  I appreciate this insight of Piper's:

"Conflict in your soul is not all bad. Even though we long for the day when our flesh will be utterly defunct and only pure and loving desires will fill our hearts, yet there is something worse than the war within between flesh and Spirit; namely, no war within because the flesh controls the citadel and all the outposts. Praise God for the war within! Serenity in sin is death. The Spirit has landed to do battle with the flesh. So take heart if your soul feels like a battlefield at times. The sign of whether you are indwelt by the Spirit is not that you have no bad desires, but that you are at war with them!"

Earlier in Galatians 5:5-6 I find these words:

For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (ESV)

It's faith, trusting in God.  It's not me mastering my flesh and denying myself and using "spiritual muscle" that's going to get it done.  It's me having faith in God.  Galatians 3:1-10 really drives this truth home.   The 2nd and 3rd verses especially point out this truth:

Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (ESV)

I grow my faith by thinking on God's Word. Romans 10:17 puts it this way:

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. (NIV)

George Muller had this insight:

"I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. . . . Now what is the food for the inner-man? Not prayer but, the Word of God."

John Piper has this to say about Muller:

"George Müller learned the secret of walking by the Spirit: Meditate on the precious truths of the Word of God until your heart is happy in God, resting in his promises."

That's the key!

It's not about feeling guilty or beating myself.  It's about seeking God first thing, getting my soul into a "happy state" resting on God's promises.  I'm reminded of the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 11:28-30:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (MSG)

Currently I take about 3 minutes and read a daily devotion.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  But right now I feel God prompting me to get up 30 minutes earlier and spend more time in His Word.  Given all the extreme challenges in my job, and the Spirit's urging me to engage more in prayer for my sons, I need more spiritual nourishment than I'm getting.  

Father I thank You so much that You want me to walk with You. Thank You that You don't lay anything too heavy on me.  Teach me how to refrain from being religious and trying to put stuff on myself that's not from You. Teach me how to walk with You.  I want to learn Your unforced rhythms of grace. I want to learn how get my soul into a happy state from time with You.  I want Your love and power in my life to make a difference at my job.  I want to live in freedom from my flesh; to be able to say to no to me and yes to You.  I want to grow in praying for my sons and others.  I can do none of this on my own.  I need You.  Thank You so much dear Lord.


 




 


 

Sealed by the Holy Spirit

Photo from The Sanctuary Church

I've finally moved on in Ephesians, a little bit. Today I'm pondering Ephesians 1:12-14 (NASb):


¹² to the end that we who were the first to hope in ^]Christ would be to the praise of His glory. ¹³ In ^]Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also ^]believed, you were sealed in Him with ⁾the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the ⁾redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

I notice that I see this same wording in Ephesians 4:30, 2 Corinthians 1:22, and 2 Corinthians 5:5.  All 4 of these references include wording about the Holy Spirit sealing us as God's followers.  Three of these references (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 1:22, & 2 Corinthians 5:5) include the idea of the Holy Spirit being our guarantee of what God has for us to experience in the future.

As I read these verses I find myself asking what does it mean to be sealed with the Holy Spirit?

Bible Hermeneutics website notes:

The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia suggests the intended meaning is a mark of ownership by God:

God by His Spirit indicates who are His, as the owner sets his seal on his property; and just as documents are sealed up until the proper time for opening them, so Christians are sealed up by the Holy Spirit “unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 1:13; Eph. 4:30; 2Co. 1:22).

John Piper explains being sealed with the Holy Spirit this way:

"contained in this word "sealed," it is a message of safety and security in God's love and power. God sends the Holy Spirit as a preserving seal to lock in our faith, as an authenticating seal to validate our sonship, and as a protecting seal to keep out destructive forces. The point is that God wants us to feel secure and safe in his love and power."

In this same article, John Piper makes this point:

"God's great desire for his people is that we feel secure in his love and in his power. Everything else in life may be unstable—our health, our family, our job, our education, our society, our world."

I know that there's so much in my life that is not stable right now.  I've got a DON at work who should be my partner in this business we're running for the owner. She's competent and can be very hands on and effective, but she lies and manipulates. Her lies and manipulation make life very difficult for me and sets a poor tone in our building.  I'm in the midst of a class action lawsuit at work. My youngest son is trying to get an internship for this summer and has faced many rejections.  My middle son has only been on the clean and sober road since April 2015. My oldest son is on a year long deployment in Korea until July 2016 - away from his wife and new baby. I have a course in which I'm currently enrolled that I have no idea how I'm going to complete all the required work prior to the deadlines. Life is just not stable.  Not my life.  Not anyone's life.

 What does the seal of the Holy Spirit mean to me in the midst of the instability of life?

1. The Holy Spirit teaches us God's truth - see John 15:26-27, John 14:15-17, 1 John 5:6.
In the midst of the instability of life I can know what is real and true.

2. The Holy Spirit gives us supernatural power - see Romans 5:13 & 19, 1 Corinthians 2:4, 1 Corinthians 4:20, 1 Thessalonians 1:5.
In the midst of the instability of life I am not left to deal with it all on my own power.   

3. The Holy Spirit changes us - see Galatians 5:16-26
In the midst of the instability of life I get frustrated with myself, but if I cooperate with God, His Spirit within me will produce changes.

Oh Father, I need You to change me.  Change my heart so that it will be completely Yours.  Convict me each day when I'm making myself and/or others things ahead of You.  Help me open up to You and Your Word and live my life according to Your ways.  Please bring to my mind Your truth. Please help me receive Your Power so I can deal with all that is before me.  Empower me so that I can see supernatural results and favor in my life.  May I always bring glory to You.

































































































































































































































































































































































































































































 

What does it mean to be for the praise of Christ's Glory?

Photo from Crabapple 1st Baptist Church

I'm still working my way through Ephesians 1:3-14.

Today what really hit me was this repeated idea found in these verses:

v.6a-"to the praise of his glorious grace"

v.12-"in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory."

v.14b-"until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.".

What does it mean to be to the praise of His Glory?

 I found some insights from other writers on this topic:
  
* Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers :

That is, for the acknowledgment by all God’s creatures of the gloriousness of His grace; or, in other words, for the acknowledgment that God’s essential glory is best manifested in His grace—that He “declares His almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity.” So in Exodus 33:18-19, to the request, “Show me Thy glory,” the answer is, “I will make my goodness to pass before thee . . . and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious.” (Comp. Exodus 34:5-7.) He is pleased to consider His glory best realised in the spectacle of souls redeemed and regenerate by His grace, and to decree that it should be thus realised for our sakes.

* Chrysostom, an early church father, said this in his 1st homily on Ephesians:
 
The Divine nature knows no want. And wherefore then would He have us praise and glorify Him? It is that our love towards Him may be kindled more fervently within us. He desires nothing we can render; not our service, not our praise, nor any thing else, nothing but our salvation; this is His object in every thing He does. And he who praises and marvels at the grace displayed towards himself will thus be more devoted and more earnest. 

* John Piper had these thoughts:

"the glory of God is what we were made to see and enjoy for all eternity. Nothing else will satisfy our souls. Therefore if God does not exalt himself for us to admire and enjoy, then he is unloving. That is, he does not give us what we need."

* The Westminister Shorter Catechism:

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God,[1] and to enjoy him forever.[2]
Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,[3] is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.[4]

What does being to the praise of His Glory look like in daily life?

These are some thoughts that come to my mind:

* Spend some time away from others and alone with God each day.  During this time make sure to think on the goodness of God.  Singing praises to Him and speaking aloud of His goodness.

*  Throughout my day praise God for all the gracious things he does and has done for me.
    - God has done enough for me in Jesus that I have reason to praise Him every day.
    - He also gives me blessing every day if I will but take time to recognize and appreciate His blessings. The fact that I wake up in the morning, the beauty of nature around me, the small goodness in each day.
    - My daily thoughts should center on all the blessings of God.  I should refrain from getting caught up in the negativity around me each day.  I need to face reality and deal with negative things and events but I don't need to ruminate and stay in the negative things.
   -  Every day my speech should be filled with words of gratitude for God's blessings.  I should constantly be appreciative.

*  Live my life in a way that brings honor to God.
    - Be a person of excellence at my work.
    - Be a person who everyone knows that my word is as good a gold, that they can trust me because I'm honest and act with integrity.
    - Be a person who allows God to show me what He wants me to see in situations and and who relies on His wisdom.
    - Notice others.  Care about the people around me in practical ways appropriate to the life situations.  That might mean overlooking minor annoyances from my husband.  It could mean helping out one of my department directors. It might look like me seeing that someone seems tired or discouraged and giving them encouraging words. It could mean me sending an appreciative note to someone. Taking time to listen to my son's hopes and dreams and encouraging him. Etc.

Oh Father, THANK YOU!  I can never thank You enough for all You've done for me.  Help me to notice all Your blessings in every day and to appreciate all You've done, and are doing, for me.  May Your Holy Spirit in me empower me to keep my mind on those positive things and my words ones of gratitude. Oh Father may my life bring glory to Your name.  Empower me please that I would be a person of excellence, honesty and integrity.  Heighten my awareness to the people around me and show me ways to practically care about others.  Thank You so much....