praise jesus

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Day 30 In Christ Alone

July 30, 2024July 25, 2024 krisshetter

^“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. Psalm 62:1

Earlier this year I trained to be a discipleship coach for an online ministry. Anyone who searches the internet using certain, key words may encounter the link which offers a free course called Knowing Jesus. People from all over the world work through the free course seeking to grow closer to God through the truth of Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Bible.

I recently had a student who said Jesus was a very obedient servant of God. While that is true, I told her that limited view of Jesus doesn’t ensure we understand the full holiness and deity of Christ. I explained to her Jesus was fully man and fully God, a sometimes confusing concept. I asked if that information was new to her, a self-professed, occasionally attending church Christian. She replied, “Yes.”

That one word actually made me sad. Sad over how the “church,” meaning we, the body of believers have sometimes failed to make clear the place that Jesus sits in heaven. How we have failed to loudly celebrate that only Christ can be the one to cleanse us of our sins so we can, with His cloak of purity laden over our shoulders, come before the Father. And the way churches, fellow believers allow our friends and neighbors to remain in the dark about the love the Trinity has shown all humanity — when God humbled Himself to walk among us and give us the message of eternal life.

You see, without seeing Jesus in His rightful Holy position we also can’t look to Him for all hope and strength and peace. Because no average man can give us that. No, it takes a King of Kings, a Lord of Lords, a solid cornerstone. Christ alone.

Jesus, the man, was tender, strong, felt pain, and was ever obedient to His Father. At the same time, Jesus, the Word in flesh, was sinless, wise, merciful, a healer, a life-giver, prescient, could calm storms, and fill nets and endless food baskets. But most of all Jesus the Holy One was the required sacrifice for our forgiveness of sins.

He gave His all for us He suffered much for us. He loved tremendously for us.

When this same student mentioned she’s too tired on Sundays to regularly attend church, I told her I too used to think church was just another thing on my to-do list. But when I realized the amazing gift that He gave us in Christ I was compelled to worship Him in gratitude and submission. Instead of obligation, church became a soul-filler. When I lift my hands up to Him in love, He reaches back to me through the Holy Spirit and grabs hold of me. I know that nothing else in this world can ever pluck me from His hands. He will never let me go. He brings us home in victory.

If you don’t have this relationship with Christ, call on Him today. Give Him your all. And the Lord of All will give all eternity to you.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the past 30 days of Worship as much as I have! If you missed any posts, I’ve compiled the entire series here. Please share with your friends today to support this ministry and help be a light out into the darkness.

To listen to today’s song, click here: In Christ Alone

Day 27 Great Are You Lord

July 27, 2024July 9, 2024 krisshetter

“My soul glorifies the Lord  and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. Luke 1:46-48

When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.  When anxiety was great within me,your consolation brought me joy.  Psalm 94:18-19

In 2023, Psychotherapist Charlotte Fox Weber wrote an article for CNBC which revealed that, after 10 years of treating patients and being a patient herself, there are nine things humans universally desire in life:

To be loved
To be understood
To have power
To have and give attention
To have freedom
To create
To belong
To win
To connect

Well, I have great news for Dr. Weber and all humanity. Jesus will fulfill all these needs. Our great Lord will love you through all eternity. He knows every single thing about you – and experienced much of it Himself. Not only does He know you so well, He still loves you!

Through Jesus we have power to overcome our fears, anxieties, wrath from man, and more. He removes the chains of sins and calls us sons and daughters of the God Most High.

We become free to experience and create joy in our lives and in those around us. This joy connects us to a community of believers who support you and walk beside side you times of trouble.

And best of all as heirs to the Kingdom we stand in victory. Through His resurrection, Jesus has conquered death and sin. He holds out His hand for you to join Him in this glorious triumph.

He is the giver of all life, of breath, of light and hope. He is the provider of everything for which you long. Reach out to Him and pour out your praise Him today!

Click here to listen to today’s song: Great Are You Lord

Day 26 How He Loves Us

July 26, 2024July 8, 2024 krisshetter

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:38-39

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. ⁴I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. Psalm 63:3-4

Do you love God? Sounds like a simple question and one that could be answered flippantly. But do you really love God? Do you love Him so much that you seek to worship and submit to Him each and every minute of your day?

A friend shared a comment her adult son made to her once. He’s seems to be very angry with God. His biting comment was, “If God is so all-powerful then why does he need your worship?”

How would you answer that?

For me, I realized not too long ago that I hadn’t completely grasped the idea of loving and worshipping God. I prayed thankfulness, petition and repentance. But lacked an expression of love. It led me to ask if I loved God.

Let’s clear up one thing. God doesn’t need our worship. He doesn’t need our love. He doesn’t need anything from us. However, I ask you if you had good and loving parents, do you still love them as you’ve become an adult? If so, then why? Your answer is probably because they did so much for you. They tended to your every need as a child. Fed you, put a roof over your head, taught you, and yes, loved you.

If you didn’t have that sort of up bringing you probably don’t love your parents. You may feel a burden of obligation but love isn’t present. In fact, you may feel the hole where love should be.

Now think about what Jesus has done for you. For a reason which only God knows He chose you. Yes you. You backsliding sinner. He loved you even before you accepted Him as your savior. While you were still in the mud and muck of your sin.

He lowered Himself to being a human and didn’t count His divinity as something to lord over us while He was here. He came to save us from a terrible, painful eternity. Which all of us deserve. Every single one of us.

He went to the cross and died a bloody, humiliating death. To wash you clean before the Father. A brother, a friend, the only God who gave His life for you. That should bring you to tears of love and a desire to worship Him.

His blood and His love cover us and give us a new, beautiful life. How can we not worship a god whose very essence is love? How can we not drop prostrate and sing to all the ways that He loves us?

Click here to listen: How He Loves Us

Day 25 For All My Life

July 25, 2024July 8, 2024 krisshetter

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵For whoever wants to save their lifewill lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.  Mark 8:34-35

in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight  Proverbs 3:6

I’ll admit that for almost half of my life I relied on one person to resolve all my problems, to quell my fears, and to help me succeed in life. Myself. While I did a decent job of pulling myself up and around by my own boot straps, I also did a bang up job of living a life of stress, anxiety and worry. When I met my husband, he called me the queen of “woulda, coulda, shoulda.”

In other words, I would regret and worry about every single decision I made. If I “fixed it” and it didn’t turn out very good then I was also the one to take much of the blame. I leaned heavily on my own understanding. The burden became unbearable. I put the same pressure on friends, family and acquaintances to take on the same responsibility. When they didn’t, I would look on with annoyance that they weren’t doing life “right.”

That type of living doesn’t keep quality relationships. It definitely doesn’t bring joy and love and goodness.

The study I did this summer on being a slave to Christ (Slave by John MacArthur) has further revealed to me how being owned by Jesus is so much easier than being a slave to a sinful life outside His will. When we let Him take the lead and shine the light on our paths, we can take a deep breath of fresh air. We view troubles, challenges or even failures in a different light.

We may not always see our life with Christ as a straight and beautiful path of goodness. But that’s just the world trying to speak back into us. As long as we have our eyes always on Jesus it doesn’t matter what seems uncertain. The North Star is always where it should be even if the road is a bit squiggly. He will guide you right to Him.

Click here to listen: For All My Life

Day 24 Tremble

July 24, 2024July 21, 2024 krisshetter

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome.  John 1:4-5

For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.  Psalm 36:9

When I was little my brother used to hide under my bed at night and make scary noises. He would reach out and grab any of my body parts that hung over the side. Needless to say, as an adult I am still terrified of the dark. And I never, ever allow my legs or arms to hang off the side of the bed. You would think that after 50 or so years I would have managed to overcome those fears.

But here I am. I never walk my dog after dusk or before dawn by myself. I check the locks on my doors a few times before I go to bed when my husband is out of town. I pray for the peace of God to descend on me so I can sleep. If I get up at night, I still have twinges that something might grab me from under the bed. Of course, some of my fears (not the one where a gremlin grabs my leg) are justified.

Let me just take a moment for a public service announcement – women should never walk alone in the dark, ever. We can’t change that fact no matter how much we’d like to, no matter how unfair it might seem. It’s the result of a fallen, sinful world.

But I digress — thankfully, many of our fears, which so often are about our worries for tomorrow, can be turned over to the Holy One who brings His light to our life. When Jesus shines His light over us, He pushes back against the dark thoughts that can overwhelm us. He overcomes all. Evil trembles at His name. He lavishes us with peace.

The beauty of His light? He wants us to share it for all the world to see. He reminds believers we are the light of the world. It’s our testimonies to our friends, family, neighbors and strangers that passes the light of peace to those in darkness.

Friend, we all have fears. Some silly like ankle grabbing gremlins. Some that may actually keep us safe. But some are because we try and control others or the future. Those can destroy our peace. Lift them up to the God of Light and ask the Holy Spirit to help you not take them back. And then shine the light of overcoming your fear out to others.

Click here to listen to today’s song: Tremble

Day 23 All My Praise

July 23, 2024July 21, 2024 krisshetter

Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Luke 5:23-24

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Psalm 51:1

I recently read about the Free Grace movement which started around the late 1980s. Their basic belief is that you need only to say you believe in Jesus to receive eternal life in the Kingdom of God. No repentance necessary. No change in your ways. You don’t even need to say you “follow” Jesus.

While you can find places in the New Testament where people received salvation from Jesus for believing, one has to ask in the modern world the question of what does “believing” mean?

Your definition of “believing” is important because if you believe Jesus was just a guy who lived a long time ago or a prophet who did some miracles then you won’t believe He forgives our sins and with compassion blots out our transgressions. You might think Jesus had some good life advice that may or may not apply to you. It certainly doesn’t lead you to get on your knees in submission and praise.

If you believe He is God but don’t seek through the Holy Spirit a repentant, changed life then you might find yourself facing a Jesus who says to you: “You say Lord, Lord but I didn’t know you.”

Easy “believism” doesn’t lead to a life of divine-given fruit through our act of acknowledging our sin nature. People Jesus encountered throughout His time here and believed were always told to go and do something. Sin no more, tell someone, worship differently, give up something.

The Lord Jesus wants not just our words, He wants all of us. He expects believers to see Him as the God who reigns over every single aspect of our lives. He wants the repentant not the unrepentant in His Kingdom. And it’s only Him that can forgive and transform. It’s that Jesus that causes us to be thankful, grateful for removing the scales from our eyes so we can see Him clearly.

And for that we should give Him all praise because in the end that’s truly the only thing we can offer back to the God of the Universe.

Click here to listen to today’s song: All My Praise

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The Great I Am

August 20, 2021August 20, 2021 krisshetter

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”  Exodus 3:14

This week I’ve been reading a lot about going ahead of God. Thinking I know the right way, the right answer, and moving forward on that path without first seeking God. I was reminded of when I was asked to be our elementary school’s PTA president. At the time, the elementary school was the largest in the district with over 1,000 students. And it was about to undergo a major construction program to build more classrooms. That meant a lot of turmoil with the way kids were dropped off at school, where classes would be held and how many of our PTA programs would take place. I told the committee I could do the job but I didn’t think they would want my style of leadership. I wasn’t an “insider” and didn’t have any qualms about squashing old ways of doing things. Yet they returned to me multiple times asking me to take the job. And I did.

You’ll notice in this story, like we do in so many Biblical stories of failed leaders, that I haven’t mentioned consulting God. Because I didn’t. That is, until after I said, “yes.” I believe it was the next day after I agreed to the job that I had my first of many conversations with the Almighty about this decision. It went like this, “Lord, I’ve done this thing. Please help it not be the wrong decision.” In other words, I went ahead of Him and now wanted Him to fix my mess.

And God was with me throughout the two years of my term. He was there when I cried myself to sleep. He was there when I had parents screaming at me over the phone. And He was there when people who I thought were friends turned their backs on me. But He didn’t take away the consequences of my decision.

Thank God that most of the time when I’ve failed to let God lead my life it hasn’t resulted in some horrible final outcome. He has picked me up and dusted me off. And after too many times of being on that same wheel I’ve decided to take a different path. To trust that God is the Great I Am. The One who has the best laid plans. Who can make my path much more smooth if I just consult Him first. If I release my need to be the most knowledgeable, not just about my life but other’s.

I praise God today, on this final 30^th day, for being I Am. For being the Lord Almighty. The God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

If you’ve ever seen the Jim Carrey movie Bruce Almighty you’ll see a man who takes this idea of control to the extreme. He wants to be in charge of his life and no one knows better than him. So God sort of turns over His powers to him. And what a mess he makes of it. At first he thinks answering prayers is so cool and then when he becomes inundated with millions of prayers he just gives everyone what they ask. And as we know, God doesn’t give us all we ask. He gives us what we need. The movie is hilarious to be sure but it speaks to our innate need to be in control. To take over the job of I Am.

We can shake our heads at characters like Saul who stop seeking God’s direction and make every mistake possible. But how many of us today will do the same? How many of us yesterday forgot to place God at the top of our consultant list and instead called our friends or family for advice? And then probably did what we originally wanted to do anyway?

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55:8

Friends, God is God and we are not, thankfully. His thoughts and ways are so much better than ours. If we truly believe this and accept Him as our creator, as an active participant in our lives, then we need to seek His plans for us. Let’s all start right now by thanking Him for being the Great I Am.

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He Pursues Us

August 17, 2021August 17, 2021 krisshetter

Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders⁶and goes home.  Luke 15:3-5

I’ve always been the kind of person that makes sure no one is left behind or left out. This served me well as a Girl Scout leader. I was always counting heads making sure none of my little sheep got lost. I can count two times in my 13 years as a leader of two troops where someone was lost. One was an adult so I wasn’t quite as concerned about that. But the other was a child, who was being supervised by another adult while at an amusement park. When all our groups gathered for a “touching base” the adult mentioned he hadn’t seen her in a bit. The casualness of his report shocked me. I went immediately into “Lost Sheep” mode – sending out the troops to start searching and contacting the park security team. Thankfully the young lady was found within a short period of time. But my trust in the adult was gone.

As a Christian we should take comfort in the knowledge that Jesus will never take our missing status casually. I praise God today that he pursues us even when we don’t realize we are lost.

In past praises I’ve mentioned I love the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. She didn’t realize she was lost. She just knew her life was miserable. He sought her out and changed her life forever. A sheep brought into the fold. This weekend I had the pleasure of learning about another woman at the well that was pursued by God – Hagar.

The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. ⁸And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”  Genesis 16: 7-8

Hagar, as a refresher, was Sarai’s slave. Sarai encouraged her husband Abram to sleep with Hagar in order to have offspring. But once Hagar became pregnant, Sarai treated her slave terribly. Hagar fled to escape further persecution. And the “Angel of the Lord” – Jesus – sought her out.

What I learned about this small scene in Genesis made the story all the more comforting. First, this is the first instance in the Bible that the “Angel of the Lord” makes His appearance. Second, this is the only time God addresses a slave and calls her by name. On top of that He makes what can only be called a promise, or a covenant, with someone other than the Israelites. And it’s this slave who names God.

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seenthe One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13

Just think of it. This lowly slave. Someone not worthy of anything in man’s eyes being sought after and called by God. Being allowed to speak with God and helping us know who He is. If God pursues her, how can He not pursue me?

That little Girl Scout that got separated from her group? She didn’t think she was lost. She was distracted by the bells and whistles of the amusement park. Left on her own long enough she would’ve certainly gotten emotional. Friends, so many of us lose our way or become slaves to something or someone. And sometimes we run away from everything to try and be free. In all these circumstances we’ve moved from His safe folds to the dangerous pitfalls of the world. But He will pursue you. You just need to stop and rest at the well for a minute and listen to His voice beckoning you home.

30daysofpraise, Bible, bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, christian men, christian podcast, Christian women, Faith, Jesus, Jesus Follower, podcast, Uncategorized

Our Elegant World

August 16, 2021August 16, 2021 krisshetter

The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Genesis 2:9

Some time ago I set about trying to change myself completely. I told my friends I wanted to be more “sparkly.” What that meant to me was someone who, when they enter a room, people instantly want to be around. Someone who’s laughter draws others in to their sphere. Someone who seems so light of heart and lacking in any strife. Someone who, I said once, practically poops out glitter. Well shock of shocks, I realized that I’m just not ever going to be that person. So, I decided if I’m not “sparkly” then maybe I should try to be “elegant.”

I absolutely love Pinterest. You can ask it how to do anything and up pops a bazillion articles on how to do it. So, as I was scrolling through one day, I kept getting all these “Traits of an Elegant Woman” posts. However, after a recent theology night at my church I decided “elegant” wasn’t my ballywig either. After making some goofy jokes and embarrassing myself in front of complete strangers I realized I had failed just about every point on the “elegant woman” list. So maybe God just wants me to be a better version of who He made me to be? Now there’s a thought!

But in my short-lived quest of elegance, I noticed that God, Himself, has created so much elegance in our world. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines elegance this way:

Refined grace
Tasteful richness of design
Restrained beauty
Scientific precision

Today I praise God for His elegant creations and His elegant ways. But what do I mean by that? In looking at that list what comes to mind are the everyday sunrises and sunsets of which He blesses our earth. A glorious butterfly that languishes on a leaf. A smooth and quiet breeze. A gentle pattering of rain.

There’s so much to our world that really isn’t necessary for sustaining life. Yet God not only made things good, He made them very good.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.  Genesis 1:31

God is so elegant in the big things like sunsets but also in the behind-the-scenes system of how everything works seamlessly. Think about the entire process of our water cycle: water evaporates from the ocean, creates condensation and is stored in the atmosphere, ice and snow drop, water comes down through rivers and groundwater, and the run-off goes back into the original source. So cool.

This God elegance isn’t always what we might call beautiful. Sometimes it seems terribly violent. A wildfire rips through a forest causing destruction. And yet that fire was also made by God. A necessary step in another elegantly crafted eco-system.

As inhabitants of this world, it’s so easy to not see the minutiae or even the bigger picture. We get trapped in our small, daily lives of running errands, paying bills, raising kids, etc. We should all take time on a regular basis to stop and admire this elegantly crafted world. Lay on your back and contemplate the clouds. Roll over and feel the life giving dirt beneath the grass. Be amazed how the seed from that dandelion blows and lands to bury into the ground to create new life. And marvel about how very, very good it all is.

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Death to My Evil Twin

August 13, 2021August 13, 2021 krisshetter

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.  Philippians 4:8

One of the most amazing gifts God has given us humans is our mind. The brain weighs about 3 pounds and contains around 100 billion neurons— cells that carry information. There’s an old myth that we only use about 10 percent of our brains. That has been debunked. I know that must’ve been false because it seems some people don’t even use that much! But seriously, new studies show how much of our brain we actively use varies from person to person.

I can tell you without a doubt that my mind runs 24/7 – seemingly all by itself. And usually, off into thoughts that seem like they belong in someone else’s body. It’s my destructive thoughts that tell me I’m not good enough. I’m not worthy. I’m not loved. I will never be forgiven. I’m ugly, fat, wrinkly, etc. It’s like my mind gets taken over by my evil twin.

Isn’t that the battleground so many of us find ourselves on day and night? Those anxious thoughts that keep us looking at the clock at 1am, 2am, 3am….?

Praise God that He gave us a shield and sword to fight back the beast who is really behind all those thoughts – the devil himself.

My friend Caroline gave me a great tool last year that helps me in this spiritual battle. It’s a piece of paper with three columns. The first column lists the destructive thought such as, “There’s nothing special about me.” The second column speaks God’s truth against that thought with statements like, “I have been chosen/set apart by God.” And the third column lists the shields and swords of God—related scripture. In this example it lists Ps 139, 1 Cor. 1:30 & 6:11, Eph 1:4, and Hebrews 10:10 & 14.

This handy guide is something I can pull out whenever my evil twin brain decides to ruin my day or disrupt my sleep! The best part? You have the same tool at your fingertips. The Word of God was given to us not just to learn more about Him but to help tear down those thought strongholds that want to rule our lives. His mighty words were what Jesus Himself used when tempted by the devil.

I was recently reading in my Sparkling Gems from The Greek about the difference between using His Word as a “logos” or a “rhema.” Logos is a “sweeping stroke.” When we study the Bible this way we get broad and full direction for our lives. But in Ephesians 6:17 the word “rhema” is used. That means a sharp and fatal blow to the enemy.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word (rhema) of God: Ephesians 6:17

What Paul is directing us to do is have at the ready “fighting words.” God’s words that we can call up quickly to mind and tear apart any thoughts the devil wants to use against us. And we can use those words knowing the power and authority that lay behind them.

God in His greatness knows how amazing our mind is – He created it. He knows the power and dangers of our imagination and our thoughts. The devil knows it too. But with the gracious gift of the Holy Bible we can shield ourselves from the devil’s lies.