Isaiah 42:16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

Most of us are not content to follow - we like to lead! As human beings, we automatically want to go our own way, sure of ourselves that our way is the right way.

When we put aside our selfishness and pride, we can then admit that we don't know the way. We can acknowledge that we need to follow someone greater than ourselves - that we need to be led in the right direction.

God knows the direction our lives will take long before we are even capable of choosing what crayon to use in a coloring book. When we are willing to be led by the Spirit, He will bring us to Himself. He will show us the path of the cross and bring us to our knees. When we pour out our heart and soul to Him, He will listen. He is always present, always listening for our call, always waiting for us to ask for His leading in our lives.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Psalm 145:3  Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

How great are You, Lord! Considering all that God has done for us, an outburst of praise is only natural. We have so much to praise Him for!

Think of His mercy, His undeserved favor. We did nothing to cause Him to love us. We did not deserve His love, but He loved us anyway. Mercy alone caused Him to reach out to a dying world and give His life so that we might live.

Think of all that He has done for us. He redeemed us, saved us, called us to be His own, and sent us His Spirit to strengthen and guide us all the days of our lives.

Think of His kindness, that He lovingly reaches down to protect us when we are in danger, encourage us when we are downtrodden, comfort us when we are hurting.

Think of such love that would seek us and rescue us. Such love is unfathomable, such love is unimaginable, such love is drenched  upon us from our great Lord.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Psalm 146:1-2 Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

This is at once a comforting and a convicting thought. How wonderful to know that Jesus is ours! He is with us wherever we go. In the morning and in the evening, all day long, with us wherever we go...

King David asked, "Where can I go from your Spirit?...If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there... If I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me" (Psalm 139:7-10). The apostle Paul exulted that nothing "in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God" (Romans 8:39). If Jesus is yours - your Savior and your Lord - rejoice in the fact of His presence!

But realize that this is also an awesome responsibility. You represent Christ wherever you go. By your actions and attitudes, you either draw people one step closer to Christ or you turn them off to Him. Everywhere you go, Jesus goes with you. Morning, evening, all day long!

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Matthew 6:9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.

Hallowed means holy, sacred. Above all that Jesus is to us, He is holy. He is set apart, perfect sacrifice for our sins. Perfect God, perfect man, united to take the punishment for sin that we deserved. And because He is holy - hallowed - He is the only one worthy of our parise.

We can go to Him with our problems and He will help us solve them (Psalm 34:19). In His grace and goodness, He will supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19). When difficult times threaten to close in upon us, He is a fortress into which we can run (Psalm 18:2); because He loves us, we are more than conquerors in all situations (Romans 8:37).

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

John 15:13  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

The hill was Golgotha, located on a roadway outside of Jerusalem. The stripes on His back came from a leather whip studded at the ends with pieces of bone - designed to rip and tear flesh. The thorns had made a "crown," fashioned on branches from a thornbush, pressed down upon His head. The nails pounded into His hands and feet secured Him to the wooden cross, guaranteeing a slow and agonizing death.

Why?

Because with His "eternal eyes," God had designed a way to bring sinful humanity to Himself. The blood sacrifices of the Old Testament became one perfect sacrificial Lamb hung on a cross, killed to take away sin. And when it was over, death and sin had been forever defeated and access was provided for sinful humanity to the throne of God.

Jesus was devoted to the end. Every thorn that pierced His brow, every nail that went through His guiltless hands, told how His love has no end.

He did this just for you. When He went to the cross, you were on His mind. If you had been the only person on the planet, He'd have done the same. He is your Redeemer, your Savior, and your Friend.
Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Psalm 34:3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.

It's so easy for us to try to go it alone, isn't it? We forge ahead, working on sheer emotion or will. We dash headlong into a situation thinking we can handle it all on our own. This is a little problem; why bother God with it?

Or, on the flip side, we don't go it alone; we run away. The problem seems as big as an enemy army and so we hide in the castle, pulling up the drawbridge behind us. This is a big problem, maybe even too big for God. Or because it's a problem of our own making, we think God doesn't care.

In both cases, we've developed an out-of-focus view of God. We think He's too big to deal with our little problems, or He's too small to deal with our big problems. When we see God as smaller and less powerful than He is, we miss out on the blessings of His strength to help us. When we set aside His promises to be with us through everything we face - small or big, our own fault or not - we miss out on experiencing His mercy and grace to help us in our time of need.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Psalm 83:18 Let them know, that you, whose name is the Lord - that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

Stories of God's love and understanding are passed down from parent to child, from generation to generation. When we hear stories of God touching the lives of our parents and grandparents, our hearts are warmed and our spirit rejoices. If we are the ones to begin the song for future generations, then we have a story to tell and plenty of praising to do!

We praise our Lord Most High for all He has done in our lives. We praise Him for the promises of the future, when every nation will bow and acknowledge that He is the rightful King of all. We praise Him for the earth itself that knows its Creator and blazes with color and sound in an effort to praise the living God.

Do you want to pass your faith along to your children or others in your sphere of influence? Then join in the chorus of praise that is echoing across all creation. There is no place on earth where you could go that God will not be with you. If you climb the highest mountain peak, praise Him from there. If you dive to the depths of the sea, praise Him from there. If you're feeling weak, praise Him even with what little strength you have. When you do, God will be glorified and you will be a living example of the power of your Lord Most High.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,