Lord, “I will hope continually and will praise you yet more; my mouth shall tell of your righteousness and your salvation all the day long.”
I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only. O God, You have taught me from my youth, and to this day, I declare Your wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O do not forsake me until I declare Your strength to this generation. You have done great things O God, who is like You. You who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again, You shall increase my greatness and comfort me on every side. Therefore, with the lute I will praise You and Your faithfulness, O my God! To You I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel; my lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You and my soul which You have redeemed. My tongue also shall speak of Your righteousness all the day long. Psalm 71:16-24
My life is an example to many, because you have been my strength and protection Psalm 71:7
Lord, please help me every day to live the life I sing about. I want to be an example for others. I want others to see Christ in me. I want my ways to be pleasing to you and a blessing to others. Lord, you have been my portion and my cup, you have taught me how to wait patiently on you, you have given me the strength I needed for every battle I have faced, and I am truly thankful that my hope in you is being daily renewed. Lord, there is nothing and no one that I place before you, because there is no one who is able to do what you can do. I have become a wonder to many, but you are my strong refuge, let my mouth be filled with your praise and with your glory all the day long. Amen!
My mouth will declare the praise of the Lord; let every creature bless His holy name forever and ever. Psalm 145:21
“Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty. I will exalt You, my God and King; I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Hallelujah!”
If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. James 1:26
“He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech. Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips. I will watch my ways so that I will not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are present. Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honor all the day long.”
It is time for all of us to be living for God’s glory. My brothers and sisters in Christ, if you and I have suffered physically for Christ, we have finished with sin. Therefore, Scripture reminds us that we should not live out our remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God. 1 Peter 4:2
My brothers and sisters in Christ, you and I have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy. Now that we are living for God’s glory, the friends with whom we shared the same reckless indiscretion will be the first to heap abuse at us because we no longer run in the same circles as they do. But we must not allow what they say to influence us and lead us astray, for the time is long past since you I were conformed to the ways of this world. Sin no longer has dominion over us. We are now transformed, our minds have been renewed, old things are past away and we are born again. We have been washed, we have been sanctified, we have been justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God, and by His stripes we are healed. Praise the Lord!
I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints. Ephesians 1:8
“My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them, for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. And have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them; for it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.” Heavenly Father open our eyes, so that we may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to You, so that we may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in You. Amen!
And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him, being rooted and built up in him, established in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7
“As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received: so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.”
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! See if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalm 139:23-24
“O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; ; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path, and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in hell, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me up.” O Lord, wonderful are your works!
Jeremiah wept for his people and he lamented, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people?” Sounds familiar?
My brothers and sisters in Christ, sin keeps many of us from being healed. We lament and complain that there is no cure for our wounds, while we keep putting salt in them, by continuing on in our old willful ways. We continue to seek doctors from all over the world and have tried every medicine, yet, we have not been made hold; because the balm we seek is in Gilead. Go to Gilead! For there, Jesus promises restoration, healing, hope and delivery. Salvation is yours for free. Take it and be made whole!
What ails you my brother, what is bothering you my sister? Did you know that, “There is a balm in Gilead to heal this sin-sick world?”
Do you believe that there is a balm in Gilead that could heal this sin-sick world? All you have to do is believe, call upon the name of Jesus and you will be healed. Sometimes God’s healing is instantly, sometimes it could be a two-step process, or it could be the gift of salvation. What are you waiting for? “There is balm in Gilead, to make the wounded whole; there’s power enough in heaven, to cure a sin-sick soul. How lost was my condition ’till Jesus made me whole! There is but one Physician, who can cure a sin–sick soul.”