“Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens; praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him for His excellent greatness; praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the harp and lyre; praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with the strings and flute, praise Him with clashing cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Hallelujah!”

“Hallelujah! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever! Who can describe the mighty acts of the Lord or fully proclaim His praise? Declare His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all peoples. The Lord is good to all; His compassion rests on all He has made; they will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your might, to make known to men Your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom.”

“The Lord your God will bless you; If you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in the book of the law; and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it too far off. It is not in heaven that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us, that we may hear and do it?’ Nor it is beyond the sea that you should say, ‘Who will go over to the sea for us and bring it to us that may hear and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. See, I have set before you today, life and good, death and evil.” CHOOSE LIFE OR DEATH!

My brothers and sisters in Christ, we must learn to trust God for everything, we must rejoice in him even when things don’t seem to be going right; because he who made us will never forsake us. “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, he will make my feet like deer’s feet, he will make me walk on my high hills.” Habakkuk 3:17-19

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

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!

“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!”

“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.”

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!

“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!