Pastor Stephen Dedman

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Sing Praise To The Lord

Encouragement
https://stephendedman.org

I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise Your name forever and ever. I will praise You every day; yes, I will praise You forever. Great is the Lord ! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure His greatness.
Psalms 145:1-3

As we begin this week of celebrating Thanksgiving, let’s do it with praise. Everyday this week let’s sing praise to God. He is worthy of our praise!

As David writes this psalm or song, he is proclaiming that only God deserves his praise. And He deserves it everyday.

Do you pray? I am sure your answer is a quick “YES!” But let me ask you, “Do you praise God?” And if you do, how do you praise God?

David draws deep from within his heart the praise and worship that God is worthy of. He says in verse 3, “No one can measure His greatness.” That my friend is speaking from experience.

Is it easy for you to praise the Lord? Can you do it even when it’s not Sunday?

More importantly, can you praise the Lord even when things are not going your way? If God is worthy of praise He is worthy of praise all the time, even during difficult circumstances.

If you are having a difficult time praising the Lord right now, then start with exalting His name. Even the name of God has to be exalted. And exalting His name lifts Him up. It’s a great way to start.

Today, reflect upon the name of the Lord and how you can exalt Him and His greatness.

Pray

Lord, I lift Your name up and praise Your greatness. Nothing is compared to Your excellence. I praise You as Lord and King of my life.

Remembering 9/11

Encouragement, Faith

‘that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ ‘
Joshua 4:6

September 11, 2001 was a day that many thought could never happen. Why would someone hijack a plane and use it as a suicide bomb? How could two planes cause so much havoc in New York City? Although it’s been 20 years, many still remember like it was yesterday.

Today’s verse proves that events such as 9/11 should never be forgotten. Memorials have been built so that people always remember what happened. People died and families were destroyed because of the cowardly attacks on our society.

God places emphasis on building memorials. They not only serve as reminders of what happened in the past but they also remind us how God brought so many people through.

There is even more attention put on this special day as our military was removed out of Afghanistan and the terrorist are back in power. It’s as if the war on terrorism was fought in vain. It’s as if the terror attacks never happened. Has America lost its patriotism?

When we are asked questions similar to, “What do these stones mean to you?”, what will we say? We should take this opportunity to remember how even in the midst of great tragedy, God was with us. Let’s recall how for a short time afterward, we were all united together as ONE NATION, UNDER GOD.

God please help us! And God bless the USA!

Pray

Lord, may we never forget that You are in our midst even in times of trouble. May our nation be turned back to You. Help us to unite together as one under You as our Almighty Creator, God.

Stop Running

Encouragement, Faith, Trust

“Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭31:5‬

There is a story of a lawyer who was trying to deliver an important document to a man. Thinking it was a subpoena, the man avoided the attorney at all cost. But this was a very persistent attorney, and he wouldn’t give up.

This went on for many years, until the man ended up in the hospital, dying of a serious illness. As he was lying on his death bed, the lawyer walked up next to him with the document in hand. The man said, “I can’t run from you anymore. I’m dying. Just give me the subpoena.”

“What subpoena?” the lawyer asked. “I have a document here to prove that you’ve inherited $20 million dollars!”

That is how it is when we run from God. We’re saying, “Get away from me, God, I don’t want your forgiveness, your love, and your mercy. I don’t want your blessings. I want to live the way I want to live.”

People run from God for all kinds of reasons. Maybe it’s because we think God has abandoned us. Or maybe we run from God because of pride and rebellion. Some run because they’ve been hurt. Others run because they’re scared. The reason we run is because we believe the lie that God’s presence is not best for us.

Instead of running away from God we need to run to Him. God loves you and wants to help you. God forgives you and extends mercy and grace when we don’t deserve it. Don’t be like the man in the story who ran for so long that he ended up missing out on a great blessing. Don’t miss out on the best things God has to offer.

Pray

Lord, I run to you and you only. Into your hand I commit my spirit. Forgive me for not trusting you more.