40 lines
2.1 KiB
Plaintext
40 lines
2.1 KiB
Plaintext
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TURN 'ONE OF THOSE DAYS' INTO PRAISE.
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By Fiona Castle
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. Sometimes I don't feel like praying. Sometimes I don't feel like
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reading the Bible. And sometimes I certainly don't feel a bit like
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being loving and kind to anyone!
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. But I thank God that my faith is not based on feelings, but on
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the sure and solid fact of Jesus' death for me on the cross. In other
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words, my salvation is not dependent on what I do for Jesus, but on
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what he did for me.
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. There is a verse in Psalm 22 which says: 'Oh thou that inhabitest
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the praises of Israel.....' The modern translations are slightly
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different but I like this version because it urges me to begin
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praising God no matter how I feel - and he will inhabit those praises.
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. As I start to praise God as an act of the will, he begins to live
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in my praise until my spirit starts to lift and the weariness
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disappears. My whole attitude to my prayer time changes, and my
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praise comes from my heart, not just my lips!
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. It is good, sometimes, to begin a prayer time by reading a Psalm
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of praise, such as Psalm 104, which ends with the words: 'I WILL
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praise him, Hallelujah!'
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. I remember our pastor saying from the pulpit once: 'You can't say
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Hallelujah with a long face!' You try it! It will make you begin to
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laugh, especially if you say it in front of a mirror.
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. Jesus wants us to praise him no matter what happens. That is the
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wonderful privilege of belonging to him. He has promised us a peace
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and a joy that are not dependent on our circumstances - they stem
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directly from our relationship with him.
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. So, if today is 'one of those days', when you don't feel like
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being anything but negative, begin to praise Him and soon you will
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find your mind and body are joining with your spirit as it soars
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towards the Lord and brings joy to his heart.
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. 'There I will go to the altar of God, my exceeding joy, and
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praise him with my harp' - Psalm 43:4
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Reproduced from 'Family' magazine (February 1985) with permission.
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Computers for Christ - Chicago
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