Psalms of Discipleship. Principle #46 (Prayer) December 23, 2012

Hello my dear friends! One of the great messages that come from the Christmas season is hope. When everything was so dark, Jesus, the Light of the World, became one of us and that changed everything.

May this Christmas be a time of remembering of how God has blessed you with the love of Jesus.

Merry Christmas,

Denny

Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #46

Life Principles For Those Who Choose To Follow Jesus And Live The Discipled Life

Key Scripture: 11 I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. 12 I will meditate on all Your work And muse on Your deeds. 13 Your way, O God, is holy; What god is great like our God? Psalm 77:11-12

Core Value: Prayer

There are many of us who use the end of the year as an exercise of review and meaningful reflection. We itemize “the good stuff” as well as the things that have challenged us. Some things we may ponder might cause us to experience inner joy; some memories, perhaps pain.

The Psalmist gives us a spiritual path towards embracing a healthy perspective: taking control of what we think. Good thinking always leads to a good image.

Principle #46 & Personal Application: Quality disciples use prayer as a way to move from depression to devotion.

• When we pray we need to remember what the Lord has done for us: I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

• When we pray we need to meditate on His works: I will meditate on all Your work And muse on Your deeds.

• When we pray we need to exalt His greatness and character: Your way, O God, is holy; What god is great like our God?

Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…

When I become discouraged how can the principles described in this psalm encourage me?

The greater I view God, the greater my faith becomes. In what ways does God need to be great in my life?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to always remember Your deeds and wonders. May I meditate and prayerfully contemplate on what You have done in my life. There is no one like You, for Your way, O God is holy. You are great, greater than any false god. And You are great to me.

The Essential Core Values Of The Quality Disciple Are…
Grace—Worship—Bible Study—Prayer—Community—Service—Evangelism

Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2012 All rights reserved.

www.dennybates.com
http://thequalitydisciple.blogspot.com/

Psalms of Discipleship--Principle #37--Prayer--September 25, 2011

Hello dear friends. I trust all of you are resting in the Lord's great love for you. This week we are going to take a look at a wonderful conversation within the soul of the Psalmist. May his words be an encouragement to any of us who are in despair.

Grace and peace,

Denny

Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #37

Life Principles For Those Who Choose To Follow Jesus And Live The Discipled Life

Key Scripture: Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. Psalm 42:11

Core Value: Prayer

Soul talk is good for the soul. What is “soul talk?” It is those conversations I have in my head and heart that no one hears but me and God. It is a moment of complete frankness and transparent candor on how I feel about what is going on in my life with the only One who “gets it” and can do something about it. A healthy conversation within the soul always includes two components: the problem and the best solution to my problem. In this case, the Psalmist states the problem is one of despair, of depression. Fortunately, he had a problem that had a solution and directed it towards the One who is our glory and the One who lifts our head (Ps. 3:3).

Principle #37 & Personal Application: The quality disciple practices the kind of faith that is centered upon hope in God.

• The prayers of the quality disciple are offered in faith, even when one’s circumstances are difficult: We pray in faith even when we our soul is in despair and we are deeply disturbed.

• The prayers of the quality disciple are centered upon hope in God. Our hope is not in our “faith” nor is our hope in our ability to improve our circumstances. Our hope must be in God.

• The prayers of the quality disciple that are offered in faith impact one’s attitude. Even when we are down, the Lord will gladden our heart.

Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…

When I become down and discouraged, how does my hope in God’s ability to help me usually play itself out?

How focused are my prayers when hard times come my way?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, when I become down and in despair and it seems that there will be no end to my discouragement, please remind me of Your promise to me: You will grace my heart with hope in You. You will grant me the faith to trust You and worship You for the times when I will praise You—during the storms and after them too. May I experience a gladdened heart (a heart that has been lifted up and refreshed) so that my life may be seen by others as another testimony of Your great faithfulness to me.
The Essential Core Values Of The Quality Disciple Are…

Grace—Worship—Bible Study—Prayer—Community—Service—Evangelism

Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2011 All rights reserved.

www.dennybates.com
http://thequalitydisciple.blogspot.com/

Psalms of Discipleship--Principle #35--Worship--September 10, 2011

Hello my dear friends! Today's Psalms of Discipleship will be an encouragement to all of us, no matter our where we are (or have been) in our journey with the Shepherd of the Psalms. We all have experienced great times as well as having gone through the dark waters of discouragement and personal failure. Thankfully, the Lord is present in each and every circumstance.

Learning as I go,

Denny

Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #35

Life Principles For Those Who Choose To Follow Jesus And Live The Discipled Life

Key Scripture: Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. Psalm 42:5

Core Value: Worship

In his classic novel, A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens targeted the tension between good and evil when he wrote these famous words:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”

Those same words could be written today as we seek to navigate dangerous waters. In our case, the tension is between trusting in the Lord or allowing fear of our circumstances take control of us. All that surrounded him disturbed the psalmist. Words like “despair” and “disturbed” had become a part of his vocabulary. Many people, even believers, fail to move on from these kinds of words. They surrender and settle for spiritual defeat. This was not the case with the psalmist. Instead, after showing his transparency and confessing his inner struggle, he made a choice to move on to a far healthier perspective. His circumstances, for the moment, had not changed but his vocabulary did. He goes from “despair” to “hope in God,” from “disturbed” to “I shall again praise Him.” He rests in the fact that the presence of the Lord will help him.

May we all be honest to God on how we really feel. But may we also, through grace, have the faith to hope in Him and praise Him, even in the most challenging of circumstances. For even in the worst of times we can experience the best of times if we are trusting Jesus to take care of us.

Principle #35 & Personal Application: The quality disciple has chosen to worship God even in the midst of challenging circumstances.

• Even when our soul is in despair and has become disturbed, worship of the Lord must be our first response.

• Our hope is not in our wisdom, nor in our human strength, and certainly it is not in the citadels of political power. Our hope must be in God.

• It requires faith, not faith in one’s self, but faith in God to praise and worship Him.

Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…

How can I begin to make the transition in my spiritual journey where praise and worship of God becomes my default setting (in other words, “my habit”) as I respond to Him when I face difficult circumstances?

Everyone goes through difficult times. Have I ever had an experience where I sensed the presence of the Lord as I began to praise and worship Him?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, there have been times in my life where my soul has been in despair and very disturbed. And yet, You have offered me grace. It is by Your grace that I can hope in my God. It is by faith where I can praise and worship You. May my life be marked as a disciple who has the habit of worshiping You.

PS. Thanks to all of you have given your input on a new project I am working on called Psalms of Discipleship: A One Year Journey With The Shepherd. I'm going to close out the survey on September 17. If you have not taken the opportunity to respond, please do so this week. It is ten questions in less than five minutes. This link will take you to the survey. Thanks again!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6HBT759

The Essential Core Values Of The Quality Disciple Are…
Grace—Worship—Bible Study—Prayer—Community—Service—Evangelism

Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2011 All rights reserved.

www.dennybates.com
http://thequalitydisciple.blogspot.com/

Psalms of Discipleship--Principle #28--Grace & Evangelism--July 23, 2011

Hello my dear friends! Warm, very warm, greetings to you from sunny and hot South Carolina. Today we are going to take a close look at one of my favorite Psalms. It is a lesson on grace and evangelism and how God uses our most difficult times to bring glory to Him and good to us.

May the Lord use this passage of Scripture to give you great encouragement and comfort today. I'm praying for you. Thanks for praying for me.

In the hands of the One who cares for me,

Denny

Psalms of Discipleship: July 23, 2011—Principle #28 (Grace & Evangelism)

Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #28

Life Principles For Those Who Choose To Follow Jesus And Live The Discipled Life

Key Scripture: 1 I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD. Psalm 40:1-3

Core Value: Grace and Evangelism

Whoever said that life would be easier once we became a devoted follower of Jesus is misleading at best, or at worst, just flat out lied to us. Yes, it would be easier on us if our Christianity were no more than a formula we could memorize and confess our way to success. Yes, it would be easier to be a Christian if a stable life was guaranteed with no difficult changes allowed. But, we know the truth. The Christian life is not based upon a formula; it is based upon having a relationship with Jesus. All of us have personally discovered that the Christian does experience wild swings of highs and lows.

The challenge for all of us who follow Jesus as His disciples is clear: will we trust Him when it seems everything is going against us? Will we trust Him or will we lean towards our own ability to make our way? Are we willing to rest in God’s character (He loves us, cares for us, has a plan for us, etc.) or will we convince ourselves that God has forgotten about us and left us to ruin? Are we patient with God? Do we have hope, no matter how deep is the pit we are in, that God is at work in us and through us? David did and so can we.

Principle #28 & Personal Application: The quality disciple experiences the blessing of going from desperation in the pit of destruction to a supernatural deliverance that offers to the Lord unending worship, glory and praise.

• It is the grace of a patient God that helps us wait patiently for the Lord (and for His perfect work and timing) when everything within us schemes to take control and offer our own solutions.

• It is the grace of a concerned God that helps us believe that He does care for us and that He does listen to both the audible and inaudible cries of our heart.

• It is the grace of a delivering God that helps us escape from our own forms of destructive pits and miry clay to a place of stability and safety.

• It is the grace of a glorious God that helps us sing the kind of life song of praise that causes others to trust in our great God too.

Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…

When I find myself in a destructive pit and reach the point of wanting to give up, what keeps me going?

Can I think of a time when the Lord used a difficult (but spiritually enriching) time in my life that caused others around me to grow closer to the Lord?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, by Your grace, may I always be patient with You. I know that You have never forgotten about me and that You do hear the cry of my heart. May I always look to You as my deliverer and my stability and my safety and may my life be a life song that causes others to trust in You too.

The Essential Core Values Of The Quality Disciple Are…
Grace—Worship—Bible Study—Prayer—Community—Service​—Evangelism

Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2011 All rights reserved.

Looking for a Bible study this summer for you and your small group? Check out this link on how you can download Psalms of Discipleship: Growing in Grace and make it available to your small group for FREE!

http://bit.ly/lwpzNU

www.dennybates.com

http://thequalitydisciple.blog​ spot.com/

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