IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS:
PRIASE THE LORD!

PSALM 111 ESV
Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.
Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and merciful.
He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!

 

 

A Lifetime Of Blessings

From before we were born
to live on this earth
until forever and ever
worshipping and serving
our Lord God in Heaven
He has blessed us
remarkably as
our Father in Heaven,
creating us
and placing us
according to His
perfect purpose
to live in His glory,
to find joy in His Presence,
to be redeemed by the Son,
to be reborn in the Spirit—
to discover the wonder
of becoming
as one with His own
in His Kingdom
as he builds
His Holy Church
toward the
establishment
of His mighty Kingdom
towards the
coming of His
New Heaven
and New Earth—
all our hearts praise to Him,
all our souls saved by Him,
every mind new in Him,
every tongue praising Him.

WHERE DO I BEGIN? How could anyone ever count all God’s blessings? I must confess, I just turned one year older. I have been enjoying the wonders, exploring the boundaries, and tackling the challenges of this earth all these years; so, I have reached my seventy-second birthday. Praise the Lord!!! As I do so I cannot help but feel embarrassed by how freely He has filled up my life to overflowing with His rich gifts, while I have so seldom taken the time to really thank Him adequately. In appreciation, then, for this brand new year to live, I will at least make a beginning. (I must confess that while I had thought it would be a worthy undertaking to choose seventy-two blessings in respect to having been blessed with seventy-two years; I quickly realized how ridiculously small that number would be. Just think about it! Every day our good God blesses us in too many ways to count. And yet, I will list seventy-two just to get my mind engaged and my heart committed to do better at praising Him this next year.) My challenge to you is to take an opportunity (IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS, AFTER ALL)  to spend some time counting your blessings. So, here goes . . .

GOD AND HIS GOODNESS

 1. I praise God the Almighty, the Eternal, the All-Knowing, the Perfect, Loving One.
2. I praise God the Father and the Creator.
3. I praise God the Son, our Savior and our Redeemer.
4. I praise God the Holy Spirit who indwells, empowers and sets me free.
5. I praise God for the Paradise which was Eden.
6. I praise God for the privilege of walking with Him.
7. I praise God for being made in His image.
8. I praise God for the glory of His Creation, from the most enormous star to the tiniest of butterflies.
9. I praise God for His plan for our Redemption.
10. I praise God for the miracle of His Perfect Love.
11. I praise God for Jesus who willingly gave His life for me.
12. I praise God for Jesus and His Resurrection which destroys sin and death in me.

GODLY FAMILY HERITAGE

13. I praise God for a godly mother and father who lived and loved and sacrificed so much for me—pointing me to Jesus over and over again.
14. I praise God for godly grandparents who faithfully passed down a heritage of God-first, hard-working, deeply-caring people.
15. I praise God for my wife who has loved God first and sets a daily example for me of unselfish, deeply caring Christ-filled living.
16. I praise God for a daughter and a son who fill our lives with wonder as they continue to discover God’s amazing plan for them and their families.
17. I praise God for a brother and sisters, who throughout my life, have exemplified godly faithfulness and overwhelming love
18. I praise God for my aunts and uncles and cousins who have loved and prayed for and encouraged and inspired me in the direction of following Jesus.

GODLY MENTORS AND FRIENDS

 

 

19. I praise God for local church (faith) families who have taught and corrected and grown me in God’s Way.
20. I praise God for Louis Street Baptist, East Gadsden, Alabama, where I was saved.
21. I praise God for First Baptist Glencoe, Alabama, where I have grown in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout most of my lifetime.
22. I praise God for University Baptist, Montevallo, Alabama, where I discovered the force for good of the Gospel in action.
23. I praise God for Calvary Baptist, Ludowici, Georgia, where I was loved like family, and where I received my call into missions.
24. I praise God for First Baptist Church, St. Marys, Georgia, where I was taught the beauty and the power of Scripture.
25. I praise God for Hartsville Baptist Church, Hartsville, Indiana, where I was loved on and encouraged as I made the transition into missionary service.
26. I praise God for First Baptist Church, Naraguta, Nigeria, where I and my family were nurtured by our Nigerian brothers and sisters in the midst of our missionary service.
27. I praise God for Goudel  Baptist Church, Niamey, Niger, where we were patiently and lovingly welcomed in spite of our cultural and language limitations.
28. I praise God for teachers in two states and three countries who lovingly taught me as they lived out their Christian witness in the classroom.
29. I praise God for Pastors who served us in the local church by preaching the Word, loving the people and pointing us always to Jesus.

 

30. I praise God for dedicated prayer warriors who join together to uphold God’s Glory and God’s People.
31. I praise God for Sunday School classes (Life Groups) who love God, love each other and serve those around them in the Love of God.
32. I praise God for Church Training classes who taught me the practices of following Jesus as I was growing up.
33. I praise God for Sunbeams (now Mission Friends) where I first heard stories about missionaries.
34. I praise God for Royal Ambassadors where godly men captured my heart for a life of missions in service to God.
35. I praise God for Vacation Bible School where tireless Moms taught us about God’s Word and His Love as expressed in His Word.
36. I praise God for the Nigerian Baptist Mission which welcomed me, and then Becky and me, as co-laborers for the Gospel in Nigeria.
37. I praise God for the Nigerian Baptist Convention which also welcomed us and worked along-side us in sharing the Gospel across Nigeria.
38. I praise God for the Baptist High School Discipleship Groups with which I was able to work in feeding hungry hearts and minds the Good News as they grew in their faith.
39. I praise God for the Torchhbearer Drama Group, Baptist High School, in which I delighted to see students use their talent to share the Gospel with others.
40. I praise God for the opportunity to work with a Hillcrest School Discipleship Group, composed of Nigerian young men desiring growth in their walk with Jesus.
41. I praise God for Sahel Academy Discipleship Groups, and their dedication to growing in their Christian lives and witness.
42. I praise God for the gift of Master Life as I saw it deepen the Christian lives of so many Nigerians.
43. I praise God  for Experiencing God and the way it transformed our lives as missionaries, while it also helped Nigerian Christians understand how God works to bring people into relationship with Him.
44. I praise God for The Mind of Christ and how it became such an effective tool for deepening the spiritual lives of Baptist High Shool teachers.
45. I praise God for Fresh Encounter as it helped Baptist High School teachers explore Scripture in deepening their relationship with Jesus.
46. I praise God for D-Life Groups which help us live out our faith day-to-day together.

47. I praise God for our Nigerian electrician, James, an outstanding Christian, who kept our house running, and still works enthusiastically among unreached people groups.
48. I praise God for our our Nigerian mechanic, Dayo, who somehow kept our mission cars on the road in Nigeria, and actively participated in one of the larger Baptist Churches in Jos.
49. I praise God for our Nigerian Gardner/Cook/Buyer, Gideon, man-of-all-trades, who freed us up to concentrate on ministry tasks, while caring for our yard, our flowers, and shopping for and preparing for us delicious meals.
50. I praise God for our Nigerian Housekeeper, Esther, who kept our house clean in spite of all the dust and mud and bugs and spiders and occasional snakes which invaded.
51. I praise God for our Nigerian Nanny, Mrs. Elkanah, who saw after Rachel and John David when they were very young, while Becky wrestled with chores and did ministry, besides.

GODLY DIRECTED CAREER

52. I praise God for Long County High School, Ludowici, Georgia, where I began my teaching career.
53. I praise God  for His grace through His constant Presence as I adjusted to living far away from home, securing for me a room with an older Christian lady in the midst of Ludowici.
54. I praise God for Mrs. Howard, who among other things, taught me to use her pistol, should there be unwanted visitors in the night.
55. I praise God for St. Marys Elementary School, St. Marys, Georgia, where I continued my teaching career, after being put on hold by the International Mission Board.
56. I praise God for my godly principal, Mr. Charles Estes, and his wife, who assisted me in every way as I settled down to teach and minister in St. Marys.
57. I praise God for lively yet wonderful seventh graders who responded so positively to my work as an English teacher at the school.
57. I praise God for the Heaven Bound Youth Group, which focused my out-of-the-classroom ministry on wonderfully enthusiastic youth who gave their all to our wide range of activities, focused on youth Bible Study and our youth choir.
58. I praise God for their parents who gave huge amounts of time to work with the youth, to travel with us a a group, and to keep our youth on track in their hectic lives, always keeping the focus on Jesus.
59. I praise God for Baptist High School, Jos, Nigeria, where God began to teach me missionary service for Him.
60. I praise God for the Principal and the other teachers who welcomed me and gave me such freedom to serve among our wonderful students there.
61. I praise God for those spiritually hungry students as they sought to be challenged and changed by God’s Word.
62. I praise God for boys and girls, young men and women, who did the hard work to seriously study the Bible, and to let the Word search out and change their hearts.

 

63. I praise God for the joyful, Chapel roof-lifting worship five hundred students could offer up when they sang and clapped and often danced in praise to the Lord.
64. I praise God for Baptist High School Nigerian Colleagues who rejoiced with us, wept with us, prayed with us, stood steadfast with us in the good times and the hard times.
65. I praise God for the years we spent in People Group Work in the Plateau (Central) Region of Nigeria.
66. I praise God for Nigerian and missionary colleagues who worked with us as we researched, prayed for, developed strategies, and encouraged engagement so that more and more of the people groups of that region were able to hear the Good News of Jesus.
67. I praise God for the time we spent at Hillcrest School, Jos, Nigeria, where we were able to teach and lead in that cooperative effort of multiple mission agencies, to provide Christian education for third culture kids (missionary kids and others who were living as internationals whose parents had come from another country.)
68. I praise God specifically for keeping Hillcrest School students and staff safe through cultural riots in Jos.
69. I praise God for Sahel Academy, Niamey, Niger, where we again served among other missionaries in a school dedicated to providing a Christian education to international students and MK’s in West Africa.
70. I praise God for the Directors and other staff members, who so lovingly and faithfully served Jesus while we were there.
71. I praise God for the privilege of teaching at Westbrook Christian School, Rainbow City, Alabama, where I had the blessing of working in a school here in the U.S.  where Jesus is Lord above all among administrators, teachers and students.

 

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O.K. Now, I’m cheating. There’s no way to just list seventy-two blessings. I mean, it would literally take eternity to adequately praise our good and loving God. Praise God for the promise of Heaven.

DISCLAIMER: Your list will reflect God’s blessings in your life, not mine. Each of us is a unique child of God. Together, our special blessings from Him, make up an awesome Psalm of Worship to Him.

72. I praise God for daily delights which remind me of His ever-real love for me; including flowers, butterflies, birds, trees, mountains, water falls, beaches, Christian Radio, Christian Music, Christian movies ,Christian books, cheeseburgers, pizza, grilled salmon, catfish, chicken, lasagna, and ANYTHING CHOCOLATE . . , et cetera, et cetera, et cetera . . .