Rom 1:19-20 (NIV) Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Jesus, this is such a wonderful thing God did! He gave me a beautiful place to live. It is incredible the amount of resources that are available. When Satan tries to get me to trade God’s provisions for the desires of the body, the cares of the world, or the temptations of Satan, I could spend all my time resisting; but, all I have to do is compare them with God and His awesome blessings.

Jesus, help me to always keep in mind that concentrating on my body’s desires, the world’s cares, or Satan’s temptations isn’t the process of submitting myself, then, to God, resisting the devil, and he will flee from me. Teach me that the resisting the devil part comes from the submitting myself to God part. If I put a bowling ball on one side of a scale and a feather on the other, the scales would definitely lean toward the bowling ball. That is what Jesus is trying to do with me. Help me be so filled with the excitement, appreciation, love, and beauty of God and the things of God that ANYTHING the devil has to offer is repulsive; let that be my procedure for resisting.

Jesus, take me through Psalm 148 and give me plenty of reasons for loving my heavenly Father and resisting anything my body, the world, or Satan has to offer.

Psa 148:1 (NIV) Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise Him in the heights above. Jesus, when I see a beautiful sky, the Bible presents that beauty as the sky giving praise to God. Just like it fills my eyes and heart with joy, the Bible is saying that God responds the same way. He enjoys the beauty of a sunset or sunrise just like I do; with His supernatural enjoyment of course. But, help me realize that He enjoys the things He created for me to enjoy. Teach me that my enjoying God and the things of God keeps me from wanting something evil; that is godly resistance.

Psa 148:2 (NIV) Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him, all His heavenly hosts. Jesus, I have sung songs that should have brought positive emotions to my heart but they didn’t. I have been so distracted with some major problem that I couldn’t feel any kind of joy or praise toward God. Teach me that when the angels and the heavenly hosts praise God, it comes out of great excitement, powerful emotions, and supernatural praise. Their emotions are bubbling over into praise. Rather than praising so as to get happiness, joy, and excitement, they already have it to praise God with. Let that happen to me.

Psa 148:3 (NIV) Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all you shining stars. Jesus, let me see that the light and the heat that come my way are radiant praise to and from God. When I get to heaven, I will be amazed at all the things that were going to God and being gifted to me from God that I didn’t realize. Help me understand that God wants the sun, moon, and the stars to bless me like they do Him. Make it clear to me that He created them for blessing me, encouraging me, speaking His love into me. Help me accept the fact that all God’s creation are out in front of me trying to talk to my heart. They are trying to tell me how much my heavenly Father loves me. If I will listen, it will inspire praise to God from me and turn my heart off to my body, the world, and the devil.

Psa 148:4 (NIV) Praise Him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Jesus, show me that the clouds can take interesting shapes; but, they can also be the variety I need. In a world of categories, organization, structure, and symmetry, the clouds give me change, unexpected appearances, unpredictable beauty, and ever-changing unique shapes. Help me let God take me out of a box. Help me not fall into the crowd and get lost. Help me always realize that He is the One Who keeps a running count of how many hairs I have on my head; He wants me to be special. Let His clouds say that to me. Let that help me not even notice the temptations of the devil.

Psa 148:5 (NIV) Let them praise the name of the LORD, for He commanded and they were created. Jesus, teach me that the animate and inanimate things in God’s creation didn’t just get randomly created. They were created for a purpose. Just like fruit can be a special food for me, all of God’s creation has a special purpose for God. I ask You, God, to help me see the relationship You have with all of these created things so I can benefit from them too.

Psa 148:6 (NIV) He set them in place for ever and ever; He gave a decree that will never pass away. Jesus, teach me that I am going to get a new body; I am going to live in a new heaven and on a new earth. That doesn’t sound like they will never pass away. However, explain to me that before I am caught up in the air to meet You, my old body will unite with my spirit and I and my body will go up together. Why? Help me understand that, that is because my old body will be used to produce my new body. As I am being caught up to meet You in the air with my old body, my old body will be TRANSFORMED into a new glorified body. Help me realize that IT will be awesome; but, it will be birthed out of my old body.

Psa 148:7 (NIV) Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, Jesus, the fish and other sea creatures aren’t all seen by me. Some are so deep in the depths of the ocean that I don’t get to look at them; but, God does. Show me that they are a blessing and a joy to Him; He considers their uniqueness and beauty praise to their Creator. Some of them may be food for me or caught for sport; but, help me understand that God also created them for enjoyment and pleasure.

Psa 148:8 (NIV) lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do His bidding, Jesus, teach me that the things that humans call weather are things that are praising and serving God. Some of these weather events may be predicted by people; but, they cannot be controlled by people. Teach me that they belong to God and do His bidding. People may evacuate an area out of fear; but, God knows why things are happening the way they are. Weather professionals may be able to predict the path of a storm to some degree of accuracy; but, help me understand that God knows where it is going and what it is going to do.

Psa 148:9 (NIV) You mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, Jesus, mountains, hills, and trees can be quite beautiful; but, inside the mountains and hills can be metals and materials that are very important. Help me appreciate that trees have been blessing mankind for all of their existence. Show me that the way they bless mankind gives great pleasure to God. He saw to it that they were all invented so I could be blessed and could see what kind of a God I have.

Psa 148:10 (NIV) wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, Help me see all the unity, the distinct purpose, the special features, the beauty of uniqueness, and the incredible variety. Show me how they testify of the creative artistry, attention to detail, brilliant cooperation, and unifying symmetry of all living creatures occupying one planet together for centuries. Help me understand that they give praise to God and they help me praise God. Once I see all these things, let it help me to totally devote my heart to God and resist any other opposing offer.

Psa 148:11 (NIV) kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth. Depending on the spiritual condition of nations, kingdoms and countries, God chooses leaders to rule over them that deal with that spiritual condition. He makes it clear that He sets them up and takes them down. Help me recognize that God is smarter than me even though I don’t like some of those He picked. But, make it clear to me that this world and all living things on it would long since be gone, if God hadn’t made the leadership decisions He has continued to make.

Psa 148:12 (NIV) young men and maidens, old men and children. Jesus, teach me that every person who has, is, or will occupy this planet has been chosen by God. Help me understand that He picked them, their gender, their parents, their geographical location, the time of their existence, their looks, their circumstances, and a lot more. Help me realize that He made all His decisions based on giving each person the very best opportunity to become His child. And, He gave them the very best opportunity to excel to the highest potential. Since they all have a God-given free will, God made sure NOTHING got in the way of them being able to use it. Even though it may not seem like it to me, everyone got that chance.

Psa 148:13 (NIV) Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens. Jesus, help me always keep in mind that no one is being force to praise God. Make it clear to me that only those who can see how great He is will do it. Show me that God is doing everything to help me see it all. The more I see, the more I will be ABLE to appreciate, be excited about, be thankful for, and find the time to praise, worship, and thank the very best God I could possibly have.