Never Ending Praise The Lord

Devotions and short stories that draw me to God.

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Hey! I’m Chelsea and I started this website as a way to get closer to God through devotional time. I thought, why not share it with others? If I have questions, it’s very possible that you have questions as well. Eventually, this website will have short storiesarticles as well as devotions. I would also like to implement prayer requests and a place to share answered prayers and testimonials I can feature. I live in Texas with my mom and our two dogs Twiggy and Bella. I’m a woman who has been through the fire many times, and the only way I came out of it was the love of God. Until things come together, please feel free to comment your need for prayer. You have the option of telling me “Please pray, God knows.” or if you want it to be specific, you’re more than welcome to share. Praying it all comes together soon!

  • Trusting God With The Unforgivable

    Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 

    A few months ago, I wrote a devotion about the gospel. (The Best News You’ll EVER Hear – Never Ending Praise The Lord) I’ve known for quite some time now that I would need to write a follow up. As I’ve muddled through life’s curveballs, I realize that the time has come.

    Now that we’ve gone over what sin is a couple of times, I want you to think of the most ‘unforgivable’ sin you can. Go ahead, I’ll wait…

    Now that you’ve pondered that, I want to rewind to a few times in the Bible when some of our favorite people committed truly horrific sins. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then he conspired to have her husband, Uriah, murdered. Guess what? God said he was forgiven. Paul murdered I don’t even know how many Christians before he was ever redeemed. Let’s take it all the way back to Genesis even. Adam and Eve… they really messed up didn’t they? Everything was perfect until they ate the fruit God specifically told them NOT to eat. They were forgiven…but I’ll get back to that.

    Now I want to tell you two things. First, that sin you deemed ‘unforgivable’? Let’s talk about it. That sin is no more or less than the white lie you told, sex before marriage, or even stealing. I know we could come up with a miles long list of sins and guess what? Second, Jesus covered every. single. one when his blood was shed on the cross. His death and the brutality he suffered beforehand gives all of us hope and the ability to transform our lives.

    Stay with me. I understand that this is a hard pill to swallow- I struggle with this sometimes because I want justice for evil in this world. Justice, however, belongs to God and God alone. Here’s the thing, we want to believe that there’s a scale and that the good outweighs the bad. The bad will be punished and the good will go to heaven… and that thought process nullifies what Christ did at on the cross. How do we even define good? We all have our own thoughts and ideas, but we have to know God has a different view completely, his truth is what matters and none of us live up to that goodness.

    I told you once that if you believe with your hearts and confess with your tongues that Jesus is your savior, you’ve received salvation. This doesn’t give us permission to sin. I know, I just said his death covered all the sins and now I’m tossing more at you. Hear me out though. When Christ died so that we would have redemption, it didn’t mean we suddenly had free reign to do whatever we wanted. It’s truly the opposite. His death saved us from eternal, spiritual death but it also called us to action- a transformed life.

    Romans 6:1-2 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” We don’t want to live in sin, and we don’t want to live in shame so we face consequences of our actions, we ask God for his forgiveness, and we work to be better than we were the day before. David faced consequences, Adam and Eve faced consequences but- they were still covered by grace. Then when wickedness in the world continued to increase, God sent Jesus. So while we may have consequences we have to face, boundaries we have to respect, and new ways of living, we can rest assured that Jesus paid the price and when we truly choose him as our redeemer , and work to transform- we receive that magnificent, beautiful grace.

    I don’t believe there is one person in this world who can’t be redeemed. We may not always understand or like it, but we do need to trust God with the unforgivable.

  • Eyes On The Savior

    Deuteronomy 18:10-12 NIV “Let no one be found among you…who practices divination, or interprets omens… Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.”

    The more I wrote these divination devotions, the more I began to understand why God wanted me to do them. While I don’t fall prey to these things now, I was fascinated by them in the past. I myself thought it was just harmless. I didn’t give thought to the doors I was opening, and how that was a clear invitation for the enemy to swoop in.

    Beyond that, the fascination with anything involved in the occult drew me away from the Lord’s presence and guidance. When that happens, we give power to the enemy to have a stronghold in our lives. This is a small fraction of why we are told to guard our hearts [Proverbs 4:23]. When everything flows from it, you want to be sure it’s in the right place.

    There are probably a lot of things I didn’t actually cover in this series, but I have a couple reminders for you:

    1. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” I find that with Jesus, there is no guess work. If the stars were made to worship him, why would I worship them?
    2. Remember that if it doesn’t glorify the Father- it’s not from him and most likely only leads to harm. When in doubt, pray it out and tell the enemy to flee.

  • When Curiosity Competes with Faith

    Jeremiah 33:3 NIV Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

    I’ve only played with a Ouija board one time in my life. If you don’t know what that is, let me explain. A Ouija board is a flat board marked with letters, numbers and words like ‘yes’, and ‘no.’ It comes with a small moveable pointer called a planchette. Some users believe the spirits guide the planchette but there are scientific studies that attribute the motion to unconscious movement of participants themselves. This is known as the ideomotor effect.

    The night I played with the board is pretty vague. All I remember is being at a park with a couple of people and playing with it. Two things happened. First, I thoroughly creeped myself out. It was dark and quiet. It felt eerie. Second, we were involved in a car accident very shortly after we left. Coincidence? Maybe….probably. I was weary of playing with the board anyway. I believe now that the Holy Spirit had been working to discourage me from playing with it, and I just didn’t realize it.

    So, novelty toy or tool for divination? Does it matter? My short answer is no, it doesn’t matter. Even occultists that use it for divination practices suggest using it ‘carefully.’ That alone tells me that God would find it detestable. You don’t have to believe it holds any power to recognize that it doesn’t belong in a life rooted in faith.

    Another toy worth mentioning is the magic 8 ball. Now, I know this one may seem silly. It definitely felt silly to me at first because the magic 8 ball really does seem harmless. I’m sure I’ve shaken the toy multiple times in my life and rolled my eyes when I didn’t get the answer I wanted. Then, I would set it down and brush the whole thing off as a joke.

    In total transparency, it makes me sad to admit that I only saw it as a silly toy when I didn’t get the answer I desired from it. How many of us would put all of our hope in this plastic ball of blue liquid, if we got our desired answer? Maybe I’m only one of a few people who might have, in the past, seen a ‘yes’ and felt my heart soar with hope. Really examine your heart and ask yourself if that could possibly true of you too.

    Some of the answers in the magic 8 ball are purposefully vague so that the user will make up his or her own mind about what may or may not happen. This takes all the guidance we find in God and throws it right out the window.

    I encourage you to pray for conviction from the Lord, listen for his voice, and stay far away from what doesn’t serve HIM.

  • Better Not Call Saul

    Isaiah 8:19 NIV When someone tells you to consult a medium and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

    I don’t really remember a time I ever wanted to contact a deceased family member or friend. Sure, I’ve wished many times that heaven had visiting hours but truthfully, seeking out a medium to consult with the dead just doesn’t sound fun to me. A medium is a person who practices communication with spirits. We already know God finds this practice detestable. Now let me tell you about who did this very thing.

    If you’ve ever read 1st and 2nd Samuel, you know all about King Saul’s struggles. He was so disobedient that God stripped him of his title, and God’s spirit actually departed from Saul while Samuel was still alive. Once Samuel was gone, Saul was desperate and afraid, so he consulted the very thing he’d previously driven out of Israel- mediums.

    Now normally, when a medium would contact a deceased person, a demonic force pretending to be them would appear so the witch of Endor was completely shocked when this wasn’t the case.[1 Sam 28:3-25] God actually allowed Samuel’s spirit to appear in order to reaffirm that nothing he’d said to Saul had changed. [1st Sam 15] Saul had sinned, and now he would face judgement.

    Saul did two very detestable things in this story- he sought a medium, and he tried to consult the dead. He didn’t forget God’s commands; but he did try to excuse it and work his way around it by disguising himself. Humanity longs for validation, assurance, and the knowledge that we are valued and loved, so the desire to communicate with those we’ve lost is relatable. Acting on that desire is where we go wrong.

    We have the assurance of God that we are valued and loved. His scripture is full of truth about his love and value for us. When we walk in obedience, and our hearts are postured towards him, we also have the assurance that he will never leave us and unlike Saul, we can call upon him for help. Unfortunately, or maybe luckily, we can’t summon the dead. Only God can. The comfort you seek is found in him alone.

  • A Word On Witchcraft

    Galatians 5:19-21 NIV The acts of the flesh are obvious; sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry, and witchcraft….. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

    When I was a kid, my family had a difficult neighbor who my dad not so kindly referred to as a witch. I’d never seen this neighbor, and true to child nature, I took everything literally. I admit, I had a stereotypical view of how a witch looked so I would fearfully envision our neighbor stirring a cauldron and making rhymes in her black dress, black pointy hat, with glistening green skin and a long nose boasting a wart. I think my perception of a witch most likely came from the wicked witch of the west in The Wizard Of Oz.

    My perception changed a lot when I reached middle school and occult practices and movies that showcased them became popular. For example, the movie, ‘The Craft’ was really fascinating to my circle of friends. I wasn’t all that interested in the movie because it felt creepy but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued by the promise of power, romance and money that Hollywood teased me with. The part I was really into though was the makeup and clothes we tried to imitate. What a look. Dark makeup and revealing, dark clothing. It was appealing for my age group for some reason.

    No matter what you think of when witchcraft comes to mind, it’s not as harmless as you may believe. Some may view it as acceptable because they or someone they know only practices ‘white magic’ and not ‘black magic’. While white and black magic allegedly have different intentions, I want to take this time to define witchcraft. It is the practice of magic, especially for evil purposes. Now, Scripture also lists sorcery as a detestable practice way back in Deuteronomy 18:10. Sorcery is the practice of magic, especially black magic. [Or, evil purposes.] I’m bringing up sorcery because there’s truly no difference in practice.

    Today, I realize that our perception of witchcraft is all Hollywood. It’s still a terrifying and sinful reality. Paul is so clear in Galatians that witchcraft is an act of the flesh and that those who practice it will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians mentions quite a few other sins that we as humans are guilty of and shouldn’t be taking so flippantly. As Christians, it’s imperative that we take all these things seriously, identify them in our own life and work with God on changing our hearts.

    God means what he says. He clearly states that sorcery and witchcraft is wrong and will lead us away from him. He says those who practice magic will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. [Rev 21:8, Rev 22:15] You can’t get much further away from God than that. Don’t take a chance!

  • Counting On The Wrong Source

    Colossians 2:8 NIV “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”

    Ok, I admit it. As a kid, I hated numerical concepts and equations. I had a really hard time adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing… I would cry doing homework every night. And don’t even get me started on algebra! I have a few choice words for “The Father of Algebra”, Ol’ What’s his name.

    However, as an adult, I came to really appreciate numbers. In fact, the book of Numbers is why I fell in love with the Bible. How’s that for a crazy spin? The challenge of seeing if all that math actually lined up just fascinated me. It was also how God was able to show me that His Word is all completely true, and that he can use anyone to accomplish his purposes.

    It’s safe to say that the Bible definitely has symbolic use for numbers. For instance, God uses the number 7 over 700 times in Scripture. [Ha, I see what he did there!] The number 7 symbolizes completion, perfection, and wholeness. For example, there are 7 churches, seals and plagues in the book of Revelation. Feasts and celebrations typically lasted 7 days. What about the battle of Jericho? You can read all about it in Joshua chapters 5 and 6. God also uses the number 3 countless times. The trinity, Jesus’ three days in the tomb, Jonah spending three days in the belly of a fish…you see where I’m going with this.

    Unfortunately, people confuse the symbolic use of numbers in the Bible with the occult practice of numerology. Believe me when I tell you that there is a significant difference. Numerology is the belief in a mystical relationship between numbers and events. [Such as numerical values from names and birthdates to interpret personality, destiny, and potential future events.]

    The danger of this is that it diminishes the truth of who GOD says you are. When we place our faith in angelic numbers to give us spiritual guidance, we replace our desperate need for the LORD and HIS guidance. I don’t know about you, but knowing who I am in God is a lot more valuable than what any number could say.

  • Pretty Stones, Powerful Truth

    Revelation 21:11 NIV “It shone with the glory of God, and it’s brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.”

    I might just throw you for a loop with this one. So far, my divination series has been firmly against any occult practices. I’m actually going to encourage you to enjoy crystals- for their intended purpose. The reason I’ve included crystals in this series is because many people use them for their alleged healing properties- physical, mental, emotional and even spiritual. Some people even go as far as incorporating them into occult rituals.

    Remember, occultism involves studying and utilizing supernatural influences. Typically, these supernatural influences merely open a door inviting Satan and his demons in and what follows is chaos and destruction.

    In all honesty, I myself use to collect crystals, admiring them for their beauty. Then I started studying what each stone could do for me. I was fascinated by the false promise of divine communication. Hear me out…divine communication sounds great for a Christian, right? What could possibly be wrong with longing for divine communication? Well, that’s what the Bible is for- to communicate with God! After all, the word of God is living and active [Hebrews 4:12].

    So what IS God’s intended use for crystals? If you read on in Revelation 21, you’ll see in verses 18-20 that they illustrate the splendor of heaven [“The Wall was made of Jasper and the city of pure gold-as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation, jasper. Second, sapphire. Third, agate. Fourth, emerald. Fifth, onyx. Sixth, ruby. Seventh, chrysolite. Eighth, beryl. Ninth, topaz. Tenth, turquoise. Eleventh, jacinth. Twelfth, amethyst….”] They also reflect the majesty of God and the clothing of the priests in the Old Testament.

    Crystals have no magical purposes, and they aren’t meant to replace relationship with God. They are symbols of God’s glory to be admired.

  • Shame Off Me

    Note: Next week, I will return to my occult/divination practices devotion. Happy New Year! I am praying many blessings to those reading this.

    Ezra 10:2 NIV “…We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel.”

     By now, you may be thinking ‘This girl literally only reads the old testament.” I promise it’s relatable! I have to tell you why this verse jumped out at me…

    There I sat at the desk one morning, reading over that days passage from my bible study class. These Israelites were exiled to Assyria and Babylon and after a long period, God brought them back to the land he’d given them and restored them. It’s a beautiful story, except…. Can you believe the audacity of these guys? They disregarded everything that had happened in the past and started intermarrying with foreigners who practiced idolatry, divination, witch craft…. Huh. Need a devotion about that? I know a girl…

    Kidding aside, Ezra heard these things and immediately tore his robe in grief. Appalled, he even pulled hair from his head and beard. [Ezra 9:3]  That night, he finally went to God in confession and sorrow. He didn’t just go to God pointing fingers at the community of people doing wrong- he took blame upon himself, acknowledged how gracious and good the Lord had been to them, and prayed about how to handle the situation. The Israelites gathered around him and realizing their grave sin, they too wept.

    Then, something incredible happened. Shekaniah- not a leader or priest, just a member of the community- reminded the people that while they had sinned greatly, there was still hope for them.

    Ding! The bell in my head rang! I sat for a while thinking, how many times have I allowed my shame over a sin to keep me from growing and changing to become the woman God intended me to be? That’s not living in the security of God’s goodness, faithfulness or the fact that he died to cover that sin.

    I’m not saying to take sin lightly. We went over this; sin is the desire, thought, or action that doesn’t conform to God’s will, and it separates us from him. When we recognize the gravity of sin and it’s painful consequences, we have a responsibility to acknowledge, confess, and take action to turn back to God. However, there are times when  we acknowledge the sin and then we don’t ever get past it.

    We may say things like, “How could God ever love someone like me?” or maybe you feel like you’ve done so many things wrong that it replays like a movie in your mind- over and over again.

    Listen, stop hitting that rewind button! Hit the fast forward button because there is HOPE. His name is Jesus and he covered that sin at the cross. Your past can no longer condemn you. [Romans 8:1- see? I know some new testament stuff!] You are forgiven and cleansed. [1 John 1:9] You’re a new creation. [2 corinthians 5:17] Shame has nothing to hold on to because God cast our sins into the depth of the sea. [Micah 7:19]  Don’t let the enemy hand it back, Jesus already crushed it!

  • What We Bring To The King

    Matthew 2:11 NIV  “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”

                    I often think back on gifts I’ve received throughout life and I have to say, my dad was a really thoughtful gift giver. This man really paid attention to what the people around him enjoyed and desired. One year, he took me on a hot air balloon ride for my sixteenth birthday. I can’t imagine how much work that took, and how he was able to keep it as a complete surprise, but that was the experience of a lifetime! Another year, I woke up on Christmas morning to find a go-kart standing against the wall. I honestly assumed it belonged to my brother until my parents had to ask me if I was ever going to say anything about the obvious gift. I was overcome with joy if I’m being really honest.

                    I’m not trying to brag though. I know that not everyone gets to experience these extravagant gifts. However, there’s one person in history who got gifts far greater than a go kart or a ride in a hot air balloon.

                    Matthew and Luke give us very similar accounts of the details surrounding the birth of Jesus. However, Matthew tells us about something special that happened after the birth of Jesus.

                    Three travelers came from the East, following a star. They were known as magi, which just means wise men. These men were most likely interested in dreams, astrology, and magic. Yet, they were men who had deep faith enough to follow a star to a baby called The Messiah. Had they followed prophecy? Studied the stars? The Bible isn’t specific about any of that but there is plenty of scholars and commentary to study if you’re interested! [My favorite can be found at Enduringword.com]

                    At that time, it was common- especially in the east- that one would never appear before royalty or a person of importance without bringing gifts. The wisemen brought gifts of gold [for royalty], frankincense [for divinity] and myrrh [for death]. Again, there’s no way of knowing if these particular wise men saw what their gifts foreshadowed or if they simply wanted to honor a king. We also don’t know if Mary and Joseph ever used these gifts for anything, although I’m willing to bet there are differing theories about that too. It does make me think though. If these wise men were bringing their best for a baby king they didn’t know, but believed in enough to make a long journey for…what does that say about society today?

    We obviously don ‘t give directly to Jesus, but we do give to his people on his behalf and for his benefit. So what gifts are we given that we can use to glorify the Lord? Some can sing and lead worship, others have the gift of speaking and drawing people in to hear the word of God. There are even people who are gifted to care for and support the grieving and hurt. A lot of us actually have multiple gifts. These gifts call us to action. The wisemen didn’t just admire the star, they did something about it by following it. Then they entered in the house of Joseph and Mary, and they worshiped Jesus.

    So, in this next year, what gifts will you bring to The King?

  • Emmanuel, God With Us

    Emmanuel, God With Us

    Isaiah 9:6 NIV For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince Of Peace.

                    Like many children, Christmas was always a really magical time. It wasn’t just about gifts for me though. Christmas meant the weather in South Florida changed for a couple days. It meant being part of Church Christmas plays and costumes, egg nog, movies, and… it was the one day of the year my brother and I seemed to get along. Christmas morning was always met with my older brother waking me up first and then we woke up our parents together. The rest of the day was filled with laughter and joy, and all was right in the world.

                    Traditions changed as I got older. My brother left the house, and it seemed pointless to wake my parents alone. Then I got married and Christmas became movie theatres and Chinese food. The magic was lost on me, and it became just another day. This was compounded by the loss of my Father on Christmas Eve in 2017. My dad had truly loved Christmas and he tried making it special every year. Without him, Christmas didn’t feel like Christmas at all anymore.

                    For several years now, I’ve really missed the nostalgia of Christmas as a child but as I’ve grown deeper in my faith, learning about the origin of Christmas has left me even less enthused about the holiday. Why do we celebrate the birth of our messiah when he wasn’t even born on December 25th? Maybe the better question is, when was Jesus actually born? Sadly, we don’t know the answer. There is a lot of speculation and in my research, I’ve seen different answers. My favorite theory is that Jesus was born around the feast of tabernacles. This is a celebration of harvest so typically in the fall. The feast of tabernacles commemorates the Israelites exit out of Egypt and how God was with them as they wandered the desert. God guided them by day as a pillar of cloud. By night, he lit their path by fire. If Jesus was born at this time, it would make sense that he would be called Emmanuel which means “God with Us.”

                    As I’ve questioned God about how to celebrate and honor him at this time of year feeling the way I do, he has reminded me that it’s less about the date and more about our heart’s intent. God can take any date, season or tradition and fill it with his presence. It’s not the date that is holy; it’s HIM that’s holy. The manger became a throne. God came to us in human form and walked among us, teaching and showing love with miracles and then by suffering human cruelty and death on a cross. The shepherds, considered ‘nobodies’, outcasts and social lepers, were the first to witness Glory. They didn’t just proclaim the good news- they hurried to do it. God even made an overlooked small town like Bethlehem the birthplace of a King.

                    The beauty of Christmas isn’t in the date, but in the person of Jesus. He is the reason for the season, and he truly is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince Of Peace…Emmanuel. Merry Christmas to you!