Shirlee Abbott

Let’s Not Count

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV)
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Is Jesus suggesting we keep a detailed tally? I think not. If we keep count, it’s probably not true forgiveness.

Forgive, and let it go — the way Christ forgives us.

Good morning, Lord. You taught us to pray “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). Are there folks I haven’t forgiven, acts for which I still carry a grudge? I need to stop keeping count of offenses, to let go of my desire to get even. Teach me to forgive as I have been forgiven. Teach me to love others the way You love me.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged forgiveness, keeping count, Matthew 18:21-22, Matthew 6:12 | Comments Off

Let’s Keep Count

Posted on November 12, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

Psalm 103:2 (NLT)
Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.

It’s easy to focus on what we lack, to keep a list of things we wish we had. The psalmist focused on the good things he already had.

Let’s be like the psalmist. Let’s count our blessings.

Good morning, Lord. I grab my shopping list, with nary a thought about the good things in my cupboards and closets. My neighbor gets something new, and I want one too — not remembering what I already have. I focus on what I want, not what I have. Teach me to count my blessings, Lord, fill my heart with gratitude.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged Count Your Blessings, Psalm 103:2 | 2 Comments

Who’s Not Counting?

Posted on November 11, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

The same God who keeps track of our tears and the hairs on our heads isn’t keeping count of our sins.

Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)
I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Amazing grace, amazing love!

Good morning, Lord. I can’t begin to keep track of my sins — they are too many. You have the ability to keep count but choose not to. I thank You for Your mercy and grace — mercy that doesn’t punish me as I deserve and grace that grants me blessings I don’t deserve. Surely, Your goodness is beyond measure.

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Who’s Counting?

Posted on November 10, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

God is counting …

Luke 12:7 (NIV)
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Psalm 56:8
… list my tears on your scroll—
are they not in your record?

God keeps track of every hair and every tear. Amazing!

I can’t even count the strands I pull off my hairbrush every morning. And my tears? How many from physical pain, how many in anger, how many in grief? I have no idea. But our All-Knowing God keeps count … and remembers.

Good morning, Lord. You count the hairs on my head and the stars in the universe. You know so much, and I know so little. You know not only what I say and do, but also what I think. You know me at my worst — even so, You love me. How can it be? I stand before You in awe and gratitude.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged hairs, keeping count, Luke 12:7, Psalm 56:8, tears | Comments Off

Magnify the Lord, Diminish Yourself

Posted on November 7, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

“If you cannot magnify God, it probably is because you are magnifying yourself. May the Lord cut self down and make nothing of you, and then you will make everything of him. When you sink in your own estimation, then will God rise in your esteem.”
Charles Spurgeon, 1880
The Key-Note of a Choice Sonnet

Good morning, Lord. I want to understand, as John the Baptist did, that You must increase and I must decrease (John 3:30). Teach me to let go of my worldly desires and embrace Your eternal truth. I want to honor You above all else, to live for Your glory and not my own.

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Magnify the Lord, Diminish the Deception

Posted on November 6, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

We have an enemy who specializes in deception.

Revelation 12:9 (TLV)
And the great dragon was thrown down—the ancient serpent, called the devil and satan, who deceives the whole world.

More focus on God, less attention to the enemy’s lies.
Magnify the Lord, diminish the deception.

Good morning, Lord. Teach me Your truth. Grant me the discernment to ignore the whispers of the enemy and obey the nudges of Your Spirit. Fill my mind with Your Word, leaving no room for Satan’s lies. Guide me in the path of righteousness for Your sake, O God (Psalm 23:3).

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged magnify the Lord, Psalm 23:3, Revelation 12:9, Satan | Comments Off

Magnify the Grandeur

Posted on November 5, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

Consider the grandeur of the seas — from cresting waves to gentle ripples, from tiny plankton to giant whales. Consider mountain grandeur — from mighty forests to rocky craigs, from snowcapped peaks to alpine wildflowers.

Isaiah 40:11 (NIV)
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?

Consider the grandeur … and magnify the Creator.

Good morning, Lord. Your creation is magnificent! From soaring mountaintops to fruitful fields, from spacious skies to ocean tides — the work of Your hands declares Your glory. Open my eyes to the beauty of this world, open my heart to Your unending goodness, open my mouth to sing Your praise.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged God's creation, grandeur, Isaiah 40:11, magnify the Lord, mountains, seas | 2 Comments

Magnify the Details

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

Matthew 6:28-29 (NIV)
… See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

Magnify a flower. Look at the detail … the colors, the arrangement of the petals, the shape of the leaves, the length of the stem, the spread of the roots. Consider the seed, the germination, the growth, the photosynthesis, the pollination, the formation and spread of new seeds.

An accident of nature, or the wisdom of an intelligent designer?

Magnify a flower, magnify the Lord.

Good morning, Lord. I am amazed at the detail I see in my own body: how the food I eat turns into energy and keeps me going, my ability to read and calculate, the way my blood flows from head to toe. Even greater are the details I do not see: my DNA, the structure of every cell, the workings of my nerves and neurons. All that I am magnifies all that You are.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged flowers of the field, magnify the Lord, Matthew 6:28-29, workings of the body | Comments Off

Magnify the Lord

Posted on November 3, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

Psalm 34:3 (ESV)
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!

Take a magnifying glass to your mental image of God. We tend to under-rate Him. He’s bigger, stronger, greater than we can imagine.

Good morning, Lord. You are good, You are great, You are powerful, You are merciful. I know this, and yet I don’t really know. You are greater, more powerful and more merciful than my tiny brain can process. You are abundantly over and above anything I can imagine (Ephesians 3:20). You alone are worthy of all the praise I can think or speak.

Posted in Constructive Thought | Tagged Ephesians 3:20, magnify the Lord, psalm 34:3 | 2 Comments

Soli Deo Gloria

Posted on October 31, 2025 by Shirlee Abbott

Glory to God alone.

We’ll close out the week with the last of the five solas of the Reformation, soli Deo gloria — that is, only God receives glory for our salvation.

The Apostle Paul said it well:

1 Timothy 1:17 (NIV)
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

My salvation is less about me and more about God — actually, all about God.

Good morning, Lord. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote SDG (“soli Deo gloria,” meaning Glory to God alone) at the end of his compositions. I don’t compose music, but my life tells a story. Can I stamp SDG to the end of each day? Teach me to live every hour for Your glory, O God, and not my own.

Posted in Constructive Thought, Morning Prayer | Tagged 1 Timothy 1:17, Bach, five solae, Glory to God alone, SDG, soli Deo gloria | Comments Off