PRAISING GOD DAY 278 - Today I read Psalm 100. It is a mere five verses, but like a diamond, the smallest things can be the most valuable. Psalm 100 reads – “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” The first two verses give us one of the key elements to praising God – joy. Said more succinctly, it is our attitude that dictates whether we praise God or not. It is our attitude that produces that fakey-fakey parroted praise we see from so many in our churches come Sunday morning. That attitude is, of course, a bad attitude. A proper attitude is one of joy. A Believer who arrives at church with joy in their heart is a Believer prepared to praise God. Does that mean that their life is going swimmingly swell? No, it doesn’t. A joyful Believer’s heart is not governed by their circumstances. Instead, a joyful Believer knows that all the drama, all the heartache of their lives is instantly behind them the moment they raise their hands to God, and the first note of praise rolls off their tongue. Verse 3 reminds us to remember our proper position in relation to God. We are told to, “Know that the Lord is God.” Studying God’s Word gives us the knowledge we need to ‘know God’. I well know that the more I read the Holy Bible, the more I want to praise God. The fourth verse goes back to the importance of how we arrive at church. Do we show up thinking God is putting a checkmark in the Holy Attendance Book? (Note - There is no Holy Attendance Book, and ‘no,’ perfect attendance won’t get you into Heaven.) Are we there to ‘network’ for business? Maybe we use Sunday mornings to show off a bit. We pull into the parking lot with our fancy car wearing our fine clothes. Instead, we are to enter our church doors with praise and worship already on our hearts and mind. I can not end this note with words any better than those found in verse 5 – “For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” God is oh so good. His love does endure forever. If there is one thing that I’ve learned reading through the entire Bible this year it is that it is a love story from beginning to end. That alone should compel you to come to a Biblically sound, life-giving church this Sunday. Begin to prepare your heart now for a time of praise and worship. Then show up expecting! I can assure you that you will find the Lord there in all His awesomeness! C2013
Posted on: Sat, 05 Oct 2013 10:17:51 +0000