A Call to Praise

-


Scripture

Psa. 100:0   A Psalm of thanksgiving.
1     Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.
2         Worship the LORD with gladness;
        come into his presence with singing.
 
Psa. 100:3        Know that the LORD is God.
        It is he that made us, and we are his;
        we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
 
Psa. 100:4        Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
        and his courts with praise.
        Give thanks to him, bless his name.
 
Psa. 100:5        For the LORD is good;
        his steadfast love endures forever,
        and his faithfulness to all generations.

Observation

God’s people are called to praise him. We are to make a “joyful noise” to our Lord as we enter into his presence. This is the imagery of entering a throne room, giving God the honor he is due. In praise we recognize that the “LORD is God,” our father. He is our creator and we are his children.

The gates of the kingdom are opened for his children and so we enter with great praise. Not only do we enter the kingdom but are ushered into his very courts — into his presence. We give him thanks, recognizing the goodness of the LORD. He has drawn us into his holy presence and here we experience his steadfast love which reaches out to us and to the generations to come. For all of this, we give him praise!

Application

We are called not only to praise the Lord, but to live a life of continual and on-going praise to God. This is only possible when we have entered his gates and are residing in his courts. We are called to a nearness, a proximity, to our Lord. It is in this place that we experience him in ways we never thought possible and praise becomes a way of life.

The converse is also true. When we find ourselves grumbling we may discover that we have wandered from the presence of the Lord and have become filled with sadness and complaint. I’ve heard a lot of complaint lately about the state of our world and the condition of Christianity, but I haven’t heard a lot of praise. Does that speak more to our proximity to the Lord than it does about the condition of our world?

The Psalmist had times of trouble but seemed to know that the focus had to return to the deep and loving relationship to be found in our holy God. God is drawing us toward him and we are encouraged to respond. Enter his courts today — enter with praise. Thank God for all the good which you see and experience and for his love which draws ever closer to him. This is the good which can will be celebrated.

Let us praise him!

Prayer

Lord, thank you for your hand which we can see at work in our lives and in the lives of others. Amen.


Thank you to Nazarene Publishing House and Keri Mitchell for helping to create and publish Reflecting the Image. This is not a devotional book, but rather a collection of thoughts and stories which lead us in the direction of reflecting Christ. Click on the image to take you to the NPH bookstore.The book is also available in Kindle format on Amazon.com.
http://www.nph.com/nphweb/html/nph/itempage.jsp?itemId=9780834135277

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a ti...
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her ...
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more