Ps 150:6 "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord"

We see in (Acts 16: 16-36) from the experience of Paul and Silas that Praise is one of the greatest tools used in defeating the enemy. Their joyful singing didn’t go unnoticed as the prisoners themselves began to listen. But more importantly, their worship reached the ears of the father who delighted in their sacrifice of thanksgiving and delighted in their praise. As a result, one prison guard and his entire family were saved that night with the gift of salvation and eternal life. Praise is a powerful weapon, many times in the Old testament, when Gods people would go into battle, they would send out the ‘Worshippers’ first. That is because praise precedes victory, which is why the enemy loves to silence the tongue of a worshipper.

What is praise?

Praise is more than just singing songs; it is a ‘heart attitude’. It’s not uncommon for praise in ones heart to prompt singing, but it can also manifest in many different ways such as our words and actions like telling others about the things God does. And it’s a whole lot more than lip service. This is not to say that the effect of ‘singing’ is in anyway reduced. I once read that ‘God created music and the composer only arranges it’. God is a great lover of music. Ps 100:2 urges us to ‘serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing’. In many instances, music is a natural expression of one’s joy and can also add meaning to a message by affecting the hearer through emotions. I remember a few years ago, on the day of my brothers graduation, I was waiting in a room with a friend who began to sing praises to God. A few seconds into the song, the stone faced receptionist began to smile. It really touched me because we had all been in that room for at least 30mins before he began to sing, and all through that time, the receptionist had been frowning and irritable. Heartfelt praise is a very beautiful thing.

Sacrifice of praise 

‘Sacrifice means to give up or offer something of value we would rather hold on to’. As humans, we find ourselves ‘being thankful’ in good times. When life is good, praise and thanksgiving flow freely from ones heart, then comes darker times and praise doesn’t flow as easily. However as Christians, these are the times when we need to praise God the most. Praise helps us focus on what God is going to do in our life, rather than keep focusing on the not so good happening in one’s life.....This is our sacrifice of praise. You may not feel like praising the Lord at every given instant of the day, but enough sin has probably been committed to require an burnt offering for atonement every instant of the day, but Good in his infinite mercy has rendered a burnt offering unnecessary. A few questions to think about;

How often each day do you praise him?

How often each day do you prise him when you don’t feel like?

How often each day do you praise him for dying on the cross for you?

So I urge you my brothers and sisters, as you go through your day, take time to acknowledge God. Remember to put him first and continually offer him praise. As praise goes up, his blessings, peace, joy and strength come down and overtake every area of your life. Also remember God wants our all, if we live in love and obedience to him, our songs- the fruit of our lips- will be a pleasing sacrifice of praise.

Pride

Most dictionaries define Pride as ‘an arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness’. And human understanding of what the word represents is not too far from this. Pride is often linked to a sufficiency in self; an ‘i can do it’, ‘i am better than’ attitude. So imagine my surprise when a dear friend of mine spoke to me about pride a few days ago. I had always looked at pride as ‘self-righteousness’, which i look upon as a sin which God hates as it’s a hindrance to seeking him. In my wildest dreams i never thought of myself as one who fell into this category, neither did i think it applied to the situation he was counselling me about. But i took his advice and prayed.

Bingo!!!! Now i see it. I have found that the best way to actually tackle this issue of pride is to break it down to examine what it implies, once we see pride as ‘self-orientation’ which is contrary to the character of God, it becomes much clearer, and we can see ‘inverted pride’ for what it really is.

It is easy to recognise the 'big prides' (as stated above), however ‘inverted pride’ is a hidden pride that has to do with self condemnation and perceived inadequacies. This kind of pride is disguised as the virtue of humility, but brothers and sisters it is soooooo far from that. Using myself as an example, mine was looking at my motivation for doing certain things instead of looking at what God had accomplished using me......’pride is giving ourselves credit for something God has accomplished’ even if it’s by removing him from the equation and giving ourselves negative credit. By feeling bad about my ‘not so selfless’ reason for doing something good, i removed God from the equation and completely disregarded what he had used me to accomplish. In my mind i was being humble by downplaying what i had done, but this is a lie from the devil, most times to deceive us, to lead us to despair which might gradually draw us away from God as we continue to feel inadequate.

I guess the lesson here is, the devil is a liar (no big surprise there), we are not perfect by any means, but we are all gifted in our own special ways. Anything satan tries to use for evil, God can turn and use for good when we commit totally to him. We all need to remember that the devil will try to find ways to destroy the good we try to do, be it by questioning our motivation for doing it, or by letting us believe it’s not good enough. But remember, it is not by our power nor our might Jehovah is the author and finisher of all things.

Scripture refs

John 5:44

Psalm 10:4

1cor 4:7

The Good Shepherd

Many, if not all of us can recite Psalm 23 by heart. But how many of us have ever actually sat down to carefully examine what the words actually mean? I know the good book is filled with loads of promises from God, but what i find quite amazing is that a lot of them are found   in the single chapter of Psalm 23.

The Lord is my Shepherd.......Gods promise of care.

I believe this first verse calls us to immediately put ourselves into the care of Jesus Christ. We see in Isa 40:11, He promises to feed His flock like a shepherd, but nothing beats Jhn10:11; The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

I shall not want.......Gods promise of provision.

A popular story that comes to mind is that of Abraham and Isaac, when Abraham answered Isaacs question regarding the lamb for the sacrifice by saying ‘my son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering’. I find it very reassuring to know that God sees our needs and provides for them. Having said all this. It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean the world is your oyster, that you receive each and everything you desire. It simply means that you will lack nothing that is necessary for your best interest. A very popular passage that illustrates this promise is Philippians 4:19; And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

He makes me to lie down in green pastures....God’s promise of rest.

Simply put, i think this means fully trusting that Jesus has done all the work of salvation for us. We’re to rest in his saving grace. This is what Jesus means when he urges us in Matt11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest”. It means the end of all your fleshly striving, all your human efforts to obtain peace. And it means relying totally on Jesus’ work for you.

He leads me beside the still waters....Gods promise of peace.

God promises we will find the much yearned for peace of heart and mind we long for as ‘’He leads us beside the still waters’’. He, the shepherd, knows all about our need for peace and provides the peace we need for fulfilling His will for our lives. (Further reading Jhn14:27)

He restores my soul.....Gods promise of restoration and healing.

Life is hard! No one is a stranger to its downs, pains and hurts. Unfortunately, many people stay down when they fall, they remain broken and crushed in spirit. But the good news is that we have a shepherd- The good Shepherd- to walk with us along life’s way. Armed with the promise of healing restoration, we can all walk through life with the help of the Lord, we can handle its challenges and heart aches.

He leads me in the path of righteousness.......Gods promise of guidance.

Its true that we live in a time were the world seems to honour those who can go with its flow, those willing to compromise and bend to its will and ways. But we are the righteous saints of a righteous God. And He makes sure we walk in His straight paths of righteousness. And He is faithful to tell us in His word exactly what those paths are. He clearly spells out what He considers right and wrong and for those so called ‘grey areas’, he reveals the truth to those who diligently seek it. Christs example we follow and that its to Gods glory when we obey.

Though I walk through the valley ......you are with me.......Gods promise of presence. One of my fav bible verses is Matt28:20; I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So keep walking. Do not pause. Do not falter, for God is with you.

I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me......Gods promise of Comfort.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil, My cup runs over.....Gods promise of protection. (Further reading Ps7:1, Ps 31:15)

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life.....Gods promise of Hope This to me speaks of moving from experience to faith. You dwell in the presence of the Lord, under His protection, your every need satisfied. Believe that every moment of your future will be filled with Gods richest blessings too. Surely!!!

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.....Gods promise of a home.

God has called us to prepare for our journey back home.