Praise The Lord (Psalm 150:1-6; Psalm 103:1-5)
Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord…
Sing and shout out your worship to the King of kings with your voice and with all of your instruments; trumpets, drums, strings…everything…!!!
Shout your praise to Him, and don’t forget any of those BLESSINGS…
Forgiveness of sins
Healing from diseases
Salvation from sure death to your body and soul
Unconditional love
Undeserved mercy
Strength to live a good life
Wherever you are, praise Him for His excellent greatness
For He alone is worthy…!!!
King of Glory (Psalm 24:1-10)
All of creation and all of the people in the world are of His making; whose making?
The King of Glory’s making:
He who is strong and mighty
He who is invincible in battle
He who is the Lord of heaven’s armies
The King of Glory needs to be welcomed into His rightful places:
Into the ancient gates where He rules in authority
Into the ancient doors where He has and gives access
And who does He give access to?
To those who have clean hands, and a pure heart
To those who seek Him diligently, and live in truth
These are those who will receive blessings and live in His presence
In the presence of The King of Glory.
Proclaiming The Ascent (Psalm 118:16-17, 22-24)
In ancient Israel, the Hebrews sang this Psalm as they made their way up to the temple to worship. They sang, “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it…”
We would all live better lives if we did likewise, and proclaimed the goodness of God each day. If we would speak of His grace and mercy, and allow ourselves to speak LIFE from our lips, hope and encouragement from our hearts…to see the best instead of the worst in our neighbors, then rejoicing and gladness could become commonplace. Peace would replace fear, kindness would replace hate…this is not a Pollyanna mentality, it’s a choice we can make…Jesus was and is our example…”I will” is the key phrase in this Psalm…
Christ Lives in Me (Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:1)
Lyrics
I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live
but Christ lives in me, Christ lives in me
and the life that I now live…in this flesh, I live by faith
of the Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself for me
He gave Himself for me…so I could be set free
He gave Himself for me…that I might stand…in liberty
He died upon the tree…to stop the curse in me
to break of my chains…to heal all my pains
Our identification with the crucified Jesus is paramount to living a life of triumph with His peace and joy manifest in our daily routine. Christ died and rose from the dead for the express purpose of giving us a chance to live free from the bondage of sin and pain; to be free to walk and live as He walked and lived. Jesus lived a life full of power and authority over sickness, bondage, and condemnation. It was only His willingness to lay down His authority that allowed the devils to crucify Him on the tree…but He knew that He would ultimately conquer them and the grave, to set up a pathway for all of humanity to walk on the pathway of freedom from sin, pain, bondage, and condemnation. Christ’s triumph over death and hell opened the door for Holy Spirit to come and dwell within us; to empower us to live like Jesus, “in Christ”…free…!!! Christ lives in me, does He live in you…?
I Waited; Psalm 40: 1-3
Lyrics:
I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me
and heard my cry…He heard my cry…
He brought me up, also out of an horrible pit
out of the miry clay…out of the miry clay.
and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings
and He has put a new song in my mouth
even praise unto our God…
Halellujah, I will praise You
You are worthy, You are worthy
Often times we find ourselves in, what seems like, a pit of mud…stuck, and unable to move about. It is tangilble; like when you’re sick, or lacking funds, or beaten down physically or mentally. The pit can take many shapes, but it still feels impossible to escape…unless you get some help.
I once heard a story of a horse that fell into a deep well, and could not get out. The master started pouring dirt into the well, one bucket full at a time. At first the horse thought it was being buried alive, but then he realized that with every bucket, he was abled to tamp it down, and the well became shallower with each bucket full. After some time, the horse was able to get out and was free again.
The Lord is intent on getting us out of our pit, but it’s a process. We have to use what He gives us, and build on that foundation.
When freedom is realized, praise is the normal reaction…all the better if we praise while the dirt is falling on us…
blessings,
Wes