May the mumbling commence!
Praising the Lord is for everyone. No exceptions – everyone praises the Lord. Read Psalm One-hundred Seventeen:
Praise the Lord,
all you nations.
Praise him, all you people of the earth.
For he loves us with unfailing love;
the faithfulness
of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
And just how are we to praise the Lord? It’s all about serving and
self-sacrifice. It’s about keeping your
promises before all the people. When we
do these things, we reflect our heavenly Father. Read from the end of Psalm One-hundred
Sixteen:
The Lord's
loved ones are precious to him;
it grieves
him when they die.
O Lord,
I am your servant; yes, I am your servant,
the son of your handmaid, and you have
freed me from my bonds!
I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call
on the name of the Lord.
I will keep
my promises to the Lord in the presence of all his people,
in the house of the Lord,
in the heart of Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord! (Verses 15-19)
I adore this section of the Psalms for their reminders
to praise the Lord… and how to praise the Lord.
It’s hard work to praise the Lord. But it will pay off. To shirk our responsibility would be devastating. Read from Hebrews chapter six:
For it is impossible
to restore to repentance those who were once enlightened – those who have experienced the good things of heaven
and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have
tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come – and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people to repentance again because they
are nailing the Son of God to the cross again by rejecting him, holding him up
to public shame.
When the ground soaks up the rain that falls on it and
bears a good crop for the farmer, it has the blessing of God. But if a field bears thistles
and thorns, it is useless. The
farmer will condemn that field and
burn it.
Dear friends, even though we are talking like this, we really
don't believe that it applies to you. We are confident that you are meant for
better things, things that come with salvation.
For
God is not unfair. He will not forget how hard you have worked
for him and how you have shown your
love to him by caring for other Christians, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep right on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make
certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will
not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going
to inherit God's promises because of their faith and patience.
(Verses 4-12)
Keep on keeping on.
Love one another. Show your faith
and patience in the face of suffering and persecution. That leads to a vibrant faith. That is vigorous praise of the Lord.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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