Praises!

I absolutely love reading through the Psalms. I love that David, who wrote the majority of the Psalms, experienced great victories and great defeat yet he was known as a man after God’s own heart.

I love that in the Psalms David writes about praise to the Lord, when, where and how we should praise God. I truly believe that your praise and worship to the Lord is a personal and intimate thing. Don’t get me wrong, I believe we should worship together in church as the body of Christ but I don’t believe that should be our only expression of praise and worship. Our worship to God should shine through in every detail of our lives.

How you treat others is a form of worship…Psalm 149 says that the Lord delights in the praises of His people. I believe that means not only our praises to Him but our praise and encouragement of each other. When the body of Christ is functioning as it was intended and we are building each other up IN Christ and create unity, our impact for the Kingdom is maximized and God is magnified.  Also, how we spend our money is a form of worship…Matthew 6 says where your treasure is, there your heart will also be. God’s desire from us is not money, it is our heart. When He has your heart giving to His church and to others just becomes a desire. And His desire is that we steward what He has blessed us with well so that His heart is reflected here on this earth.

These are just a few examples but the point I’m trying to make is that praise and worship isn’t just something you do in a church service, it is how you live your life. Praise is living with a thankful heart, fully aware and in awe of God and His place in your life…how He blesses, protectes and provides for you. How can you repay Him? How can you thank Him? It’s through living a life of praise and acknowledging Him in all of your efforts.

Worship isn’t what you do it’s who you are…I want people to look at me and see Christ in me. I want people to see peace, love, forgiveness, grace and mercy. I want to help people encounter the life-changing God I serve, not run in condemnation when I enter the room. I want people to inquire about my faith not have reason to be fearful of or insecure about it. I want people to know that God knows everything about them and He loves them just the same. I want to be used by God to usher people into the Kingdom. Living out what you believe and making an effort every day to be Jesus to those around you…that’s praise…that’s worship.

Today take some time and read Psalm 139 as a reminder of how intimately God knows you, how much He loves you and how much He desires to walk with you, lead and protect you. And just as you allow Him to do His work in you, He will begin to do His work through you!

Psalm 150:6, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.”