February 22 - Praise

98 Minutes of Exercise a day...definitely a cause for soreness and fatigue. I love it none the less...I am blessed to have the ability and the freedom to enjoy life. Glory to God...

Psalm 100

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Although this chapter in Psalms contains verses in which a couple of popular praise songs have been composed from, this chapter holds much truth. How many times can you yourself think of standing in church and just reading the words on the screen or from the hymnal, with no thought or emotion attached? I will confess, I have done it. If God were standing next to me in person and that's how I praised him, I would be embarrassed at the least. As Christians we are to:

1 - Express our joy in what God has done in our lives by taking the message to all corners of the earth...starting in our own backyards and workplaces. This is an invitation to praise God for what he has done.

2 - When we worship God, we are to do it out of gladness. If we are mad, it must be about something other than him, because he pours his love out on us everyday in every way. Our songs and our lifestyle should be of joy and contentment in him.

3 - God is so good. He has made everything...including you and me. We should be proud to be called his people and to be messengers of the good news. He tends to his flock...not leaving one behind.

4 - We are invited to enter God's gates and worship him. This is in reference to entering the doors of our public churches. We are to not only praise God for being strong, loving, protective, a provider, our creator, and so much more, but we are also to praise him for allowing us to have the privilege and freedom to worship him.

5 - The Lord's love is unconditional. Upon the day in which our lives are over, we will be judged accordingly. Our salvation rests in the acceptance or refusal of his Son, the one and only sacrifice for the cleansing of our sins and eternal life in heaven or hell. His love is constant and true. His promises and love has been genuine and pure since the beginning of time, as it is today.

God deserves so much from his people. The least we can do is smile when we sing praises to him on Sunday mornings. We should be joyful in all that he has done and will do in our lives.