Sing, Praise, Proclaim, Declare,

 Sing, Praise, Proclaim, Declare

The Psalmist states,

"Sing to the LORD a new song; 

sing to the LORD, all the earth. 

Sing to the LORD, 

praise his name;

 proclaim his salvation day after day. 

Declare his glory among the nations, 

his marvellous deeds among all peoples." 

                                                           Psalm 96:1-3

If you claim to be a true follower of Christ do you do as the psalmist says?

Do you...

Sing to the Lord?

Praise Gods name?

Proclaim Gods salvation?

Declare Gods glory?

Proclaim Gods marvellous deeds?

Please think about it.

His love never ends

  His love never ends

In the book of Lamentations we read,

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22,23.

As a believer in Christ Jesus it is nice to know that the God I praise and worship has a love that never ceases.

Thus I can say with the Psalmist,

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, 

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." 

                                                                     Psalm 20:7.

How about you do you trust in the Lord God Almighty?

Please think about it.

Love the God

  Love the God

Jesus when asked,

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 

Jesus replied: " ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 

This is the first and greatest commandment. 

And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.'  

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. Matthew 22:36-40.

Jesus here is reflecting the what was said in the book of Deuteronomy. Which reads,

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  

Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."  Deuteronomy 6:5-7.

These two scriptures says it all. We are to love God and our neighbour with all our heart and soul. We are to tell of Gods love wherever we go. Further more we are to impress our love of God on our children. 

If you claim to be a Christian. A true follower of Christ Jesus are you doing this?

Please think about it.

The Psalmist writes

 The great question

The Psalmist writes,

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105.

Question, does Gods word really light your path?

What guides you through life?

The late American evangelist Billy Graham said,

“The great question of our time is, 'Will we be motivated by materialistic philosophy or by spiritual power?” Billy Graham.

We are surrounded on all sides by materialism. As such we must make the same choice Joshua gave the Israelites when he said,

"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.  

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:14,15.

Jesus made things clear when he said,

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Matthew 6:24.

So who are you going to serve?

Think about it.

With Thanksgiving and Praise

  With Thanksgiving and praise 

The Psalmist writes,

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving 

and his courts with praise; 

give thanks to [God] and praise his name." 

                                                            Psalm 100:4

Our lives can be hectic. So hectic that we forget about God. Likewise quite often we fill our prayers asking God to help us and provide for us. All of which are good things to do.

That being said we need to take time to just praise God. To thank God for all He has done for us.

Why not take time now to enter Gods gates with thanksgiving and praise.

Please think about it.

Some questions for Christians

  Some questions for Christians

The Psalmist writes, 

"On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. 

Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. 

My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." Psalm 63:6-8.

Question: If you claim to be a Christian can you say what the Psalmist says in the above scripture.

Do you remember God throughout the night?

Is God truly your helper?

Do you sing to God?

Do you truly cling to God?

Please think about it.

Enter Gods Gates

  Enter Gods gates

The Psalmist writes,

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to [God] and praise his name." Psalm 100:4.

When was the last time you simply stopped asking God for things or to do things and simply gave him thanks and praise for all he’d done for you?

Why not take sometime right now to thank and praise God for all he has done for you?

Please think about it.

Do you have breath

  Do you have breath?

“Praise the LORD. 

Praise God in his sanctuary; 

praise him in his mighty heavens. 

Praise him for his acts of power; 

praise him for his surpassing greatness. 

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, 

praise him with the harp and lyre, 

praise him with tambourine and dancing, 

praise him with the strings and flute, 

praise him with the clash of cymbals,

 praise him with resounding cymbals. 

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. 

Praise the LORD.” 

                          Psalm 150

Here is a very basic thing all those who believe in Christ Jesus, all who believe in God are called to do. Praise God.

The Psalmist tells us to praise him in his sanctuary and in the heavens.

The Psalmist tells us to praise him for his acts of power, and for his surpassing greatness.

The Psalmist tells us to praise God with trumpet, harp, lyre, tambourine, dancing, with the stringed instruments, the flute, and cymbals.

Most importantly everything that has breath is called to praise the LORD.

Do you praise the Lord?

Please think about it.

In Gods presence

 In Gods presence 

The Psalmist writes,

"I will praise you forever for what you have done; 

in your name I will hope, 

for your name is good.

 I will praise you in the presence of your saints."

                                                                                Psalm 52:9.

Question: If you consider yourself a Christian can you honestly say what the Psalmist is saying here?

Please think about it. 

A Prayer

  A Prayer

In the book of Hebrews we read,

"...let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:22,23.

This is my prayer for all those who truly love God and His one and only Son Christ Jesus.

Take time today and everyday to draw near to God.

Please think about it.

Enter His gates

  Enter His gates

The Psalmist writes,

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving 

and his courts with praise; 

give thanks to [God] and praise his name." 

                                                                Psalm 100:4

If you consider yourself a Christian, a true follower of Christ Jesus, take some time right now to praise the Lord. To give thanks to God for all that He has given you.

Please do not just think about it. Do it.

Enter into His gates

  Enter into His gates,

The Psalmist writes,

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving 

and his courts with praise; 

give thanks to [God] and praise his name." 

                                                               Psalm 100:4.

I think it is important for all who believe in Christ Jesus to give thanks and praise to the Lord at all times. We need to in good times cultivate an attitude of thanksgiving and praise. We need for lack of a better term, make a habit to thank and praise The Lord in all sincerity daily.

I believe we need to end all our prayer sessions with at the very least a few words of thanksgiving to God.

This way when we go through hard times we are in the habit of thanking God for being with us as we go through those bad times.

I remember when my late wife, who had suffered for sometime was quite literally in her final hours of life. The family gathered around her and along with our pastor she, and we, prayed and then sang amazing grace. Then for then next few hours until she passed we listened to praise music. I firmly believe she entered into the presence of God praising His name.

My wife could praise God for two reasons. First she truly loved her Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

And secondly throughout her life she had got into the habit of praising God no matter what she was going through.

When the day comes that you enter the gates of heaven and stand in the courts of God what will you be doing?

Please think about it.

Give thanks to GOD

  Give thanks to GOD

“Give thanks to the LORD, 

for he is good; his love endures forever. 

Let Israel say: 

"His love endures forever." 

Let the house of Aaron say: 

"His love endures forever." 

Let those who fear the LORD say: 

"His love endures forever."

                                               Psalm 118:1-4.

If you are a true believer in God. If you are a true believer in Christ Jesus the above quote from Psalms 118 is something your should do every day.

Are you?

Please think about it.

Do you take time?

  Do you take time?

The apostle Paul wrote,

“With one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:6.

Do you glorify God in word and deed?

Francis of Assisi wrote,

"The deeds you do 

may be the only sermon

 some persons will hear today" 

                                               Francis of Assisi.

When people look at your life do they see you honouring God without you saying a thing?

Do you take time each day to pray and praise God rather than always asking Him for something?

Does the Church you attend and the Christian friends you have join together and praise God?

Can you take a few minutes right now to say with the Psalmist,

“Praise the LORD. 

Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. 

Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 

praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, 

praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. 

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. 

Praise the LORD.” 

                                      Psalm 150

Please think 

The LORD gives and The LORD takes away.

 The LORD gives and The LORD takes away

In the book of Job we read,

“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshipped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return . The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” Job 1:20,21.

Job in rapid succession had faced massive personal loss including his family. Yet Job while grieving did not place the blame on God. Rather he blessed the name of the Lord.

We all have problems. We all have times of grief. It’s just a part of life. Still it’s not easy going through troubled times.

In those times it is easy to turn to God and say “why me?”.

Job here however gives us an example to follow. Despite losing everything he still worships God. Knowing that all he has comes from God. Knowing that even in times of trouble God is there for us.

Job knew that he came into the world with nothing and will leave with nothing.

He also knew that by being faithful to God in good and bad times he will ultimately receive his reward.

How about you? 

Do you worship God in the good times and in the bad times.

Please think about it.

Let's Rejoice!

  Let's rejoice!

The Psalmist writes,

"Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; 

let the people of Zion be glad in their King. 

Let them praise his name with dancing 

and make music to him with tambourine and harp. 

For the LORD takes delight in his people; 

he crowns the humble with salvation. 

Let the saints rejoice in this honour 

and sing for joy on their beds." 

                                                Psalm 149:2-5.

What the psalmist is saying here is clear. We are to rejoice in our maker, be glad in our KING.

We are to praise God with dancing, music, with the tambourine and harp and with dancing.

The psalmist reminds us that The LORD delights in His people.

Telling us to rejoice in Gods honour and sing for joy in our beds.

Question,... If you consider yourself a Christian a true follower of Christ Jesus do you take time during the day to praise God openly?

Please think about it.

Sing to the Lord a new Song

 Sing to the Lord a new Song

The Psalmist writes,

"Sing to the LORD a new song; 

sing to the LORD, all the earth. 

Sing to the LORD, 

praise his name; 

proclaim his salvation day after day. 

Declare his glory among the nations, 

His marvellous deeds among all peoples." 

                                                                Psalm 96:1-3.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, Christians need to praise the LORD. To proclaim His salvation day after day.

Just how do we do it?

Francis of Assisi said,

“Preach the Gospel at all times 

and 

when necessary use words.”

                                            Francis of Assisi.

Francis of Assisi also warned,

"The deeds you do 

may be the only sermon some persons will hear today" 

                                                                                Francis of Assisi.

Please think about it.

Praise God before the gods

  Praise God before the gods

The Psalmist writes,

“I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; before the "gods" I will sing your praise. Psalm 138:1.

At first glance this verse seems to be an unnecessary statement in the twenty-first century. After all there are no “gods” in this century.

Quite the contrary there are as probably as many gods in 2024AD as there were in 2024BC. 

The thing is while the gods that were in 2024BC have faded into history. There has arisen new gods in 2024AD. Things that we may not realize we hold to be gods. A god by my way of thinking is anything we put our trust in blindly or otherwise. One of the most obvious ones being money and our material possessions. Other things might be religious or political leaders. Again people we follow blindly or otherwise.

Such gods can easily trick us into following them. By the promise of wealth or health or even prestige and social standing.

As believers in the One True God it is important for us to keep our eyes on Him. Not only that but openly praise the LORD with our whole heart publicly, in word and in deed.

We need to in a loving manner tell the world around us that we serve the LORD God Almighty.

If you consider yourself a Christian. Do you praise God publicly in word and deed?

Please think about it.

Every knee will bow

 Every knee will bow

The Psalmist wrote,

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well." Psalm 139:14.

If for nothing else we as believers in Christ Jesus need to praise God because we are “fearfully and wonderfully” made.

Martin Luther King jr. once said,

“We thank thee, O God, for the spiritual nature of man.

We are in nature but we live above nature.... help us to realize that man was created to shine like stars and live on through all eternity.” Martin Luther King jr.

We are created to live on through eternity. And I know this. In the book of Philippians we read,

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11.

On that day when every knee will bow to Jesus, where will you be?

Please think about it.

I will Praise You

 I will Praise You

The Psalmist writes,

"I will praise you forever for what you have done;

 in your name I will hope, 

for your name is good. 

I will praise you in the presence of your saints." 

                                                                               Psalm 52:9.

As Christians, as believers in Christ Jesus we quite often forget to praise God in our daily lives. By that I mean outside of a church service.

Quite often we get wrapped up in asking God to do things for us. That could include praying for everything from a healing, to putting food on our table, to wisdom and much more. All of which are good things to ask for.

Still I believe we should spend some time just praising God. 

The Psalmist says he will praise God for what He has done. That he will hope in God and that he will praise Gods in the presence of the saints.

All of this should be done on a daily basis.

Do you praise God each day?

Please think about it.