Praise The LORD, O My Soul

“Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits

- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.”
Psalm 103:1-3

The rainfall over the past month has been incredible. Out of 31 days in May, 24 of them were blessed with rain. I say blessed, because I remember the many months of drought prior to May when we would be praying for God to open the flood gates. With that in mind, have you taken a moment as you ran to your car in a down pour or after you hurried outside to close your car window or as you were leaving the game mid-way due to a sudden storm, to stop and praise the Lord for the rain that He has graciously sent?

What else do you have to praise the Lord for and about today? David gets right to it and exhorts us to not just praise the Lord, but to do with everything that is within us. Our as I like to say, with our “everythingness”! Packed in the first three verses of Psalm 103 are four reasons why praise should flow out of the hearts of every believer!

1. Because the Lord is Holy – He is the only one who can claim this and we are blessed to be His children. (Vs. 1)
2. Because of all of God’s benefits toward us – Everything good in our lives, past present and future are from a gracious God who loves to bless His children with Good things! (Vs. 2)
3. Because of God’s forgiveness of our sins – Through Christ, your sins are cleansed and forgotten. God Himself paid a debt that He did not owe instead of us having to suffer a debt that we could not pay. (Vs. 3)
4. Because God heals all of our diseases – That’s right! Even if the most terrible disease is eating away at every fiber of your being today, if you know Jesus, one day, maybe in glory, you will be free; no more sickness, suffering or death. (Vs. 3)

Okay, are you doing a dance of praise yet? Take time today to give Him praise. Because, my friend, God is good – all the time and all the time – God is good! Amen!

Prepare For Worship

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Psalm 84:1-2 NIV

I thought it was strange as a child that every Saturday night my family had to be home early. Why? We had to get ready for church! My parents told us that we needed to be rested and have our minds and hearts prepared for the Lord’s Day. Over the years I have come to not only appreciate what they taught, but have taken that understanding to another level.

In our daily lives we see the importance of preparation. Have you ever seen someone give a presentation that was unprepared? They lose track of what they are saying, they seem nervous, their thoughts are not clear and they come across in a loud way that what they were asked to do along with the audience that they were to do it for were not that important to them.

On the other hand have you ever seen a young person getting ready for a really important date? If the date is on Friday, they often begin days before preparing for the event. Guys go to the gym to buff up and girls eat like birds to make sure they fit into the special outfit. They wouldn’t think about showing up on Friday night unprepared. Why? Because the person they are meeting, in their minds, “hung the moon”!

What do you do to prepare for our corporate worship gatherings? It’s not a small matter that God takes this subject of preparation very seriously. Throughout Scripture we see that when people entered into the presence of God there were very specific ways they had to prepare and to enter. God required preparation and if not followed serious consequences were received. That is because God is a Holy God and flippant unprepared acts of worship did not show proper acknowledgement of who He was.

In this age of Grace we are not required to do many of the same things as were prescribed in the Older Testament, however, we worship the same God and He is no less worthy of our giving our all in preparing to enter His presence in worship. God expects and requires our hearts to be prepared. That takes effort on our part. Yes, it takes work and it takes time. But as David said, “… I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing." 1 Chr 21:24

This next week think about meeting with Him. Live in anticipation of meeting with the God of the universe! What can you do and how can you prepare to offer your best to Him. Let’s remember that He is worthy of our doing all we can do to bring Him our very best. And unlike getting ready for that special someone on a date, He actually did hang the moon!

Sing A New Song

O sing to the Lord a new song. For He has done wonderful things!

Psalm 98:1

In one of his funniest stand up routines, Bill Cosby tells of a time when he is left in charge of preparing breakfast for his children. After explaining to his children that because of its content of eggs, wheat and milk that chocolate cake was a nutritious breakfast item, one of his children broke out in song and sang, “Dad is great, he gives us chocolate cake!”

It’s a familiar scene in sporting events, graduations and other occasions, that when someone receives something that brings them joy and happiness that you often see them break out into a song that they wrote on the spot expressing how they feel. The tune may not make sense, the rhythm might be off and their voice might crack from beginning to end, but they sing anyway because they want to express their thankfulness.

When was the last time you sang a new song to the Lord? Has He blessed you lately? How did you respond? There are times in our walk with God when silence is necessary, even called for Psalm 46:10. However, I believe that there are also times when silence is irreverent and wrong Luke 19:40.

This week, today even, be aware of the goodness of God in your life. As you notice the wonderful things that He has done and is doing, let a song rise from your heart to His ears. The melody doesn’t matter, but the song flowing from your heart will do no less than bless our Lord’s heart.

Go ahead, make a joyful noise unto the Lord Psalm 100:1 for, indeed, He has done great and wonderful things.

Dead Willow Trees

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands
than to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.

Mark 9:43

Gazing out of our kitchen window one morning this week, I realized how clean our pool was; freed up of the leaves that would normally fall from our willow. I really liked this tree. It provided shade, looked good blowing in the wind and was a landmark in our neighborhood. But for almost five years it was a nuisance.

Every time I’d go out and empty a basket of leaves from the pool, I’d get frustrated and say that the tree needed to go, but I neglected to make it happen. There were times when I’d trim it myself or just hope it would get better, but in reality the tree was dead and just a larger accident waiting to happen.

When I finally admitted that there was only one answer, I broke down and brought in the professionals and they literally got to the "root of the problem." I now see what a pool looks like without dead willow tree debris in it.

It got me thinking; how many "dead willow trees" do we have in our lives? Are there sins blowing their leaves, breaking our communication with God and cluttering up our lives keeping us from being effective for the kingdom? How many times have we tried ourselves and failed?

Jesus Christ is waiting to take over. We just need to give Him permission to "enter our backyards" and go to work. So, in the "morning" we can gaze out of the windows of our lives and see the wonderful results.

Mother's Day

Next to trash collectors and janitors, motherhood is probably the most thankless job that a person could have. Think about it, a woman who is a mom serves as a cook, a house cleaner, a nurse, a counselor, a friend, a disciplinarian, a taxi driver, a fashion consultant, a party hostess, a laundry maid, a daycare provider, a teacher, an advisor and that’s just on Monday.

Many times we go days, weeks, months and never really express our thanks to our moms. Today I want to challenge us to not let the day go by without celebrating our mom’s, in thought or in deed, if they are still living. And if not, celebrate them by thanking God for the life that you’ve been given through them.

Motherhood is a huge commitment. From conception through the birth of a baby on throughout life until she closes her eyes for the last time here on earth, a mother’s job is never done. God has placed mothers in an honored position and we should do no less. Mother’s however, at times may want to run from that position of honor as fast as they can because the challenges are great and can sometimes be very painful. For all of the joys of being a mom, the heartaches come in equal measure. From bumps and bruises, teasing, broken relationships, chronic illnesses, divorce, rebellion, etc., fear and frustration could overwhelm a mother who had particular hopes and dreams for their lives and the lives of their children.

In the Book of Esther we find a challenge for all of us, but today in particular for you moms as you face uncertain challenges in your role as mom. So take a moment and think about the honored position in which you have been placed. “…who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

Hang in there, mom’s. Your crazy, seemingly hopeless circumstance today may be the road towards hope for an upcoming generation. Happy Mother’s Day – today, we thank God for you and celebrate the position that you hold as mom!