Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty heavens." Psalm 150:1
Christmas is a season filled with music. I love Christmas music. I love the carols of Christmas. It is a time for all of us to celebrate and praise the Lord for His gift to us -- the birth of His Son, Jesus -- the Messiah! The Anointed One! Immanuel -- God with us!
I love what Dr. Don Wrtyzen says about Psalm 150 ...
This psalm is an orchestra of praise -- every instrument imaginable poised and lifted up in worship, celebrating God's incomparable excellence.
Wherever His creatures live, God should be praised, the psalmist says. First, he encourages believers to praise the Lord in the sanctuary. Second, he urges the angels to praise the Lord in the sky, the vault of heaven. Since God's glory fills the universe, his praise must do no less!
Many of us organize our lives into neat convenient categories -- business, domestic, spiritual. We find it hard to think about praising the Lord at work, or while swimming or playing tennis, or at home with the family [or shoveling snow!]. Worship is slotted in on Sunday mornings.
Many of us have fallen into the sacred vs. the secular dichotomy, which robs of spontaneity and vitality in our relationship with the Lord. Such a narrow concept of praise leads to a life of truth without beauty, which, in turn, can result in legalism, disillusionment, or even rebellion.
We need to learn to praise the Lord wherever we are. We ought to try standing around the dinner table, holding hands with our loved ones, and singing the "Doxology" together. We ought to dare humming the tune to a hymn at break in the office. We ought to join some major community choir in the Easter of Christmas season, sing the "Hallelujah Chorus," and allow ourselves to lose control of our emotions, letting tears flow down our cheeks and the chills run up our spines! That will be a preview of heaven when we join the angelic choir of millions upon millions! Hallelujah!
Prayer: Dear Lord, may I be bold enough to praise You wherever I am today. You inhabit praise, so my joyful heart is your "sanctuary." (from A Musician Looks at the Psalms -- Dr. Don Wyrtzen -- Broadman and Holman)
Good words today to help prepare our hearts for December 25th. Praise Him today, brothers! He is your All in All! -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK
God's WORD for US: Proverbs 22; Micah 6-7; Revelation 13
Great Quote: We cannot expect too little from man, nor too much from God.Matthew Henry
We are getting ready to kick off the new year -- 2010 with a new theme for the year. We are excited to challenge our partners and friends to join us on a journey in DIGGING DEEPER INTO GOD'S WORD ... Exploring the Promises of God. Watch for information the next few days how YOU can join us on this journey.
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