OUR
NOBLEST WORK IS TO ADORE
BREAD
1 I love
you, O Lord, my strength. Psalms 18:1 (NIV)
30 As for
God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord
is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. Psalms 18:30 (NIV)
4 We
will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the
praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done. Psalms 78:4 (NIV)
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. Psalms
100:1-5 (NIV)
1 Praise the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord who
minister by night in the house of the Lord. 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord. 3 May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion. Psalms 134:1-3 (NIV)
1 Praise
the Lord. How good it is to sing
praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! Psalms 147:1 (NIV)
37 When
he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole
crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the
miracles they had seen: 38 “Blessed is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Luke 19:37-38 (NIV)
9 But
you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging
to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness
into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9
(NIV)
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of
God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his
counselor?” 35 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” 36 For from him
and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans
11:33-36 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Praising God lifts us above our trials and reminds us of
how He overcomes them….Our praise reminds us of Who God is. As we worship Him, the threats and burdens
that weigh us down grow smaller and He grows bigger. The thought of an exalted God Who is entirely
on our side is an awesome inspiration….Praise is based on Who He is. And He is Who He is all the time.” Chris
Tiegreen
“Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature, O thou of God and
man the Son, Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor, thou, my soul's glory,
joy, and crown. Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations! Son of God and Son of Man! Gory and honor, praise, adoration, now and
forevermore be thine.” German Hymn
“To be able to enjoy fully the many good things the world has to offer, we must be detached from them. To be detached does not mean to be indifferent or uninterested. It means to be nonpossessive. Life is a gift to be grateful for and not a property to cling to. A nonpossessive life is a free life. But such freedom is only possible when we have a deep sense of belonging. To whom then do we belong? We belong to God, and the God to whom we belong has sent us into the world to proclaim in his Name that all of creation is created in and by love and calls us to gratitude and joy. That is what the "detached" life is all about. It is a life in which we are free to offer praise and thanksgiving.” Henri Nouwen
“The gratitude breaks forth before the bounty has arrived, in the assurance that it is certainly on the way. The song of victory is sung before the battle has been fought. It is the sower who is singing the song of the harvest home. It is thanksgiving before the miracle! Praise is really the most vital preparatory ministry to the working of the miracles. Miracles are wrought by spiritual power. Spiritual power is always proportioned to our faith.” Dr. Jowett
“You
awaken us to delight in Your praise.” Augustine
“Be
not afraid of saying too much in the praises of God; all the danger is of
saying too little.” Matthew Henry
“God is looking for those who will worship
Him not only in spirit and in truth – as Jesus says in John 4:23 – but also in
crisis. He seeks those who can look
beyond the clouds that threaten and hover over them to His radiance that thoroughly
surrounds them. And when He finds them,
He blesses them. That’s a difficult
maturity for most Christians to learn.
Our natural reaction in a trial is to flee, or to beg for relief. And we have plenty of biblical examples;
asking God for deliverance is thoroughly recommended throughout the Word. But is there panic in the asking? Our weak souls are easily unnerved, but
there’s a better pose: We can praise
God, knowing that when we call, He will answer.
He may not answer exactly the way we expect – though often He does – but
He will answer, and His answer will be good.
We can count on that. Those who
do will pray for deliverance not in a panic, but in a rock-solid trust. God will save. It’s His nature.” Chris Tiegreen
HEART SAVOR
- · Praise gets my focus off the circumstance and on to the One that controls all circumstances for my good and His glory.
- · A heart full of praise pleases the Lord. It is agreeing with Him that He indeed has my best interest at heart. I do not need to fear as perfect love casts out fear.
- · I am not praising the fleeting circumstances; I am praising Him Who is Himself Love and Who is the Master at making beauty out of my ashes.
