Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Power is Released When You Praise God

Letter #38   8/12/09
PSALMS 145:2-3 “Every day I will bless you, and I will praise your name for ever”
POWER IS RELEASED WHEN YOU PRAISE GOD:
 
In the book of Psalms, the word Psalms means “Praises”.  One definition of praise is: “to commend; to applaud; to express approval or admiration of: to extol in words or in song; to magnify: to glorify: preoccupied with who God is and what he has done; raise much to-do about God.”  These things make no sense to the un-saved, really.
 
Probably none of us praise the people we love enough. From our spouse, kids, to close friends, praise is like the opposite of criticism and complaining.  One inspires the soul while the other robs it of energy.  The highest form of praise is to God.  Here is a good quote by Sam Hinn:
“Praise is something you must discipline yourself to do. It is something we must all practice diligently.  According to His Word, power is released when you praise God, but in order for it to benefit you over time, it must be continual…There will be times when you don’t fell like praising God; you don’t feel like worshipping Him. However, it is the most powerful force to propel you into His presence. When it becomes a discipline, then you will respond to situations of adversity according to the discipline instead of according to a feeling.”
 
It is only my personal opinion, but I can see the level of a person’s true spirituality in the true God by how much they bring up His name and mention how good He is in regular conversation. A “religious” spirit seems strangely uncomfortable around lavish praise.  
Christians under the spirit of legalism & “religion” can debate church doctrine or truth for hours & hours but then find it hard to glorify Him even for a couple minutes.  “They have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof.” In other words, their lack of real joy & power in Christ come from a deficiency in exalting God. There is a power & joy which comes from a life-style of praise…which is a sign of authentic spirituality.
 
I have not seen it, but there is a movie out called The Bucket List. This is a list of things you want to do before you “kick the bucket” and die.   But for those of us not caught in the lie of evolution or humanism or other “isms”, there is a better bucket list we look forward to: what we plan on doing After we kick the bucket and join Jesus.  I am like you – I can’t wait to be re-united with loved ones who have passed, move at the speed of thought, surf the rings of Saturn, wrestle a tiger, actually meet & relate with folks from the bible, explore the limitless universe/creation, eat & drink in the best life offers, act like Superman, design my perfect mansion to live in, discover the secrets to questions we have always wondered about, angels, demons, and the list goes on and on. 
 
But a reward greater than all these will be the experience of knowing and having God as our own: this will far surpass all=2 0other experiences for sure.  So back to Praise:  we might as well enjoy and learn it now, because we will be doing a whole lot of it in that eternal life/world on the other side. How can we not praise Him now -- to properly thank the One who made us from nothing and has offered to give us everything that is His, even Himself??  Wow!!  Glory to God!  Lord, we love you so much!  You are Wonderful!