Pleased to Praise

 Pleased to Praise

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! (Psalm 67:3, 5)

Why does God demand we must praise God?

C.S. Lewis:

Just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?”

The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can’t help doing, about everything else we value.

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.

There is the answer — the solution to the apparent egomania of God in demanding us to praise him! It is a demand for our greatest happiness. We praise what we enjoy because the delight is incomplete until it is expressed in praise. If we were not allowed to speak of what we value and celebrate what we love and praise what we admire, our joy would not be full.

So, if God loves us enough to make our joy full, he must not only give us himself; he must also win from us the praise of our hearts — not because he needs to shore up some weakness in himself or compensate for some deficiency, but because he loves us and seeks the fullness of our joy that can be found only in knowing and praising him, the most magnificent of all beings.

If he is truly for us, he must be for himself! God is the one Being in all the universe for whom seeking his own praise is the ultimately loving act. For him, self-exaltation is the highest virtue. When he does all things “to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12, 14), he preserves for us and offers to us the only thing in all the world that can satisfy our longings.

God is for us! And the foundation of this love is that God has been, is now, and always will be for himself.

Everyday in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY AUGUST 21, 2025.

SUBJECT: THE BEATITUDES—THE CHRISTIANS WAY OF LIFE!

Memory verse: “To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified.” (Isaiah 61 vs 3.) 

READ: Matthew 5 vs 3 - 12:

 5:3: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

5:4: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5:5: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

5:6: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

5:7: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

5:8: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

5:9: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

5:10: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

5:11: Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

5:12: Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven: for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

INTIMATION:

The Beatitudes can be understood in at least four ways: (1) They are a code of ethics for the disciples and a standard of conducts for all believers. (2) They contrast kingdom values (what is eternal) with worldly values (what is temporary). (3) They contrast the superficial “faith” with the real faith that Christ demands. (4) They show how the Old Testament expectations will be fulfilled in the new kingdom. These Beatitudes are not multiple choice—pick what you like and leave the rest. They must be taken as a whole. They describe what we should be like as Christ’s followers. 

Each Beatitude tells how to be blessed by God. Blessed means more than happiness. It implies the fortunate or enviable state of those who are in God’s kingdom. The Beatitudes don’t promise laughter, pleasure, or earthly prosperity. Being “blessed” by God means the experience of hope and joy, independent of outward circumstances. To find hope and joy, the deepest form of happiness, follow Jesus no matter the cost.

Blessed could also be translated “happy.” Happiness in heart results from the application in life of the characteristics expressed in the Beatitudes:

(1) Poor in spirit: Happy are those who are not proud, conceited or arrogant concerning their spiritual relationship with God. One must recognize his humanity, his spiritual poverty and destitution. One must empty himself of self-reliance and learn to humble himself before God.

(2) Mourn: Happy are those who recognize their spiritual poverty, and thus, humbly grieve over their sinfulness. The humble person recognizes his spiritual poverty and thus mourns over his inadequacies before God. 

(3) Meek: When one mourns over his sin, his relationship with others changes. He becomes mild, gentle, lowly and unselfish in character. He is not arrogant or self-seeking. The meek will inherit the earth in the sense that they will enjoy the greatest that life has to offer. Because they understand the brevity of life and the temporary nature of material things, they concentration their thoughts on those things that are above.

(4) Hunger and thirst: Those who realize their sinful condition and mourn over their sin, hunger and thirst after the justification (righteousness) that can come only from God by His grace. They seek the knowledge of God through His word. It is the word of God that will supply knowledge of how to be justified of one’s sin. God is the source of all righteousness.

(5) Merciful; Those who recognize their own spiritual poverty are merciful to others. They sympathize and have pity on others. They thus seek to relieve the suffering of others because God has had mercy on them in relation to their sin. Contrary to the legalistically proud who seek to judge, the meek have mercy. Their mercy will reap mercy from God.

(5) Pure in heart: Happy are those who do not seek evil, but are sincere. Without guile or a vile heart of evil motives, they do not seek to find evil in others. The pure in heart will understand the pure nature of God.

Peacemakers: Those who recognize their own sinfulness will seek peace of mind with others. Such are sons of God for they portray the spirit of God in their relationship with others. They are not contentious, nor do they have a spirit to argue with others.

Persecuted: Those who portray in their lives the above characteristics will be sons of God. Being such will bring persecution from those of the world who do not understand such behavior. Christians are persecuted because they refuse to walk in the darkness of the world. 

Persecution can be good because (1) it takes our eyes off earthly rewards, (2) it strips away superficial belief, (3) it strengthens the faith of those who endure, and (4) our attitude through it serves as an example to others who follow. We can be comforted knowing that God’s greatest prophets were persecuted (Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel). The fact that we are being persecuted proves that we have been faithful; faithless people would be unnoticed. In future God will reward the faithful by receiving them into His eternal kingdom, where there is no more persecution.

Rejoice: This is the attitude of those who truly understand the inner nature of the Christian life. They are able to rejoice in persecution for they know that life exists beyond this world. The same evil envy that led to the persecution of the prophets of the Old Testament will also lead to the persecution of Christians who stand up for their faith. 

God’s way of living usually contradicts the world’s. If you want to live for God, you must be ready to say and do what seems strange to the world. You must be willing to give when others take, to love when others hate, to help when others abuse. By giving up your own rights in order to serve others, you will one day receive everything God has in store for you. 

Jesus said that God’s kingdom is organized differently from worldly kingdoms. In the kingdom of heaven, wealth and power and authority are unimportant. Kingdom people seek different blessings and benefits, and they have different attitudes. Are your attitudes a carbon copy of the world’s selfishness, pride, and lust for power, or do they reflect the humility and self-sacrifice of Jesus, your king?

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of Christlikeness; abhorring evil, cleaving to that which is good, loving one another, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer, distributing to the necessity of saints, given to hospitality, blessing those that persecute me, and not cursing them, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

An Unshakably Happy God

 An Unshakably Happy God

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)

God is absolutely sovereign.

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).

Therefore, he is not frustrated. He rejoices in all his works when he contemplates them as colors of the magnificent mosaic of redemptive history. He is an unshakably happy God.

His happiness is foundationally the delight he has in himself. Before creation, he rejoiced in the image of his glory in the person of his Son — his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased (Matthew 3:17). Then the joy of God “went public” in the works of creation and redemption.

These works delight the heart of God because they reflect his glory. The heavens are telling the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). “May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works” (Psalm 104:31). He does everything he does to preserve and display that glory, for in this his soul rejoices.

All the works of God culminate in the praises of his redeemed people. “Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!” (Psalm 150:2). The climax of his happiness is the delight he takes in the echoes of his excellence in the praises of the saints. “His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love” (Psalm 147:10–11). 

But our praise is not only God’s delight, as an echo of his excellence; it is also the apex of our joy. Praise is the consummation of the joy we have in seeing and savoring the greatness of God.

Therefore, God’s pursuit of praise from us and our pursuit of pleasure in him are the same pursuit. This is the great outcome of the gospel of the glory of the grace of God in Christ!

Everyday in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 20, 2025.

SUBJECT: AVOID PRESSURES TO SATISFY PLEASURES!

Memory verse: "Now the sons of Reuben the first born of Israel—he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so the genealogy is not listed according to the birthright.” (First Chronicles 5 vs 1.)

READ: Genesis 25 vs 29 - 34:

25:29: Now Jacob cooked a stew: and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary.

25:30: And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew; for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom.

25:31: But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”

25:32: And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die, so what is this birthright to me?”

25:33: Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

25:34: And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentiles; then he ate and drank, rose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

INTIMATION:

Pleasure is agreeable emotion or desire, gratification of the senses or of the mind, or inclination which pleases or delights. It is something that gives one joy or delight. It is proper to evaluate our pleasurable desires to ensure they are agreeable with God’s Will, and will not put us into trouble or cause our violating some godly commands. Sometimes they mount pressures on us that we seek to satisfy such pleasures immediately. Ironically, our pleasures, if they do not have God’s blessing, may destroy us. 

In the passage we read today, Esau was pressured by the pleasure of food. Esau traded the lasting benefits of his birthright for the immediate pleasure of food. He acted on impulse, satisfying his immediate desire without pausing to consider the long-range consequences of what he would do. We can fall into the same trap. When we see something we want, our first impulse is to get it. At first we feel intensely satisfied and sometimes even powerful because we have obtained what we set out to get. 

But immediate pleasure often loses sight of the future. We can avoid making Esau’s mistake by comparing the short-term satisfaction with the long-range consequences before we act. Esau exaggerated his hunger, “I am about to die,” he said. This thought made his choice much easier because if he was starving, what good was an inheritance anyway? The pressure of the moment distorted his perspective, and made his decision seem urgent. 

A birthright was a special honor given to the firstborn son. It included a double of the family inheritance along with the honor of one day becoming the family’s leader. The oldest son could seek his birthright or give it away if he chose, but in so doing, he would lose both material goods and his leadership position. By trading his birthright, Esau showed complete disregard for spiritual blessings that would have come his way if he had kept it.

The fact that Esau did not appreciate the significance of the birthright that was due the firstborn is manifested in the fact that he counted the birthright of less value than a dish of stew (porridge). He traded a nation with God’s blessings for a bowl of stew.

Our anchor Scripture is the record of Reuben’s sin of incest (Genesis 35 vs 22) due to his drive to satisfy the immediate pleasure of sexual desire. As the oldest son, Reuben was the rightful heir to both a double portion of his father’s estate and the leadership of Abraham’s descendants, who had grown into a large tribe. But his sin stripped away his rights and privileges and destroyed his family. (Genesis 49 vs 3 - 4.) The real consequences of his sin are ruined life, and irreplaceable losses.

We often experience similar pressures. For example, when we feel sexual pressure, a marriage vow may seem unimportant. We might feel such great pressure in one area that nothing else seems to matter and we lose our perspective. Getting through that short pressure-filled moment is often the most difficult part of overcoming the temptation. In First Samuel 13, the Bible recorded the pleasurable desire of Amnon to lie with the sister Tamar, which led to deceitful plots by him. When actualized the result was hatred for her, hatred for Amnon by his brother, Absalom, and eventual murder of Amnon by his brother Absalom. 

Before you give in to the temptation of satisfying immediate pleasurable desires, consider the disastrous consequences that may result in your life and lives of others. Our past also affects our present and our future. By sunrise tomorrow, our actions of today will have become part of the past. Yet they would already had begun to shape the future. What actions can you choose or avoid that will positively shape your future? Always check your choices out before making them for the benefits of your future, and may be the future of others. 

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to put boundaries on my desires, to concentrate on those desires that will keep me on the right path of obedience to You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

Jesus Is Who You’re Looking For

 Jesus Is Who You’re Looking For“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20)

The last chapter of Matthew is a window that opens onto the sunrise glory of the risen Christ. Through it you can see at least three massive peaks in the mountain range of Christ’s character: the peak of his power; the peak of his kindness; and the peak of his purposefulness. 

All authority is his — the right and the power to do his will. And he uses this power to pursue his unwavering purpose to make disciples from all the nations. And in the process he is personally kind to us, promising to be with us to the end.

We all know in our hearts that if the risen Christ is going to satisfy our desire to admire greatness, that is the way he has to be. Great in power. Great in kindness. Great in purposefulness.

People who are too weak to accomplish their purposes can’t satisfy our desire to admire greatness. We admire people even less who have no purpose in life. And still less those whose purposes are merely selfish and unkind. 

What we long to see and know is a Person whose power is unlimited, whose kindness is tender, and whose purpose is single and unflinching. 

Novelists and poets and movie-makers and TV writers now and then create a shadow of this Person. But they can no more fill our longing to worship than this month’s National Geographic can satisfy my longing for the Grand Canyon.

We must have the real thing. We must see the Original of all power and kindness and purposefulness. We must see and worship the risen Christ.

Everyday in the Word

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY AUGUST 19, 2025.

SUBJECT : STRIVE TO HAVE A CLEAR CONSCIENCE!

Memory verse: "My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let go; My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live." (Job 27 vs 6.)

READ: First Samuel 12 vs 1 - 5;

12:1: Now Samuel said to all Israel: “indeed, I have heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you.

12:2: And now here the king, walking before you; and I am old and grayheaded; and, look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day.

12:3: Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD, and before His anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose donkey have I taken? or whom have I cheated? whom have I oppressed or from whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes? I will restore it you.”

12:4: And they said, “You have not cheated us, nor oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man's hand.”

12:5: Then he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they answered, “He is witness.”

INTIMATION:

Conscience can simply be defined as one’s moral sensitivity or scruples. It is a co-knowledge with oneself, the witness borne to one’s conduct by one’s moral sensitivity. It is the faculty by which we apprehend the Will of God, as that which is designed to govern our lives; hence it prompts the sense of guiltiness before God, and the process of thought which distinguishes what it considers morally good or bad, commending the good, condemning the bad, and prompting to do the former, and avoid the latter. 

Having a clear conscience means there is no obstruction in our fellowship with God or anyone else. It means we are careful to avoid sinning against God or others with our words, actions, or attitudes. It also means that when we do sin, we quickly repent, admit our failure to all offended parties, ask their forgiveness, and make whatever restitution is necessary.

To have a clear conscience toward others means we have taken whatever steps are necessary to deal with every sin we may have committed against every other person. It means we can look everyone we know in the eyes without shame and know that we are right with them, insofar as it depends on us.

When your conscience is clear, it is free from all question of guilt, and is absolved from all blame. In our memory verse, Job, in the midst of all accusations, was able to declare that his conscience was clear. Only God’s forgiveness and the determination to live right before God can bring a clear conscience. How important Job’s record became as he was being accused. Like Job, we can’t claim sinless lives, but we can claim forgiven lives. When we confess our sins to God, He forgives us. Then we can live with clear conscience.

In the passage we read today, prophet Samuel was a hero in Israel. He had been a faithful spiritual counselor for many years. His life was stable, and his leadership had always been reliable, even during times of national chaos. When he was old, the entire nation gathered to listen to him, and his reputation was well known among all the people. He asks the people an astonishing question and receives an equally remarkable response: “Here I am; testify against me before the LORD and before His anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.” They said, “You have not cheated us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand” 

Often considered the last of the judges and the first of the prophets, Samuel was called by God when just a child. His life beautifully illustrates what it means to have a clear conscience. He could stand before these people who knew him and had observed his life, ask them what wrong he had done to any of them, and have not one accuser. Not one!

Think about how Samuel might have worded his speech if he had been speaking to a modern-day audience, perhaps in the context of a family gathering, a workplace, or a church. 

If you were to stand before every person you know and ask the questions Samuel asked of those who knew him best, would you get the same response? Like Samuel, we should be able to stand before everyone we know and have no one accuse us of doing wrong to them and failing to make it right. Any child of God who is serious about seeking the Lord and experiencing personal revival must be committed to maintain a clear conscience toward others. This is where the rubber meets the road—this is the context in which genuine repentance, humility, and holiness are demonstrated practically. 

How can you keep your conscience clear? Treasure your faith in Christ more than anything else and do what you know is right. Each time you deliberately ignore your conscience, you are hardening your heart. Over a period of time your capacity to tell right from wrong will diminish. As you walk with God, He will speak to you through your conscience, letting you know the difference between right and wrong. Be sure to act on those inner tugs so that you do what is right—then your conscience will remain clear. 

We try to steer clear of actions forbidden by Scripture, of course, but sometimes Scripture is silent. Then we should follow our consciences. To go against a conviction will leave a person with a guilty or uneasy conscience. When God shows us that something is wrong for us, we should avoid it. But we should not look down on other Christians who exercise their freedom in those areas. 

Sometimes our consciences can be blank, and we don’t feel any guilt. In the case of Jonah in the Bible, Jonah 1 vs 4 - 5, while the ship raged, Jonah was sound asleep below deck. Even as he ran from God, Jonah’s actions apparently didn’t bother his conscience. But the absence of guilt isn’t always a barometer of whether we are doing right. Because we can deny reality, we cannot measure obedience by our feelings. Instead, we must compare what we do with God’s standards for living.

This is one of the most powerful and practical principles of personal revival. It can also be one of the most difficult. If you desire to obey God by obtaining and maintaining a clear conscience, take a moment to pray this prayer of commitment to the Lord from your heart:

Prayer: Abba Father, I want to have a conscience that is clear toward every person I know. Please reveal to me any issues I need to resolve with others and, by Your grace, I will do whatever You show me I need to do to make these matters right. Give me the grace to keep my conscience good and clear; doing the right things at all times, and following the inner tugs of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What the Resurrection Means for Us

 What the Resurrection Means for Us

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

What does it mean to “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead”? Satan believes that God raised Jesus from the dead. He saw it happen. To answer this question, we need to ponder what the resurrection means for God’s people.

The meaning of the resurrection is that God is for us. He aims to close ranks with us. He aims to overcome all our sense of abandonment and alienation.

The resurrection of Jesus is God’s declaration to Israel and to the world that we cannot work our way to glory, but that he intends to do the impossible to get us there. 

The resurrection is the promise of God that all who trust Jesus will be the beneficiaries of God’s power to lead us in paths of righteousness and through the valley of death.

Therefore, believing in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead is much more than accepting a fact. It means being confident that God is for you, that he has closed ranks with you, that he is transforming your life, and that he will save you for eternal joy.

Believing in the resurrection means trusting in all the promises of life and hope and righteousness for which it stands. 

It means being so confident of God’s power and love that no fear of worldly loss or greed for worldly gain will lure us to disobey his will. 

That’s the difference between Satan and the saints. Oh, might God circumcise our hearts to love him (Deuteronomy 30:6) and to rest in the resurrection of his Son.