Thanks Living: Surround Sound

So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs. One went to the right hand on the wall toward the Refuse Gate. The other thanksgiving choir went the opposite way, and I was behind them with half of the people on the wall, going past the Tower of the Ovens as far as the Broad Wall, So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God, likewise I and the half of the rulers with me; For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. Nehemiah 12:31, 38, 40, 46

Large thanksgiving choirs. 

Songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.

Can you hear the songs of praise and thanksgiving being sung by two large choirs to God? The stereo sound of having one on each side? The first "surround sound"! 

Position Available! 

Job title: Chiefs of the singers

Responsibility: To sing songs of praise and thanksgiving, and lead the Choirs in songs. 

Qualifications: A heart filled with Thanks Living. Willing to worship God with songs of praise and thanksgiving. 

It's much easier to sing praises and give thanks to God in a group. It's important to do that! But true Thanks Living begins in the hearts of individuals. Yes, it must begin in my very own heart. I must be willing to sing praise and thanksgiving to God in private before joining the choir. 

I want to be part of a "Surround Sound Choir of Thanksgiving"! And to be part of that choir, I need to make sure my heart is filled with thanks to God, and that I'm making a habit of Thanks Living. 

Lionize

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 15. Here is what I learned.

In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he who honors those who fear the Lord (who revere and worship Him); who swears to his own hurt and does not change. Psalm 15:4 (AMP)

The one who despises those rejected by God but honors those who fear the Lord. The one who makes a promise and does not break it, even though he is hurt by it. Psalm 15:4 (GW)

But he honoreth them that fear the Lord - No matter in what rank or condition of life they may be found. Where there is true piety he honors it. He is willing to be known as one that honors it, and is willing to bear all the reproach that may be connected with such a deeply cherished respect, and with such an avowal. Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Honor: Respect: account, adoration, adulation, aggrandizement, attention, celebration, confidence, consideration, credit, dignity, distinction, elevation, esteem, exaltation, faith, fame, fealty, glorification, glory, greatness, high standing, homage, immortalization, laud, lionization, notice, obeisance, popularity, praise, prestige, rank, recognition, renown, reputation, reverence, tribute, trust, worship.

Lionize. Lionization: to treat a person as a celebrity; to pursue celebrities or seek their company; to visit or exhibit the objects of interest of.

I like that word, lionize. I’m to lionize those that fear God. I’m so very thankful that God has introduced me to some amazing people who fear and serve the Lord. Each of those individuals has helped me grow in my knowledge of God and have been key in “keeping me on track” in my life. 

Take a moment and think of the individuals in your life that make them worthy of lionization because of their fear of God. Now take another moment to thank them and let them know you appreciate their example of living a life obeying and loving God. 

To create a positive day, I first need to lionize those in my life who are fearing God, then I need to do some work in my own life, to make sure I’m honoring and fearing God.