Praise

Thanks Living! 

I was reading Psalm 150 this morning. "Praise the Lord." 

The word "praise" means to celebrate joyously, exuberantly, "foolishly". In other words, "over the top" celebration!  

Sadly, many times my praise is often quiet and subdued. But if I truly think about who  God is, and all that He has done, I should be SHOUTING praise! 

I shout at sporting events... I even shout at the TV when my team scores a touchdown. But I can't shout praise to God Almighty? Perhaps, it's because I haven't taken the same interest in God as my sports teams. 

Praise. If I want to focus on Thanks Living through this coming year, it begins with praise to God Almighty. Praise for who He is, and then praise for what He's done. For only when I have a heart filled with praise, can I truly have a gracious and thankful heart- and mind- set. 

Thanks Living! "Praise the Lord! Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to His excellent greatness!" Psalm 150:1a, 2. 

Thanks Living! 

Immeasurable Greatness

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 150. Here is what I learned.

Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to the abundance of His greatness! Psalm 150:2 (AMP)

abundance: be more, multiply, ten thousands

abundance: noun

1. an extremely plentiful or over sufficient quantity or supply

2. overflowing fullness

3. affluence; wealth

As I read Psalm 150 this morning, I had to stop and think about the word, “abundance”. As I looked up the meaning, the word in Hebrew means “ten thousands”, multiply. 

God’s greatness is in the “ten thousands” and literally beyond! I’m to be praising God simply because of His greatness..... the abundance, the ten thousands of his greatness. 

How do I grasp “ten thousands”? I really can’t. God’s greatness is really immeasurable. 

Even if I can’t grasp the immeasurable greatness of God, to create a positive day, I need to start by praising God simply because of His greatness! 

Should be Automatic

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 150. Here is what I learned.

Praise the Lord., Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.

Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,

praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe,

praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord. Psalm 150 (NIV)

This is my weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. As during any great time, it’s easy to praise the Lord. When there’s excitement, joy, fun, etc. praise is almost automatic. 

Right now, you might say that I’m on the mountain top. I’m enjoying spending time at the Track and all the extra blessings that God continues to provide each day. Oh, yes, my pain level is high, but I’m enjoying the experience of meeting people and seeing the cars on the track. 

The foundation of praising God, however, is not to be based on if I’m having a good time, or enjoying the situation I find myself. For when the excitement of this race experience fads, and the pain continues, God is still worthy of praise. I’m not to praise God only in exchange for “good times” or “gifts”. Rather, I’m to praise God because of Who He is. 

It’s very easy to praise God when I’m having fun. But it’s more important to praise God no matter my situation or circumstance. Praising God should be automatic each and every day. 

To create a positive day, it must include praise to God, simply because of Who He is, and that praise should be automatic out of a heart of thankfulness and awe. 

“Blast the News”

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 150. Here is what I learned.

Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp! Psalm 150: 3 (AMP)

Praise Him with the blast of trumpets high into the heavens, and praise Him with harps and lyres. Psalm 150:3 (VOICE)

Does God hear my praise? Do those around me, hear my praise to God? Or do I praise God silently and very quietly? 

Each and every day I should be blasting on the trumpet—praise to God for who He is! I should be shouting it for all to hear—most importantly for God to hear! Oh, God can hear the quietest whispers, for even my thoughts are words to God.... but why whisper God’s great goodness—that is “blast worthy news!” 

Praise God in prayer is the first way to “blast the news”. The second way to “blast the news” is to tell others about who God is, and what He’s done. And lastly, I need to be living my life in accordance with God’s Word, as a way to “blast the news”. 

How many times have it missed the opportunity to “blast the news” of God’s greatness because I didn’t take the time to notice God? How many times have I missed the opportunity to “blast the news” of God’s greatness to others, because I was more concerned with what they’d say? How many times have I missed the opportunity to “blast the news” of God’s greatness simply because I was too busy? 

To create a positive day I need to “blast the news” of God’s greatness, first to Him, then to those around me. 

Full-body

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 150. Here is what I learned.

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his ·Temple [holy place; or holiness];  praise him in his ·mighty heaven [strong firmament]. Psalm 150:1

Praise begins in the presence of God. If I can’t praise God in His presence, how can I praise God when I’m “out and about”. Praising God directly in His presence, is the foundation for praising God elsewhere. 

Praise in prayer. So often, prayers are more of asking or telling God what we want, “making our requests known”. But prayer should be more that just asking. Prayer needs to begin with praise and honor to God. For when I praise God, that changes my perspective from me and my wants to God and His will and goodness. 

This morning, I made a cup of instant coffee. I filled a mug with water, put it in the microwave, and after the water was hot, I started to drink it. It was very weak tasting. I had forgotten to add the coffee! If I pray only asking for things, not only is my prayer life going to weak, but I’ll miss out on the “full-body” flavor of what prayer is all about. 

Praise should be the first and most often ingredient in prayer. Praising God is the essence of prayer and creates a heart in me ready to be molded to God’s plan and purpose. 

To create a positive day, and to make my prayers and life “full-body” I need to be praising God Almighty! 

Little Things and the Big Things

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 150. Here is what I learned.

Praise him for his strength; praise him for his [abundant] greatness. Psalm 150:2 (EXB)

Praise Him for His great works! Praise Him for all His greatness! Psalm 150:2 (NLV)

"Praise him for his mighty acts." Here is a reason for praise. In these deeds of power we see himself. These doings of his omnipotence are always on behalf of truth and righteousness. His works of creation, providence, and redemption all call for praise; they are his acts, and his acts of might, therefore let him be praised for them. "Praise him according to his excellent greatness." His being is unlimited, and his praise should correspond therewith. He possesses a multitude or a plenitude of greatness, and therefore he should be greatly praised. There is nothing little about God, and there is nothing great apart from him. If we were always careful to make our worship fit and appropriate for our great Lord how much better should we sing! How much more reverently should we adore! Such excellent deeds should have excellent praise. The Treasury of David

“There is nothing little about God, and there is nothing great apart from him.” I like that. Nothing little about God.... and nothing great apart from Him. Wow. 

When I think of the “little” things that God has done and continues to do in my life, I’m overwhelmed with praise and awe. He is a God of details. Nothing is too small for Him to take care of... but He, Himself is not small. 

Then when I think of the “big” things God has done and continues to do in my life, I’m overwhelmed at God’s generosity and goodness towards me. And once again, I’m filled with praise and awe. 

God is great, magnificent, powerful..... but He’s also loving, kind, and shows great attention to the “little things” in my life. That’s why I praise God!  

Taking notice of the little things and the big things that God does, produces praise and that in turn creates a positive day!  

An Automatic Reflex of Praise!

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 150. Here is what I learned.

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Psalm 150:6 (GW)

No one should be left out; Let every man and every beast— every creature that has the breath of the Lord—praise the Eternal! Praise the Eternal! Psalm 150:6 (VOICE)

Breath: respiration, especially as necessary to life.

Breathe: to take air, oxygen, etc., into the lungs and expel it; inhale and exhale.

Breathing is necessary to life! I take in oxygen and then expel. It’s a natural reflex. I don’t have to think about breathing. I don’t practice breathing. It “just happens”. 

Just think if praise became a natural reflex, just as breathing is. How would that change my attitude, my outlook, my overall day? 

If I want to make praise an automatic reflex, it needs two things.

First, I have to “inhale” who God is, and what He is doing. For how can I praise God if I don’t know about Him?

And secondly,  since praise is not an automatic reflex, like breathing, I must train myself! I have to create a habit of praising God. Then if I continue to practice the habit of praise.... if will become an automatic reflex! 

I can’t think of an easier way to create a positive day, than to create an automatic reflex of praise! 

Perpetual Raving

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 150. Here is what I learned.

Praise God in his ·Temple [holy place; or holiness]; praise him in his ·mighty heaven.

Praise him for his strength; praise him for his [abundant] greatness.

Praise him with trumpet blasts; praise him with harps and lyres.

Praise him with tambourines and dancing; praise him with stringed instruments and flutes.

Praise him with loud cymbals; praise him with crashing cymbals.

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord! Psalm 150 (EXB)

Praise: make boast self, celebrate, commend, deal, make, foolish glory, give light, shine, to rave.

Praise is a theme throughout all the Psalms. But what is praise? 

Praise: noun, verb, praised, prais·ing.

noun

1. the act of expressing approval or admiration; commendation; laudation.

2. the offering of grateful homage in words or song, as an act of worship: a hymn of praise to God.

3. the state of being approved or admired: The king lived in praise for many years.

4. Archaic. a ground for praise, or a merit.

verb (used with object)

5. to express approval or admiration of; commend; extol.

6. to offer grateful homage to (God or a deity), as in words or song.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Praise?s=t

So simply put, praise is a form of worship that involves giving reverence, love, and respect for/to Almighty God.

Praising God is not based on what He does, has done, or is doing for me. Praise is not based on how I feel, or my circumstances. Praise is not a one time event. Praise is not only for Sunday. 

Praise is all about God. Praise is worshiping who God is. Praise is raving about God. Praise is based on God’s characteristics. Praise is to be continuous. Praise is to be part of my daily life. 

Praise. 

P: Perpetual

R: Raving

A: About an Almighty

I: Irrefutable

S: Steadfast

E: Eternal God! 

Perpetual Raving About an Almighty, Irrefutable, Steadfast, Eternal God!

To create a positive day, I need to be praising God with my actions, attitude, out-look, and voice—perpetual raving about my Almighty God!

Poor Me to Praise God!

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 150. Here is what I learned.

What? Who? Where? Why? How? Five questions journalists include when writing a news report. On January 14, 2013, I shared the answers to the first four of these questions. Today, I’ll look at “How?”.

Praise with a blast on the trumpet, praise by strumming soft strings; Praise him with castanets and dance, praise him with banjo and flute; Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum, praise him with fiddles and mandolin. Psalm 150:3-5 (MSG)

The Trumpet is the loudest and used  to make an announcement. It get’s everyone’s attention.  The strings are softer and more personal, requiring the strumming of the fingers. The castanets and dancing are results of the overflowing joy of praise. Praising God cannot, and should not, be contained The banjo and flute, using touch and our ‘wind’ to make harmonious music of praise. The cymbals and a big bass drum, loud and strong add to the harmony of praising God. 

As I thought about praising God with music, I couldn’t help but think of what music does. 1) allows me to express my joy and praise 2) changes my attitude to that of one of joy and praise. 

When I’m in a “good mood” and happy, singing and praising God is almost automatic. I find myself humming a song, or singing (when no one is around). Music is a natural outcome of being happy and joyous. 

Yet, when I’m in a “bad mood” I don’t feel much like singing. However, if I listen to praise and joyous songs, the music lifts me up and changes my attitude to one of praise to God. 

How should I praise God? With music. For music is an expression of my feelings—my heart and soul. If I don’t feel much like praising God, then I need to change my feelings—heart and soul and get “turned around” and music can do that was well. 

I have several artists which I enjoy listening to if I’m in a “praising mood” their songs help me express my praise to God. If I’m in a “poor me” mood, their songs give me an “attitude adjustment” and change my poor me into Praise God! The artists I enjoy are (in no particular order) Damaris Carbaugh; Bryan Duncan; Don Moen; The Ball Brothers; 4 Him; Philips, Craig & Dean.  

The music I listen to, the TV shows I watch, the books I read, all have an impact on “how I feel” and my attitude. What I feed my mind is what comes out. I continue to learn that on days I having a harder time praising God, I need to make sure I’m feeding my heart and soul “praiseworthy materials”. For praiseworthy materials will produce praise and joyous expression to my amazing almighty God. 

To create a positive day, when I don’t feel very positive, I need to listen to praiseworthy material so that I’ll change my attitude from “poor me” to “PRAISE GOD”! 

What? Who? Where? Why? How?

Throughout this year, each day of the month, I'm "Treasure Hunting" in a Psalm. I've created a "Ponder Every Morsel of Truth" Book to record the truths as I learn them. The Fourteenth of each Month, I'm studying Psalm 150. Here's what Treasure I found today.

What? Who? Where? Why? How? Five questions journalists include when writing a news report. What is happening? or What is about to happen? Or what should happen? Who is involved? Who is affected? Where does it take place? Why is it happening? Why should it happen? How does it happen? 

In Psalm 150 David, the Psalmist, answers the specific questions. 

What? The “what” is PRAISE. If you’ve been following the Ponder Morsel posts, the theme of many of them, have been Praise. 

Who? To Whom is our Praise directed? Psalm 150 begins “halelu-yah, praise ye Jehovah”. 

Praise God, or the strong God. Praise him who is Jehovah, the infinite and self-existent Being; and praise him who is God, El or Elohim, the great God in covenant with mankind, to bless and save them unto eternal life. Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Where? 

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his ·Temple [holy place; or holiness]; praise him in his ·mighty heaven [strong firmament; Gen. 1:7]. Psalm 150:1 (EXB)

God is to be praised locally, (in his Temple) and as far as the Heavens expand! Meaning  that everyone, and everything NEAR and FAR are to Praise God. The where, is literally “everywhere”. 

Why? 

First, for God’s “might acts of power”. The literal translation is “His mightinesses”. Just think of the strength and power used to create the world, and sustain it. On Jan 4, 2013 I wrote about the Ultimate Greatness of God. 

The fact the sun weighs Think about the Sun for a moment. Its diameter is about 860,000 miles. The sun weighs 4.4000000000000000000000000000000 pounds— that is 4.4 followed by 30 zeros pounds! And yet it “hangs” in space! (Ultimate Greatness, Jan 4, 2013.)

That one act alone displays God’s MIGHTINESSES! 

The second “Why?” is because of “magnificent greatness.”

"Praise him according to his excellent greatness," or, as the words may bear, "according to his muchness of greatness". "God is great," that is, he is greatest, he is greater than all; so great that all persons and all things are little, yea, nothing before him. The Treasury of David

What am I to do? Praise. Who? God. Where? Everywhere. Why? Because of Who God is. He the mightiest. He is the greatest.  Next month, I’ll look into the HOW do I Praise Him. 

When I take notice of the mightiness and greatness of God, and acknowledge Him in my life, that creates a positive day!