Wednesday, 2 December 2009
You Are a Praiser
Dr RJ Sing
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, [and] into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, [and] bless his name.”
Now, the above verse of scripture is very beautiful indeed. However, the writer of the book of Hebrews also instructs us to offer up a sacrifice of praise to God. “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name.” Hebrews 13:15 (NIV) To me, this resolution is very appropriate and beautiful because it is something we are instructed to keep on doing.
If we continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, all year long, it will make a difference as to what the year holds for each of us. We are to show God our gratitude. Showing gratitude naturally leads to praise. The first step in gaining access to God is thanksgiving and the second step is praise.
Thanksgiving leads to praise. It finds expression in praise, and it flows out in praise. When we do this we find release from the two slaveries: namely, pleasing self and pleasing the world. You may not see it at first, but there are two hindrances to spontaneous, free flowing praise in our lives. That is, love of self and love of the world.
As long as our affections are centered in ourselves or in the world, we are not really free to praise God. However, the cross removes these two hindrances and sets us free to Praise God.
