Encouragement

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I've been thinking a lot about 3 miracles this week:
SPRING came as God is reviving the earth, from the dead of Winter
(God used 3 tornadoes touching down in Oklahoma, to get our attention)

We celebrated the CROSS where Jesus died to revive us from the dead of sin and give us Abundant Life now...and Eternal Life to come.

The RESURRECTION of Jesus was celebrated for Jesus DID rise from the dead, and by it, He underlined all of the Promises of God as true!

So I feel like praising the Lord and hope that you do, too. But, before we do, we must see what sin in our lives can do, to take away Praise.
(See Psalms 51....and the daily newspaper!)

1) Sin soils the soul (vs. 2 & 7)
2) Saturates the mind (vs.3)
3) Strickens the conscious (vs.4)
4) Saddens the heart (vs. 8 & 12)
5) Sickens the body (vs. 8)
6) Sours the spirit (vs. 10)
7) Seals the lips (vs. 15)
8) Separates from God - not from relationship, but from fellowship. However, sin separates the lost person farther from both relationship AND fellowship. During David's sin, there was no song and there was no Praise. However, in verses 12-19, he begins to experience forgiveness for sin and restoration to a life of Praise (many of the Psalms are his). All of this came through repentance, confession and faith.

Now, let's see what Praising can do. The results are truly amazing! In fact, Hebrews 13:15 calls it 'rendering unto God the sacrifice of Praise'. The word 'sacrifice' connotes 'giving up something for something better and very beneficial'. It may be hard to do, but well worth the results.

PSALM 51: 10-19 gives the results and benefits. David's silence during sin, became JOY and PRAISE and restoration:
Verse 8: Makes me to hear joy and gladness again
Verse 9: The joy of forgiveness
(Truly, the Joy of the Lord is our strength...Nehemiah 8:10)
Verse 10a: A clean heart - out of the heart are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23)
Verse 10b: A right spirit is renewed.
Verse 11: Feel His Presence again.
Verse 12: The joy of salvation is restored - free in the spirit and singing His songs.
Verse 13-19: Witnessing to, and teaching others by walk...and by talk.

I believe that it was Ras Robinson who penned this acrostic on PRAISE.
Pleases God
Releases Faith
Assures and affirms Hope
Increases Love
Serves joyfully
Endures Eternally

Summary statements about Praise:
1) Psalm 34:1 "I will bless the Lord at all times for His praise shall continually be in my mouth" Try it...you'll like it!
Your life and others around you will benefit! Say Praise and Live Praise! Praise God on principle and not only on impulse, glands, emotion or circumstances. For example, my wife of almost 52 years (and 28 of those years with Lupus) has very little adrenal gland function, but her life and speech shows forth much praise.

2) Praise increase Faith, Hope and Love.

3) Praise lifestyle needs 3 books: Bible, Hymnbook and pocketbook. Many churches do not use hymnbooks and sometimes the other two are not in use much either. If your life has no joy and praise, try these 3 books. In fact, study Psalms 119 and see how much it praises the Bible.

4) With praise, worship can become private as well as public. We miss so much if we only praise in a building.... for praise is Life.... and not locale!

5) Praise releases the Holy Spirit to do His work in you and through you. Someone wrote a song entitled 'Channels Only' and another said, "I can not hold much, but I can overflow a lot".

6) Praise helps to change life's disappointments into God's appointments and victims into victors! Praise takes the long look and knows that God is in charge. It gives to others a POSITIVE and not a negative witness.

7) Praise helps us to never lose the wonder of it all. A lady said to Pavarotti, "God has surely touched your voice". He replied, "God has touched my soul".

8) Praise helps us to go deeper in life's happenings. Hallelujahs without holiness won't work! To praise the Lord outwardly and not be His inwardly, is hypocrisy. While Praise is the highest of spiritual exercises, it is something we BECOME before something that we DO! (Attitude before actions)

9) People who think that Heaven will be dull because it will be a place of Praise and Worship, have never experienced the joys of REAL Praise and Worship down here. I remember two young people at Falls Creek Baptist Assembly near Davis, Oklahoma complaining about how "dull all of that Bible study and worship were". Later that week when they let Jesus into their hearts, their attitudes changed and the rest of the week was "great", they said.

10) Praise can begin with Thanksgiving because there is always more to be thankful for..... than not.....especially if you include the spiritual.

Stuart Briscoe said it well in his book, 'The Fullness of Christ':
"I remember some years ago, attending a performance of Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony. At first I was completely unmoved and untouched by the music, even though the auditorium was filled with glorious harmony. Later in the program however, a remarkable change came over me, for I found my heart soaring with the music, my feet tapping to the rhythm and at the conclusion of the performance, my hands were clapping in appreciation. Heart, hands and feet were affected because the music invaded my soul. The difference in attitude and reaction came about when the music ceased to be all around me and managed to get right into me."

COME TO KNOW CHRIST AND LET HIM INVADE YOUR LIFE!

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