“Praise the LORD!”

 “Praise the LORD!’

 

Praise the LORD!  For He has heard my cry for mercy.  The LORD is my Strength and Shield.  I trust Him with ALL my HEART.  He helps me, and my heart is filled with JOY.  I burst out in songs of THANKSGIVING.   Psalm 28:6-7

 

The dictionary tells us that one meaning for PRAISE is the OFFERING of GRATEFUL homage in WORDS or SONG, as an act of WORSHIP.

In about two more weeks AMERICANS all around the world, will be gathering together, to share a meal and enjoy the FELLOWSHIP of friends and family. It’s a VERY FESTIVE time.  A time of seeing old acquaintances and possibly making NEW ones. 

It’s a time to share some old memories about our growing up time.  And making some NEW memories.  It a time of sharing a VERY BIG meal, and truly a JOYOUS TIME for most.  But for some THANKSGIVING and CHRISTMAS. Is not so JOYOUS, for VARIOUS reasons. 

If you are a Child of the LIVING GOD, you SHOULD GIVE GOD THANKS and PRAISES for ALL He has done and for what He is GOING to DO.  Now, the FIRST thing we SHOULD be THANKFUL for is OUR SALVATION.   This Psalm was penned by King David, right away you see that he says: “PRAISE the LORD!  For He has HEARD my CRY for MERCY, now REMEMBER: MERCY means that God does NOT GIVE us what WE DESERVE, which is HELL, because GOD is HOLY and We are SINFUL. 

And since God is HOLY and we are not, we MUST BECOME HOLY as HE IS HOLY.  And the ONLY WAY we can BECOME HOLY is coming through the SHED BLOOD of GOD’S ONLY SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST.  And when we DO that, we also become RIGHTEOUS as HE is RIGHTEOUS.  And we are ADOPTED into His FAMILY.  Then we will have a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with our HEAVENLY FATHER.  And this is SOMETHING to give GOD PRAISE for.   It is called MERCY and GRACE. MERCY:  We are NOT GETTING what we DESERVE, and GRACE: We ARE GETTING what we DON’T DESERVE under our OWN MERITS. 

The LORD gives us STRENGTH to LIVE our LIVES for HIM.  And He is our SHIELD.  Therefore, we can put ALL our TRUST in Him.  And when we do this our HEARTS become FILLED with JOY unspeakable, and FULL of GLORY.   And our HEARTS can BURST with SONGS of THANKSGIVING and PRAISE!!!

If you DON’T have a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with GOD and His Son, JESUS CHRIST, you CAN, now, if YOU will ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER, in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, who GAVE His LIFE to SAVE your SINFUL SOUL. And if you will BELIEVE with ALL your HEART that JESUS DIED for YOU and that He ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for YOU, before GOD.  You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him and ASK Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST ACCEPT GOD’S GIFT of SALVATION and BURST OUT with SONGS of THANKSGIVING and PRAISE the LORD for HIS MERCY and GRACE.  Do it NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!