I Will Praise Him

Isaiah 25:1 O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

We praise Him not because we feel like it. Praising the Lord and exalting His name is not necessarily a cause and effect action. Yes, He is good and does wonderful things and for this we praise Him, but praise is an attitude of the heart. Even when things are not going so good we praise Him. Even when life seems to be given us lemons and nothing appears to be working out. With purpose and will, we make the choice to praise Him in spite of all that is happening. We praise Him because He is God and is worthy of our praise. I don’t claim to understand all the workings of God, and I certainly don’t have all the answers to the “why” and “why nots” of life, but this one thing I know, God is love and He is all that I need to make life complete. For this, I will praise Him.

The God of Host

Amos 4:13  For, lo, he that forms the mountains, and creates the wind, and declares unto man what is his thought, that makes the morning darkness, and treads upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.

Have any mountains to climb or tunnel through? Need someone to calm the winds at sea? Someone who can turn darkness into light? Do you ever wonder if God sees you among the billions who live on this plant? Not only does He see all that we are facing, but knows our every thought and desires to dwell with us and in us. He is the God of host, Jesus is His name. What a beautiful name, a Name above every name. Life is a mixture of good and bad. Sin is to blame for most of the tragedy that happen in life. The difficult things we face everyday happen for a reason. Sin may be to blame, or God may be allowing us to be tested. Whatever the reason, if we turn to Him, He will take these things in our lives and turn them into something good. He is able to do the impossible, we just have to let go and let Him have His way.

His Name in Vain

Ex 20:7 “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.”-

God is holy, He is to be honored and lifted up with love and praise. We need to be careful and conscience that we do not misuse His name foolishly. Many, who don’t understand the gravity of knowing God and His word, flippantly will use the word God or Jesus as part of a cuss phrase or with empty meaning. Words mean things and the words we speak must be guarded with care. How we use the name of God is a serious matter. It matters to God how we use His name. He is to be held in high regard and using His name outside of the context of who He is brings dishonor to His name. Let us be cognitive of the way we verbalize the name of God. “If you love me, keep my commandments” 

Hallow His Name

Mat. 6:9-13 “Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory for ever. Amen.”- 

What does it mean to pray? We are often caught up in the eloquence of words as we try communicate our thoughts to God. As if our flowering words have more meaning, we rattle on just speaking words without really  taking thought of their meaning. The simplicity of prayer comes from the heart and often is spoken in just a few words. This is especially true for those who have learned the vocabulary of scripture. Words have meaning, and if spoken from the heart, they speak volumes. The power of the prayer that the Lord taught His disciples is but only one examples of the impact of few words spoken, but packed with a powerful message of submission to God and forgiveness of others. Let us take time to “hallow His Name”.