Praise and worship “
THE Lord is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.”
Praise is an expression of admiration, approval, or applause to someone. It is primarily directed unto God as He deserves all our praises. If it is offered unto God, it includes words or actions that give honor to Him. Those words and actions show the deep feelings and thoughts of the person offering the praise which usually involves singing, dancing, clapping, joyful shouting, and the giving of sacrifices or gifts of thanksgiving. This happened when Jesus had His triumphal entry towards Jerusalem. The people shouted with gladness saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” Others said, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna in the highest!” The Pharisees found it to be improper and requested to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” But Jesus replied, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” From this statement, let us remember that stones do not have breath. It was said that those that have breath must praise the Lord. We should be challenged therefore to be the first ones to praise Him and not the rocks or stones. We cannot afford to have calamities again such as earthquake for failing to praise Him. If we can give praise to superstars in the field of sports or entertainment industry, all the more that we should do it unto God, our creator.
Worship, on the other hand, is an expression of reverence or adoration unto a deity or unto God. It is required that it must be done in both spirit and in truth. If we say in the spirit, it must not be superficial nor mere compliance of religious rites or obligations. It must be coming from within our hearts naturally and it is required that we must be living in the spirit, not in the flesh. We should stop living in a carnal life who keeps on running after the things of the world. If we say in truth, worship must be truthful and not hypocritical. For it to be truthful, we should live a life of truth where we keep on following His perfect will and perfect plan. We should endeavor to end a sinful life and strive to have a life pleasing unto Him. In fact, living a life that is in the spirit and in truth is already an act of worship unto Him.
Our action plan for this week therefore is to start praising and worshiping God in spirit and in truth. Let us render adoration, reverence, and acts of honor and thanksgiving unto Him until it becomes a daily habit of our life.
Make this also as a declaration unto our life by saying that –
“I am a true worshipper of God and thus, I worship Him in spirit and in truth. I shall always remember that God wants me to come to Him as I am, without any pretension or motive to boast of my own spirituality; and because God wants me to love Him with all my heart, mind, and soul. I shall always be conscious that my thoughts, feelings, words, and behavior display how much I truly praise and worship Him.” another throat. We do not want a civil war to happen in our country. Civil war is snarling savagery. We do not dream that there will be fighting involving opposing warlords, regional militias, criminal organizations, and fighters who fight for money. In “all out war,” we are all victims. SSBacolod