YOU ARE IN ARREARS!
Psalm 30:1-5
"I will exalt You, O LORD, for You lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O LORD, You brought me up from the grave; You spared me from going down into the pit. Sing to the LORD, you saints of His; praise His holy name. For His anger lasts only for a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."
THIS IS AN OVER DUE NOTICE!!! THE RECORDS INDICATE THAT YOU ARE IN ARREARS WITH YOUR REJOICING AND EXALTATION. PLEASE PAY UP NOW!!!
What is the cause of praise? We might term it exalting or rejoicing, or such terms, but why do we do it? There was a man in our church when I was a kid. He was always a favorite of all the kids. We would make a mad dash for him - the reason? He always carried SenSen. That was a type of breath freshener that was tiny little squares of something that tasted like licorice. We praised him for what he gave to us!
Now there may be some of you who are reading this, and you say, "How shallow! I only praise the Lord, because He is God." RIGHT! Tell me another one!
All through Scripture, the great passages of exaltation and rejoicing are attached to specific things the Lord has done for the person giving the praise. That is okay! It is not a matter of withholding our praise until we see the results, it is recalling what He has done so far, and expressing thanks.
We seem to be, by nature, a presumptive people. Asking, pleading, even whimpering for special favors comes easy, but when are we going to praise the Lord for those answers?
Think - imagine in your mind, that you had done something that was extremely taxing on you, both physically, as well as financially. Got that in your mind? Now, just picture that the person that you presented this special gift to, takes it, walks away, and says nothing, and acts as if it were nothing.
While we are in an imaginative frame of mind, try to imagine (you will not be able to come close), all that the Lord has done for you. Do not try to include all that He has done for the entire world, but just what He has done for you. How have you expressed your deep appreciation to Him?
As a very small boy, I heard an illustration about a little boy who had climbed on the roof of his house to retrieve his ball. It was one of the cedar shingle roofs that had been weathered for many years. As he reached for his ball, he suddenly began to slowly slide down the steep pitched roof. He knew that there was nothing to stop him, and without Divine intervention, he was in for a very bad fall.
He began to pray as loud as he could for the Lord to save him. Just before reaching the edge of the roof, a rusty old shingle nail was sticking up and snagged the seat of his pants. He looked toward heaven and shouted out, "Forget it Lord, this nail has saved me!"
Oh, how I hope that you are able (that I am able) to visualize those times when God touched us in a special way, and that praise and thanks were not adequately given. We need to start paying on what we owe in the way of exaltation and rejoicing.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
Pastor Cecil Thompson
Psalm 30:1-5
"I will exalt You, O LORD, for You lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O LORD, You brought me up from the grave; You spared me from going down into the pit. Sing to the LORD, you saints of His; praise His holy name. For His anger lasts only for a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."
THIS IS AN OVER DUE NOTICE!!! THE RECORDS INDICATE THAT YOU ARE IN ARREARS WITH YOUR REJOICING AND EXALTATION. PLEASE PAY UP NOW!!!
What is the cause of praise? We might term it exalting or rejoicing, or such terms, but why do we do it? There was a man in our church when I was a kid. He was always a favorite of all the kids. We would make a mad dash for him - the reason? He always carried SenSen. That was a type of breath freshener that was tiny little squares of something that tasted like licorice. We praised him for what he gave to us!
Now there may be some of you who are reading this, and you say, "How shallow! I only praise the Lord, because He is God." RIGHT! Tell me another one!
All through Scripture, the great passages of exaltation and rejoicing are attached to specific things the Lord has done for the person giving the praise. That is okay! It is not a matter of withholding our praise until we see the results, it is recalling what He has done so far, and expressing thanks.
We seem to be, by nature, a presumptive people. Asking, pleading, even whimpering for special favors comes easy, but when are we going to praise the Lord for those answers?
Think - imagine in your mind, that you had done something that was extremely taxing on you, both physically, as well as financially. Got that in your mind? Now, just picture that the person that you presented this special gift to, takes it, walks away, and says nothing, and acts as if it were nothing.
While we are in an imaginative frame of mind, try to imagine (you will not be able to come close), all that the Lord has done for you. Do not try to include all that He has done for the entire world, but just what He has done for you. How have you expressed your deep appreciation to Him?
As a very small boy, I heard an illustration about a little boy who had climbed on the roof of his house to retrieve his ball. It was one of the cedar shingle roofs that had been weathered for many years. As he reached for his ball, he suddenly began to slowly slide down the steep pitched roof. He knew that there was nothing to stop him, and without Divine intervention, he was in for a very bad fall.
He began to pray as loud as he could for the Lord to save him. Just before reaching the edge of the roof, a rusty old shingle nail was sticking up and snagged the seat of his pants. He looked toward heaven and shouted out, "Forget it Lord, this nail has saved me!"
Oh, how I hope that you are able (that I am able) to visualize those times when God touched us in a special way, and that praise and thanks were not adequately given. We need to start paying on what we owe in the way of exaltation and rejoicing.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
Pastor Cecil Thompson
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