Fw: Raise your praise

148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
    praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
    praise him, all his hosts!

3 Praise him, sun and moon,
    praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
    and you waters above the heavens!

Praise (from etymological dictionary): 

from Latin pretium "reward, prize, value, worth,"

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Contained within the word 'praise' is the smaller word 'raise'.  It seems that to praise is to raise an object above other things...to give first place...to hold up as a winner holds a trophy, as a child holds up their art work, as an explorer lifts up eyes to a mountain on first sight.  And, beyond raising, praise seems to capture an expression of appreciation and an acknowledgment of supreme worth.  And when it comes to the Lord, you might say that the two words "pray" and "raise" have perfectly blended.

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Our praise for the Lord comes together as we raise our prayers to "reward, prize, value" and ascribe the greatest worth to the One who loves us from the highest place!

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blessings!

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: The works of God

Psalm 145:

4 One generation shall commend your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.

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What hasn't God done?  When all you see with the eyes He gave you was formed out of obedience to His command...When we recall the great flood that covered the earth and delivered a handful of people and animals and altered the surface of the earth and the atmosphere above...When a few million Israelites were freed from slavery through a series of amazing plagues and then the Red Sea was parted for them to cross...When food and water for those millions was provided in a desert for 40 years...When victories were given like David over Goliath...When the people of Israel were sent into bondage as punishment for idolatry and then returned, as prophesied, 70 years later to Jerusalem...

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When Jesus came, born of God and man, and lived a perfect life....only to be slain so that our sins would be paid for by His blood....and then He was raised from the dead!

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When God broke through into your personal understanding and you bowed to accept His love...

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That is why we tell the next generation.  There is no higher education.

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blessings!

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: Know the One who knows you

Psalm 139:

13 For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

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We tend to think of our lives as "our lives"...as if we originated them and we own them.  I think it's truer to say that we "experience them" or we "inhabit them", or perhaps "we express what our maker has fashioned".  Psalm 139 has a lot to say about how well God knows us.  As the quoted section states, He was there even before we were formed and had a plan written for all of our days before the first day was lived.

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Consider verse 13, alone.  If you ever doubt your worth remember that God, Himself, actually knitted all of the parts that comprise your body within your mother's womb.

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And if you ever wonder if God has forgotten you consider verses 17 and 18:

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
    I awake, and I am still with you.

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Now, do you and I think on Him?  Do we acknowledge the One who made us, gave us life, numbered our days and now thinks limitless numbers of thoughts about us?

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Worth considering...when you consider the worth He's given you and me!

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blessings!

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: Give thanks!

Psalm 136:

23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
24 and rescued us from our foes,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
25 he who gives food to all flesh,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,

    for his steadfast love endures forever.

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Psalm 136 is a song of thanksgiving and the chorus is "for his steadfast love endures forever."  The chorus ends every verse after a characteristic of God is given in the first half of each verse.  God is Creator, Deliverer, Protector and Provider and those aspects of His nature were recorded for all time through His relationship with the nation Israel.  And Israel is a picture of what we experience and know of God when we place our trust in Him through acceptance of His Son.

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The repetition of the chorus drives home the two great qualities of God and one great need we have.  The two great qualities of God are (1) His steadfast love for us and (2) His eternal, forever, love for us.  The one great need we have is to thank Him often.  We need to remember the source of our personal physical life, spiritual deliverance, help in trials and provision.  Thanking God needs to be the chorus of our days..attached to every day just as it is here to every verse.

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Blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: We know Him by action

Psalm 135

7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
    who makes lightnings for the rain
    and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

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You've heard it said He can't be seen,

I beg to disagree...

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From clouds above to lightning down

and winds that stir the sea...

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You've heard it said He can't be known,

I beg to disagree...

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From joys above to power come down

He daily touches me.

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blessings!

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: Covered!

133 Behold, how good and pleasant it is

    when brothers dwell in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down on the collar of his robes!
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
    life forevermore.

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The images of oil saturating the head and beard of Aaron, the high priest, and of the dew of Hermon covering the mountains picture the covering of God over His people and His creation.  When men share this covering they are drawn together in unity that is sweet because they are set free from rivalry as they submit to the One with whom they will live forever.  No more must they compete as they are complete.  No longer will they wrestle for power for they have experienced the touch of the all-powerful.  No longer will they fear for they have found the bridge of faith.

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blessings!

Rob Smith

Note: Mt. Hermon is the highest point in Israel...nearly 10,000 feet and it provides the source for the Jordan River which then flows to the Seal of Galilee.

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: Waiting and watching

Psalm 130:

5  I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,

and in his word I hope;

6  my soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen for the morning,

more than watchmen for the morning.

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We may not realize it but waiting is an important part of prayer.  Just like everything else about our relationship with God, it's not all about us.  It's all about Him.  We may think we know our need and the need of others as we pray, but He knows even before and beyond our asking and He knows what the true need is, beyond our understanding.

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So as we come to Him we would do well to start by waiting and then turn to His word for the sure promises and illumination of His Spirit that connects us to Him intimately.  In the waiting and in the hoping there is a knitting of our heart with His.  And just as the watchmen anticipated the dawn with a sure hope, so we can expect Him to arise in our inner place.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: a full life

What is the secret to a "full life"?  After all, each of our lives runs a course from birth to death and most of us run through the seasons of maturing, working, bearing and raising children and then fading from the scene.  What's it really all about anyhow?  Psalm 127 tells us that unless the Lord is recognized as the center of it all, life is lived in vain.  That understanding that all of life is His gift and that the major chapters of life: our work, our homes, our communities, our children...are all from Him is the key... when we recognize this truth, these gifts are completed, He is glorified and our lives reflect His handiwork.

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127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
    those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
    the watchman stays awake in vain.

3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
    the fruit of the womb a reward.

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Each day we have the opportunity to enter life under the guiding and providing hand and watchful and caring eye of God.  And then we live life fully.

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blessings!

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: We all need to be rescued

Psalm 124:

7 We have escaped like a bird
    from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
    and we have escaped!

8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,

    who made heaven and earth.

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Psalm 124 reminds us that there is a need for a rescue.  Normally we picture rescues for isolated events and unfortunate people who have found themselves in life threatening situations.  I have a friend who spent decades serving and rescuing in the U.S. Coast Guard on active duty and serves them still in civilian life.  One of the key missions of the Coast Guard is "Search and Rescue" and their motto is "Semper Paratus", which means 'always ready'.

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But there is another rescue that every single one of us needs.  We start life on earth needing rescue from the very beginning.  That's because the corrupting sin nature that has separated us from God is passed in the natural course of birth.  Consider Romans 5:12 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned

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Jesus is our "Coast Guard" and He is always ready to save....and we are all in need of this rescue.  Every single one of us needs to acknowledge that being lost is our starting point.  Like the bird that is trapped in verse 7 of Psalm 124 above...that is who we are.  But just as sin gained entrance through the failure of the first man, so God sent another man to rescue all: Romans 5:19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.  

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It's all about the rescue that every one of us needs and the rescuer who is 'always ready' to save.  If our starting point is the trap then our first step toward rescue is admitting that we are in the trap and we need the rescuer.  And you can be assured that He will come and pry open the trap and then you will fly!

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with love to all!

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."