Praise the LORD!

Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in his mighty heavens! Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness! 

-Psalm 150:1-2

Only Christ is worthy of praise... no one has ever or will ever do what He has done for mankind. He is our wonderful creator... our glorious redeemer! Everything was made through Him, for Him. In all His majesty and excellence, our King alone deserves the glory (Psalm 115:1). Not mother Mary, nor any other Saints... but to Him! 

As I lay in bed, I pondered the thought of giving Christ the praise and attention He deserves. I often bring Him my concerns and seek His guidance, but how frequently do I come to Him with just thanks and PRAISE? This is something I want to put into practice daily, not because I should but because I want to out of love. Instead of focusing on everything else (my issues, circumstances, sin, the future or the past) I just want to be still and turn ALL my attention and focus on Him. I want to meditate on His greatness - giving Him praise. 

The Four Creatures:

 I marvel at revelations 4:8 where it describes four living creatures sitting at His throne... "Day and night they never stop saying: "'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come." What a beautiful picture of His awesomeness! He is so deserving of praise that God has assigned these creatures to praise Him continually. 

Notice the earth under Christ's feet in the picture above? The LORD says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool" (Isaiah 66:1). He is in complete authority and in control of ALL things. Why waste our time worrying about anything!? Peace comes when we focus on Him and do what we were designed to do - praise!

I encourage you to increase your praise to the Lord (trust me - it could never be enough). Listen to a song, sing... or maybe some of us should just hum? :o) If you play an instrument, make music for Him! If you can't do any of these, just think of him (that means stop thinking of yourself), speak of him, write of him. The more we realize it's all about Him, the easier it becomes to forget ourselves. 

"He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). In order for us to exalt Christ we must first take ourselves off the throne. For some of us, that may be the throne not only in our heart, but of our mind. 

Remember, it's not about you... 

it's not about ME. It's about Him.

They said to him, "Do you hear what these children are saying?" 

Jesus replied, "Yes, I do. Have you never read, 'From the mouths of little children and infants, you have created praise'?" -Matt 21:16

PRAISE

Praises to the Saviour give,

He who died that we might live,

For His love, so great, so free,

Praise His Name eternally.

When our hearts were steeped in sin,

Vile and wretched were within,

Jesus left the throne above,

Came to show the Father's love.

Oh how wondrous was His grace!

He who took the sinner's place,

Jesus offered "Lo, I come,"

All to bear the sinner home.

Jesus died on Calv'ry's tree,

There to set the sinner free,

All who on His Name believe,

Everlasting life receive.

What a debt to Him we owe!

Gladly may our praises flow,

Let our cheerful voices raise,

Loud thanksgivings, songs of praise.

Praise the Father and the Son,

That redemption's work is done,

Magnify that precious Name,

Christ, the Lamb of God, who came.

Worthy is the Lamb once slain,

Praise and magnify His Name,

Laud and honour may we bring,

To our Saviour, Priest and King.

Glory unto Jesus be,

He who died to set us free,

Let us worship and adore,

Praise His Name forevermore.

—Lois Beckwith

Today, as you start your day begin it with praise. Here is a great place to start: