WORSHIP THOUGHTS

05/27/06 - Pursue in Your Life

After looking closely at our need of presence I want to encourage you to pursue more of it in your life daily. It is available to us constantly and we will be the richer for it. The Psalms is a book that deals with the very real issues of life to the writers, and without the presence as we saw last week there is no where to go.

This week and for the next few weeks I want to look at the impact that the Psalms can have on us as believers. In Psalm 103 we read, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” (NIV) In the New Living Translation it read as follows: “Praise the Lord, I tell myself; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me.”

I want to look briefly at the phrase, “I tell myself!” You know it is much better to tell yourself than have other people tell you to do something. I would much rather someone volunteer to clean a car, or carry a heavy keyboard, than for me to have to ask them to do it. Wouldn’t you? In this Psalm we are encouraged to tell ourselves to praise the Lord. I believe that as worshippers that should be a practice of our lives 24/7. We should not need to be prompted or asked. Yet so much of our meeting time is being cajoled, or cajoling others to praise. We sing songs about the need to lift up hands, dance, kneel, sing, shout, etc. and still we fail to act on it. The response lasts for a few moments and then we stop.

I believe that unless we begin to tell ourselves to step into praise then all we are doing is following the leader! It’s like Simon says!!! Simon says dance, sing, shout, etc! Surely as mature believers we have the wherewithal to encourage and speak to ourselves.

No-one is going to come and carry us away. It is the normal practice of the normal Christian life. I tell myself.

Why don’t you have a day or a week of telling yourself to praise, instead of putting the CD in the player to help you. Have a go. In fact tell yourself to have a go!

David