“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified” (Isa 61:3; KJV).

Isaiah refers to the ministry of Jesus in this passage. He knows our struggles, he will restore, lift us up with his joy and break our discouragement and depression with our praises. Christ has made us the righteousness of God through his death and resurrection and we have become children of God (John 1:12). God commands us to: Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise” (Ps 100:4). We can come into his very presence as we praise him. If you need a good example of people praising God with heart and soul, consider the singers and musicians praising God as one when King Solomon brought the ark into the temple of God (2 Chron 5:13).

What stands out to me here is that we need to guard our joy and how important our praise of God is. In the Bible we read that: “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10). If we wear praise as a garment, in other words if we are constantly enveloped by it, that praise will drive away discouragement and lift us up into the God kind of life. Read Psalm 150, verse 6 reads: “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord”

Have a hilarious, joy filled day, praising God.

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“The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing” (Zeph 3:17; KJV). Wow, what an encouraging scripture. God is in our midst; the very center and heart of our lives. He saves us and quiets us with his love. The word for save here means to liberate, deliver, rescue, defend, preserve and keep safe; this covers all aspects of life. He quiets us, causes us to be at peace, at rest and still in his amazing love.

But the most exciting part for me is that he rejoices over us with singing. When you study the words joy, rejoice and singing used here, they show us that our God and father is so excited and full of love for us that he leaps and dances with an infectious joy. God spins around in violent emotion over us, he shouts over us with a shrill high-pitched sound, with joy, rejoicing, gladness and laughter.

In other words, he is so happy and in love with his children that he goes ballistic over us. But then I thought, how do we praise him and express our love for him; do we do it in the same way he shows his approval of us? Let’s commit to praise our God as he deserves; let’s put pride aside and let her rip. We have so much to praise and thank our God for. Get up and get expressive in your praise for God today.

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Check out our web site ( www.onthewayinlove.com ) for information on our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training”, including how to purchase it and also to see more encouraging Bible based blogs. Please recommend our book to others.

We are commanded to praise God (Ps 150). We praise him for what he does for us but more especially, for who he is: God above all gods, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, mighty God and our creator. His love never fails and his mercy endures forever.

If you look at the Greek and Hebrew words for praise, we are told to praise him with our voices (Ps 149) and uplifted hands (Ps 63:4), to rejoice with exuberance and to make a very loud noise (Ezra 3:11). In Psalm 150 we read that: "everything that hath breath" should praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6; KJV). We should praise God using all kinds of musical instruments and also with the dance (Ps 149). God says he takes pleasure in his people of praise (Ps 149).

Our praise should perhaps take a cue from God's expression of joy over us as given in Zephaniah 3:17. Here it says he rejoices over us with joy, love and singing; He dances and spins for joy with an indescribable intensity. Praise comes from the heart (John 4:23). We should praise God at all times and in all circumstances (Ps 34:1). There is power in praise because God is enthroned in the praises of his people (Ps 22:3). There is power to break every bondage that holds us, power to lift us up and open doors to set us free (Acts 16:25-26).

If you are down today, then praise God and he will lift you up.

Check out our web site ( www.onthewayinlove.com ) for information on our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training”, including how to purchase it and also to see more encouraging Bible based blogs. Please recommend our book to others. 

“And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Ex. 19:6; KJV). These are the words that God spoke to Moses. One of the responsibilities of the priests was to minister to the Lord in praise and worship.

As you know things in the Old Testament are a type and shadow of things in the New Testament. In 1 Peter 2:5 we read: “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an HOLY PRIESTHOOD, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ”. Spiritual sacrifices refer to worship and praise. In v.9 of the same chapter it tells us that we are a: "royal priesthood" and that we are to proclaim the praises of God.

The priests in the Old Testament led the praise and worship as I said but now, WE are the: “royal priesthood”, so we can do this for ourselves, we can: “sing unto the Lord a new song” (Ps 96:1), we can be a people: “singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph 5:19). It’s up to us though, we have to make a decision to do it; our flesh doesn't always feel like it. However, it says in Hebrews 13:15 that we need to make the: "sacrifice of praise". I think that means we are supposed to do it whether we feel like it or not.

In Psalms 22:3 King David wrote that God: “inhabitest the praises of Israel”. This has the sense that God comes down, settles down and invades our very presence when we praise him! I don’t know about you but I surely desire that intimacy with our heavenly Father.

Please pass this on. All rights reserved.

 Check out our web site ( www.onthewayinlove.com ) for information on our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training”, including how to purchase it and also to see more encouraging Bible based blogs. Please recommend our book to others. 

We are commanded to praise God (Ps 150). We praise him for what he does for us but more especially, for who he is: God above all gods, King of kings and Lord of Lords, mighty God and creator. His love never fails and his mercy endures forever

If you look at the Hebrew words used to describe praising God, we are told to praise him with our voices (Ps 149), loudly, with passion and even wildly (Ps 109:30; Ps 150; Ezra 3:11). In Psalm 150 we read that: "everything that hath breath", should praise the Lord (Ps 150:6). We should praise God using all kinds of musical instruments and also with the dance (Ps 149; KJV). God says he takes pleasure in his people of praise (Ps 149).

Our praise should perhaps take a cue from God's expression of joy over us as given in Zephaniah. 3:17. Here, the meaning of the Hebrew words for joy, rejoice and singing encompass rejoicing over us with gladness, love, loud sounds and singing; dancing and spinning for joy with an indescribable intensity.

Praise comes from the heart (John 4:23). We should praise God at all times and in all circumstances (Ps 34:1). There is power in praise, because God is enthroned in the praises of his people (Ps 22:3). To be enthroned means that God comes and settles down in our presence. Praise ushers us into God’s presence (Ps 100:4). In his presence there is power to break every bondage that holds us, power to lift us up and open doors to set us free.

If you are down today, then praise God and he will lift you up.

Please pass this on. All rights reserved.

Check out our web site ( www.onthewayinlove.com ) for information on our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training”, including how to purchase it and also to see more encouraging Bible based blogs. Please recommend our book to others.