Praise God with Joy

October 3, 2021 Background Scripture: Psalm 100 Lesson Passage: Psalm 100 This series of lessons remind us that there are many reasons why people should praise God. We studied scriptures about including musical instruments along with singing, and scriptures that encouraged praising God with dance. Psalm 100 calls for people everywhere, in every location in the world, to proclaim public praises to God. This public praise should be shouted forth as words of thanksgiving. Psalm 100 elevates praise into the sphere of worship. How is that so? Psalm 100 addresses the attitude of praise. The psalmist calls for joy and gladness as the proper emotions and attitude to have in publicly praising God. Joy and gladness should be on the inside of the person as they are declaring words of praise to God. When the presence of the Lord is acknowledged, then the declarations of praise should become singing. When one comes to the place set aside as holy unto God, then entry should be made with thanksgiving and praise. All of this speak of an atmosphere of public worship of God. Contrary to this would be the professional mourners that the Bible speaks of on some occasions. It was their job to make public lamentations on behalf of others during times of grief and mourning. On one occasion, at the home of Jairus, Jesus put the professional mourners out of the room prior to raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead. They were not there because of any grief of their own. They were there to express public groans of agony on behalf of Jairus’ family and friends. This is a reminder that we can give very emotional public expressions that are appropriate while those expressions have no personal connection to our own emotional wellbeing. It is possible to say “Thank You Lord” without feeling any sense of gratitude while saying it. However, whether public or private, this sort of behavior should not be mistaken for sincere worship of God. Sincere worship must start on the inside with the worshipers using those internal emotions to give life to their verbal expressions to God. The words, or expressions, tend to make worship intentional; the emotional state of the worshiper makes worship spontaneous. The experience of deliverance can make worship spontaneous at the time of the deliverance. However, it can be just as spontaneous when the worshiper recalls the deliverance at some future time and the emotions of it return. There is no emotional experience that compares to the overwhelming feeling of joy. To have one’s heart made glad is to experience part of the goodness of life. That’s one of the reasons the psalmist reminds us that God created us and then He redeemed us as His own precious children. We exist because God is the Creator of human life. We are children of God’s family because God chose us and redeemed us from eternal damnation. Everything God has done for us has been good. That’s God’s track record. God has done enough in our past for us to praise Him throughout eternity. God is doing enough in our present situation as children of God for us to praise Him throughout eternity. God has given us great and wonderful promises for the future that will last throughout eternity. Alone, we don’t have the capacity within us to praise God as He deserves to be praised for all of this. Therefore, the psalmist cries out for people all over the world, from every nation and tongue, to collectively praise God publicly. When we reflect on God’s deliverance of us, we should joyfully proclaim God’s greatness and His goodness towards us. Our recollection should prompt us to praise God as we experience the overwhelming joy of the Lord which strengthens us. Robert C. Hudson

Praise for Salvation

September 26, 2021 Background Scripture: Acts 2:32 – 33, 37 – 47 Lesson Passage: Acts 2:32 – 33, 37 – 47 “How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!” There’s a testimony for persons who receive Jesus as their Savior when they are adults. Prior to receiving Jesus, adults can falsely conclude that they understand what life is truly all about. In fact, the longer one lives as an adult without Jesus the more convinced they are likely to be that their observations comprise the totality of life. When God interrupts this false narrative of life, it is an unforgettable experience. One is left in awe of the realness of God and the limitations of one’s previous experiences in life. The conclusion is: I don’t know very much about anything. This awareness of God and new life in Christ is immediately transforming on the inside. As newborn babies, there is a constant desire for the milk of God’s word and a yearning for spiritual growth. Such was the case with the crowd in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit into the earth to empower and lead believers. The crowd witnessed the strange occurrences on that day and were convinced that only God could have done such a thing. The question that remained was “What shall we do?” Peter’s response was “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins;”. As they complied with Peter’s directives, they witnessed the power of God transforming them. There was sincere praise for God coming from their lips—probably for the first time. They had no doubt that God had given them eternal salvation and Jesus was going to come back to receive them. The evidence suggests that they expected Jesus to return in their lifetime. Therefore, many of them sold their worldly goods and gave the proceeds for the common good of all believers in Jerusalem. No one needed a house or land since Jesus was coming to get them soon. They didn’t need jobs either. They just spent time with each other, learning about Jesus from the apostles, sharing meals together, and observing the Lord’s Supper and group prayer. Jesus did not come back while they were still alive. As a result, many of them became impoverished, especially those who lived, or chose to remain, in Jerusalem. Other congregations of believers were instructed later to send benevolent gifts to the Jerusalem congregation to provide relief. I think it is necessary to separate their sincere praise for their salvation from the worldly decisions they made after their spiritual deliverance. Christians today should praise God for salvation. The salvation God gives us is eternal. There is nothing we have done or can do to deserve such a gift of grace. Everything we have has been given to us by God. With the breath that is in our bodies we should offer God the sacrifice of praise for His unmerited grace towards us. Those who accept Jesus as their Savior as adults know this all too well. The spiritual transformation that happens immediately is powerful and lasting as a testimony of the eternal life that God has given in Jesus Christ. We can all be certain that Jesus is coming back to this world in a physical body to receive believers just as he promised he would. We are admonished by Christ to live a life in this world that is a testimony to the work the Spirit is doing within us. We are not to live as though we have no responsibilities in this world, but as those who are responsible to carry out God’s agenda of evangelism and restoration. There is much to be learned from the first century Christians. One of the foremost is to offer God the sacrifice of praise for the gift of salvation. Robert C. Hudson August 13, 2021

Praise by Expecting and Following

September 19, 2021 Background Scripture: Mark 10:46 – 52; Luke 18:35 – 43 Lesson Passage: Mark 10:46 – 52 I thank God for the three writers of the synoptic accounts of the gospel. The Bible declares "by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established”. There is a contentment derived from knowing that a matter is corroborated by others. Furthermore, when it comes to the written accounts of the gospel, when more than one writer records the same incident, it implies the importance of the information to ensure the complete revelation of the gospel is conveyed. There is much overlap in Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s accounts. That’s important considering the likely sources of the information. Matthew was a disciple of Jesus; therefore, his account is considered a firsthand eyewitness testimony. Mark is believed to have been an understudy of the Apostle Peter. Mark’s account is likely a secondhand account based on the teaching and preaching of Peter. Luke, being a Gentile, undertook the task of recording a written account for the purpose of instructing non-Jews. Luke wrote that his account is based on the testimony of many eyewitnesses that he interviewed. The fact that Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s accounts of the gospel convey the facts in harmonious agreement should allay the concerns of skeptics about the accuracy of the information. The differences between the accounts are likely based on the different intended recipients addressed by the writers. For example, Luke explained certain Jewish traditions and holy days to his Gentile recipients who would have been unfamiliar with them. With this understanding, we now look at the account of Jesus and the blind men near Jericho. Mark records the name of one of the men, Bartimaeus. Both men are left anonymous by the other writers. The blind men could hear that there was a crowd passing by, but they did not know for what purpose. So, inquiry was made concerning it. When they were told that Jesus of Nazareth was passing through, they began to cry out to Jesus for mercy. It seems clear that they had heard about Jesus’ healing power. They continued to cry out to Jesus over the objections of some in the procession. Jesus stopped and sent for them. He asked them what they wanted him to do for them. They requested sight. Jesus told them it was granted because of their faith and told them to go on their way. Instead, they followed Jesus and glorified God because they could now see. Also, some in the crowd praised God when they saw that the men had been given sight. Those blind men cried out to Jesus because they had heard about his power, and they believed that he would have mercy on them. They were not just hoping to be healed, but they were begging Jesus and expecting to be healed. There is much to be said about blind beggars throwing aside their garments, but that is about faith. The focus today is on praise. When believers reflect on the power of God, it should bring forth praise from their lips. When anyone sees the results of God’s power, then praise should be given for the results. God is worthy to be praised whether He uses His power or not. Jesus’ healing of the blind men did more than educe praise from their mouths. They were motivated to follow Jesus—at least at that moment! Additionally, others in the crowd gave God praise when they saw that He had healed the blind men. Sometimes God will position us for others to see us get blessed. They will then offer an overflow of praise. We don’t know if those who were praising God for the miracle were the same as the ones criticizing the blind men for crying out to Jesus for mercy. We do know that God is able to turn critics into worshipers. Why were those in the crowd following Jesus? Were they looking for a blessing of their own or did they just want to see him work miracles for others? Whether they were expecting from Jesus or just following him, sooner or later God was going to bring forth praise from their lips. Robert C. Hudson August 13, 2021

Praise in Dance

September 12, 2021 Background Scripture: 2 Samuel 6 Lesson Passage: 2 Samuel 6:1 – 5, 14 – 19 In last week’s lesson, we wrote about Miriam leading the women with timbrels and dance. The focus was more so on the music of the timbrels being added to the singing of praises to God. Miriam’s leadership of the women in a dance of praise is the first recorded incident of God being praised with dancing. This should not be overlooked or taken lightly. We learn from others what is appropriate and what is not appropriate for worship. I recall as a child that dancing was always considered something worldly within a Baptist church. Much has changed over the decades as we witness praise dancing as a ministry in many Baptist churches today. The psalmist reminds us that sacred dancing was part of worship for Israel. And when it comes to praising God in dance, it is hard to overlook the “sweet psalmist of Israel”, David. David is well-known for his prolific writing of psalms and his skilled and anointed playing of the harp. David is cited as the author of half of the psalms. David’s anointed playing of the harp was used on numerous occasions to settle King Saul’s spirit when he was being vexed. In one of his psalms, David wrote about God turning his mourning into dancing. But we dare not forget the praise dance David performed as the ark of the covenant was being brought again to its proper place after being gone for so long. David danced and jumped for joy as the ark was being brought into Jerusalem by the priests. Perhaps it is not the moves, or steps, of the dance that should be noted. We should take note of David’s political position at the time he danced before the Lord with all his might. At that time, David was king over all of God’s people, Israel. David had been elevated by God to the highest position over His people. David’s position did not hinder the expression of David’s joy in the Lord. David danced publicly with all his might before the Lord. I believe that a child of God should express themselves as the Spirit of God moves them. In other words, it should be according to the will of God. One must be careful that we don’t take it upon ourselves to do or say whatever “we think” God should be pleased with. Our relationship with God should be close enough that we know when we are being prompted by God. This can be better understood by recognizing that our lesson describes David’s second attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem. In David’s first attempt, he sought the opinion of the people concerning it. After they agreed with his plans to do it, David assembled thirty thousand men, and they went to get the ark. The ark was placed on a new cart, and they played music as they began their journey to Jerusalem. There was no mention of dancing during the first attempt. Someone attempted to steady the ark when the cart shook, and God immediately struck that person with death. David was afraid and they left the ark at the home of Obed Edom for three months. During that time, David learned that God had given specific instructions on how the ark was to be transported and by whom. During this second attempt to move the ark, they followed God’s instructions and they also offered sacrifices as they proceeded. King David knew they were now doing it according to the will of God and God was blessing their effort. Again, they played music, but this time King David danced with all his might. They were moving the ark according to God’s instructions, and David celebrated God’s blessing of their efforts by dancing in the Lord’s presence. David was not dancing for the people to watch him. David was dancing as an expression of joy before the Lord, and he did it with all his might. Robert C. Hudson August 12, 2021