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