Enjoy God's Freedom: Active Praise
Friday, January 3, 2020
Living Free Every Day®
A ministry of LivingFree.org
Today's Scripture
"I will do right and praise you by learning to respect your perfect laws." Psalm 119:7 CEV
Thoughts for Today
If we want to truly praise God with all that we are (Psalm 103:1), we are called to praise him with our actions. In the words of the psalmist, we will praise God by learning to respect his perfect laws.
We can praise him with our day-to-day living ... showing love for others with our actions, not just our words ... being quick to forgive ... trusting God and not walking in fear and worry ... refusing to succumb to the compromising ways of the world ... telling others what the Lord has done for us.
Picture this ... you spend time in prayer, praising and worshiping God. Your quiet time finished, you head out the door. On the way to work, a driver in a rush pulls out in front of you. You glare at the errant driver and mutter unkind words. During the morning at work, you find yourself listening intently to the latest office gossip. You meet a friend for lunch at a nearby restaurant. Getting your meal takes longer than expected and you blame it on the server, who is obviously new. Instead of encouraging the server, you show your impatience and leave a poor tip. And so on throughout the day. Obviously, your attitude of praise uttered in the morning did not prevail in the day's activities.
Consider this ...
Do your actions throughout the day bring honor and praise to God?
We are all learning. Becoming more Christ-like is a lifetime process, and we will make many mistakes along the way. But ask God to help you become more aware of ways to praise him not only in your prayer times ... but in all your relationships and activities throughout each day.
Prayer
Father, teach me to have an attitude of praise, not only in my prayer time or at church, but throughout each day. Help me to praise you in my attitudes ... my relationships ... and my actions. In Jesus' name ...
These thoughts were drawn from ... A Passionate Pursuit of God: Drawing Nearer to Him by Dr. Mike Chapman. This study teaches participant how to move into God's inner circle, how to listen for the voice of God, how to enjoy the freedom of worship, and how to embrace the mission of worship. This 45-minute format will accommodate groups with limited meeting times. Note: This curriculum was written especially for small groups and we encourage people to use it that way. However, it can also be used effectively as a personal study for individuals or couples.
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