Psalm 69:30-31 ‘‘I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.

DAILY READING: 2 Corinthians 13; 1 Chronicles 3-4; Zephaniah 1

Twice in the scriptures God says that in King David he had found ‘a man after my own heart.’. (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22). David loved God deeply and ended up a trans-generational celebrity, immortalized by God in history.

1 Corinthians 2:9 says ‘It is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him’.

Those that truly love God become celebrated on the earth. Every certified lover of God ends up as a living wonder. God is a God of love. And we are commanded to love Him with all our heart mind and soul. But most importantly we must remember that God first loved us.  It is because of God’s love for us that He sent Jesus to the cross to die for us. Death on the cross was not an easy thing for Jesus to do. At that time in Palestine, crucifixion was the most shameful way to die.  In those days, the Romans crucified pirates, and bandits — or terrorists as we would call them today. The cross was first reserved only for slaves, it was then extended to the lowest classes, or humiliores — the humble folk as they were known then. Death on a cross was public, shameful and took between a couple hours and a couple days before the person died. The condemned would die from heart failure, asphyxiation, dehydration or even sepsis, as the infection from the nails and elements would settle in.

And yet Jesus went through all that pain and shame because He loved us enough to pay any price for our salvation. Truly in return He deserves all our love. And He wants love to be the real motivation in our relationship and our service to Him.

1 Corinthians 13 makes it clear that whatsoever we do outside of love in service to God, it will profit us nothing. God wants us to serve Him  out of the overflow of the love for Him already in our heart. When we love God our aim will be to please Him always. And one key way we please God is through Thanksgiving and praise. David was also a man who greatly praised God. And in Psalm 69:30-31 he says ‘‘I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.’

Let us learn to love God totally and also give expression to that love through continual praise.  Indeed God is good and worthy of our extravagant love and praise. And when we truly love God, He ensures we become celebrated on earth.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to love You totally, please birth afresh in my heart a deep and abiding love for You. And also grant me the grace to give expression to that love through the continual flow of Your praise from my lips in Jesus Name.

Quote

Praise always guarantees you power for a raise, learning to praise God in season and out of season is key to fulfilling destiny. – WORDBITE 222.