Psalm 147:1 Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

This verse expresses a very simple and basic truth that all too few people have discovered. Praise is one of the reasons for which we were created. It’s not that God is an egotist, always requiring a choir of sycophants around Him, it’s that He is just that good, and recognizing that satisfies something within us on a very deep level. I say it fairly often, but God doesn’t need our praise. Rather, we need to praise Him in order to keep our heads on straight. Otherwise, we tend to think we’re the greatest thing and not Him, and that gets us into all sorts of messes. Praising God really does feel good, especially with like-minded people. Those who don’t enjoy going to church haven’t learned to praise God, or else they sadly haven’t found a church that knows how to praise Him. Actually, there is something of a trap there, because if we are focused on how we feel, we aren’t really praising and worshiping God. Some churches focus on the “worship experience,” using stage lighting and even smoke machines, when that actually distracts from focusing on God Himself. As I have been reminded recently, it all starts with gratitude, thanking God for His love, grace, and mercy, and then builds to praising Him for His many wonderful attributes and actions, culminating in worshiping Him for who He is, in intimate fellowship by His Spirit. When we have tasted that full sequence, nothing else in life can hold a candle to it, and our priorities are completely rearranged. Even so, in our human weakness we can drift away, even after having tasted God in that way. We are called to recognize and resist the distractions of the devil and choose to focus in on God who loves us. If we will do that, His plans for us will be fulfilled to our infinite blessing and His glory.

This church has had times of thanks and times of praise, but very few times of deep worship. As pastor, I can blame no one but myself. In this new year I need to teach the believers indeed to thank God for what He has already done, to praise Him for what He is doing and will do, and to worship Him for who He is. It was mentioned recently that people don’t invite their friends to church if they don’t enjoy it themselves. I need to lift people’s focus off of how much they are enjoying it so that they will be able to thank, praise, and worship God in truth. If they will do that, nothing will be able to keep them away! We do need to be active in outreach, but we need to have something here to bring people to. There is no substitute for worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24)

Father, thank You for Your guidance. Help me follow it fully! I pray that I would grow in bringing the people along with me, teaching them to thank, praise, and worship You as they need to and You deserve. May we have times of worship here that are indeed foretastes of what we will experience around Your throne, so that we may be transformed as You intend and many drawn into Your family for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!