1 Chronicles 16:8 (New International Version)
Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.
Why do we praise the Lord? People who have no relationship with Jesus may find it strange that Christians are called to praise the living God. But when we examine the word of God we find that we praise Him for who He is and what He has done.
Have you ever taken time in your life to sit back and do an inventory of all the ways that God has showed Himself faithful to you. It is pretty incredible when you spend time in the Lord's presence, instead of asking for anything, you spend time praising Him and thanking Him for what He has done.
There is not one moment in our lives in which God is not in control and there is not one moment or circumstance that He is not concerned or doesn't care. He knows every hair that is upon our heads. He knows every intimate detail of our lives. He knows every short coming and every failure. He has chosen us and He has known us before the foundations of the world were created.
We may get caught up in the nonsense of this world. The world is chaotic and it is broken because of sin in humanity. We live in a world that is made up of two groups of people: those who love and follow Jesus and those who do not. Those who love and follow Jesus are children of God. They are pursuing God and His kingdom. They are living for Him on a daily basis and they are being prepared to rule and reign with Christ in eternity.
The other group are those who are lost. Those who do not know Jesus. Those who are deceived by the devil and simply living for themselves. They have made themselves and their desires the priority of their lives and have rejected God and His ways.
As followers of Jesus our lives should be filled with praise and thanksgiving. No matter what we face we know that He works all things together for our good because we love Him and are called according to His purpose. We have been chosen by God. Let me say that again, we have been chosen by God. We have not come to Him on accident. He has pursued us and He has chosen us. May our minds and hearts be fixed upon Him daily and may we grow deeper in our walk with Christ.
Prayer
Father thank you for loving me. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your provision and knowing my every need. Thank you for being concerned with everything in my life. Help me to trust you each day and simply be a person who praises and glorifies your name. Remove from my life all things that are unpleasing to you. May my life truly be a living sacrifice unto you. In the name of Jesus, Amen!
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