PRAISE HIM

Time with Jesus - Tuesday, 29 January 2013

Hi all,

Do you remember the Chorus;

Don’t you know it’s time to praise the Lord / In the sanctuary of His Holy Spirit / So set your mind on Him / And let your praise begin - And the glory of the Lord will fill this place / Praise the Lord (4).

He lives within the praises of His people / He loves to hear us call upon His name - So set your mind on Him
And let your praise begin / And the glory of the Lord will fill this place - Praise the Lord (4)

It was recorded by the Maranatha singers on their LP (yes, LP record back then) Praise 5. We still have that LP somewhere! It’s still one of our favourites because of its simplicity and harmony. Where have all those beautiful Spirit Filled Choruses gone? Come back Maranatha singers, we miss you. Today we meditate on praise.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Tuesday, 29 January 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	Praise Him
Over forty years ago something took place in Christianity. There was what I suppose we could call a “Praise Movement”. I’m not sure you’ll find it defined anywhere. But it happened. One of the leading proponents of this was a gentleman by the name of Merlin Carothers. He wrote a number of books. Prison to Praise, Power in Praise, From Fear to Faith, You can be Happy Now, and Secret Sins, to mention only a few. His teaching had a profound effect on Christians all over the world. Sadly, this “movement” seems to have all but vanished. You can log-on to the website www.foundationofpraise.org and see a video by Merlin. Back in 1981, when I made a new commitment to Jesus Christ, I was deeply impressed with what he told us. His message came fractionally before the Faith Movement. If they had coincided, more Christians would have been liberated. I thoroughly enjoyed being part of this movement albeit for only a short time. For about 4 months I felt depressed as a result of a failing marriage. Praise was exactly what I needed to get through that very difficult time. Praise changed me and it still does. When things get tough for Phyllida and me, praise breaks the bonds and gets us going again. We also found that praising God in our prayer language while driving or at work helped us develop spiritually. Some don’t like it. Some don’t believe in it. But it helped us more than we will ever know! The effect of the Praise movement on us was profound. We praised the Lord in every circumstance. Not because of the circumstance but in the circumstance. You don’t praise God for a terminal disease. You praise Him in spite of it. So we began to praise the Lord as continuously as possible. It’s hard to praise while you are asleep. Similarly, it’s difficult to praise while writing an examination. Also, because we are mortal, there are times when we forget to praise Him. You may not have this problem. For us it was very real. Praising God unlocked the door for many of us to receive direct answers to prayer. The danger now, as it was then, was people started to look to the praise, rather than the One to Whom the Praise belongs. As a result, the movement began to “wind down”. Like many other movements, it became infiltrated with error, in much the same way as the Faith Movement did. It’s a typical tactic of Satan. If he cannot stop it, he will twist it to the point where it is no longer a pure message from God. There is still “Dynamite in Praise”. Remember that praising God releases joy within us. Since the joy of the Lord is our strength, we really should spend more time in Praise for Him who created us. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			12 With all my heart I will praise You, O Lord my God. I will give glory to Your name forever. Psalm 86:12 NLT 23 Anyone who sacrifices thank offerings to me honours me. He makes it possible for me to show him I’m the God who saves." Psalm 50:23 NIrV A psalm; a song; for the day of worship. 1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to make music to praise your name, O Most High. 2 It is good to announce your mercy in the morning and your faithfulness in the evening Psalm 92:1-2 GW 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD! Psalm 150:5-6 ESV 1 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Rom 12:1 MSG 14 For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. 15 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to His name. Heb 13:14-15 NLT 20 Always give thanks to God the Father for everything. Give thanks to him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Eph. 5:20 NIrV 12 In a loud voice they sang, "The Lamb, who was put to death, is worthy! He is worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength! He is worthy to receive honour and glory and praise!" 13 All creatures in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and on the sea, and all that is in them, were singing. I heard them say, "May praise and honour for ever and ever be given to the One who sits on the throne and to the Lamb! Give them glory and power for ever and ever!" Rev 5:12-13 NIrV	Praise in the morning and praise Him at night. Praise with the left hand and then with the right. Praise when you’re happy and praise when you’re sad. Praise when you’re weeping and praise when you’re glad. Praise with the trumpet, the harp and the lute. Praise with the fiddle, piano and flute. Praise when you’re happy and praise when you’re not. Praise when you’re freezing and praise when you’re hot. Praise with your body, your mind and your soul. Praise when you know you are reaching your goal. Praise with the cymbals and with the bassoon. Praise when you know you’re not singing in tune. Praise while you’re dressing or praise in the nude. Praise when you’re hungry and looking for food. Praise in the building; praise in the street. Praise while you’re waiting for someone to meet. Praise while you’re cooking your everyday meal. Praise Him regardless of how you may feel. Praise while you’re driving or stuck in a jam. Praise Him because He has told us “I AM!” Praise while you’re working and while you’re at play. Praise Him each instant of every day. Praise while you’re studying for the big test. Praise from the North, the South and the West! Praise while you’re travelling out to the East. Praise for the living, before they’re deceased. Praise for your cat and your dog and your bird. Praise for the animals isn’t absurd. Praise for computers and for the cell-phone. Praise because He’ll never leave you alone. Praise for your husband or praise for your wife. Praise for He gave you the great gift of life. Praise for relations and also your friends. Praise for He’s given you life without end. Praise for the garden and praise for the trees. Praise while you’re standing, or down on your knees. Let everything breathing, sing out the praise, For all we’ve received from the Ancient of Days. Jim Strickland  Written 29th January 2012.