Praise is Pleasant

Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to our God, for praise is pleasant and lovely. Psalm 147:1

How good is it really to praise God? If the psalmist said it is a pleasant thing to do, we may ask, pleasant for who? For the praised or the one that praises, that is God or man? Singing praises comes from a grateful heart, it comes out of joy and deep appreciation of gift or service received. So, that is what makes praise pleasant, because it naturally comes from a place of joy and happiness. And so Christians should be God’s praise singers at every opportunity because God indeed gladdens our heart, and has given us an eternal gift of his son. He not only gave us his son, but he blesses us daily. He prepares a table before us, in the presence of our enemies, and his goodness and mercies shall follow us for all the days of our lives. You see why the Psalmist could see praise as a pleasant adventure? Because he understood the goodness of God, because it is only right to praise the one who blesses, cares, nurtures and protects his people. Praise is indeed pleasant.

Praising our God is not only a beautiful act of worship, but also an expression of our love for Him. When we raise our voices in praise and gratitude, we are demonstrating our devotion to God and forming a deep bond with Him. We acknowledge that God loved us first and sacrificed himself for us, and in doing so, we affirm Him as our ultimate king and ruler, the source of all blessings in our lives. Praising God fills our hearts with joy and helps us to better understand His greatness and love. It is indeed a wonderful thing to praise our God and to show our love for Him through worship and song.

When we praise God, we are recognizing His sovereignty over all things, and expressing our trust and reliance on Him. It is a declaration of faith and an acknowledgement of His power and grace. Our praise acts as an offering of thanks for all that He has done for us, and for all the blessings He continues to bestow upon us. By praising Him, we are expressing our gratitude for His love, mercy, and provision. Moreover, praising God has a profound impact on our own lives as well. It lifts our spirits, renews our hope, and brings peace to our hearts. It also helps us to cultivate a more positive outlook and attitude, and strengthens our faith. When we praise God, we are aligning our hearts and minds with His will and purpose, and allowing His love and light to shine brighter in our lives. 

Praising God is a powerful act of worship, and an expression of our love and gratitude for Him. It strengthens our relationship with God, brings joy to our hearts, and transforms our lives. Let us praise the Lord always, and give thanks to Him for all He has done and continues to do in our lives.

God Has Kept All His Promises as Another Year Ends

The year 2022 is about to draw to a close and it is a time to take stock of our journey so far. One certainty about the year 2022 is that God has been faithful, he has kept to all his promises to his people. He remains unfettered about keeping future promises. The days will come and go, the years will come and go but what remains constant is God’s faithfulness. His promises to never leave nor forsake his children was fulfilled, his promises to make all things abound towards his generous children was fulfilled, his promise to provide for his children was fulfilled. All his promises for his people were fulfilled. It is important that we recognise this, irrespective of the challenges we may have gone through.

It may have been a difficult year for some people in certain respects; they may have been ups and downs. But in all of that the bible teaches us to be thankful. So, it is time to rejoice in the Lord given his mercies. If he was not merciful over the past year, it could have been worse for us. But God was merciful, he was faithful, he was just and he kept his promises. He held the world in place irrespective of the global inflationary manifestations. So, whatever the situation today, be thankful for seeing the last day of the year in anticipation of a great year.

We ought to also look into the new year with faith, knowing that the Lord who started his work in us is faithful to complete his work in us. We should look forward with faith expecting the best, we should look forward with hope to give in our best in service of our God. We should look forward to a closer walk with our maker. We should take practical steps to make that closer walk happen. We should be prepared to give our all for our maker. We should be willing to tell others about his faithfulness, about his grace, about his person. There are hopes and aspirations for the new year, and we will do well to place those hopes and aspirations at the feet of the cross and trust that in his time, he will bring them to pass according to his riches in glory.

So, as 2023 beckons, be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Happy New Year.

Jesus, Highest Heaven’s Completeness

Jesus, highest heaven’s completeness,

Name of music to the ear,

To the lips surpassing sweetness,

Wine the fainting heart to cheer.

Eating Thee, the soul may hunger,

Drinking, still athirst may be;

But for earthly food no longer,

Nor for any stream but Thee.

Jesus, all delight exceeding,

Only hope of heart distrest;

Weeping eyes and spirit mourning

Find in Thee a place of rest.

Stay, O Beauty uncreated,

Ever ancient, ever new;

Banish deeds of darkness hated,

With Thy sweetness all bedew.

Jesus, fairest blossom springing

From a maiden ever pure,

May our lips Thy praise be singing

While eternal years endure.

(BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX, and ROBERT CAMPBELL)

God Legislated for our Weaknesses on the Cross

On the cross where Jesus died, every kind of emotion was evident. Negative emotions like, fear, shame, anger, apathy, guilt. Physical pain and agony were also obvious. Those who believed in Jesus Christ were fearful that the one in whom they had put their faith in was dying. The one who healed them of their infirmities, the one who rescued them from death, the one who gave them food when there were hungry and perhaps most importantly, the one who taught them the word of God hung seemingly helpless and defeated on the cross. Or so they thought? What could they do? If they had their way, such shame should not be meted upon the son of God. To some people on that day, hope in a better future and life with Christ among them, became hopelessness. For others, what they gained from knowing Christ and what they could potentially get by having him around was taken away on the cruel cross. The cross was indeed a place of seemingly shattered dreams. For the betrayer, who perhaps thought that Christ will evade arrest given all the power that he had, surely, they could never kill him…. but kill him they did. He could not live with himself for being the one to betray his master, saw defeat, hopelessness and helplessness and went ahead to hang himself.

Despite all the negative emotions that the was experienced by the different characters present on that day, there were positive emotions, although most of the positive emotions were to be experienced three days after, when the tomb could not keep the Christ.

To some others like the Jews, their nightmare was over, the one who wreaked havoc on their belief system was finally being taken away for good; they were joyous, content and fulfilled that they won, their belief system was going to be intact, or so they thought on that day.

From the saviour’s perspective, on the day of crucifixion, he exhaled and said that it is finished, yes, it was painful but, he had fulfilled his mission on earth by going to the cross. That was a huge positive on that day, he experienced the joy, satisfaction, contentment, delight in fulfilling the prophecies that were written about him and keeping to the word which he said earlier to his disciples, that the son of man must die as it was written by the prophets and that he will rise again on the third day.

Most of the positive emotions were experienced three days after the resurrection, joy that the death could not keep him down – alas, victory over death had been achieved. The entire human experience had been reshaped, history re-written; the world will never remain the same since that day. The enmity between the creator and the created, caused by sin had been put to rest. Those who where hitherto separated from God had been brought into harmony and union, one with God. Access to God just became easier, sin no longer had the power it had over humanity, it was now conquered once and for all. Grace was purchased in abundance. Abundant life, abundant grace, abundant blessings, goodness, and mercies all multiplied.

On that day, God through his son had legislated for human weakness because while we were yet sinners, Christ died for our sins. Mercy triumphed over judgement as Christ became the sin offering – he essential was judged so that you and I may not be judged but receive mercy as a substitute. He indeed became the substitute for every sin that would ever be committed through the ages to follow, which is enormous.  He became sin itself, so that the weakness in humans, the natural propensity for sin might be overcome through ‘mere faith’ in him. Mere faith because, it is easier to believe for one’s remission of sin than to pay the price for sin, which no human can adequately pay. Sin is our weakness and God legislated for it on the cross and in place of it, provided strength that is not our own, so that we cannot boast in ourselves but reference the cross for such strength. So, when we are weak, we may remember to say that we are strong, when we are sick, we may remember to say that we are healed; when we are poor, we may be able to say that we are rich, because of what Christ did over 2000 years ago.

THAT I MAY KNOW HIM AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION

The knowledge of God is truly essential to all humans. For the Christian, we can say that we know him. Although our level of knowledge is different from person to person. The Apostle Paul was one who knew God and Christ at a very personal level. The Lord appeared to him and spoke to him upon his conversion; he also had many experiences of divine guidance. So, he is an example of one who KNEW the Lord. But beyond this, Paul knew much more. He knew that knowledge puffs up (1 Cor 8:1-2). One can become proud because of the knowledge that he or she has been able to acquire, including the knowledge of the Lord and his ways. In Paul’s example his heart and desire could be seen through the things he wrote down. He sought something beyond knowledge, and that is the resurrection power and sharing in the fellowship of the suffering that brought about the resurrection.

Before we talk about the resurrection power, we must mention the willingness of Christ to lay down his life. You see, there could never be a resurrection power without the willingness to go to the cruel cross. The power comes from the willingness. Little wonder Paul also mentioned this in his writing to the Philippians 2:8-11, about how Christ humbled himself to death and from thence came exaltation, where he has been given a name that is above every other name that at the mention of the name of Jesus every knee must bow. Christians, we are called to do the same, humble ourselves in similar fashion. Ours might not be to the point of death although some Christians find themselves in those positions even today, but it is important to yield our will to him.

So, knowing God and Christ should not be all that we seek to achieve, for it is but a start of a glorious journey with the Lord. Beyond knowledge lies the understanding of the resurrection power and having fellowship with the sufferings of Christ. In Paul’s case he wanted to be conformed to His death. What does it mean to be conformed to the death of Christ? Well, this is seen in total surrender; Christ had the power to say no to death, yet he chose to die because of us. Conforming to his death is to have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, it is to surrender ourselves fully to the will of God. It is to live a transformed live. It is to count all things but loss for the sake of the knowledge of Christ – Phil 3:8-9. Something must give, in order to gain this knowledge. We only lose other things to gain this knowledge and gain with it a glory and amazing promises that outweighs the losses. Also, we gain, true transformation into the image of God.

A transformed life is a testament of the resurrection power. It is through transformation that the resurrection power is seen in action. It is that power that transforms us and gives us the grace to obey. Because we cannot obey God on our own. We can but allow the spirit of God in us to so work in our hearts to yield to God every day and by so doing witness the amazing power of resurrection. We can only pray that God helps us to seek him beyond peripheral knowledge but to walk daily in a manner that expresses the resurrection power and a fellowship of His suffering.

He Promised ALL Things

In 2 Pet 1:3, the apostle Peter spoke of the divine power of God having given us ALL things that pertain to life and godliness. The apostle Paul echoed a similar message in his writing to the Romans in chapter 8 verse 32. He said that if God did not spare his own Son but gave him up to die for us, that he will also through his son give us ALL things. Little wonder Paul himself proclaimed that he could do ALL things through Christ who strengthens him when he wrote to the Philippians.

The keyword throughout these statements is ALL. Not some, not many, not few but ALL things are promised. That is a precious promise of a never-failing God. One who would rather see the earth come to an end to avoid the unfulfillment of his word; and yes, he is that serious. He is the one that is reliable, capable and specialises in the impossible.

Despite ALL these promises, it can sometimes become difficult to appropriate the blessings to ourselves.  And that happens mostly because we do not possess the prerequisite for receiving the promise – faith.

One element within these promises that is important to note is that all these promises are to be experienced through the knowledge of the word of God. Because faith comes through the knowledge of God. When we build our faith to the point of taking God by his words even when our present physical experiences or circumstances do not align with the word of God, then we start our journey towards receiving the blessings that come with the promises.

The fact that God makes his promises with a very strong and certain language without mincing words or trying to give caveats is really interesting. When he says he has given us everything we need for life and godliness, do we believe it when our situations are not aligning or when we are not seeing physical evidence to support that assertion? What about when he talks about giving us everything? Does he really mean it? What does everything or ALL things really mean? What does it include? Is it just eternal life? What about material things?

You see, we can discuss all the what abouts or what-ifs. It won’t change the fact that those certain statements of promises were made. To experience them, we need to reflect on our lives and our ways to make sure that we are in tune with God, to ensure that we are obedient to his words and that we are seeking him with all our hearts. Because whoever seeks God with all their hearts will find him. Instead of asking the what abouts or what-ifs, we should be looking inward and surrendering ourselves to him, to allow him to use us, to allow him to direct and guide us through his words. When we do this, we will be well on our way to enjoying the blessings of the promises.

Life is meaningless outside the Cross of Christ

For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

1 Corinthians 2:2

No one can find true meaning in life outside of the cross of Jesus Christ. Yes, life is meaningless or purposeless outside of Christ. Now, that is a strong statement and bear with me let me explain why? You see, the true meaning or purpose of the existence of human kind here on earth is more transcendental than many will like to admit. It goes beyond logic, it goes right into the purpose of our existence as humans on earth. Biblically, we are made in the image of God for the purpose of glorifying God. That is the manufacturer’s functional description of our purpose. Every other thing that comes with life is a luxury that is meant to help us perform that function better.  

Just imagine this, the apostle Paul when he was among the Corinthian Christians – sought nothing among them except the message of the cross and the effect it had on the human race. One phrase to describe this feeling or mindset is – tunnel vision.  Paul had a plan to ignore everything else that was not consequential to people’s salvation and concentrate on preaching Christ alone and him crucified. That is a man who knew his purpose – to do the work of the one that sent him – just like Jesus Christ his master.

You see, as Christians, at some point in our lives, we all committed to taking up the cross of Jesus because the yoke is easy and the burden light. We committed to serving the true king until we transition to be with him. However, life can happen to us very quickly and so sometimes we find ourselves seeking other things even more than we do seek to fulfil our primary purpose on earth. Hence why every Christian at some point in life made this claim just as Paul made. We know that the Christian life is that which is hinged on the cross. Because there can be no Christianity without the cross. And there can be no eternal life and true peace and meaning to life without Jesus and his cross.

Going back to the apostle Paul, he made the above claim because the central theme of Christianity is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The message of the crucified saviour, Jesus is the most unique and bizarre concept in Christianity – the crucified messiah.  Oh, that we may take up the cross and live the live with such tunnel vision as the apostle – so that we may recognise every other aspect of life as secondary to the message of the cross and it’s attendant responsibility that it places on us who believe. The responsibility of perfecting this awesome gesture of love in obedience to the word. The responsibility of going out there to make other disciples by sharing the word and our experience of how the word has transformed our lives.

Sometimes a Light Surprises

• Sometimes a light surprises
• The Christian while he sings;
• It is the Lord, who rises
• With healing in His wings:
• When comforts are declining,
• He grants the soul again
• A season of clear shining,
• To cheer it after rain.
• In holy contemplation,
• We sweetly then pursue
• The theme of God’s salvation,
• And find it ever new:
• Set free from present sorrow,
• We cheerfully can say,
• E’en let the unknown morrow
• Bring with it what it may.
• It can bring with it nothing,
• But He will bear us through;
• Who gives the lilies clothing,
• Will clothe His people too:
• Beneath the spreading heavens,
• No creature but is fed;
• And He who feeds the ravens
• Will give His children bread.
• WILLIAM COWPER, 1731-1800

I love my God

I love my God, but with no love of mine, 
For I have none to give;
I love thee, Lord; but all the love is Thine, 
For by Thy life I live. 
I am as nothing, and rejoice to be
 Emptied, and lost, and swallowed up in Thee. 

Thou, Lord, alone, art all Thy children need, 
And there is none beside; 
From Thee the streams of blessedness proceed 
In Thee the blest abide, 
Fountain of life, and all-abounding grace, 
Our source, our center, and our dwelling-place. 

JEANNE MARIE DE LA MOTTE-GUYON, 1648-1717 

Lo, God Is Here!

Lo, God is here! let us adore,
And own how dreadful is this place; 
Let all within us feel His power, 
And silent bow before His face; 
Who know His power, His grace who prove, 
Serve Him with awe, with reverence love. 

Lo, God is here! Him day and night United choirs of angels sing; 
To Him, enthroned above all height, 
Heaven’s host their noblest praises bring; 
Disdain not, Lord, our meaner song, 
Who praise Thee with a stammering tongue. 

Being of beings, may our praise 
Thy courts with grateful fragrance fill; 
Still may we stand before Thy face,
Still hear and do Thy sovereign will; 
To Thee may all our thoughts arise, Ceaseless, accepted sacrifice. 

GERHARD TERSTEEGEN, 1897-1789