Tag Archives: Praise

Enjoying Time In His Presence

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Last night whilst looking at some Christian websites I came across the lyrics to the classic hymn written in 1664 by Samuel Crossman called “My Friend Indeed.” The final two lines of this hymn are:

“This is my Friend, in Whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend”

This got me thinking as recently I have struggled with my Bible reading and prayer times. It seems to be so much easier either to watch TV or go on Twitter or generally surf the net. Yet the writer of the hymn speaks of how he could gladly (note not reluctantly or because I ought to, but gladly) spend time with his Friend. Could I honestly say that? And if not why not?

Now I know that “the flesh is weak but the spirit is willing” and that we face spiritual battles when praying and reading Scripture. However I want to know the joy of this as opposed to it being stale and routine. Not the “I must read my Bible, I must pray” sort of thinking but the joy of being with Christ.

Interestingly I also then came across the following Spurgeon quote on GraceQuotes:

“I bear my testimony that there is no joy to be found in all this world like that of sweet communion with Christ. ~ C.H. Spurgeon”

The song “What a Wonderful Saviour” has been in mind today and my prayer is that I might know that wonder afresh and the joy of spending time in communion with Christ.

Praising God is Good!

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It is good to praise God, to worship Him and thank Him for all His goodness to us. Psalm 103 (GNB) starts with the cry, “Praise the Lord, my soul! All my being, praise his holy name.”

David here speaks to his soul and reminds himself that his worship of God must be wholehearted. Every part of his being, including his emotions should be involved in his praise of God. It’s not just his lips that are praising God but all of him, every part.

Do I praise God like that? Does my whole being truly sing praises to Him? Do I involve my emotions in worshipping God? Or do I just go through the motions?

“Lord help us to truly praise you like David did, with all of our hearts.”

Protecting Our Souls

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Whenever I switch on my computer at home one of the first things I do is to update my Internet Security software with the latest virus definitions that have been released. I have also just received a reminder from Adobe that my Flash Player needs updating, which I did. Additionally I received notification that the latest Windows Updates needed to be installed too!

I expect that at some stage whilst I’m on the web I will get told by Firefox that there are some new releases of the various plug-ins that I use which I need to download and install. I might even find that Firefox have released an updated version of their browser which upgrades itself automatically. And finally if I decide to use my email software I could find that it is automatically upgrading itself.

Any computer security expert will tell you that it’s essential to ensure that you do all of the above if you want to keep your PC protected. And whilst I 100% agree with that to be honest it can be very time consuming, especially when your computer starts to get older and slower. However it is certainly worth investing the time.

I wonder though do we put as much time and effect into protecting our souls as we do our computers? Do we consider prayer, Bible reading, worshipping God, confessing our sins and attending church to be important activities or do we only do them if we have the time or feel like it? They need to be disciplines that we all undertake daily.

I would never neglect or undervalue the importance of protecting my computer but to my shame I have not always shown the same commitment to protecting my soul.

“Dear Lord help us to see the importance of protecting our souls and to never neglect spending time in your presence. Amen”

The Lord is Near

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Many years ago at the church in which I grew up we used to sing a chorus which went “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. Rejoice, Rejoice etc, etc.”

This song was of course based on Philippians 4:4. Normally when we are reading that section of Paul’s letter after we have read that verse we race onto verses 6 and 7 which encourage us not to be anxious about anything and present our requests to God and know his peace guarding our hearts and mind.

These are of course very encouraging verses and ones worth pondering regularly. However if you are anything like me you miss a very short sentence in verse 5 which reads:

“The Lord is Near.”

Today whilst looking at Internet Monk I came across a short talk written by Chaplain Mike Mercer who is one of the current guest contributors on that site at the moment. He said that this phrase was important in how we understood the text in Philippians 4:4-7 and that it changes the whole nature of the text.

Mike said the following concerning the meaning of the text:

What does it mean? There are two primary possibilities: (1) the Lord’s return is imminent, or (2) the Lord is near at hand (present to help).

Once we start to consider this then it helps us to gain a greater understanding of this famous passage. The whole talk can be found here.

He does not treat us as our sins deserve

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In Psalm 103 as David praises God for all His goodness he says the words:

“he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities”

David knew only to well the reality of sin in his life. This is a man who after all had committed both adultery and murder. He was guilty and knew what he deserved. David also though knew the mercy and forgiveness of God in his life too. No wonder he delighted in praising God.

Likewise all of us deserve to go to hell. We have greatly sinned against God and there is no excuse as we are all guilty. We deserve the ultimate punishment. Yet in His wonderful mercy and grace God reaches down in Christ Jesus and offers His forgiveness to those who trust in Him. What wonderful news! I’m not being treated as I deserve but can experience God’s mercy and compassion.

“Praise the Lord, O my soul”