Read pgs 52-55 in the Guidebook
Psalm 100:3-5
"Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations."
Have you ever noticed how most church worship services have a similar sort of order and movement, regardless of the style or the church denomination? What I mean is, an opening worship set full of upbeat, energetic praise music played on drums and guitars really isn't that different from a formal, powerful, stirring processional played on a massive pipe organ.
OK, those things are incredibly different in terms of their sound, and style, and pretty much in every other possible way. But they're not really any different in what they're trying to accomplish. And what they're trying to accomplish is essential to the heart of worship, and in our lives.
It's always a good idea to begin with praise.
I love what today's devotion from the guidebook points out: praise changes our perspective, and makes it right.
We are naturally self-centered, while a real act of praise has to be God-centered (though we easily fail to transcend our self-centeredness when we focus more on the leaders, the music, the quality of the singing, etc.)
We remember that there is a God, and He is not Us.
I have to call that a good place to start.
Grace and Peace,
Adam
Today's Small Step: Brainstorm a list of God's attributes? Feel like pushing yourself just a bit? See if you can come up with a word to describe God for every letter of the alphabet. This is an old practice from the psalms themselves.
Today's Big Idea: For what things do you most often praise God? God's power? Love? Mercy? Patience? What's your "default" way of thinking about and praising God? What does that "default" reveal?
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