Roads and Where They Take Us

We have all seen them, those asphalt ribbons meandering from town to town. Roads. I was driving recently and a big truck was coming toward me on their side of the road. And the thought occurred to me, “What is keeping that driver on his side of the road?” Why am I not afraid? What power does that yellow, 4 ½ inch line have in the middle of the road?” And then I wondered back in time to how roads came to be and thought of the early vehicles that only went 10 mile per hour (July 3, 1886, Karl Benz drove the first automobile in Mannheim, Germany at a top speed of 10 MPH) and realized that there wasn't much concern of high speed vehicles running into each other. And then I thought of the stage coaches that traveled over mountains and through rivers to reach the far west (at one point, that was Ohio! And then later beyond to California) and they made our roads by their oft traveled routes. Now we have highways with multiple lanes of traffic, some separated with concrete or metal barriers.

So back to my questions! What is keeping that driver on his side of the road? Fear of getting hurt if he crosses the line? Probably. Also something called the law. I think that is the power of the 4 ½ inch yellow or white line down the middle of the road. The law is behind the line. Our forefathers made up laws to keep us safe and drivers must follow the laws to safely drive a vehicle. And this is also why I am not afraid. Besides the fact that if a driver crosses the line and runs into me causing damage to his vehicle and maybe to himself, he will be charged with a transgression of the law. And he may also lose his privilege to drive.

Then I thought of destination. In life we get in our cars and head to the grocery store or to church and a myriad of other places. We have a destination in mind. In the spiritual realm we also have a destination in mind. And the options are either heaven or hell. Matthew 25:46 says it this way: “And these will go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into eternal life”. In Romans 6:23 we read, “For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

We are all on a journey. It is up to us to determine which road we are going to take; the one that leads to Heaven or the one that leads to hell. Jeremiah 6:16, “Thus says the Lord; Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not.” Isaiah 35:8: “And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness.” We are cautioned to “Enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”- Matthew 7:13

How do you and I enter the narrow gate? How do we get on the road to Holiness? How do we set our GPS on Heaven? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Acts 16:30, “What must I do to be saved? So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.”

How to accept Jesus into your heart? Confess and Believe

John 1:12, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”

Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

You can pray this prayer (or one similar):

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and that my sin has separated me from you. I want to start a new life with you today. I want to accept and trust Jesus Christ as my Savior. I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected, is alive and hears my prayers. I believe His death and resurrection provided for my forgiveness and salvation. I accept Jesus in to my heart today. I trust in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I commit my life into your hands, dear God. I choose life. Please help me to obey you and live a life that makes you happy. In Jesus name, Amen.

Robert Frost wrote a poem, The Road Not Taken. It ends with these words:

Two roads diverged in a wood and I -

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

My prayer is that you will choose the road that leads to righteousness and a life with Jesus in Heaven.

Strength for Today and Hope for Tomorrow

As we live in this world, we often go through patches of problems. It seems like they come in bunches sometimes! So the other morning as I was praying, I prayed for “strength for today and hope for tomorrow”. And the phrase made me sit up and pay attention! I had no idea where it came from except as a need in my heart and life at the moment. I have since discovered it is found in a hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness, verse three.

Since then I have been thinking about these two things God gives his children, strength and hope. It is a blessed comfort to know that God cares about what is burdening our hearts, whether they be big or small; whether there be one or many. God is there to help us.

Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore I will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”

Psalm 118:14, “The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”

Isaiah 33:2, “O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our strength every morning, our 

salvation in the time of trouble.”

Isaiah 40:31, “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Hope: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen; aspiration, desire, wish, expectation, ambition, aim, goal, plan, design; a feeling of trust

Psalm 42:5, 6a “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” The psalmist says, “My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Verse 7, “Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.”

The psalm ends with a repeat of verses 5 - 6a “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”

Ephesians 1:18, “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.”

Psalm 40:1 is a psalm of thanksgiving that recounts the suffering of an individual whose hope was realized. “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.”

Psalm 130:5, –“ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 7- O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.”

Romans 12:12 says, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” If you are going through a tough time, a trial or feel burdened down with the cares of this world, use this three part exercise – rejoice in hope, be patient in the midst of your problems and be constant in prayer.

Romans 15:4 says, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

A very familiar and beloved scripture is found in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” And the next verse is so important: Vs 12, “ Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.” What an awesome promise from our God! He will hear us when we call upon Him!

My prayer for you today is found in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Grace for Each Day

“Every breath we draw is a gift of God's love; every moment of existence is a grace.” Thomas Merton

A friend of mine posted this thought on Facebook this morning: “The day is fresh with no mistakes in it. Thankful for grace this morning.” This made me think of a phrase another friend quoted to me a few months ago: “Every day is a new story!” Do you carry burdens from one day to another? Do you berate yourself for mistakes you made yesterday and continue the lament into today? You don't have to do this! Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there. And He will supply you with grace for today. II Corinthians 12:8, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Ephesians 4:7, “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.”

Lamentations 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

If you are not a Christian, today is the day to begin a life free from sin. Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 Isaiah 1:18 “ . . .Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” When we have asked Jesus for forgiveness from our sins, and accepted Him into our heart and life, then we know this truth found in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself . . .”

Most of us have needed a place of beginning again, whether it was from some big sin or just a terribly bad day. If we have sinned, then our Savior is waiting for us to repent and come back to a right standing with Him. Ephesians 2:13, “Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Acts 3:19, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. “

Sometimes we need a fresh start. Do you suffer with regrets? Bitterness from being treated wrongly? Wrong choices? Isaiah 43:18-19, “Remember not the former thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” And in Philippians 3:11-14, “Brothers (and Sisters), I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

James 4:6, “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Verse 8 tells us to “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

A song from long ago just came to mind made famous by Evie Tornquist, Give Them All which you can listen to HERE. As you go about your life, every night, give all your burdens to Jesus and then you can begin anew in the morning!

Give Them All

Are you tired of chasing pretty rainbows

Are you tired of spinning round and round

Wrap up all the shattered dreams of your life

At the feet of Jesus lay them down

CHORUS

Give them all

Give them all

Give them all to Jesus

Shattered dreams

Wounded hearts

Broken toys

Give them all

Give them all

Give them all to Jesus

And he will turn your sorrow into joy

VERSE 2

He never said you’d only see sunshine

He never said there’d be no rain

He only promised a heart full of singing

About the very things that once caused pain

The Funeral of a Saint: blessing and celebration

I recently attended the funeral of a dear saint in our church whom I also considered a friend. He led a life pleasing to God and made an impact on his family, church and community, even to foreign lands. The service was labeled, A Celebration. And it truly was.

I have always found it interesting who shows up at a viewing or funeral. Often it is people I know but I didn't know they knew the deceased person. It is intriguing to note how our lives touch other lives and we are all intertwined together here on earth.

Somehow I always feel blessed at a funeral! That sounds strange to some, but I guess it is how my mind works. I sing the hymns that speak of heaven and being with Jesus and I remember the sometimes long and painful journey of the deceased and I know that that person is finally free from pain and enjoying the wonders of heaven with Jesus. But it is more than that. I believe it is the Spirit of God in my soul responding to the hymns, and the living Word of God and the words of comfort in the message.

It is a time of rejoicing within my heart for the plan of salvation whereby I have a hope of heaven. A thankfulness to be part of the family of God. And also a gratefulness that I responded to the Holy Spirit's call to be saved over 51 years ago. I am so amazed at the awesomeness of our God who knew we as mankind would need to be redeemed and that he had a plan from the foundation of the world, that His Son, Jesus, would come to earth, live a short 33 years and then die on a cross so that we all could have our sins forgiven, we would become new creatures in Christ, and we would have eternal life and the hope of heaven when we die. This makes a funeral of a Christian a time of rejoicing. And my heart responds to these thoughts as I sit in a “celebration” service.

We sang a number of contemporary Christian songs which were favorites of the family. One song was, “You 're a Good, Good Father” (Chris Tomlin) which is another of my favorites. It is a song of love back to Father God thanking Him for being such a good father to us.

You're a Good Good Father

It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are

And I'm loved by you

It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am.

The Saints Sing Hallelujah was sung with joy and exuberance as we realized that we are saints because of the shed blood of Jesus and we have every reason to sing Hallelujah!

The Word of God is a living epistle as Jesus said in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So when scriptures are read during a funeral, that Living Word connects with the Living God, Jesus, living within our hearts and we rejoice! A few well known verses include:

John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

I Thessalonians 4:13-14, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

Of course we are human and we grieve for our lost loved one. But it is a grief with hope. Praise be to God! We know we will see that person again in heaven if each of us has prayed for forgiveness of our sins and asked Jesus to live in our hearts. We are told in Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” So we cry with those who are grieving but we rejoice with them that their loved one is in heaven!

At the end of the service we sang, It Is Well With My Soul. What a glorious ending as nearly 300 people raised their voices in praise to God. It is such a comfort to know that it is well between the Almighty God and we who have accepted the free gift of salvation. It is a reminder or just a glimpse of what it will be like some day when all the saints will be in heaven, singing around the throne of God, and we will be able to praise our Redeemer like never before.

I will never forget the funeral of a dear saint in Virginia over 40 years ago. The widow asked my friend and I to sing, Then Sings My Soul. When we sang this third verse, she burst out in shouts of praise, because she knew that Jesus had come to take her husband home to heaven.

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation and lead me home,

 what joy shall fill my heart

Then I shall bow with humble adoration And then proclaim, my God, 

How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, 

How Great Thou Art, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, 

How Great Thou Art, how great Thou art.

Labels and Lessons Learned

Labels: carrot top, poor kid, gopher, four eyes, ugly, just . . . These are some of the labels Phil wore as a young school boy. It made me think of my elementary years and the labels I wore. When I was in first grade, we had first and second grade together for the first half of the year while an addition was being built onto the school. This was a good thing for me because when she was teaching the second graders, I heard them reading and reading came easy for me and that teacher was a very good teacher. Then we first graders went down to the new classroom and even though the teacher was very nice, there was at least one incident that labeled me. I remember when we were learning to tell time and I answered a question that it was 45 minutes after two and she said I was wrong, that it was 2:45. But my parents had taught me to tell time this way and I felt rejected and dumb.

In second grade I broke my arm and I recall the teacher fussing at me for scratching my desk. She didn't say anything till I almost had my cast off so she could have remedied the situation earlier. But I felt chastised and guilty. Third grade was the worse! The teacher had two sets of students and we knew we weren't her favorites being on the blue team. During an oral book report, I was nervous and mistakenly said the Big Bad Wolf was a different animal. The teacher said, “You go sit down. You haven't read the book.” I was mortified and ashamed. And I felt dumb. Fourth grade was probably the best year as the teacher was a lot older and kind. I don't remember anything negative! But fifth grade was humiliating. The teacher was determining where we were going to sit with two desks being against each other. And she paired the students together until it was just one boy and me remaining. No one wanted to sit beside him because he smelled bad. But I was made to sit with him. This made me feel devalued and ostracized. I also remember being called out of class by the principal because my mother hadn't sent a doctor's excuse for one of my foster brothers. I was a child! And I should not have had this burden put on me. I felt scared. Also that year, because we didn't have a phone, the second grade teacher threatened me that if my foster brother didn't bring in a library book the next day that I would be in trouble. I felt treated unfairly and was afraid of authority figures.

Sixth grade was a blur. The teacher didn't teach much and was out of the classroom often. But I can see now in looking back that I had leadership qualities as I wrote a letter of thanks to the PTA for our class trip to Gettysburg and signed it from the class. I also learned that I could sing! I missed being in county chorus because I was sick the day of the tryouts. Lesson learned: I was more than the labels put on me.

Also during these years, I was always the last person picked for playing ball and genuinely felt like a shadow, unseen by most. During recess, the teachers made us go outside and then they would circle the building with their knitting in hand, walking without being present to what was happening on the playground. I was also taunted and made fun of on the way home from the bus stop. What wounds children inflict on other children! Such a sad state of the human heart.

So I determined when I went to seventh grade that this was my chance to become popular. To get lots of friends in a new environment. But I ended up escaping to the library and reading all kinds of fiction books. I read a book a day most days! But my studies suffered and I failed seventh grade. So my new label was failure. This turned out to be a good thing as it opened my eyes to reality and also landed me with a different group of friends. And as the years progressed, I progressed in learning. I found out I wasn't dumb! Lesson learned: education was a positive and I could learn.

We all know children can be cruel but it is unconscionable when adults hurt a child. I don't think these kinds of things happen in our schools today, at least I hope not. But since I experienced being the odd one out and not feeling wanted, it helped me later in high school to reach out to others in those situations. There were two boys on the school bus that no one wanted to sit with and they would each choose the two front seats. So I decided I would take turns sitting with each of them. This was my way of making my earlier wounds produce the fruit of kindness. Lesson learned: compassion.

A lot of labels are hurtful but there are many that are not. Think of . . .beautiful, lovely, smart, cute, awesome, handsome, graceful, kind; and many more.

The little boy named Phil from the beginning of this blog is Phil Cross! He is a successful singer/songwriter. He continues on to say that he met a Friend who has a book and He wrote his name in the book. And Phil's new label is – I am Redeemed! He wrote a song with this title and you can see the video clip HERE of him recounting his labels as a young boy and then hear his song, I Am Redeemed.

I am so thankful that I also found this Friend, Jesus, as a sixteen year old! It was then I realized that I was loved, cherished, a daughter of the Almighty Father God, a member of the Family of God, a child of God, and I could also take on this new label, I am Redeemed!

I hope my recounting these early childhood wounds will not come across as whining but will serve as an encouragement that we can overcome these types of labels and replace them with the true things of who we are as a person. But most of all, we need to release the things all those kids said to us in elementary school and (re)learn who we are in Christ.

Ephesians 2:10, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Does Prayer Change God's Mind?

I learned a new story recently about prayer. It is found in II Kings 20:1-7 and is about Hezekiah. He became sick and was at the point of death when Isaiah, the prophet, came to him and said, “Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.” What ominous news! Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And he wept bitterly. And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him, “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah, the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father; I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears, Behold I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake.” And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs and let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”

I see a few things in these verses: The first thing Hezekiah did when he heard the bad news was pray. Then he began by saying, Please. Next he reminds the Lord of how he was faithful with a whole heart, not just half hearted. And he did what was good in God's sight. And he wept before the Lord. And then in a short time, God changed his mind and told Isaiah to go back to Hezekiah and let him know he will be healed and will live another fifteen years.

I do find it interesting that Hezekiah asked Isaiah for a sign that this is true and we see another miracle in the next few verses: Isaiah asked him, “Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” And Hezekiah said “it is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” And Isaiah called to the Lord and he brought the shadow back ten steps by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.”

In verse 20 we learn - “The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?” So his last fifteen years were filled with good things after the Lord changed his mind and allowed him to live.

There is a story in Geneses 18:16-23 of intercession when Abraham pleads with God to spare Sodom. He begins by asking if there are fifty righteous, will you spare the city and all in it? He then goes to forty-five, then forty, then thirty, then twenty, and then he gets down to ten because he thought surely his family would be among the righteous. But God knew that there weren't even ten righteous but he still had mercy on Lot and his two daughters. This is a great example of intercession. It is the act of intervening on behalf of another; mediation, negotiation, arbitration.

In Romans 8:26 it speaks of a divine intercession: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

But we are also called to intercede for others. I Timothy 2:1, 3 “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people . . .this is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

In the middle of a familiar passage of Scripture (James 5:17-18) about praying for the sick and the prayer of faith is a short story of Elijah. It says he was a man with a nature like ours. So he was no different from you and me. And he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three and a half years it didn't rain on the earth! And then he prayed again, and it rained and the earth bore fruit! This is power in prayer!

John 14:12 tells us the words of Jesus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

Wow! Are we praying these kinds of prayers? Are we seeing “greater works or greater miracles than the disciples? Than Jesus? Is this possible? How big is your faith?   

Praising God Out Loud with Words

 Last week when I was at Roxbury Camp Meeting, the evening speaker, Tony Rohrer, began his sermon at least two times, with a time of praise. He wanted everyone in the congregation to praise the Lord out loud. For many, including me, it was a challenge. Why? I will speak for myself . . .

I was afraid of my voice amid the silence around me. In recent years I have learned to pray and praise out loud in my own quiet devotional times. But this was very public with many people around each other.  Perhaps there were a few whispered praises but I couldn't hear anyone around me praising vocally, at least not loud enough for me to hear. 

I didn't want others to hear my heart. My praise to God is personal most of the time. I have reasons to praise Him that are not for others to hear.  But we can learn to praise God for many things that are common among us.

I didn't have a large vocabulary of praise words and phrases memorized and stored in my heart that I could use to praise my God.

This got me to thinking that I need to find scriptures that praise God and use them in my times of prayer and praise! And of course, I thought of King David who wrote many of the Psalms. I knew he could teach me a few things about praise.

Here are a few phrases from Scripture (not all from the Psalms) to help you (and me) find the words to praise the Lord.

Psalm 8:1 – O Lord, my Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (this psalm is a good one to memorize in its entirety)

Psalm 59:16 – I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, the God who shows me steadfast love.

Psalm 63:1-8 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. . . You have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 92:1-4 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning and your faithfulness by night . . . you O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the the works of your hands I sing for joy.

Vs5 – How great are your works, O Lord!

Psalm 95:6 – Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.

Psalm 99:5 – Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is He! And verse 9 – Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy!

Psalm 100: Make a joyful noise to the Lord . . . come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 111: Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord . . .full of splendor and majesty is his work and his righteousness endures forever.

Revelation 5:9 – Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.

Exodus 15 – I will sing to the Lord for he has triumphed gloriously; The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? Vs 20 – Then Miriam the prophetess, the Sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Psalm 145: I will extol you, my God and King and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Psalm 146: Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

Psalm 150: Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise

him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

I am finding there is no place to stop when looking for scriptures on praise to God! These are just a few. But a few verbs stuck out to me as to what we are to do: praise, sing (aloud) extol, bless, worship, kneel, raise hands. Then a few descriptive words (adjectives) of our great God: holy, worthy, steadfast, righteous, faithful, mighty, great, glorious, majestic, awesome, love.

There are many more praise phrases to be found in the Psalms and elsewhere in the Bible and I challenge you to find some of your own.  I am going to try to learn some of these scriptures so I can better praise my Lord, out loud, with words!