I love what God has done with you. I thank God that He chose you (as members of Christ's body on earth) to grow me. He uses you to show me what it means to follow and worship Him.
What is love? As I spend my devotional time with God in the Gospel of Luke, I'm convinced that Luke uses the most adjectives out of all the Gospel authors. If that's actually true I really don't know. So I'm glad that I spent a chunk of my Valentine's day undivided with God! This being Valentines day heightens the heart strings to soprano-crescendo-rapido. God is so blessedly good, in love with me and He lets me know it.
It kinda humbles me to think that I need God's love in the form of daily provision, hourly mercy and constant grace. In contrast, God asks for my burdens, anxieties, and praises. He wants them, God I think is an emotionally receptive God. He is compassionate and considerate to our emotion. Actually when I cry (tears) out of a spiritual prompting it is proof that God exists for me because I hadn't cried since middle school. Now and then I feel a good cry is a release unto God.
What's the deal with God's fixation on us praising Him? Why does He want us to call Him Holy? To worship Him and glorify His name and works alone. Doesn't God already know all this about Him? Why is He so insistent on praise-seeking? Is that God bragging or just being relational with us?
I think, its because it brings us something as His children. Two hypotheses:
One: It for our own good. It is important to remember that we desperately need Him and He doesn't need us. Praising Him is for our own good, it sets our thoughts on God and His holiness. If you want to know what heaven's like: praise God. Heaven is an eternity of worship! (Is this what monasteries were modeled after?) Worship in direct proximity to God. -I hope we all know how worthy He is of our praises. Besides I don't know of anyone that asks for my burdens or anxieties like Jesus does. Praise Him.
Second, Being literally: all-good God has a right, a holy jealousy when credit isn't given to Him as it ought. Instead something is substituted to replace God and it gets the praise instead. Like a toy poodle in a knitted sweater getting the owners praises for cuteness and companionship because it might make the owner feel a deeper sense of identity. This deferring of credit happens all the time, just watch Oprah. I don't worship God as fully as He merits in my life. Giving God the credit for things like talent peels back those layers of pride that so easily grows out of skill. So today i want to praise Him with gratitude: for honesty, for writing, for humor, for leading, for being a Frenchie, for my sick defensive skills in the paint etc... That must please Him, Doesn't He say somewhere in the Bible that He delight in our praises. I hope I'm not making this up. It sounds like it fits God's character, so familiar... Maybe its "I will inhabit the praises of my people."
Praise and worship the name of Jesus Christ because of Him restoring my life with God the Father, and residing within me making me a temple for the Holy Spirit. I'll do the same: I'll praise God for everyone that I send this to for the work He's done in ya'll. Ya'hear. Let's worship with zeal. Lets give Him the credit for the believers in our lives, and also lets bless the unbeliever, and enemies. That's a Valentine God would approve of.
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