It’s November. We’re entering our ninth month of the pandemic, and tomorrow is Election Day. You don’t need me to enumerate all the ways we feel like the world has gone tilt these days. We all feel it. What can we do when we face so much stress and uncertainty?
We can talk praise! That’s our theme for this month on the blog, and it’s taken from Psalm 100 in The Message:
Psalm 100
A Thanksgiving Psalm
1-2 On your feet now—applaud God!
Bring a gift of laughter,
sing yourselves into his presence.
3 Know this: GOD is God, and God, GOD.
He made us; we didn’t make him.
We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.
4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.
5 For God is sheer beauty,
all-generous in love,
loyal always and ever.
Did you see it? In verse 4 the psalmist encourages us to talk praise. What a way to live life! I can’t say it comes naturally to me. How about you? Over the next few weeks we’ll explore the Scriptures, hear some great songs, and look at lives that were defined by praise, And we will consider what talking praise looks like in our world today, and in our own lives.
For today, I would like you to find a little notebook or some 3×5 cards, or open a file on your computer and create a Praise Journal for this month, November 2020. My suggestion is that you jot down at least one praise each day. Of course there are the everyday things that you praise the Lord for but look around you and notice things you might not have seen before. Would you do that? It should take only a couple of minutes a day, and we’ll talk about it now and then during the month.
Maybe you already do this. If so, would you let us know how it has impacted your life? You can always leave a comment on this post, or go to the Salt & Pepper Blog Facebook page. (It’s given me a bit of trouble, but I think you should be able to post on it and we can see your thoughts there.)
Prayer
“Lord, you know the troubles we have seen in the past few months, and the elections tomorrow that are on our minds. We lift our concerns to you. We know that you give peace to those who trust in you, so we lay our concerns at your feet and walk in your peace. And for your love and peace, we praise you! Thank you Lord. Amen.”
See you Thursday,
Ginger
Thanks, Ginger. I am teaching Psalms this year and love your paraphrasing of 100.
Hi Kathy, I’ve got to go back again and again to read Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Psalm 100. It is such a joyful invitation, to which the natural response is, “Of course I’m going to come in and worship!”
P.S. My mom enjoys your Bible study :-)
Also I often do the Daily 10 which is listing 10 things I am thankful for. The only rule is that you can’t repeat an item the next day. It makes me focus on my blessings 🙂
Great feedback, Kathy. The Daily Ten, what a great way to count one’s blessings. Just don’t repeat — that helps us keep alert to what God is doing right now!
Ginger
I was looking back at my daily log of praises and noticed that they have all been statements of thanksgiving to God. Looking us the difference between praise and thanksgiving I found that praise is based on “who God is” and thanksgiving is based on “what God has done for us.” I think that we all too often limit our worship to thanksgiving and neglect simply praising Him for who He is. I am going to try each day to include something about God’s power, awesomeness, omnipotence, and stuff like that along with my thanksgiving. Bob
Bob, that is such a good reminder! Thank you for sharing the distinction between praise and thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is good, but it focuses on ourselves. Praise focuses on God himself, who is worthy of praise, no matter what is going on in our lives.
I’m going to review my praise journal and see if it actually includes praise, or just thanksgiving. I’ll be sure to include some praise in my journal!
Ginger
P.S. Thanks for the nudge.