"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." Hebrews 13:15
Why is it a sacrifice to praise God? We would think it would be our privilege and pleasure. My thoughts are that because we are selfish by nature that it would be a sacrifice to put aside all my own wants and needs and requests for His help to just thank Him for what He has done for me and to praise and worship Him for who He is. I have so many things I would like fixed in me and my loved ones but as I accept myself and others just as we are right now and turn my thoughts to gratitude for what I DO have and rehearse in praise the power, love and acceptance of my Heavenly Parent, I find serenity in the midst of it all. And we know that nothing can match that feeling.
Before I end this meditation I will share something that made me laugh at myself when I was reading. I laughed because I read a word wrong...........I transposed the word ‘enjoyment’ into ‘employment’ in a sentence that went like this. “True happiness consists only in the enjoyment of God.” :) Well, that statement is true but being as my spiritual gift is service, I love to serve so I will take the liberty of rewriting the sentence to read “True happiness consists only in the enjoyment AND employment of God.”
Thank You dear Father for these thoughts this morning. I have so much to thank You for....my husband, my home, my children and grandchildren, my health, recovery on many levels, my friends, etc etc etc. And I offer the sacrifice of praise to You this morning for not only what You have done for me but also for who You are. I praise You for being all powerful, everywhere present, unchanging, faithful, just, love, forgiving, patient, kind, gentle, Creator Sovereign, ruler of the universe and of me. You are my serenity for this day. Amen
Why is it a sacrifice to praise God? We would think it would be our privilege and pleasure. My thoughts are that because we are selfish by nature that it would be a sacrifice to put aside all my own wants and needs and requests for His help to just thank Him for what He has done for me and to praise and worship Him for who He is. I have so many things I would like fixed in me and my loved ones but as I accept myself and others just as we are right now and turn my thoughts to gratitude for what I DO have and rehearse in praise the power, love and acceptance of my Heavenly Parent, I find serenity in the midst of it all. And we know that nothing can match that feeling.
Before I end this meditation I will share something that made me laugh at myself when I was reading. I laughed because I read a word wrong...........I transposed the word ‘enjoyment’ into ‘employment’ in a sentence that went like this. “True happiness consists only in the enjoyment of God.” :) Well, that statement is true but being as my spiritual gift is service, I love to serve so I will take the liberty of rewriting the sentence to read “True happiness consists only in the enjoyment AND employment of God.”
Thank You dear Father for these thoughts this morning. I have so much to thank You for....my husband, my home, my children and grandchildren, my health, recovery on many levels, my friends, etc etc etc. And I offer the sacrifice of praise to You this morning for not only what You have done for me but also for who You are. I praise You for being all powerful, everywhere present, unchanging, faithful, just, love, forgiving, patient, kind, gentle, Creator Sovereign, ruler of the universe and of me. You are my serenity for this day. Amen
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