Begin to Praise

"Rejoice in the Lord, O you [uncompromisingly] righteous [you upright, in right standing with God]; for praise is becoming and appropriate for those who are upright in heart." (Psalm 33:1, The Amplified Bible)

Praise. According to the Word of God, that's the most appropriate, becoming, thing that you as a believer can do.

Let me warn you though, God's idea of appropriate praise and yours may well be two very different things. The praise He calls for is joyous and uninhibited. And, at times, it's just plain loud!

If you don't believe it, look in the Bible and see the kind of praise that goes on in heaven. Read Isaiah 6 and find out how they act in the throne room. The seraphim shout in there until the doorposts shake! And when they do, the glory of the Lord fills the house.

When you get to heaven, you're going to be praising like that too. You're going to be leaping and praising God with every part of your being. But don't wait until then to start. Begin now.

Decide today that instead of praising God the way you like, you are going to start doing it the way He likes. Begin to release those praises joyously, uninhibitedly. Don't wait until you get to heaven to praise God with all your being. Do it now. He deserves it!

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified Bible.

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8

The Stigma of the Anointing

Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. —1 Peter 4:13

At the end of the day the anointing will have a stigma. It will offend. John Wesley was offended by George Whitefield's preaching because it was done in the fields instead of in a regular church building.

My congregation at Westminster Chapel was offended when I started our Pilot Light witnessing program on Saturday mornings. I had no idea of ever being a witness on the streets. I was always glad for somebody else to do that. It just wasn't my anointing—or so I thought!

But my thinking changed when I invited Arthur Blessitt to preach at Westminster Chapel in May 1982. The plan was for us to take pamphlets and questionnaires to nearby Page Street, knock on doors, and talk to people about the Lord. But we never made it. Arthur began witnessing to some youth who were standing in front of the chapel, and within a short time, several of them got saved.