Praise is Christian Living

The heartbeat of an attitude of gratitude is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”

The great Communitarian Matthew Henry writes, “Here we have short exhortations that will not burden our memories, but will be of great use to direct the motions of our hearts and lives. This is a duty of great importance.” These series of brief, staccato commands indicate the heartbeat of Christian living. Today’s key text gives the marks of a genuine church that is surrendered to the Headship of Christ.   The world view is not to praise God.  The lie of the devil says that the Lord is not aware of nor concerned about your present circumstance.

Gratitude is the mark of a growing Christian.  For example: Babies are not born being able to express gratitude. You can walk a colicky baby for several hours throughout the night.  When you lay the baby down, he will not express thanksgiving, because he can’t, he is a baby. But as the child begins to grow, good parents train the child to say “thank you” and as the child continues to grow, he is expected to show gratitude by the way he lives.  Born again Christians must learn how to live a life of gratitude to the Lord and to all who serve Him.

There was a black Negro preacher who knew that his life was to express gratitude.  This great man of God was a leper in the once “National Hospital of Lepers” in Carville, Louisiana.  Leprosy caused him to become a cripple, deformed and blind.  Yet he was very cheerful and thankful. He sang hymns of praise and greatly inspired all the other lepers who suffered the same health problems that he did. A note of thanksgiving was always predominate in his prayers.  An old fashioned radio brought joy to him. He turned it on and off with his lips, his fingers were useless.  It was told of Pastor David, “He brought the joy of the Lord to all who heard his praise and saw the life he lived.”

No matter what our circumstances are, we can always have a testimony that glorifies the God who created us, the Christ who died for us and testifies of the Holy Spirit of Christ who enables us!

Live a life of praise!