Pre-New Year Praise

This may be my last post before 2017 arrives. I am looking forward to being in church on the first day of the New Year. It will be a wonderful privilege and blessing to "ring in the New Year" in a house of worship offering my praise and thanksgiving to God. That anticipation leads me to share what the Spirit placed in and on my heart this morning.

We live in a world of entitlement; a world that bathes itself in selfishness; a world full of people that has lost respect for their self as well as respect for others and a world that is growing more unthankful as time goes by. I felt the Holy Spirit nudge my heart this morning and remind me that those attributes do not need to be operating in the lives of His children. We need to be the anti-dote to the attitudes that seem to be very visible in our modern day society. 

Psalm 100 began to resonate in my heart as I reflected on the goodness of God and the greatness of God that I have witnessed in 2016 as well as all the previous years of my life. Time would not allow me and my memory would be unable to recall all that God has done in my life. God recognizes our human frailties and understands our human limitations. But God has provided us a "venue" that allows us to express to God our sincere appreciation. I call it the venue of praise and David expressed God's viewpoint of this venue in Psalm 107: "Oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness; and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (NKJV)

I want to take this opportunity to encourage you to join with me in offering thanks to God via the "venue of praise" that He has prepared for us as we prepare to say good-bye to 2016. I fully understand that each of us have faced days of trials, troubles, challenge, and difficulty. But it is also true that during those days we sensed the nearness of the presence of God. "Oh that men would give thanks to the Lord..." In some cases we would not have been able to make it through those moments if had not been for the Lord being with us. 

Let us begin the New Year by reflecting on the goodness of God in the previous year (s) of our lives. "Oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness..." Let us begin the New Year by being determined to become a "person of praise." "Oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness..." 

Some of you are aware that my Dad passed away this year. I had the privilege of praying with him and my Mom on many occasions the past few years and especially the last few months of his life. He would always say these words prior to praying together, "Mike, we are going to close out by praising the Lord." We would offer our prayers to the Lord. And I would begin to hear Dad start offering his praise to God and his voice would begin to grow softer and then I would hear the phone click and I new that Dad had walked away from the phone offering His praise to God. I plan on closing out 2016 by offering my praise and thanksgiving to God. "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness..." 

Psalm 100: “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! ² Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. ³ Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. ⁴ Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. ⁵ For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.” (NKJV)