Praise is simply giving God the honor due Him

What is Praise and Worship?

Today's Scriptures:

“You shall have no other gods before Me. ”You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them…” Exodus 20: 3 – 5

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your soul.” Matthew 22:37

WORDS OF MINISTRY

“I will never bow down and worship anyone.” Do you feel the same way or are you shocked by this statement? You might want to know more about what worship is and why God asks us to do it. Part of the word worship comes from the word worth. Of what worth is God to you? Everything and every person in your life have a certain amount of value to you.

The person or things you value the most you tend to spend the most time with and think or talk the most about. You are giving that thing or person great worth, which is a form of worship. We were created to worship, so we will worship something. If God is to be the one you value most or has the greatest worth in your life, then you need to show Him by the amount of time you spend with Him. You can also show Him by your obedience and your attitude.

So where does God rate? Is He number 1, 2? Does He even make it on your top 10 list? How much time do you really spend with Him? Exodus 20 gives us the Ten Commandments. Verses 3 - 5 tell us where we should rate God. Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37 what the greatest commandment is.

One of the ways we can show how much we value God is by praising Him. If we say we are going to spend time praising God we usually end up spending time thanking God for the things He has done for us. Thanksgiving is good, but it is not praise. Praise is simply giving God the honor due Him for whom He is. We have a tendency to put more value on what someone does than in who they are. God says we should love the LORD our God with all our hearts, soul and mind.

He does not say love all the things the LORD does but love Him. Sometimes it may appear as if God is not doing anything or is silent in your life. Especially, if you are going through some difficult circumstances. When we learn to praise Him for who He is and not for what He does then we can praise Him even in the difficult times. It is only then that we find that praising God and our relationship with Him does not depend upon our circumstances.

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My Personal Reflection on Today's Lesson

Circle key words or phrases in today’s Bible reading. Then reflect on the following:

• What message do these words or phrases have for me?

• What new or re-newed insight did I gain from the readings or today’s thought?

• What encouragement does God have for me today?

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My Response to God Today

Write out a prayer to God, telling Him what you learned today and asking Him to meet a specific need in your life.