Shouting For Joy (Psalm 100)

Today's full One Year Bible reading:
Judges 9:22-10:18 ~ Luke 24:13-53 ~ Psalm 100:1-5 ~ Proverbs 14:11-12

Psalm 100 is probably my most quoted psalm while leading worship. It has proven to be a deep well that I have drawn from time and time again.

The title in the NIV says, "A psalm. For giving thanks."

¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

² Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

³ Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100

The opening phrase begs the question, "When was the last time you shouted for joy to the LORD?" I ask this of myself as well, and honestly, at first I am always concerned about the volume of my expression of worship - Did I just SHOUT, or was that just loud singing?

But, then I notice the little three letter word, "joy". I think it is even more significant and reveals what the psalmist is trying to say - we should be overflowing with joy as we shout to the LORD; it is a happy celebration. Our joy fuels our praise!

Furthermore, the two words in verse two that standout, while I'm on the subject, are "gladness" and "joyful". "Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs." (Psalm 100:2)

Our thanksgiving should be offered from a joy-filled disposition. The new testament echos this saying, "God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)

I'll save any further commentary for another day.

Today, as an act of worship, lift up your voice and praise the LORD with a joyful shout! We typically shout for lots of very good and bad reasons. Why not go a little deeper with God today?

Give it a try; the next time you get fired up about what God has done for you, lean your head back, cup your hands around your mouth, take a deep breath, and at the top of your lungs, with all your might let out a BIG - WOOOOOOOOOHH!!! PRAISE GOD!! THANK YOU, JESUS!!! YES!!!

You may get set free! :-)

I guarantee you'll feel better! ;-)

Lifestyle of Worship

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:1-2 NLT)

I have read these words in many English translations and although the wording differs slightly the points made still remain. Live a sacrificial life. Do not live like the world. Let God transform my life starting with my thought life and then learn to discern God's will.

There is so much to say about how these verses have impacted my life as a worshiper and a worship leader. To summarize it in a few simple statements: worship is a way of life; It is a lifestyle; Worship is something we do everyday; The heart of our worship is discovered when we follow the trail of our time, affections, and resources.

Live your life today as an act of worship by offering your body as a living sacrifice.

A Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."

What is worship? At the end of the day I am drawn to the conclusion that worship is something we do better than we understand. In fact I think its easier to truly worship than it is to understand the meaning of true worship. The reason for this is we were created to worship. We were designed with the capacity to offer praise and worship to anything. When you boil it down worship is offering true love to something or someone. This being the case you can easily see why most important aspect of true worship is keeping God at the center of it. He must be the central focus of all our affections. If we fail to worship God than we inevitably slip into idolatry for we never cease to worship. It is simply what we do!

Worship is a response!

While understanding that our creator, Almighty God, is the only one worthy to receive worship we must determine what should be the proper response of our lives. The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Roman Christians, "to offer [our] bodies as living sacrifices" to God. What does that mean? A sacrifice is something that has been given; it has been offered; it cost something; it has been fully surrendered to someone else or something else.

Well, what does it mean to offer our lives as "living sacrifices?"

To be a living sacrifice we must fully surrender our lives to God. We must die to ourselves by giving up OUR dreams and plans and pursuing HIS purposes and plans for our lives. Today let us fully pursue becoming a living sacrifice. Let my prayer of response help get you started today.

Pray with me: Lord God, creator of the heavens and the earth, I worship you for who you are and what you have done. You expressed your great compassion for me when you came and gave your life as the perfect sacrifice for my sin (Romans 5:8). Thank you for showing me how to die to self and live for God. Your example challenges me to become a more devoted servant (Philippians 2:5-8). Help me today as I fully surrender my life to you. Show me what to do as I seek to obey you.