Lifted Vision Ministry

-Hebrews 13:15 ESV-
“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”

Hello everyone! As Christmas rolls around, we get the great pleasure of getting to hear the special, elegant and wonderful Christmas music that praises our Savior everywhere we go! This once a year blessing can be experienced all over the world, even here in Japan! I’ve heard many Christmas songs in public spaces that lifts my heart and spirit in Osaka- Praise the Lord!
Additionally, since November, I have joined the worship team at my church and have been blessed to be able to serve the Lord and His house in this new capacity! It has been a blessing to be able to be a part of the corporate worship/prayer nights we have at our church and to be a facilitator of the glorious news of our Savior!

So what do the scriptures say about praising the Lord? There are many different ways and applications, but let’s take a look into the book of Psalm (an entire book of the Bible, entirely of songs dedicated to the Lord) for some practical ways to go deeper in our worship for God, our Savior!

-Psalm 150 KJV- 
“Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.”

From this Psalm we can see all the information needed to praise God and praise God well! So what are some of the ways of how we can do it?

1. Where?! In his sanctuary and in the firmament of his power (verse 1). Although there is never a wrong place or time to give the Lord the praise that He is due, what I can grasp from this verse is that there are a few places where we should praise the Lord always: at church, in the throne room of His sanctuary, and in the vastness of His power. The way I interpret this scripture is that during our prayer time, our corporate worship or just sitting in our prayer closet in the presence of the Lord~ these are very acceptable places to worship!

2. For What?! His amazing works, His excellency, His greatness, His perfection (verse 2). We should praise the Lord according to the greatness of His power! He is our perfect, merciful and loving God- we should praise Him at all times and for everything He has already done for us and for all the current ways He continues to bless us! For the favor, the blessings, our relationships, our church families, for our paychecks, for our health, for being alive! The list goes on!

3. How? With instruments (even loudly), dance, and with our voices (verses 3-5). There are a few ways that we can praise the Lord that are acceptable to Him according to this verse! With our breath, our voices! With dance, if you like to and are able to! And with various instruments; making beautiful music before the Lord! In all of this He delights!

I was deeply encouraged by a friend recently who told me that we were all, “created to and for worship.” This is such a true blessing and realization as we take into consideration that we are creatures of worship. That worship is meant for our Creator, our Loving Heavenly Father, who gave us life and made us in His image! I encourage all of us to go deeper in praising God for all of his marvelous works, during this season and forevermore!

God bless you and thank you for reading!