Posts Tagged ‘Facet’

Celebrate!

This is the final lesson in this series and most likely the most familiar to you. From the inception of Praise Him! I knew about this facet of praise and most, if not all, people do, but the capacity in which they know it is another matter. This is the week we celebrate our Lord. We see celebration in church services, conferences, football stadiums, and some of us probably do some form of it in our homes on a regular basis for many occasions. So, maybe, you understand celebration, but what about celebrating God and what He has done and is doing for you?

This is a very exciting form of praise and even though it is familiar maybe you are still reserved about it. Have you ever cast off your entire reserved-ness and celebrated the Lord? My comparison is to a sports event. Have you ever thrown caution to the wind and celebrated the Lord the way fans celebrate at sporting events? Why or why not?

How do you celebrate the Lord? Be specific in your answer. When do you celebrate the Lord? Are there specific times when you should celebrate the Lord? Yes and no, yes, because the word of God says there are specific times to celebrate, and no, because if you are a child of the King of Kings, every moment of everyday is a reason to celebrate!

Let’s take a look at the Greek and Hebrew words that mean celebrate.
The Hebrew words: Hilluwl (hil-lool’) means, “rejoicing and praise” (Leviticus 19:24); Zamar means, “to sing praise, to make music, to play an instrument” (Psalm 7:17); Tahillah means, “to praise, to sing a hymn of praise, public rejoicing” (Deuteronomy 10:21, Isaiah 42:10); and finally Towdah means, “praise, thanksgiving, worship” (Jeremiah 33:11). The Israelites knew how to celebrate the Lord. They were not reserved or cared what anyone thought. Their Jehovah was the most important one, how about you? The Greek word Humneo (hoom-neh’-o) means, “to sing the praise of” (Matthew 26:30, Acts 16:25).

When I first began to realize that there was more to praise than what I had seen or heard was the day I heard a song called, “Ain’t Gonna Let no Rock” by Alvin Slaughter.

This is the chorus:
“Ain’t gonna let no rock out praise me,
Ain’t gonna let it sing in my place.
I will make a joyful noise,
I will sing a joyful song,
That is pleasing to the ear of the Lord.”
That song comes from Luke 19:40.

This brings me to the hardest question that I have had to ask during this series, “Are you letting the rocks cry out in your place?” How many days or weeks go by that you don’t celebrate your love and gratefulness to the Lord? I suggest that you get a pan and a spoon if you don’t have any other instrument and “make a joyful noise unto the Lord” today. I am sorry that this world has conditioned us into believing that praise has to be perfect and fitting the rules laid down. Praise is a sweet aroma to the Lord in “any” fashion!

I suggest that you put on some music, take off your shoes and socks (because you are on Holy ground) and belt it out with all your might! Dance before the Lord like David did. What an amazing thing to teach our children! Maybe the next generation will not be silent!
We ain’t gonna let no rocks out praise us… are we?

Praisin’ Him!
Kathy