Who are we?
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3
We are a blessed people! That’s our history, our legacy, our call.
The English word “blessed” comes from the Greek eulogetos, which means “to express a favorable judgment of someone, speak well of, celebrate with praise.” We get our English word “eulogy” from it.
God has earned our “praise” because of who He is and what He has done for us. God is great, wonderful, kind, patient, powerful, life-giving, loving, gracious, faithful, and holy. He is our life and our love. He saved us. He gave us spiritual life. He made us heirs with His Son. He gave us His Holy Spirit to live within us and empower us to serve Him and others in this life. He has promised us an eternity in His heavenly kingdom! He deserves our praise!
We can “speak well” of God in our minds, in our hearts, through our words, through our writing, through our songs. We can “speak well” of Him to our family, our friends, to those with whom we work, to those in need, to strangers we meet along the way.
God gives us many ways of praising Him. We can praise Him with our thoughts. We can praise Him with our words. We can praise Him with our actions. We can praise Him when we wake in the morning. We can praise Him through the day. We can praise Him before we sleep at night. We can live a life of praise. The opportunity to praise God is always before us.
What does praising God do for Him? It pleases Him to hear from His people. He wants us to be close to Him. He knows that praising Him does that. He knows it renews our minds. He knows it brings His people into the proper spirit for dealing with Him. He knows it prepares us for our future with Him.
What does praising God do for us? It brings us closer to God. It brings us peace. It helps us deal with the stress and trouble of life. It helps us think of good things. It renews our minds. As Paul wrote:
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8
Begin your days with these things. Praise God throughout the day. Remember Him highly as you end your day. Look for opportunities to praise Him silently and aloud. Share His greatness with people around you. You and I will be happier and healthier for it!
In Christ’s Love and Grace,
Mark McGee
GraceLife Blog 