December 22
Mike Ahearn, Church Administrator
Praising God is indeed a privilege of his children. In the scriptures we are challenged often and commanded to “Praise the Lord.” Sometimes we may do so by simply saying that simple three-word expression, or “Hallelujah!” But how much better it is, and how much more it speaks to our own hearts as well as the hearts of others, when we are moved by the Spirit to praise the Lord by describing and exalting the attributes of his person as revealed in Scripture.
Three thousand years ago in Psalm 145, King David placed his hope in God praising God in such manner. With a partial understanding of God’s plans for future revelation, he recognized that God’s “greatness is unsearchable,” and “his saints shall speak of the glory of his kingdom and tell of his power.” A millennium after David, as recorded in Luke 1:46-55, Mary also extolled God’s great work in her life as she told of his amazing power commending God’s work to all generations that have come after her.
As David hoped in God while looking to the future, and Mary rejoiced to bear the Christ child, we look toward Christ’s second coming knowing that he has already established God’s Kingdom and the number of the saints only continues to increase. We know that the Father has fixed by his own authority the time of Christ’s return. God has chosen the church to be the body of Christ on earth as we await his return. As God incarnate became vulnerable to the fallenness of creation, we also continue to be subject to pandemics, persecution, and hardship — yet resolute in our faith in Christ never ceasing to give him praise. As we await his return, let us think, pray, and do as David and Mary did trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit to change us, commending his works to others, and proclaiming his glory and power.