Tag: christian life

The Light of the World (John 8:12-19)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. “I am the light of the world,” he said. “Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness.”

The Pharisees said to him, “Now you are testifying on your own behalf; what you say proves nothing.”

“No,” Jesus answered, “even though I do testify on my own behalf, what I say is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. You do not know where I came from or where I am going. You make judgments in a purely human way; I pass judgment on no one. But if I were to do so, my judgment would be true, because I am not alone in this; the Father who sent me is with me. It is written in your Law that when two witnesses agree, what they say is true. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me also testifies on my behalf.”

 “Where is your father?” they asked him.

“You know neither me nor my Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” (Good News Translation)

Light has many uses and a lot of facets to it. The sun’s light gives life; without it we wouldn’t survive. In the form of a fixture or flashlight, it illumines the way so that we can function. The gift of light allows us not to remain in darkness.

The Son, Jesus, is also the Light which gives life. Throughout Holy Scripture, light represents awareness and deliverance; it represents God’s ability to guide us and save us. Jesus helps us find our way in this world.

The Apostle John talked a great deal about light in his Gospel and Epistles:

The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out. (John 1:4-5, GNT)

Jesus said, “The light will be among you a little longer. Continue on your way while you have the light, so that the darkness will not come upon you; for the one who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. (John 12:35, GNT)

Now the message that we have heard from his Son and announce is this: God is light, and there is no darkness at all in him. If then, we say that we have fellowship with him, yet at the same time live in the darkness, we are lying both in our words and in our actions. But if we live in the light—just as he is in the light—then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin. (1 John 1:5-7, GNT)

Light is life, and Jesus, as the Light of the World, is eternal life.

As our Light and our Life, Jesus fulfills the prophetic role, as described by the prophet Isaiah:

“I, the Lord, have called you and given you power
    to see that justice is done on earth.
Through you I will make a covenant with all peoples;
    through you I will bring light to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:6, GNT)

As people of the Light, we are to let that light shine in the darkness so that others can also find direction and deliverance:

“You are like light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl; instead it is put on the lampstand, where it gives light for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16, GNT)

Not everyone, of course, buys into this distinctively Christian way of seeing things – which is why it’s important for all Christians and Churches everywhere to be characterized by the Light and not by the darkness.

Humanity is a strange alchemy of both light and dark, hopefulness and hopelessness, awareness and ignorance, love and hate. We must acknowledge the light, bring it out, let it shine. Hiding the light only gives the dark forces of this world an opportunity to grip people in the shadows of guilt and shame.

Light must be respected. Long exposure to the sun brings a nasty sunburn to the skin. Being drawn to the fire’s light will also get you burnt if you get too close. And some light masquerades as good when it really isn’t.

False apostles lie about their work and disguise themselves to look like real apostles of Christ. Well, no wonder! Even Satan can disguise himself to look like an angel of light! So it is no great thing if his servants disguise themselves to look like servants of righteousness. In the end they will get exactly what their actions deserve. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15, GNT)

The deception typically happens whenever one lacks awareness of their own light, or forgotten, like a misplaced sock under the bed. Then, there’s no means by which to discern the bogus righteousness.

There are many ways of becoming more self-aware and recognizing the light of Christ, such as:

  • Keep a daily journal. Answer for yourself questions like, “What did you do well today?” “What didn’t go so well?” “Why?” and “How will you be and do things differently next time?”

“If I don’t write to empty my mind, I go mad.” Lord Byron (1788-1824)

  • Debrief with others about your experiences. Merely interrogating yourself all the time leads to twisted thinking.

“We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience.” John Dewey (1859-1952)

  • Fight evil. Read books. Meditatively read Scripture. Reading not only helps one to become more knowledgeable and well-rounded, but it also builds empathy and emotional intelligence.

“To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.” Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

  • Practice gratitude. Giving thanks illumines the path. A critical spirit makes others small and limits your own spiritual eyesight. So, be gracious, all the time, every day, no matter what.

“Gratitude, like faith, is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it grows.” Alan Cohen

O Lord, your Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Give us grace to receive your truth in faith and love, and strength to follow on the path you set before us; through Jesus Christ, Amen.

Seek the Least and the Lost (Matthew 18:1-14)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Child of God by Suzi Olson

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish. (New International Version)

“A person’s a person no matter how small.”

Horton Hears a Who! By Dr. Seuss

Jesus sees, honors, and protects little people. 

Horton the elephant spoke to people completely unconcerned for all the residents of Who Ville that lived on a clover. Dr. Seuss chose to make Horton an elephant, a large creature able to hear with big ears and be attentive to the small. Bigness can only come from becoming small.

Little people, the ones others fail to notice, matter to Jesus. And so, they ought to matter to us, too. Since Jesus sees and hears them, we should, too. 

Jesus often mingled with little people – children, women who had no rights, social misfits like lepers, the chronically ill, religious outsiders, tax collectors, and prostitutes. 

Our world is filled with similar people – angry adolescents, unwanted babies, forgotten old people, the mentally ill, moral failures, immigrants and refugees. If we have eyes to see and big ears to hear, we will notice the poor whom no one else hears. They are around us, even if they are invisible to us.

We’re all just little people before God. So, let’s be humble enough to see the little people around us. 

Who’s the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

That question drips with a desire to position and posture oneself in a place of prominence and power. In other words, the questions really is, “How do I climb the ladder in God’s kingdom to be the most important person?”

In response, Jesus graciously and calmly called a child to him and answered that unless we become like a little child, we have no future with God. There’s only one way to have what you want, and it’s through humility.

Children had no status or rights in the ancient world. Ancient culture was not remotely youth or kid oriented. Kids were generally viewed as just potential adults. They were seen as weak, small, and unable to contribute much of anything until they grew up. 

Disciples of Jesus are to become like children, that is, lowly. Followers of Christ must give up their status and desire to be important. They can only be big if they become small.

Only by getting on the same level as little people can we ever welcome Jesus.

Why become like a little child?

Because a person who is attentive to the lowly is actually attentive to Jesus himself. 

We are not to welcome people because they are great, wise, rich, powerful, good-looking, and just like you and me – but because they are noticed by Jesus.

The proud person who seeks prominence is always looking for greener pastures and things to do that will impress people who will help advance them up the ladder of success. They do not care who gets stepped on along the way. 

The Christian, however, is to give all people, including the little ones and the marginal ones, the time of day and treat them as important.

How does one become humble and avoid sin?

Those who receive these little ones receive Jesus; those who reject these little ones reject Jesus, and by their lack of loving them cause them to sin. This, according to Jesus, is damnable behavior, and, so, must be dealt with in a radical manner because hell is worth avoiding at any cost. 

So then, the proud person must hack off part of themselves because it is better to be maimed for the rest of your life than enter hell. This is just one reason why a lot of folks stopped following Jesus.

Yet, Jesus insists that if, for example, your pursuit of money consumes you and you hold onto it and avoid the poor, give it away! If you hold onto your time like a clock miser and let it become your “precious” then you must get rid of it, you must give it away! It is better for you to have nothing than to have plenty of time and money and be thrown into hell fire!

In short, we should seek the lost.  

Instead of waiting for them to show up, or to seek us out, we must go get them.

The lost matter to God.

Those who are on the fence and are half-hearted in their devotion to Jesus and the mission of the church, matter to God. So are the spiritually indifferent and the not very committed. 

Coptic Church icon of Jesus the Good Shepherd

The temptation for spiritually serious persons is to look down on these lukewarm people. Jesus knew how easy it is to berate and despise such persons in our hearts:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14, NIV)

If we are willing to humble ourselves, we can learn the hard practice of not hating others for what we hate in ourselves. 

We hate it when we are lax in our devotion to Christ; fail to accomplish what we want; miss opportunities to do good; and neglect to pray, give, or serve. So, when we see this as a pattern in someone else’s life, we may easily despise them in our hearts.

Turns out that many serious Christians must be converted as well – to seeing God’s heart for these despised little people.

What should be done about lost people?

Human reasoning might say, “Ah, let that one go; we have 99.” But God’s reasoning is, “I really care for that one.” Jesus wants to convert us to the statistically unimportant. 

If a person does not contribute to the life of the flock, do we care?

The parable contained within today’s Gospel lesson has become so familiar that it no longer shocks us. What kind of shepherd would be so stupid to abandon the entire flock and expose them to the dangers of wild animals and the harsh environment in order to search, maybe even unsuccessfully for one stinky, messed up, knurly, ugly, eats-too-much, sheep? 

And then, what’s more, when finding such a sheep, that shepherd rejoices more about this one sheep found than over the more dependable and attractive members of the flock? 

Only such a “foolish” shepherd can represent God’s concern for each one straying child.

Our Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little people should be lost. Therefore, we are to seek the lost.

Conclusion

Antonio Stradivarius (1644-1737) was an Italian violin maker. His violins are now the most prized violins ever made because of the rich and resonating sound they produce. The unique sound of a Stradivarius violin cannot be duplicated.

Surprisingly, these prized violins were not made from treasured pieces of wood, but instead were carved from discarded lumber. Stradivarius, who was very poor and could not afford fine materials like his contemporaries, got much of his wood from the dirty harbors where he lived. He would take those waterlogged pieces of wood to his shop, clean them up, and from those pieces of trashed lumber, he created instruments of rare beauty.

It has since been discovered that while the wood floated in those dirty harbors, microbes went into the wood and ate out the center of those cells. This left just the fibrous infrastructure of the wood that created resonating chambers for the music. From wood that nobody wanted, Stradivarius produced violins that everybody wants.

God has a plan. It is a plan to build a benevolent realm using not just the big and important, but the lowly and despised. 

May we all participate with the Lord and humble ourselves for kingdom purposes.

Believe, Love, and Obey (1 John 5:1-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three agree. We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 

Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (New International Version)

Faith, love, and obedience are words so tightly woven together, that to pull one of them out, is to unravel the whole bunch. 

To believe, love, and obey are the true marks of a Christian; and they are vital to living the Christian life and overcoming the dark forces of the world.

Let’s talk some grammar – because it will help us better understand the Apostle John’s message….

The main verb is the main thing

One of the dominant main verbs throughout these verses: “is.” And the verb tense is key, grammatically describing a past action of God which people need to receive. In other words, the grammar dictates that God has given us new birth. 

We do not give ourselves spiritual birth any more than we can tell our mothers that it was us who gave birth to ourselves.

The participles describe the main thing

God saves us from sin and grants us forgiveness. The action is from God to us; we are recipients of God’s good grace toward us.

There are three participles connected to the main verb, “is:”

  1. Believe
  2. Love
  3. Obey

A participle is a word which is connected to the verb’s action. 

Our actions are a result of God’s action toward us.

Simply put, a person born from God will believe, love, and obey.

Just as a newborn baby first breathes, then learns to eat, sleeps, grows-up, learns to walk, and over time develops into an adult just like their mother and father, so the Christian who is born again from God exhibits faith, learns to love, and grows up developing the skills of obeying Jesus and following him, learning to walk in his ways, becoming just like him.

Overcoming the world

In the same way a child must grow and mature to have the necessary skills for facing the world in all its trials and temptations, so the Christian must develop the requisite abilities of faith, love, and obedience, to overcome the world.

To “overcome” is to experience the victory the Lord Jesus has achieved on the cross. 

Through being spiritually born again by God, it sets us on a course requiring faith, love, and obedience in overcoming the world. As we learn to apply these three spiritual characteristics to our lives, we experience practical victory over the world.

The term “world” is used by the Apostle John as the patterns, systems, and operations of the world, which are in direct contrast to how God operates. For example:

  • The world engages in revenge and payback when wronged, whereas the Christian learns to believe God will be the Judge, loves the person who has offended them through prayer for their enemy, and obeys God through good works that seeks the welfare of the other. 
  • The world uses other people as either objects of their pleasure or to get ahead in life, whereas the Christian believes God will take care of their needs, will seek to love the other person instead of use them, and would rather obey God by cutting off their right hand off than being selfish. 
  • The world thinks nothing of lying, cheating, and stealing, if they can get away with it, whereas the Christian believes Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, loves being a person of integrity, and obeys God even when it hurts.

This in no way suggests we avoid or belittle the world. In overcoming the world, we must have principled civility. Using faith, love, and obedience, we respect another’s viewpoint through allowing our spirits to grow in faith, expanding our hearts in love, and learning obedience through interaction with others for whom we disagree.

Faith, love, and obedience

We need faith in God:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6, NRSV)

We need love for God and others:

Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. (1 John 2:15-17, MSG)

We need obedience to the call of God:

The commandment that God has given us is: “Love God and love each other!” (1 John 4:21, CEV)

When faith, love, and obedience are working together, as intended, we overcome the world and all its crud; and keep ourselves from being polluted and stained by it.

Overcoming the world is a high calling from God. 

Faith means putting aside fear and taking the kind of risk God wants you to take.

Love means putting aside hate and serving others, even when it hurts.

Obedience means putting aside selfishness and choosing to do what is best for another person’s welfare.

Being characterized by these three Christian virtues will have the effect of overcoming the world. It is not a burdensome or heavy way to live. It’s the way of Jesus.

Blessed God – Father, Son, and Spirit – the Lord whom we serve: Sometimes our hearts and minds are flooded with fears. Sometimes we are paralyzed and overwhelmed and feel unable to go on. Yet, we hold onto the victory you have accomplished through the cross of Jesus Christ. You have told us not to fear, for you have overcome the world. In moments of crippling fear, we choose to hold your hand and believe; to love as we have been loved; and, to obey even in the most fearful places because we know that you have risen again.

Holy Spirit, we invite you and all your ministry within us. Holy God of all, we offer you our heart, mind, body, soul, spirit, hopes, plans and dreams. We surrender to you our past, present and future problems, habits, character defects, attitudes, livelihood, resources, finances, medical coverage, occupation and all relationships. We give you our health, physical appearance, disabilities, disorders, family, marriage, children, grandchildren, and friendships.

Loving Lord Jesus, we surrender to you all our hurt, pain, worry, doubt, fear and anxiety, and ask you to wash us clean. We release everything into your compassionate care. Open our ears to hear your voice. Open our hearts to commune with you more deeply. Open the doors that need to be opened and close the doors that need to be closed. Set our feet upon the straight and narrow road that leads to everlasting life. Amen.

The Who, What, When, Why, Where, and How of Praise (Psalm 148)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
By Stushie Art

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
    praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
    praise him, all his host!

Praise him, sun and moon;
    praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens
    and you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for he commanded, and they were created.
He established them forever and ever;
    he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
    stormy wind fulfilling his command!

Mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
    creeping things and flying birds!

Kings of the earth and all peoples,
    princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
    old and young together!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
    praise for all his faithful,
    for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord! (New Revised Standard Version)

By Stushie Art

Everything in all creation points to a Creator who cares for us. The 12 days of Christmas (December 25–January 5) are a great celebration. King Jesus has come; he is the rightful Sovereign over all creation. Believers recognize Christ’s incarnation – affirming the identity of Jesus as both full human and fully divine. 

Worshipers praise the Lord. It’s in our spiritual DNA to give adoration, praise, and honor to God. Today’s Psalm is not only meant for good times; it’s also for the despondent, difficult, and downright hard times. There’s always an open season on praising the Lord, no matter what’s going on in and around us. 

Psalm 148 helps to re-orient us around praise to God, instead of remaining stuck in being disoriented.  Whether in good times or bad, we praise the Lord. 

Who should praise the Lord?

Everyone. Everything. 

God has created and continues to impact every nook and cranny of creation. Therefore, the entire universe – every creature and all humanity – acknowledge the Lord with praise. 

The outer reaches of the universe, on everything out there which we cannot even see, praise the Lord. 

The earth and everything in it praise the Lord. 

The forces of nature praise the Lord. 

The landscape, the flora and fauna, animals and humans, together with all creation, praise the Lord. 

Young people, old people, men and women – no matter who they are or where they come from – praise the Lord. 

The proper purpose of everything and everyone that exists is giving adoration and praise to God.

In the Ancient Near East, the sun, moon, and stars were considered gods by the various people groups. This Psalm was, therefore, more than a summons to praise – this was a call to recognize the One true God as the sovereign and the rightful ruler of all. Thus, the ancient peoples understood this psalm as a claim that their gods must bow to Israel’s God.

What is praise to the Lord?

Praise to the Lord is a recognition that God deserves praise from everyone and everything. Praise is physical posture and a heart stance of bowing, yielding, and submitting to God. “Praise the Lord” in the Hebrew language is “hallelujah.” And “hallelujah literally means “to raise the hands.”

We are told 10 times in the 14 verses of Psalm 148 to praise the Lord, that is, to raise our hands. It’s a symbol of submission and joy. To have open hands lifted toward heaven conveys our obedience and commitment to God. 

When do we praise the Lord?

Praising the Lord and lifting the hands, is not only to occur in church or worship setting; praise happens everywhere.

We lift our arms in reverent submission at our workplaces when we land a client or have a good day; and when cranky and critical people demean us. Praising the Lord isn’t limited to good circumstances.

We raise our hands and praise the Lord when our neighbors care about us and look out for us, as well as when they make noise and irritate us with their less than kept up yards and houses. Yielding to God’s purposes for our lives is not dependent upon whether we have good neighbors or not. 

We praise the Lord and raise our hands when our marriages are life-giving and thriving, as well as when our relationship with our spouse is dry, dull, and going nowhere. It’s always open season on praising the Lord and reflecting his image through love. 

By Stushie Art

We praise the Lord for our kids, not only when they do what’s right; but also when they’re complete stinkers and drive us nuts. We are to use our hands for praise and enact obedience, and not for violence through finger pointing or physical punishment.

In adversity, we praise the Lord because it gives us a chance to put our faith into action. In times when someone is being insensitive and callous, it provides the opportunity to praise the Lord and love them because God loves us.

At all times, in all places, in every circumstance, and with each situation we raise our hands in hallelujah to Jesus for saving us from our misguided ways and bringing us back into fellowship with God. 

Lift your hands, always! And when, like Moses, we can no longer lift them, let others help hold them up we so that we can keep praising God. (Exodus 17:11-12)

Why praise the Lord?

Because God created everything and everyone. 

The Lord designed every living thing and fashioned a man and a woman in the divine image as the pinnacle of creative work. 

Adam and Eve walked with God and had perfect praise of the Lord and fellowship with each other. Yet, tragedy happened. The people God formed were deceived into thinking that the Lord was holding out on them by not letting them eat from a certain tree in the garden. So, they disobeyed, ate the fruit, and so plunged the world into darkness.

However, God did not turn away from humanity. Holy Scripture is the revelation of a God who goes out of the way to do whatever it takes to reclaim people back to fellowship so that they can fulfill their original design to praise the Lord. 

The height of God’s love is sending the Son, the Lord Jesus. God became one of us so that he could save us from ourselves. 

Whenever we have exhausted all the avenues this world has to offer in bringing fulfillment, satisfaction, and peace to our lives – there stands Jesus, crucified, risen, ascended, and waiting with open arms for you and me to lift our hands and see that he has the only way for us to live. 

The reason you have felt for so long that you are a square peg in a round hole is that your life is meant to praise the Lord. You are not meant to fit into the world; you are meant for God.

Where do we praise the Lord?

From the heavens and the earth. From everywhere in all creation, and from everyone as creatures, there is to be praise to the Lord.

Humanity is one part of a big grand chorus of praise that arises from all creation. Some of the psalmist’s pairings of praise are quite informative. 

The sun that praises God during the daytime and the moon that offers its praise at night, reminds us that God’s praise is never silenced. 

The highest heavens and waters above the sky, along with the earth and what’s under its waters, helps us recall that God’s creation, from top to bottom, praises the Lord. 

The mountains and hills, with creatures and flying birds on them and circling them, communicates to us that both the noticeable and scarcely noticeable offer their praises to our God and King.

All creation burps out their praise – which means that some folk really are dumber than rocks because even the rocks know enough to praise the Lord. 

We praise the Lord – outdoors, indoors, at home, at work, in the neighborhood, with family, church, from every place there is to be a lifting of the hands to God.

How do we praise the Lord?

Of course, we raise our hands in adoration for the God who gives us life and watches over us in such a way that not a hair on our heads can fall apart from the divine will. 

We praise the Lord by being the people God created us to be – walking in fellowship with the Lord and enjoying the divine/human relationship forever.

No matter our current situation, every day and every situation is a summons to praise the Lord. God’s claim upon our lives leads us toward raising our hands to heaven. 

The person who praises God is marked by a deep humility of understanding that they are not God; expressive gratitude for God’s actions; patient confidence in God’s promises; and a sense of unity, participating in harmony with God, others, and all creation in praising the Lord!

Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,
All praise is Yours, all glory, honor and blessings.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong;
no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.

We praise You for all Your creatures,
especially for Brother Sun,
who is the day through whom You give us light.
He is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,
of You Most High, he bears Your likeness.

We praise You for Sister Moon and the stars,
in the heavens You have made them bright, precious and fair.

We praise You for Brothers Wind and Air,
fair and stormy, all weather’s moods,
by which You cherish all that You have made.

We praise You, for Sister Water,
so useful, humble, precious and pure.

We praise You for Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night.
He is beautiful, playful, robust, and strong.

We praise You for Sister Earth,
who sustains us
with her fruits, colored flowers and herbs.

We praise You for those who pardon,
or who for love of You bear sickness and trial.

Blessed are those who endure in peace,
by You they will be crowned.

We praise You for Sister Death,
from whom no-one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in their sins!
Blessed are those that She finds doing Your Will.
No second death can do them harm.

We praise and bless You Lord,
give You thanks,
and humbly serve You. Amen.

 – A canticle of praise from St. Francis of Assisi