As November comes to a close, I hope you have enjoyed your own season of celebration, praise, gratitude, and thanksgiving. We have SO MUCH for which each of us can be grateful. You probably join me in remembering a special friend, family, a beautiful relationship, your church, pastor and church family, and so many other great blessings.
Today, we stop to rejoice in Jesus Christ.
Praise Him! Praise Him!
A hymn Praise Him! Praise Him! I remember from my childhood by Fanny Croby (1869) reads:
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O earth His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest archangels in glory,
Strength and honor give to His holy name!
Like a shepherd Jesus will guard His children –
In His arms He carries them all day long:
Praise Him! Praise Him! tell of His excellent greatness!
Praise Him! Praise Him! ever in joyful song!Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins He suffered and bled and died;
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises – Jesus Who bore our sorrows –
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong:
Praise Him! Praise Him! tell of His excellent greatness!
Praise Him! Praise Him! ever in joyful song!Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth for ever and ever,
Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet and Priest and King!
Christ is coming, over the world victorious –
Pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong:
Praise Him! Praise Him! tell of His excellent greatness!
Praise Him! Praise Him! ever in joyful song!
Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Paul so poignantly exclaimed,
“It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted a sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:34-39).
Jesus deserves our praise!
We Should Be to the Praise of His Glory
So how then should we live? If Jesus is so wonderful and deserves our praise, how should we respond?
I think Paul gets it perfect when he writes,
“…that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:12).
As those who have placed our hope in Jesus Christ, we should live for His glory. We should live in constant honor of His name. Whether we eat, drink, or whatever we do (1 Cor 10:31). Whatever we do in word or deed, we do all in the name of our Lord Jesus (Col 3:17).
Wherever we go, whatever we do, no matter our mood, regardless of our location, we live in honor of Jesus Christ. We strive to be Christlike in every way.
What a great privilege to live for the praise of His glory!
KevinCarson.com | Wisdom for Life in Christ Together
