Nougat 9

My pastor once noted that the motto of the selfish was ‘I man look out for I own self’. It was another way of pleasing ‘me, myself, and I ‘. That attitude does not accommodate anyone else, including God. As believers in Y’shua who seek to live like Him, it is not appropriate. God calls us to a different way. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat

Acts 2:46-47 CEVDCI

[46] Day after day they met together in the temple. They broke bread together in different homes and shared their food happily and freely, [47] while praising God. Everyone liked them, and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved.

Sent to Praise God

The psalmist would argue that all of creation has one common goal – that of praising God (see Psalm 150:6). In Genesis 1:26, Elohim culminated the creation process with a being that replicated God’s essence, and praise was no longer the prerogative of angels only. It was passed on to humanity, God’s mini- me. Praise isn’t only about words, it includes thought patterns that are embodied in our actions.

Self-Check

If our primary purpose is praising God, to what extent are we fulfilling our purpose?

Application

If praise is our core purpose, then there is little doubt that humanity lost sight of our purpose long ago. Having been exposed to sin, the natural inclination goes against pleasing God. Romans 7:19 summarises the situation succinctly, the good that I should do, I do not do, but the evil that I should avoid, I do. But Y’shua’s incarnation helped us to rediscover our purpose.

We may argue that there is a difference between pleasing and praising God, and there is; but it is extremely hard to do one in the absence of the other. To please is to satisfy, make happy or generate joy. Praise expresses admiration for or approval of someone’s work or character. The Topical Lexicon reminds us that Acts links Praise with the breaking of bread, fellowship and prayer… [under scoring its role as] an integral element of gathered life.’ The link between the actions is intentional. And that’s why pleasing God is integral to praising God. For yes, one can open one’s mouth to say all manner of positive things about God and God’s attributes, but one’s actions and attitude confirm what is said.

The Acts community lived what they preached and it was counted as praise. One can almost hear the Genesis 1 creation refrain: God saw that their actions were good and God blessed them. There was evening, then morning … the Pentecost church.

Would that be God’s pronouncement on our community today? That we praise God with the various acts of fellowship. It isn’t impossible, we are also blessed with God’s Spirit to guide and sustain us. It requires some intentionality fuelled by God’s Spirit. And, even if we fall short today, when we confess our sins and repent of our selfishness, there is hope for fresh transformation. The question is, do we desire to praise God with more than just our lips?

Point to Ponder

What do we need to confess to God so that our praise is genuine?

—

May all we seek be found in Christ