Psalm 107:8

Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men.

How important is it that we praise the Lord?  In Psalm 107 there are four identical verses:  8,15, 21, and 31.  They are a plea for men to praise God for His goodness and His gifts to us.  In Psalm 108:1 David says, "Oh God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise even with my glory."  In other words, the great psalmist is saying that he is intent, and his purpose is to praise God.  David knows praising God is his reason for living.  Revelation 4:11 proclaims:  "Thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power:  for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."  There's no doubt about it.  We are here to praise the Lord.  Indeed, it is the most important thing that we do.

Pastor John

Luke 14:27

And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Jesus began calling His disciples back in Luke 5.  In Luke 5:11, we read how "when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed Him."  Then in Luke 5:27-28 Jesus met Levi and "he said unto him, Follow me.  And he left all, rose up, and followed Him."  When Jesus says, "Follow Me," it's not an invitation to a once-a-week church service.  It's a summons to lose your life as you know it, and to find new daily adventures involving everything good and powerful with God.  If you have not committed your life to following Jesus, my prayer is that you will choose to lose the life you're used to, pick up the cross, and truly be His disciple.  Pastor John