“Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights above.”
~ Psalm 148:1
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you like to be praised? Do you like it when your dad and/or ma tells you how smart you are? Do you like it when your teacher tells you how well that you are doing in his or her class? Do you know what praise means? Praise is to applaud, admire or congratulate. Have you ever been praised, applauded, admired or congratulated for having done something really well? Every guy, gal and kid likes to be praised. If a kid friend does something really well, do you praise your kid friend for what he or she did really well? A speaker, singer, actor or athlete will sometimes be applauded for what he or she has said or done. Have you ever applauded a guy or gal after the guy or gal has done something that really amazed or encouraged you? What is something that you really admire? Is a beautifully painted picture something that you have admired? Do you like it when guys, gals and kids admire something that you have made? Have you ever been congratulated? You will be congratulated at your preschool graduation for having done what you needed to do to begin first grade. Your grandmaa and grandpaa spent a night two days ago in a town in Guatemala called Comitancillo. Your grandmaa and grandpaa had to drive over some very bumpy up and down mountainous roads to get to Comitancillo. Your grandmaa and grandpaa made the very arduous trip to Comitancillo to witness being given Equipo SEPAL’s Certificates of Completion to eight guys and six gals. Your grandmaa and grandpaa are Equipo SEPAL missionaries. Programa de Educación Bíblica or P.E.B. is the name that your grandpaa gave to the Bible education program in which these eight guys and six gals were students. The eight guys who were given Equipo SEPAL’s Certificates of Completion had satisfactorily completed at least thirty-six of the forty module classes that were taught in Comitancillo. A module class is taught for three hours a day – Monday through Friday, over two weeks – totaling thirty hours per module. Some of the guys who graduated from the Comitancillo P.E.B. would leave their families for three days in order to study in the Comitancillo P.E.B. The guys who were married would go to their homes on the third night. One of the P.E.B. guys – Jose Bravo, had to walk three hours to get to his house. The guys would return the next day with their wives. The guys’ wives would study for a couple of hours a day over the next two days in a class that was unique for them. Campur – another town in Guatemala, has been having regular P.E.B. classes. The P.E.B. students – both the guys and gals, every afternoon walk from where they live in Campur or near Campur to a church in Campur where the P.E.B. classes are being taught. Some of the guys and gals are leaving their small farms to study the Bible. When a guy – if he studies in a P.E.B., cannot work as much on his small farm as he normally would work, the guy will not make as much money as he would if he was not studying in a P.E.B. A Xalbal P.E.B. graduate – Rigoberto Perez, had to sell some of his furniture just to have a little extra money to care for his family. The guys and gals – who study in a P.E.B. and who satisfactorily complete all the requirements of a P.E.B., deserve to be congratulated. It is good to praise, applaud, admire and congratulate a guy or gal for having done or completed something difficult.
Worship is another meaning for praise. Praise can lead to idolizing. Even though God is never okay with a guy or gal wanting to be worshipped or idolized by other guys and gals, guys and gals will still look for ways for other guys and gals to worship or idolize them. It is not good for guys and gals to make themselves more important than other guys and gals so that they will be worshipped or idolized. It is also not good for guys and gals to let other guys and gals think that they are more important than they are – so that they will be worshipped or idolized. Why do you think that it is not good for guys and gals to worship or idolize another guy or gal? God alone is Who deserves to be worshipped. God alone deserves to be praised in the worship context. Why do you think that is? Do you know for what reason why you have been made? Do you know for what reason why everything that you can see was made? Do you know why there is order in your lives and in everything that is taking place every single minute of every single day? The writer of Psalm 148 knows Who has and is creating all things. Verse 1 says “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights above.” Do you know who or what is to praise the Lord? This author of this psalm or song knew that the universe includes both the heavens and planet Earth. This song or psalm writer knew that the homes of the guys, gals and kids who have and will make decisions of faith through believing in Jesus – God’s Son, are in the heavens. This song or psalm writer knew that God desires to be praised by angels and by heavenly hosts, that God desires to be praised by the sun, moon and stars, that God desires to be praised by clouds, that God desires to be praised by planet Earth, that God desires to be praised by oceans’ waters, that God desires to be praised by sea creatures, that God desires to be praised by lightning, hail, snow and winds, that God desires to be praised by mountains, hills and trees, that God desires to be praised by small creatures, flying birds, wild animals and cattle, that God desires to be praised by each king, prince and ruler who He has and will place on planet Earth and that God desires to be praised by young guys, gals, old guys and kids. Praising God is having God reflecting His glory back to Himself through the guys, gals and kids who He has led to believe in Him.
Your grandpaa hopes that you will take time every day to look at everything that is around you – from the sky to planet Earth to you. Everything that you see points to having been Divinely created and the reason to praise God.
Psalm 148 (143)