Bringing Scripture to Life

Where does true praise begin? Is there a certain point in our walk with God, where we can be confident that our praise and worship of God is being fruitful, and meaningful? Depending upon which body of believers you find yourself fellowshipping with, you might have a different picture painted for you of where true praise truly begins. When reading through Psalm 119, we find that there is a place that all of us must go to, and continue in, in order to truly offer God praise that counts in heaven. In fact, in Psalm 119:7, the psalmist says,  “I will praise You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments.” Here we read that the Holy Spirit revealed to the Psalmist that the primary way for us to “praise” God is through having an upright heart (v.7a). This makes total sense when we look at Scripture, as God wants our hearts to be in a right place with Him long before we ever begin praising Him with our words (Hebrews 13:15), or with our service to Hi...

What does the Bible say about Christian Growth? The Bible says that every believer should be in a growing relationship with Jesus (Philippians 2:1-5), which can best be evidenced through the inward transformation that takes place within our hearts and minds (Galatians 5:22-23), and leads to the outward demonstration of putting God first in our lives (Romans 12:1-2). Our faith should lead us to grow in our love for God (Matthew 22:37), grow in our love for one another (John 13:34-35), and inspire us to reach out to the world for Jesus in obedience to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). This is an important process and journey for every believer if we want to be salt to the earth and lights in this world (Matthew 5:13-16). RELATED ARTICLES The Process of Sanctification