Psalm 34

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Psalm 34:1 “I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.”  NIV

     

Praise for God your Father should be the easiest thing that flows from your heart and mouth.  The pure recognition of you not only being God’s creation, but also being the recipient of His love and grace through your redemption in Christ Jesus should flood your heart with praise for Him.  

Romans 5:8 say, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Your praise should not be limited to when you receive something from God, but praise Him for the reality that God Almighty even considers you.  Your praise should not be limited to when you come out of hard times, but just for the normal things in your life.  Your praise should not be limited to when you get a raise or promotion, but for the very job you have.  Your praise should not be limited to when God heals you, but for the very breath of life itself.  Praise should not be limited to

Sunday morning, but to every waking moment.  Praise is the inexpressible recognition of Who God is in your life, His immeasurable love for you, His never exhausting patience with you, and His unfathomable capacity to cover you with His grace.  Your praise is not dependent on how good times are, but how GOOD YOUR GOD IS!  

Romans 5:6 says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”  The world’s affect on you is probably crowding God out of your life when your praise becomes limited to the events of life itself and not your life in communion with God.  It is out of your intimacy with God that you begin to see and experience God in every detail of your life.

Philippians 1:9‐11 “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.”  NIV

Romans 11:33, 36 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!  For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”  NIV

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Psalm 34:11 “Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”   

The Church has done a good job of sharing about Jesus, but not as well on teaching about the fear of the Lord.  A recent Barna survey found that 86% of youth had a negative perception of Christians.  The top two reasons given in the survey are: (1) Christians are judgmental and (2) Christians are hypocritical.  These two areas were major teaching points of

Jesus yet are two of the biggest stumbling blocks for people coming to Jesus.  

In the Psalm above, the writer (David) is encouraging you to allow him to teach you the fear of the Lord.  Let’s think about how Jesus would teach you the fear of the Lord?  I believe Jesus would do it by spending time with you.  Jesus began His ministry with hundreds, if not thousands of followers, but whittled them down to 77, then 12, and finally 3 which reflected the increased intensity of teaching, fellowship, and relationship with His disciples.  

Jesus knew that a changed life comes from a healthy fear of God, and a healthy fear of God comes out of the intensity of His relationship with His disciples.  The same is true for followers of Christ today.  Fear of God is reverence, respect, and faith that God is God and He “Is”, “Was”, and “Will Always” be God!  Your fear of God will come out of the intensity of your relationship with Him on a daily basis.  If Jesus were to say to me, “Come, my child, listen to Me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord,” I would envision myself sitting at His feet listening to His words and stories.  Reading His Word, talking to Him, receiving His Word into your life and allowing it to galvanize your life will cultivate intimacy with God.  

A life that is touched by God is a life that fears God.  A life that fears God is a life that is experiencing God’s love and grace while growing in appreciation of who He is.  As you read the following Scriptures, pray for God to open your heart to new levels of intimacy with Him.

Imitate Jesus - Mark 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.”   

Priority - Job 23:12 “I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.”  

Hunger for God - Psalm 42:1-2 “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. 

When can I go and meet with God?”  

Refreshed by God - Psalm 90:14 “Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”  

Instructed by God - Isaiah 50:4-5 “The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.  He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.  The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back.”