Praise the Lord - by Larry Yarrington

This from Psalm 149: "Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the saints."
The question is, how new is your song? Probably as new as your growth in the Lord. I ask myself, how well do I know the Lord? Is my understanding of Him greater today than it was a few days or even years ago?
In part, I have to read about Him from the Bible daily. It is His desire to reveal Himself to me everyday as our relationship goes deeper. As I read, I open myself to what the Lord might be saying to me; something new that I didn't know about Him yesterday. As I understand His heart, I grow in my knowledge of just how much He loves and cares for me. Don't all relationships stay intimate and joyful when we decide to be open and transparent with one another? Everyday I learn a little more how to have a joy filled relationship with my wife. It takes transparency in her part, but it also takes searching on my part. Why should it be different with God? I am made in His image so I have a head start. But it still requires revelation on His part, and He promises that if I seek Him with all my heart, I will find Him.
There is another part. If all I have is a deep intellectual understanding of God, and it doesn't impact the real world of experience, I am still dancing with myself and there is no intimacy. There is no new song for me to sing. It is all theological and cold. Where is the warmth of His touch? Where is the feeling of being led into greener pastures or along still streams? No, His words have to penetrate my thinking and assumptions about life and about relating to others. It is in the crucible of life that I learn to take the words of Jesus into action, that impacts the world around me. Bill Johnson calls it Biblical intelligence. I don't have to go around quoting scripture because His words have become a part of who I am and how I do life. With His transforming power, I become a new person and the incarnate word of God because I am in Christ and He is in me. And, believe me, I know fairly quickly when I am seeing the world and people as God sees them. It shows quickly in how well my soul relates to yours, through love and acceptance. When this happens, a new song appears on my lips.


Author: Larry Yarrington

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