17/11/2010 - TWO IMPORTANT ATTITUDES

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Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.” (Psalm 50:23)

At all times, at each step we take, we are taking some kind of action: When we decide to look one side or the other, do one thing or another, go to a certain place etc. However, the wisest decisions we can and must always make – but, unfortunately, we almost never do – is to offer praise to the Lord and order our conduct aright.
    
Offering praises – It is more than a long prayer; it is the dedication to the Lord of what comes from our heart, something spiritual which happens when we strive to enter the presence of God; it also comes naturally without any effort of our own. Moreover, it is not just merely saying "thank you", "thank God", but rather doing something in sacrifice.

Through the sacrifice of praise to the Almighty we express our gratitude for what we have been granted. At such moments, we reflect on what attacked our thoughts and on some proposals that would not have been good for us if we had accepted them. We are thankful to God because in such situations, miraculously, He used someone who was completely unaware of what we were going through to warn us or He used a message that spoke to our hearts. Therefore, we praise Him with gratitude.

As with any other work we do, when we offer a sacrifice of praise, the aim should be to glorify the Lord with all our hearts. Thus, our praise is accepted. But beware: you must count on the assistance of the Holy Spirit in order for the praise to be a sacrifice indeed, because only then we will be glorifying our God.    

Order our conduct aright – The Most High does not want us to be like the animals, which live to eat and reproduce and do not have a mind developed like ours. God asks us to be different and to make Him the Lord of our lives. One can only order his conduct aright if he is guided by what the divine Word says. As a result, God is pleased.

The Father will show His salvation to the wise and obedient. But who are they? Those who lead their lives based on what is written in the Word of God! What was included in the Almighty’s redemptive plan will be revealed to these individuals. Now, nothing will be shown to those who do not give much attention to biblical teachings and make decisions according to what they deem to be good. They go through life without understanding what salvation is all about and they never repent of what they do, contradicting the standards set to the saints of God.

Brethren, do not let the enemy fool you! Take these two attitudes seriously and be successful! It is worth being vigilant and a doer of the work!

In Christ with love,

R. R. Soares