Lift Up Your Hands in Praise
(NIV) Psalm 134
A song of ascents.
1 Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD
who minister by night in the house of the LORD.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the LORD.
3 May the LORD bless you from Zion,
he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.
We have reached the last of our Psalms of Ascent. We have climbed as high as we can climb, and it is time to praise God for all He is worth! In Psalm 30 we are told that weeping lasts only for the night, but joy comes in the morning. But now that we have reached the summit, there is only praise!
He brought me out of the miry clay,
Henry J. Zelley, 1898
He set my feet on the Rock to stay;
He puts a song in my soul today,
A song of praise, hallelujah!
I was told as a young girl there is a God-shaped hole in each of our hearts, and it can only be filled by Jesus. Other relationships, while satisfying, will not alleviate the longing deep within. We can buy houses, cars, jewels, but truly only Jesus can satisfy our souls.
Almost fifty years ago, the Holy Spirit fell upon me in such a powerful way that my immediate response was to drop to my knees, and as the tears flowed the praise bubbled up inside of me. I knew then that my life would never be the same.
Then, almost twenty years ago I was in a Bible Study with Rev. Dr. Bryan Fink at Asbury UMC. Bryan emphasized intentional discipleship and I knew that whatever I did from that day forward I had to seek holiness. I have taught holiness, I have preached holiness, and I have lived holiness for most of my life.
Have I been perfected in holiness? No, not this side of heaven. But God is perfecting me in love. I still make mistakes, I still stumble, but my heart’s desire is to be in constant fellowship with Jesus as we travel this pilgrim road, and to take as many people with me as possible.
May we lift our hearts and our voices in continual praise to the One, True, and Living God today and every day, for “every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Seeking Holiness 