Travelling closer to God, to Jesus. . . . . . . . . . PSALM 100: 4-5

This weekend I got to speak on the second commandment, "do not lift up the name of the LORD your God for nothingness."  That is the Hebrew translation.  It means that we are not to misuse the name of the Lord, "use it or lift it up for nothingness."  Nothingness would be to curse, swear, take the name of the LORD lightly, to just say it without meaning it, etc.

So to use the Name of the LORD - Jesus - for "somethingness" would be to call on Him in trouble, talk to Him in confession, ask Him for blessings in our life, or to simply talk to Him as a friend, a Savior, a Redeemer.  They there is the aspect of calling on the name of the LORD for Thanks and Praise.  

I confess that these have often caused me to be squeemish because they seemed so . . . innocuous, harmless, without energy, etc.  But Psalm 100 and some other truths about thanksgiving and praise have turned my understanding around.

Psalm 100:4-5

New International Version (NIV)

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Thanks and praise DO something to us.  Thanksgiving actually activates endorphins to be released into your brain - a sort of natural high.  Praise may have similar changes.  Here is what the Psalm speaks about.  When you give thanks, it brings you to the gate, the entryway of God's presence.  When you give praise (applause, celebrating all that God is) it brings you into His actual presence.  

That definitely has the power to change our mindset.  If we are grumpy, tense, worrying - we have the opportunity to turn our mood around because in His presence, all things can take on a different flavor.

I like this new insight on verses 4 and 5 of Psalm 100 because He is forever Good - He can't help it.  that is His nature.

Blessings,
Al