Originally published Tuesday, 13 May 2014.
I'm about to jump out of my skin––super excited––to share with you another excerpt from my upcoming book Just RISE UP!: A Call To Make Jesus Famous (releases Oct. 7 but now available for PRE-ORDER)
As I was skimming through the book deciding on what to share with you, I prayerfully chose this segment on living a lifestyle of praise. For me personally, this is one of the most impactful changes that I've made in my own life. Here is part 1 of Living A Lifestyle of Praise...stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow!
In order to RISE UP! and create a lifestyle of praise (with thoughts, words, and actions), we must live in constant pursuit of Christ. We must worship Him simply because He is ever so worthy and not for what we can “get out of it.”
I find myself cringing whenever I talk to someone about his or her recent experience at church or at Bible study and the person says, “Well, I really didn’t get much out of it.” I, too, have fallen victim to this type of thinking, but I realized that it came from being naive about my life purpose. Though the church experience is for our benefit (to learn from biblical teaching and to connect with others who love Jesus), it is also a divine opportunity to join in with the heavenly choir and corporately praise and honor God. It is not about you or me or what we “get out of” it. No, we are called to a lifestyle that revolves around God’s majesty.
What does a lifestyle of praise look like?
Definition from The Free Dictionary...lifestyle: A way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group
Whether we like it or not, our lives will reflect our true “attitudes and values.” We are called to authentic faith, a faith immersed in reverence and commitment and not what we can “get out of it.” I believe this generation craves authenticity. When we watch television or flip through magazines, we see nothing but slick, Photoshopped lives, which stand far from our own reality. We can easily turn and do the same through social media. How often do our Facebook status updates show what is really going on in our lives?
Authentic Faith: Reverence and Commitment
I truly believe that people in this generation respect those who stand for something, who live differently because they believe in something—anything—greater than themselves. It goes back to the desire to make your “mark” on the world. We have the opportunity to make a meaningful and eternal mark when we model lives of praise, when we live an authentic faith, full of reverence and commitment to the King of kings. Our friends and family may not always understand just who it is we serve and why we place Him above all, but our authenticity in faith will catch their attention. Even those who say they are Christians (but don’t live out their faith) will be challenged to examine what they believe or in whom they believe when they see us living differently for the sake of making Jesus famous. They may think we are weird. Weird is good! It means we are set apart from the pack . . . exactly what the Bible says we are supposed to be (2 Cor. 6:17).
Outward reverence for Christ comes into play when our lifestyle makes it obvious that we care more about His name being renowned in our lives than about what others think. Outward commitment to Christ is shown when we make difficult life decisions. When we boldly step out in faith to say no to things that displease Him and yes to things that bless His name, God is honored.
Tomorrow I will share more from this chapter of Just RISE UP!: A Call To Make Jesus Famous.
In the meantime I would love to know your thoughts on living a life of praise.
**Click HERE to pre-order your copy!
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