Bruce Beach Ministries

#2: The Why

Psalm 150 also reveals The Why of praise and of worship. Psalm 150:2 “Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequalled greatness!” [NLT]. Why do you praise Him? You praise Him for His mighty works, “He moves mountains. He causes walls to fall, with His mighty power, He performs miracles. There is nothing that is impossible with Him. And we are standing only because He made a way!” (Lyrics from Travis Greene’s Made A Way). Why do you praise? You praise Him for His mighty works and for His unequalled greatness.

The truth is, whatever you are facing right now has an expiration date. But God’s presence, His acts, and His attributes remain forever constant. What you are going through may be trying to belittle who God is to you. Guess what? Praise makes you see how big your God is. And honestly when you catch a glimpse of how big your God is, the problem just shrinks into its place of insignificance.

Hebrews 13:15 says, “Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name”[NLT]. The truth about sacrifice is that it hurts, and it is costly. A sacrifice takes effort. When God says, ‘offer a sacrifice of praise,’ it means that sometimes you will not feel like praising God. However, because you know the why of praise, you are able to praise God regardless of how you feel and then it becomes a sacrifice of praise. Sometimes, we have so much going on plus an endless prayer list and it makes praise tough. Guess what? You really cannot separate sacrifice and praise. Perhaps, just perhaps, heaven is saying, it is time to switch to praise. Spend the same amount of time you have spent praying, in praising God and watch what will happen.

What is the Bible for?

Let’s get honest about something. It’s easy to make Scripture say what we’d like it to say versus what it actually says. That’s why there are so many heated debates on social media that incorporate verses in a way that’s not always helpful to others or honoring to God.

So here’s the deal: Scripture is not for weaponizing or for winning arguments. It’s meant to encourage, correct, and transform us, and help us become more like God.

It’s critical that we use the Bible correctly. We’ve got to use verses in the right context. And we’ve got to make sure we’re using the truth of the Bible in a grace-filled way.

Don’t cherry-pick verses to craft an argument or bully someone else or justify your desires. In fact, taking verses out of context is one way we see Satan trying to tempt Jesus.

Before Jesus’ ministry gets started, we see Him fast for 40 days in the wilderness. During this time, Jesus was preparing internally before He ever taught others externally. He was filling up on Scripture and preparing for opposition through prayer.

After this 40-day period, Satan tempted Jesus three times. One time, he told Jesus to throw Himself off a cliff because the angels would save Him. He was actually quoting from Psalm 91. But Jesus said this in response:

Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” Matthew 4:7 NLT

Taking Scripture out of context is a twisted tactic we shouldn’t repeat. So don’t use Scripture as a way to con others into getting what you want.

Wisdom about this comes with practice and with prayer, so don’t panic. Jesus could see through Satan because he knew Scripture and He knew His Father. So it takes patience. It takes time. But when you spend time consistently with God through reading His Word and talking with Him through prayer, the Holy Spirit will be faithful to help you know when something doesn’t honor God.

So remember—don’t use God’s Word as a weapon against others. But do use God’s Word as a way to wage war on our spiritual battles with our enemy. God will help you know the difference as you continually seek Him.

Pray: God, test my motives. Reveal anything in me that is not from You. Help me interpret Scripture in the right way with the right motives. Remove my agenda and replace it with more of You. Give me discernment to know what is from You and what is from the enemy. Help me use Scripture as a weapon against my spiritual enemy but not as a weapon on people. Thank You for the power of Your Word and the presence of the Holy Spirit.