Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Thoughts on praise- 5

In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD. (Leviticus 19:24)

God gave the Israelites a specific rule regarding fruit trees that the Israelites would plant in the promised land of Canaan. He said,
When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden ; it must not be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:23-25)

Notice that God spoke in specifics. The first three years they were not to eat the fruit. The fruit of the fourth year would be holy and was to be an offering of praise to the Lord. And they were given permission to eat the fruit from the fifth year onwards.

Why all this trouble? Only for God to bless and increase their harvest. An offering of praise was what God desired.

The writer of the book of Hebrews exhorts us in this manner:Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

A continual offer of praise? Is that possible? Definitely!
Why not try it if you have still not tried it?

Praise: O Triune God, I praise you because I have access to you at all times. I praise you because you accept my praises.

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