Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. (Psalm 86:11-12)(NIV)
It is not the dead who praise the Lord, nor any of those descending into the silence of death. But we will praise the Lord, both now and forever. Hallelujah! (Psalm 115:17-18)(HCSB)
We like to sing Tommy Walker's praise song "Never Gonna Stop" here at RABC because it reminds us that praise, for the believer, is eternal. It's not just for the here and now, but the worship, the praising we do now is like practice, a warm-up if you will, for when we get to heaven. Take a look at some of the lyrics of Walker's song:
So I'm never gonna stop, never gonna stop
lifting up my hands to You, lifting up my heart.
When the last day comes and goes and time will be no more,
I'll be praising You.
So I'll never let it end, just begin it all again,
thoughts of thankfulness and love I'm always gonna give.
A thousand years from now before Your throne of grace and pow'r
I'll be praising You, praising You.
lifting up my hands to You, lifting up my heart.
When the last day comes and goes and time will be no more,
I'll be praising You.
So I'll never let it end, just begin it all again,
thoughts of thankfulness and love I'm always gonna give.
A thousand years from now before Your throne of grace and pow'r
I'll be praising You, praising You.
It's amazing to think that in a thousand years from now we'll still be praising our Father in heaven! And it's not just wishful thinking or a song that we sing; it's a fact that we can bank on if we have truly accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. Take a look at a few scriptures which assure us of our eternal life:
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (Jn. 3:16) (NIV)
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 Jn. 5:13) (NIV)
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thess. 4:17)(NIV)
The term "eternal" is referring to not only a length of life, but also to a quality of life. Jesus came to earth not only to give us an unending life spiritually, but to give us what the Bible calls "abundant life." (Jn. 10:10)
As we follow after Jesus, worshiping and serving Him, we begin to experience the kind of life that God meant for us to have. We find the peace and purpose of life that only He can give us. As we praise Him on a daily basis, we're getting a little practice in for eternity where we'll be in His presence forever in praise and adoration of Him!
So as we worship the Lord, let's remember that He is the One we'll be worshiping through all eternity. Let's start to act like it by truly entering in to worship when we have the opportunity at church services realizing that our eternal praises belong to Him and to Him alone. (Psalm 111:10)
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thess. 4:17)(NIV)
The term "eternal" is referring to not only a length of life, but also to a quality of life. Jesus came to earth not only to give us an unending life spiritually, but to give us what the Bible calls "abundant life." (Jn. 10:10)
As we follow after Jesus, worshiping and serving Him, we begin to experience the kind of life that God meant for us to have. We find the peace and purpose of life that only He can give us. As we praise Him on a daily basis, we're getting a little practice in for eternity where we'll be in His presence forever in praise and adoration of Him!
So as we worship the Lord, let's remember that He is the One we'll be worshiping through all eternity. Let's start to act like it by truly entering in to worship when we have the opportunity at church services realizing that our eternal praises belong to Him and to Him alone. (Psalm 111:10)
Singing His Praises,
Joey C.
Joey C.