I hadn't really noticed the theme of books I ended up with while shopping. I just would decide - oh I bet this would be good and put it on my stack and get back to looking; adding several more books. It wasn't until that evening when I was at my desk looking through my books that I discovered the theme of the books I got. As I read through the introductions of each of them I was like, "Oh Wow! This really all goes together so nicely. It's like God set up a semester of learning for me and the books He wants me to read, with the information that I need to learn. This was His syllabus for me!
31 Days of Praise by Ruth Myers and Warren Myers
To the Praise of His Glory by Lynnda Ell
Worship by Rosalie Haffner-Lee Zinke
A Thoughtful Hour by Jerry D. Thomas
Oh and if that wasn't enough to convince me of what God wanted me to be learning - right now - This is the book that we are studying in my Sabbath School right now! It is a study on Obedience -and "Discipleship in an instant society" and studying in the book of Psalms - which has many praises to God!
Just want to share a little exert from one of the books.
"In the Bible, praise is closely linked with worship and thanksgiving. Through all three we honor and enjoy God.
It helps me to think of worship as a beautiful crown adorn with two brilliant jewels. One jewel is praise; the other; thanksgiving.
Throughout the Bible people expressed their worship in several ways. They bowed before God, often with a sense of awe. to honor Him and how their devotion. They offered special gifts to Him, the chief gift being themselves.
Today as in Bible times, worship includes yielding to God as our Lord and Master. We see this in Romans 12:1, where God asks us to offer Him our bodies, our lives, our entire person. This, He says, is true worship. In genuine spiritual worship, we bow before the Most High God, the most merciful and reliable and winsome of all beings, and we crown Him as Lord of all that we are. We consent to His gracious, transforming work in our lives; we agree that He can work in us, so that we'll be willing and able to do His will. in other words, we choose to let Him be God into our lives. This is our greatest privilege, the highest thing we an do.
Worship also includes adoring God, admiring Him, appreciating Him, and letting Him know how grateful we are for His mighty works and the blessings He bestows on us. Thus worship includes praise and thanksgiving. As in ancient times, all three- worship, praise, and thanksgiving- overlap as we glorify and enjoy God. Sometimes we do this in speaking, sometimes in singing, sometimes in silent reverence.
In thanksgiving we express gratitude to the Lord for His love and goodness to us and to others, for His constant acts of care, and for His gifts, including the spiritual blessings He has lavished upon us.
In praise we admire God for who He is and what He does. Praise can be quiet and meditative. But it can also include celebrating and exulting in the Lord's majesty and splendor, His sovereignty, His limitless power, and His bountiful love- which we do not in the least deserve. In praise we extol our wonderful God, we exalt and magnify Him. Praise includes speaking highly of God to other people as well as directly to Him.
So mounted in the crown of worship- the basic; act of offering God our lives, of honoring Him as God- are the jewels of praise and thanksgiving. Jewels that radiate the glory of God, to His delight and ours."
~ 31 Days of Praise- enjoying God Anew by Ruth Myers and Warren Myers - this quote is found in the Introduction
~ 31 Days of Praise- enjoying God Anew by Ruth Myers and Warren Myers - this quote is found in the Introduction
I love how God provides just the right books that I need to read to learn what He has planned for me to learn. I look forward to sharing little tidbits here and there. :O)
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