Praise and worship

The Holy Ghost Gun!

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Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Psalm 63:3 KJV

We love singing the song “Thy Lovingkindness” at Life Care center. This Friday, when we got to the chorus, it was a delight to see some of the ladies smiling and lifting up their hands in rhythm to the music. When we sing those words, I am reminded of our neighborhood back in Scranton. On our block, the police were sometimes pretty busy and at least once we even saw them pull out a gun to arrest someone. They began by saying, “Show me your hands!” My friend from Bible college sometimes used to say that when God was trying to get our attention, He would pull out “The Holy Ghost gun!” and point it at our hearts, until we lovingly surrender to Him! I hope you will enjoy singing this old worship song along with us today. Have a blessed weekend everyone!


Thy Lovingkindness
Is better than life
Thy Lovingkindness
Is better than life
My lips shall praise Thee
Thus will I bless Thee
I will lift up
My hands unto Thy name!

I will lift up
My hands unto Thy name
I will lift up
My hands unto Thy name
My lips shall praise Thee
Thus will I bless Thee
I will lift up
My hands unto Thy name!


Thy Lovingkindness by Hugh Mitchell 1956

One Final Thought

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Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise Ye the Lord!
Psalm 150:6

My morning reading ended with the final chapter of Psalms. And as I paused to consider its message, I was struck by how God finishes with a personal call. Yes, we need to praise him with timbrels and dance, yes trumpet players, harpists and drummers should honor God too. Even birds, animals and fish are commanded to worship, when He says, “Everything that hath breath.” In earlier passages even sun, moon and stars, are directed to praise and thank God. But God wants us to know that we have an even more important place. Here, in this final phrase, of the last verse, God closes with the command: “Praise ye the Lord!” It is as if God is shouting, “Hey you! …Yes, I mean you there! …. Don’t just stand around waiting for someone else to do the job. You get busy and start praising God too!

So, let’s remember in the middle of the football, the turkey and family time that our number one job and most important part of our day is to give God praise!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

A Time for Praise

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 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. James 5:13 ESV

The other day as we looked at the hymn, “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” I wrote about the times when we need to simply fall to our knees and watch with the Lord in our own Garden of Gethsemane. But there are also times when God delights in a tidal wave of praise and gratitude, such as James describes here. There are few places where such praise seems more out of place than a long-term care facility, but my friends there teach me that sometimes there is nothing better than good old-fashioned hand-clapping praise. Last week, they showed us just how that is done, when as my former pastor used to say, “If you can’t clap on that song, your arm must be broken!” I do hope that whatever situation you find yourself in this Thanksgiving, that you will find a way to praise, whether in health or sickness, surrounded by family or alone in your room, because God loves us and sent His only Son, to pray for us, heal us, wash away our sins and to die in our place. How can we not find times of joyful abandon to simply: “Call Him Up” – “Have a Little Talk With Jesus,” and tell Him that we are the ones who are “Standing in the Need of Prayer?”