Monday, April 18, 2016

Our Praisebook Account


UV 1729/10000 Our Praisebook Account
The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.
Psalm 126 v 3
We not only have historical evidence for the greatness and goodness of Jesus but we have contemporary and personal evidence from the great things He has done for us, in us and with us. As we recall all these wonderful acts of grace and glory, our soul will automatically magnify the Lord as the young Mary did. Our Praisebook account should be full of these wonderful acts of deliverance, mercy and love the Lord has done for each of us. The enumeration of the numerous ways the Lord has blessed us, the numerous ways He has saved us from great risks and perils in our lives is the source of our gladness.

As I look back, the Lord has delivered me from certain death on many occasions. He has lifted me up and honoured me. He has given me experiences that eye has not seen nor ear heard. The great things He has done for us in tangible and intangible or unseen ways reinforces our faith in Him and enables us to pray without ceasing, to praise without reservation, to trust without doubting. Apart from the generic blessings He has made available to everyone, the common blessings to believers, He does specific and unique things in each of our lives, making every testimony unique and different.
Broadly, the kinds of great acts He does in our lives are : great deliverances, great upliftment, great provision, great anointing or enablement, great healing. He not only preserves our lives, but He sustains and promotes us. It is described as “great” as it is far beyond normal human experience, conception and even imagination. Together, it is summed up in the phrase, “so great a salvation.” Our salvation is the greatest source of our gladness and joy. Mary Magdalene was eternally grateful to Jesus as she had been given great deliverance. She had been delivered from seven tormenting spirits or demons. The result was that she was always glad to be a follower of Jesus and followed Him to the foot of the cross, then to the grave and beyond to the point of His resurrection. She proved herself to be more devoted than any of the disciples. She was given the privilege of being the first human to see and experience the first appearance of Jesus after resurrection. The sequence is this: we first experience the great love or agape of God manifested in practical ways in our lives. We are then filled with gratitude and that sense of gratitude leads to gladness and joy. The overflowing joy in turn leads to greater devotion, greater experiences, greater testimony and ministry as well as contemporary impact on our generation and lasting legacy thereafter.

Prateep V Philip

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