Thank you, God!

 

Welcome again to my blog. I am delighted you have come to visit. 

 

Teleios has shown Christian belief actually can improve personal wellbeing! Therefore, we are examining the Christian life in more detail to see if we can uncover some of the potential underlying causes for improved wellbeing. 

 

We are currently discussing the practice of Christianity based on Acts 2:42-47. These wonderful verses describe the practice of the Christian walk within the early church. They are repeated throughout the Epistles and so are vital to us today.  I call them the ‘5 tools to maturity’: prayer, fellowship/community, outreach, Bible study, and praise. Last week we covered Bible study. This week, let’s explore praise!

 

Definition of ‘praise’

 

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ‘praise’ as:

 

●      To express a favorable judgment of: commend

 

●      To glorify (a god or saint) especially by the attribution of perfections

 

Content of praise

 

Therefore, as a Christian, what should be the content of biblical praise? The Bible gives some hints:

 

●      Acknowledgement of God's perfect character (Ephesians 1:6)

 

●      Acknowledgement of God’s righteous actions (Psalm 139:14, Psalm 148)

 

●      Thankfulness (Hebrews 13:15)

 

Reason we praise

 

Why do we praise God? The reasons are vital to our Christian life and are listed below:

 

●      The Bible commands us to praise - It is our duty to praise God. However, God does not give us commands without reason, so several potential explanations follow below. (Psalm 150, Romans 15:11, Hebrews 13:15)

 

●      He deserves praise - Our Father in Heaven is the almighty God who has provided for us salvation through his Son, Jesus Christ, as a free gift through faith that we could have eternal life. This salvation is a sure hope and anchor for our souls. Surely, He deserves glory, thanks, and praise. (1 Peter 4:11, Hebrews 6:19)

 

●      It is good for us to praise God who made us! Therefore, He knows what is good for us. It is good for us to praise at least for the following reasons:

 

o   God ordained order – Praise reminds us of the order of the universe. We are not the most important thing in creation. God’s goals and priorities are above, and better than, ours.

 

o   Humility - Realizing that God’s plans are more important than ours might limit our complaining and remind us that we are here to serve our great God.

 

o   Attitude – Praise teaches us thankfulness in realizing God’s gifts to us in creation, in Christ, and His benefits in this life as our Father. These should promote an attitude of thankfulness and reduce expectations (Philippians 4:8).

 

We do indeed have a great God who is worthy of all praise! Thank you for joining me today. 

 

William C. Stewart, MD

 

Email – info@teleiosresearch.com

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Disclaimer – This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author alone and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and/or do your own research into the scriptures.

 

We need to know the Bible!

Welcome again to my blog. I am so happy you can visit. 

 

Teleios has shown Christian belief can improve personal wellbeing! Therefore, we are examining the Christian life in more detail to see if we can uncover in the Bible some of the underlying causes of the improved wellbeing. 

 

We are currently discussing the practice of Christianity for which we are using Acts 2:42-47 as a basis. These dynamic verses describe the activities involved in the Christian lifestyle within the early church. These descriptions are repeated throughout the Epistles and so are vital to us today.  I call them the ‘5 tools to maturity’ and can be summarized conveniently as: prayer, fellowship/community, outreach, Bible study and praise. Last week we discussed outreach. Today’s tool for overview is Bible study.

 

We need to know the Bible! Why? Can we just not memorize the most important verses and follow the style of Christianity we learned in our college group or Sunday school and live a good Christian social life? Social Christianity brings some good things to us and our culture, no doubt. However, it is like settling for crackers when you could be enjoying steak. Let's examine what the Bible says.

 

The Bible is an authoritative source as it comes from God through the Holy Spirit by way of the apostles (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21, 3:16). We are told to know and understand God's word (Ephesians 1:15). There are several reasons for this:

●      It is a command (Colossians 1:9)

●      We cannot bear fruit or know what to do without first knowing and understanding the Bible (Colossians 1:10). Accordingly, to function as a Christian, like anything in life, we need to follow the manual.

●      When we know the manual and know what to do, then the process bears much fruit in our lives. We have better wellbeing from a confident relationship with God. Teleios research has actually shown that those who have more knowledge have better well-being and less guilt than those who don't!

 

It takes a little work and time, but the benefits are huge. We can have the joy of:

●      Bearing fruit in our lives such as: joy and peace, etc. (Galatians 5:22).

●      Seeing God work through us in others’ lives (Colossians 1:10).

●      Proving His Word and knowing Him better (Romans 12:1-2, Colossians 1:10).

●      Loving others in a more accurate and useful fashion (Philippians 1:9, 1 John 5:1-3).

●      Judging (i.e., assessing) what's good and bad in situations and people very quickly (Hebrews 5:14) thus keeping ourselves out of life’s difficult situations. 

●      Not having to rely on our emotions so our life becomes more stable and predictable (Hebrews 5:9-14). The Bible does not state that we have a religion based in emotions and actually warns against it (Ephesians 4:12-16, James 1:5-8).

 

You may be thinking ‘But isn't listening to my pastor’s great sermons and watching an effective video enough?’ As good as these learning experiences may be, we need to study the Bible itself in some detail to fully understand and receive its benefits.

 

How then do we effectively study scripture? There are plenty of Bible study resources on Amazon.com or online that might be effective. Make sure they are Bible and Christian based. In addition, someone in your church also may be able to help you. You can start with these basic steps:

●      Download a web-based Bible study tool such as e-Sword. It's free and has multiple exciting resources to help understand scripture (e-Sword: Free Bible Study for the PC).

●      Start with a power-packed epistle such as Ephesians or Colossians that will give you essential information about Christ and our Christian life in a concise manner. 

●      Slow down! Take your time and follow these four basic study steps:

o   Observation - Ask questions about the verse.

o   Interpretation - Use resources on e-Sword to answer your questions.

o   Application - How should the first specifically change your life? 

o   Integration - What are other verses that support your interpretation so you can confidently build what you know about the topic discussed in the verse (e.g. salvation, the Spirit, etc.)?

 

That's all for today. The Bible is so rich and exciting! Join us next week as we discuss praise!

 

William C. Stewart, MD

---------- 

Email – info@teleiosresearch.com

Website – http://teleiosresearch.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/TeleiosVideos

X - https://x.com/TeleiosTweets

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@teleiostiktok

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/teleiosresearch

 

Disclaimer – This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author alone and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and/or do your own research into the scriptures.