Day 14: Praise Like Fireworks

“We’re letting praise like fireworks, loose from our thankful hearts…”

Hey there friends! I haven’t got a Christmas carol for you today so I am changing things up a little bit! I really want to share this song with you today, I heard it for the first time a few weeks ago and even though I didn’t know the words, I couldn’t help but sing along! It’s ‘Praise Like Fireworks’ by Rend Collective. Rend Collective are an amazing band and I always find myself tapping my foot to the beat. This song really stood out for me when I was listening to it the other night. It is all about worshipping and praising God, one of the greatest things we can do as Christians! I have included two versions of this song, the original and the live version from the ‘Campfire’ album, released in 2013. I hope you enjoy!

 

 

“You’ve given us a heart, given us a home, you’ve given us a heart, given us a home, you’ve given us a heart, given us a home with You, yeah…”

Ezekiel 36:26- I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Just like it says in Ezekiel 36:26, God has given us a new heart. He takes our sinful heart and gives a heart which is receptive to Him. We have been changed on the inside by His Holy Spirit because of the message of the Gospel! Because Jesus has given us a new heart, the way we live should reflect that the work of Jesus on the cross has transformed us and made us new. Through trusting in Jesus, we are given the gift of eternal life in Heaven with Him. Because of our sin, we deserve nothing less than to be separated from Jesus for eternity, yet because of God’s grace He paid the price for our sins so that we could live with Him for eternity. There is no other place I would rather be for eternity than living in the presence of God! The amazing grace of God is why we praise Him!

Philippians 3:30- But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

‘I lift my voice to praise You, I lift my voice to praise You, my concrete heart won’t stop me, my concrete heart won’t stop me…’

Jesus has given us a new heart- he has replaced our heart of stone with a heart of flesh that receives Him (Ezekiel 36:26). He has given us the assurance of eternity with Him in heaven- a new home, to all those who trust in God as their Lord and Saviour. We can give God all the praise and all the glory for what He has done. ‘I lift my voice to praise You…’ When we worship God at church, we lift our voices to bring Him glory and honour. I really think it is an amazing privilege to be able to worship with God’s people. So many people are persecuted for what they believe in and are banned from worshipping God. But we have so much freedom in Australia to worship God. It’s something we should never take for granted. When we come together, as brothers and sisters to worship God, we are giving thanks to God for who He is all He has done for us. Because Jesus has given us a new heart, because He has made us new, nothing can stop us giving Jesus the praise He is worthy of.

We don’t have to wait until Sunday to Praise God. We should seek to give Him praise in everything we do, each day. In all that we do, say and think, I pray it can be for God’s gory, giving Him praise for everything He has done.

Psalm 100:4- Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalm 138:1-2- I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise. I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name.

Psalm 145:3- Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

‘…Through joy and pain we worship, through joy and pain we worship, with heart and soul wide open, with heart and soul wide open…’

Worshipping God in times of pain and hardship is not an easy thing to do. We may even be angry with God when things get hard. However, it is when we face these difficulties that we must trust in God completely and not in our ourselves. He can and will help us to overcome the struggles. We need to remind ourselves of God’s unending love and grace. No matter what we face, God will remain along with His love and grace. Because of what He has done for us, we can worship through the hard times AND the good times. We can thank God for the times in our lives when things are going smoothly, for all of His blessings. Each day, we must remind ourselves of God’s love and grace that washes us clean from sin. Praise Him in the good times and the hard times.

Psalm 42:5- Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18- Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

God has given us a new heart and a new home in heaven. He paid the price we deserved to pay for our sins. God is worthy of all of our praise and worship. I pray we can worship Him wholeheartedly and that we don’t just sing praise to Him because we have to, but rather because we want to. If we love God, we will want to give Him glory because of what He has done in our lives. When you see a firework, it is shot up into the sky where it suddenly explodes, producing a big bang and lots of light. Just like the title of this song says, I pray our praise will be like fireworks… not dreary and dead but glorifying to God, giving Him all the praise He deserves, in all areas of our lives!

I pray Lord that our praise will be like fireworks, giving thanks to you because you are our God and because you have given us freedom from our sins. You have given us a new heart and a new home, with you for eternity. Thank you Lord for your love and grace. We want to give you praise Father! In your name, Amen.

God Bless,

Josh Clarke- The Faith Filled Friends