The Psalmist advises us to "Play skillfully with a loud noise. It is a sin to praise God in a slovenly manner. For the word of the Lord is right." (Psalms 33:1)

I suggest to you that this not only applies to music, but to ALL we do. Is not my life to be a praise to Him? And am I not cautioned to do all that I do as though I’m doing it for Him?

There are many parallels I could draw upon here, but the ones that more often catch my attention are the words "skillfully" and "loud". If I am going to praise Him with my life, it needs to be with a knowledge of His Word, the Scriptures. That’s where the "skillfully" comes into play. If I don’t know what I’m supposed to be, do, or say, what are people going to care about my witness? Nothing. What impact am I going to have in this world? Nothing.

If I’m going to praise Him with my life, can I do it secretly? Good heavens, of course not! Therefor I challenge each of us to evaluate our stand and our walk with Christ. If I claim to be a Christian, I’d better know what God expects of me and then do it. The only way I can do that is to study the Scriptures and then live as they teach me to live. Then my life will be a "loud noise" for Him without my shouting it audibly from the mountain top. (Once in a while we do have to use words.)

So put on the armor of God and get in the fight, you’ll find Him closer than you ever imagined He would be! Shalom.