Category: Christian Living

How and Why to Praise the Lord (Psalm 100)

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Praising the Lord, acknowledging all that He is and does, is the best way to experience joy. How can we do it?

By Mark D, Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

How many people that you know lack joy a lot of the time? What do they do about it? Some people eat. Others sleep. Many binge watch movies. Some drink or use drugs. What do you do when you lack joy? How does a lack of joy impact your confidence, your clarity of mind, your strength? Though it can be hard, the best thing that any of us can do when we lack joy is to praise the Lord.

The Joy of the Lord is my Strength is an old song derived from Nehemiah 8:10

G                             D

The joy of the Lord is my strength

                                G

The joy of the Lord is my strength

                                C

The joy of the Lord is my strength

G                     D                G

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

Psalm 100, and many other passages in Scripture, tell us that the key to joy is praise. Of course, believers don’t praise the Lord so that we can have joy. Instead, we praise God for who He is. We thank Him for what He has done for us. In acknowledging the magnificence of our Creator and Sustainer, in focusing on His truth, beauty, and righteousness, and in marinating our souls in His awesome love, we receive joy. As surely as the sun rises in the morning, honest praise with a clean heart will bring joy to all those involved. Over and over again, the Bible records God’s people praising Him. Psalm 100 provides a fine example.

How to Praise the Lord

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Nahum – The Four Fears

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Nahum, considered a minor prophet because of the shortness of his book, had a huge message. The superpower of the ancient near east, Assyria, was about to be destroyed. The superpowers of the 21st century should take note. 

By Mark D, Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

Nahum, an oft-overlooked minor prophet in the Old Testament, details God’s final judgment on the neo-Assyrian Empire and its leading city, Nineveh. The prophet Jonah, famous for his episode with a fish, had preached in Nineveh a century earlier and sparked a great repentance. In the intervening decades, the Assyrians returned to their wicked ways. Nahum, while showing none of the ethnic animus that so vexed Jonah, felt burdened by the sins of the Assyrians and the oppression of Israel. He asks the Lord what He will do about it, and God replies that His patience passed its limits, Nineveh would soon be destroyed.

Nahum chapter 1 overflows with the power of God, His wrath against evil, and His determination to punish the guilty. The Lord of Hosts reminds His prophet in a thousand ways about His strength to crush His foes and save those who trust in Him. The prophet concludes chapter 1 with the joys of bringing good news – being a herald of peace.

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In Christ Alone

~ MD Harris Institute ~ 2 Comments

God exists. Or as a hard-bitten atheist might admit, at least something that transcends space and time. But how do we approach Him? Not through good works, fortune, fame, or power, but through Christ alone. 

By Mark D, Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

How can man approach God?[1] People from the Aztecs to the Zulus have asked this since the dawn of humanity, and man has imagined thousands of answers.[2] These answers boil down to three possibilities.

  1. Man cannot do anything to approach God, and therefore can never approach Him.
  2. Man does something, or a group of things, to earn the right to approach God.
  3. Man cannot do anything to approach God, but God in His grace brings man to Him.

These possibilities are exclusive, as each includes a world view that is inconsistent with the others. It is logically impossible to select 1 and 3, for example, or some other combination.

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Failing or Forging

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Do the fires in your life forge you into greatness, or do you fail in the heat?

By Mark D, Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

The Navy Exchange at the base in Rhode Island had a plaque which read, “Some people are lost in the fires, other people are forged in them – Marines.” The finest swords are heated again and again to burn and melt away impurities that weaken the steel, making it brittle, prone to shatter, and worthless for war.

Life is full of fires, including everything from health to money to relationships. The flames of suffering burn throughout every life, waxing and waning as the days pass. No moment is completely free of pain. Ultimately, these fires will consume the mortal coil of every one of us.

During our earthly walk, some people are damaged or are even destroyed by their fires, while others grow stronger. Some fail while others are forged. A few become truly great. What makes the difference? Four factors characterize those who are forged in their infernos.

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Abortion – The Great Divide

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Abortion is the largest issue dividing America, the world. The US Supreme Court is considering the biggest change since Roe. What to know?

By Mark D, Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

American politics is as divided as it has been since 1856, when, in a premeditated assault, South Carolina Democratic Representative Preston Brooks beat Massachusetts Republican Senator Charles Sumner with his oak walking stick. Brooks was arrested but soon reelected, and after a prolonged recovery, Sumner also made his way back to the Senate. The issue then was slavery, and the issue now is abortion.

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Our Weltanschauung, Our Metanarrative

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People see the world through glasses made by their ancestors, their environments, and themselves. Our world view influences or even determines what we believe and what we do. Consider carefully your world view.

By Mark D, Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

Weltanschauung, the German word for worldview, allows us to interpret our otherwise confusing world. Our  metanarrative, the overarching story, provides our weltanschauung, and gives meaning to our existence by answering four existential questions:

  1. Who are we (am I)?
  2. Where did we (I) come from?
  3. What went wrong in the world?
  4. Where are we (am I) going?

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