“Does not all nature around me praise God? If I were silent, I should be an exception to the universe. Does not the thunder praise Him as it rolls like drums in the march of the God of armies? Do not the mountains praise Him when the woods upon their summits wave in adoration? Does not the lightning write His name in letters of fire? Has not the whole earth a voice? And shall I, can I, silent be?”-Charles Spurgeon. To ”bless God" is a phrase that some might find strange or counter-intuitive, as we are perhaps more familiar with the idea of blessing being something that comes from God to us, perhaps not as much so the other way around. But to bless God – to exalt, praise, magnify Him – becomes a habit – a first response - in the lives of those who have let themselves receive the love of the Lord. To bless God is really the only appropriate response to the realization that the only reason that the possibility exists of making the choice to bless Him is because He has first so richly blessed us. When we "bless God," we are not adding anything to God or giving Him something He lacks, because our Triune God is utterly complete. Rather, when we worship Him, when we declare that He is worthy to be praised, we are aligning ourselves with the truth of His worthiness of all praise and honor, we are rightly seeing the true order of things – you might even say we're aligning ourselves with reality. And when we align ourselves with reality by declaring His reign and His worth, bringing Him worship and sacrifices of praise, we're also entering into communion with the Father and participating in the relationship we were born for. Blessing and glorifying God is a pathway to the gift of His presence, the preciousness of His nearness, and the unspeakable treasures of the joy therein. C.S. Lewis expressed it this way:“The Scotch catechism says that man's chief end is 'to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.' But we shall then know that these are the same thing. Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.” We bless God because we're made to. We bless God because we need to – I need to. We bless God because scripture invites us to, encourages us to, and commands us to! Psalm 150:6 “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." Original post by Brooke Ligertwood available on YouVersion. A five-day reading plan exploring some of the Biblical perspectives that anchor Brooke's album, EIGHT. Enjoy devotionals that journey through themes like the fear of the Lord, postures in prayer, enduring in wilderness seasons, enjoying God, and choosing Him in response to His choice of us!, as well as featuring lyrics and music from songs throughout the Album EIGHT by Brooke Ligertwood.

Bring Home The Music with the chord charts of the setlists from The Blessing Tour. Enjoy all the music you know and love from Kari Jobe with special guest Cody Carnes! Find out more here.

Take a moment now to stop and consider all your failings, mistakes, and sins from the past week. All the anger, irritation, and impatience. All the selfishness, greed, and lust. Add to that list all the good you could have done but didn't, all the moments of wasted time, missed opportunities for mercy, and worship ignored.Imagine if the Almighty God was holding all of that against you, ready to judge, condemn, and punish you. It's a terrifying and crippling thought, isn't it?But now consider this. Through faith in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ, all your sins and transgressions are washed away by the overwhelming waves of God's forgiveness. Our many sins are forgotten and remembered no more. They are cast “as far as the east is from the west” (v. 12). Not only this, but we are treated with fatherly compassion (v. 13), we are satisfied with good (v. 5), and our youth is renewed like the eagle's (v. 5)!What is the only appropriate response to such good news? An outpouring of full-throated, unrestrained praise and worship! How can we not cry out “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name” (v. 1)?! How can we not demand our soul “forget not all his benefits” (v. 2)?!Take time now to pause beneath the cross of Jesus Christ where God demon- strated his covenantal love and favor toward you. Thank him for his mercy and grace. Rejoice and tremble before him. Then rise up to tell those around you of this love, and invite them to join all creation in the never-ending song of blessing the Lord! Bless The Lord, O My Soul by Sovereign Grace, from the album Unchanging God: Songs From The Book Of Psalms Vol 1. Reflections curated by Sovereign Grace Music.