Pie and Praise

I’ve been scouring through pie recipes looking for something great to take to our church Pie and Praise Fellowship Tuesday night.  The possibilities are endless, but the success rate on some of them looks doubtful.

So many ingredients!

So many steps!

But there’s one thing I can take with me to that fellowship that is very simple – a heart of praise.  Why?  Because according to Psalm 103:

1. Bless the Lord – There’s only one Person Who deserves my praise – it’s my God! I may struggle over which pie to make, but I can never wonder Who deserves my gratitude – it’s my wonderful God! To “bless the Lord” is to give Him praise.  This phrase comes with a heart of affection and a sense of gratitude.  There is none else who deserves my thanks and praise but the Lord!
2. O my soul – My mind and heart are all in when I’m praising God! Some of these instructions in the pie recipes are confusing and so complex!  Failure seems inevitable!  I’ll never go wrong praising the Lord!  To bless the Lord with my soul is to use my mind and  heart, my emotions and my will. All I have to consider is how great He is, and it comes so readily!  My soul was made to have fellowship with God, to enjoy His favor and consider His attributes.  I was made to praise the Lord and I will praise Him with my soul!
3. And all that is within me, bless His holy name. I can give praise with my whole being.  While I could keep back a piece of the pie I’m baking and savor it myself (which is tempting sometimes!) to bless God’s name with all that is within me is to praise Him with all my faculties, all my heart, all my will, all my emotions and all my affection.  God is worthy of all the praise that I can give Him with my whole being!  I will be “all in!”

My pie probably won’t win a prize, but I pray that my praise will be a beautiful delight to my God.  He alone is worthy.  So I say, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. 

I trust you’re preparing your praise to God even more than you’re preparing the food you’ll enjoy on Thursday!