{"id":28025,"date":"2015-10-08T00:15:35","date_gmt":"2015-10-08T04:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=28025"},"modified":"2015-10-07T16:47:14","modified_gmt":"2015-10-07T20:47:14","slug":"i-never-lost-my-praise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2015\/10\/08\/i-never-lost-my-praise\/","title":{"rendered":"I Never Lost My Praise"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-16629\" src=\"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv.jpg\" alt=\"psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv\" width=\"341\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv.jpg 341w, https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv-300x175.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 341px) 100vw, 341px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">I lost some good friends along life\u2019s way<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">Some loved ones departed in heaven to stay but<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">Thank God I didn\u2019t lose everything<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">I\u2019ve lost faith in people who said they care<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">The time of my crisis they were never there<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">But in my disappointment, in my season of pain<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">One thing never wavered, one thing never changed<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><em>I never lost my hope, I never lost my joy<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\"><em>I never lost my faith but, most of all, I never lost my praise<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">I\u2019ve let some blessings slip away, and I lost my focus<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">And went astray, but thank God I didn\u2019t lose everything<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">I\u2019ve lost possessions that were so dear<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">And I&#8217;ve lost some battles by walking in fear<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">But in the midst of my struggle, in my season of pain<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">One thing never wavered, one thing never changed<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><em>I never lost my hope, I never lost my joy<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\"><em>I never lost my faith but, most of all, I never lost my praise<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">Praise, praise, praise, praise\u2026most of all, I never lost my praise<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">My praise, still here, my praise still here<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Hallelujah! My praise is still here<\/span><\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lBhUQNn_nn0?rel=0\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Charlotte Central Church of God Choir<\/em><br \/>\nSongwriter \u2013 Kurt Carr<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0~ \u00a0 \u2665 \u00a0 ~\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u271e\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0~ \u00a0\u2665 \u00a0 ~ \u00a0 *<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Oh, can you picture Job singing this song? \u00a0He <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><em>lost loved ones<\/em><\/span> and<em><span style=\"color: #800080;\"> lost possessions.<\/span><\/em> \u00a0He \u00a0<span style=\"color: #800080;\"><em>lost faith in people who said they care<\/em><\/span> and in his<em>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #800080;\">time of crisis they were never there<\/span><\/em>. \u00a0 But<em><span style=\"color: #800080;\"> one thing never wavered\u2026one thing never changed\u2014<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">he<\/span><em><span style=\"color: #800080;\"> never lost his hope<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2026he<\/span><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #800080;\"> never lost his faith<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2026he<\/span><\/span> <em><span style=\"color: #800080;\">never lost his praise.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>There aren\u2019t too many records throughout the Scriptures which depict someone more deeply grieved and in mourning than the story of Job. \u00a0Here is how God described Job:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u2026a blameless and upright man, fears God and turns away from evil.<br \/>\nJob 1:8<\/p>\n<p>Right off in chapter one, we read of the horrific loss that Job experienced. He was a man blessed by his God with \u201cseven sons and three daughters; 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very great body of servants.\u201d The Scriptures tell us that \u201cthis man was the greatest of all the men of the East.\u201d But, as we know, Satan purposed to take all that Job had in order to tempt him \u00a0to turn away from and curse his God (verse 11). \u00a0In one day, within a very short period of time, Job learned that all his flocks, practically every one of his servants, and each of his children has been taken from him. \u00a0However, Satan\u2019s purpose was foiled because, \u201cThrough all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God\u201d (verse 22). \u00a0Job kept his heart of worship and praise; his response to all this?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head.<br \/>\nThen he fell to the ground in worship and said:<br \/>\n\u201cNaked I came from my mother\u2019s womb, and naked I will depart.<br \/>\nThe Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;<br \/>\nmay the name of the Lord be praised.\u201d<br \/>\nJob 1:20-22<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif;\">He never lost his praise.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>As the woman who sings this song shared with us, in her time of sadness and loss, God taught her about the \u2018sacrifice of praise.\u2019 \u00a0 (Go back, if you would, and listen to her heart starting at :18 to 1:19.)<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif;\">She never lost her praise.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God<br \/>\na sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips<br \/>\nthat thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name.<br \/>\nHebrews 13:15<\/p>\n<p>Probably each of us has offered a \u2018sacrifice of praise\u2019 at least once or twice in our lives\u2026yes? \u00a0However, I am confronted by the higher standard that Hebrews 13:15 states: \u201clet us <strong><em>constantly and at all times<\/em><\/strong> offer up to God a sacrifice of praise\u2026.\u201d \u00a0Other versions of this verse use the terms, \u2018continually&#8217; and &#8216;always.\u2019 \u00a0That doesn\u2019t leave much room for wiggling out of obedience, now does it?<\/p>\n<p>We are to <em><strong>constantly<\/strong> <\/em>{<em>always, continually, at all time<\/em>s} give to God our praise as a sacrifice\u2014whether our circumstances are happy and joy-filled or not. \u00a0Even in those times where it looks like there is nothing left, we are to acknowledge all He has done, is doing, and will do to take care of us.<\/p>\n<p>And when we struggle to maintain our joy and peace we can still\u00a0praise God for Who He is\u2026<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>He never changes (Malachi 3:6)<\/li>\n<li>He never leaves us nor forsakes us (Deuteronomy 31:8)<\/li>\n<li>He loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3<\/li>\n<li>He is faithful to all of His promises (Deuteronomy 7:9)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We should always praise Him for those things\u2026and much, much, much more! \u00a0I believe that then we, too, will sing\u2026<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><em>I never lost my praise.<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I lost some good friends along life\u2019s way Some loved ones departed in heaven to stay but Thank God I didn\u2019t lose everything I\u2019ve lost faith in people who said they care The time of my crisis they were never there But in my disappointment, in my season of pain One thing never wavered, one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":16629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4937],"tags":[7411,235,2390,3154,425,4518,7410,552,2748,7414,2882,4932],"class_list":["post-28025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psalms-hymns-and-spiritual-songs","tag-charlotte-church-of-god","tag-coleen-hayden","tag-deuteronomy-318","tag-deuteronomy-79","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-hebrews-1315","tag-i-never-lost-my-praise","tag-jeremiah-313","tag-job","tag-job-chapter-1","tag-malachi-36","tag-psalms-hymns-spiritual-songs","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-7i1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28025"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28028,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28025\/revisions\/28028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}