Put Your Hands Up

Psalm 134:2 "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and praise the Lord."

Sometimes I fantasize about being a spiritual gunslinger and on Sunday morning in the middle of our worship time I would pull my neckerchief up over my nose, wheel around, point my trusty Bible at everybody and say.... "Alright everybody, put your hands up, or I'll start quotin scripture at ya." Well, I can't really do that, but I can send out this handy-dandy devotional today that reminds you that you should…….. Lift your hands up, that is, and just Praise the Lord.

Let me give you a few reasons not to put your hands up.

A. Because I said so......NO! Do it because the Bible encourages you to, many times.

B. So everybody can see you put your hands up...... NO! Remember, He alone is the audience of our worship, it should be as if nobody else is watching.

C. To try to get closer to God.... NO! Lifting your hands should be done to praise Him because you do feel close to Him or in humble declaration of your sincere willingness to draw closer to Him.

D. To participate, because it will help others participate.... NO! The Holy Spirit should be in charge of worship. If the Spirit prompts you to lift your hands, then lift your hands.

A good way to begin the process of being able to lift your hands is to respond earnestly when the song mentions that we lift our hands. Don't draw attention to yourself. Start inside yourself and do it to simply Praise the Lord. We have much to learn about worship. Can you imagine being on the Mount of Transfiguration when Jesus appeared to Peter, James and John? (John's brother James, by the way, not the half-brother of Jesus who wrote the book of James.) What would you have done? I can't imagine doing anything less than falling on my knees or face before Him.

Why is worship so reserved here on earth? I think we fear a 'false spirituality' or 'over-zealous emotionalism'. We need to find a way to worship with more abandonment without fearing these extremes. I remember the days in Baptist churches when nobody raised their hands unless you were little and needed to ask Mom to go to the bathroom. I miss some of what that picture of respect exemplifies, but not the staid reserved-ness that squelched the Spirit glorifying Christ in worship.

We should not wait to experience what heaven's worship will be like, when we can and should glorify Him now. Psalm 133 is not describing heavenly worship, it is describing earthly worship with hands up praising the Lord. Remember, all of us are now a priesthood of believers and must conduct ourselves accordingly.

Join me in worshipping Him with our hands lifted up as the Spirit leads us to glorify our Savior, Risen Lord and Coming King. My hands are up right now. (Uhhhh, feel free to lift your hands even when you are not in the worship service, if the Spirit leads.)

Love you all, Pastor Fred

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