How can we not praise Him?

"When I had been fasting, praying, obeying, I thought I was aiming at the glory of God, but I was doing it all for my own glory - to feel I was worthy. As long as I was doing all this to earn my salvation, I was doing nothing for God, all for me! I realized that all my struggling to become worthy was an exercise in self-worship. I was not worshiping Him, but using Him... Though I often confessed to God that I, of course, deserved nothing, yet still I harbored a secret hope of recommending myself to God by all these duties and all this morality. In other words, I healed myself with my duties."
~David Brainerd

Oh to truly come to grips with the fact that I cannot earn God's favor. Cannot do something that could ever rip me out of His family, as His child.

Though I may hear the accuser's cries against me and feel like giving up, God has canceled the power of sin. So we confess our sins... look to our Savior in awed love... and move on and serve Him!

This culture is so accustomed to paying people back for their kindness. But Christ's death on the cross is one debt we can never ever, even begin to pay back. We can't earn any of God's favor. And you know what? This gives God glory!

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

And I'll end with these words by James Proctor which are especially pertinent:
"Since I first discovered Jesus to be the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth  I have more than once met with a poor sinner seeking peace at the foot of Sinai (the law) instead of Calvary, and I have heard him again and again in bitter disappointment and fear groaning out, "What must I do?" I have said to him," Do, do? What can you do?"

Cast your deadly "doing" down-
Down at Jesus' feet;
Stand in Him, in Him alone,
Gloriously complete.
"It is finished!" yes, indeed,
Finished, ev'ry jot;
Sinner, this is all you need,
Tell me, is it not?"

I hope you all have a joyful week as we remember that we are complete and fully forgiven in Christ who has completely saved His children.  How can we not praise Him and joyfully serve Him?!

"For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God." ~Romans 6:10