Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips that acknowledge His Name.

—Hebrews 13:15

I think we tend to emphasize the ‘sacrifice of praise’ portion of this verse, rather than the context of the whole thing. We tend to say to one another, “Well, let’s lift up praise, even when we don’t always feel like it.” Or when we feel embarrassed or ashamed to, we “muster up” the courage to sing publically. As true as it is—that God delights in heartfelt praise that’s focused on HIS CHARACTER, not the perceived size of our problems—we are forgetting the latter portion of the verse. The Bible says that PRAISE is “the fruit of lips that acknowledge His Name.” 1) We have to acknowledge God’s Presence. 2) We have to speak it or sing it. 3) Fruit grows from a seed, not in a vacuum. That means, when we come together on Sundays, as One Body in Christ, we’re not only lifting up praise despite our selfish and short-sighted feelings. We’re lifting up the FRUIT—our PRAISE—because we’ve called upon His Name throughout the week in prayers that began as seeds. Because of HIS FAITHFULNESS, we’re able to witness the seed of our prayers come to fruition. (Even if we don’t see the evidence of external circumstances changing, we know the Lord can work in our heart when it’s in the way!). And we can only call upon the name of someone we ACKNOWLEDGE. That means that we can be aware of God every moment of every day.

Our FRUIT—our PRAISE of GRATITUDE and JOY—starts from a seed of awareness and acknowledgement of God in our lives, and is grown in the soil of our hearts, enriched with humility, surrender, and trust.

Our FRUIT—our PRAISE of GRATITUDE and JOY—starts from a seed of awareness and acknowledgement of God in our lives, and is grown in the soil of our hearts, enriched with humility, surrender, and trust.

—Leisha Cole

From Seed to Fruit

Our faith grows from a seed into fruit when we continually call on His Name as Provider, Sustainer, Protector, Healer, and Father. We praise Him because of His Faithfulness! He answers our prayers. He blesses us with imeasureable amounts of His Peace. He meets us where we’re at—in big and small ways—all throughout the day. When we ope our eyes and ears with greater awareness of His Presence, we are more “praise-minded,” and we search to give God glory and worship Him in everything.

Joy is a Fruit of The Spirit that is interconnected with praise, humility, and gratitude. Why does God choose to explain these things as seeds and fruit? These fruits are cultivated and grown as we spend time with God and continue to “acknowledge His Name” and call upon Him, as the author of Hebrews says. Soon, we find other Fruits of The Spirit have grown in our hearts—and our fruit can be a sweet and tasty gift to others around us.

but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.
—Psalm 1:2-3

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
—Proverbs 3:9-10

The Lord deserves our firstfruits—the first crop harvested in the season. Yet, the Lord isn’t simply talking about material wealth and crops. The Bible is clear, in that God wants our hearts and our devotion to Him, made as a choice out of freewill. God, the Father, wants us to choose Him above all and before all things. God is worthy to be our number one recipient. (He’s the One Who gives all good things, anyway! It’s already His and by His Doing!) So, let’s GLADLY give God the firstfruits that we receive! Let’s give Him our BEST PRAISE because He is WORTHY!

If you’d like to read more, I suggest: Philippians 1:9-11. This passage also teaches us how our fruit brings glory to God, as we abide in Christ, like the vine and branches.

Choose Fruit

Praise is a choice in the present, amidst the regrets and horrors of our past, and the fear, confusion, and the unknowns of the future. To praise is an act of practicing faith, hope, and courage—our One Hope in Christ Jesus! Hope in God’s Faithfulness and His Promises! We can praise His Name right now because of Who He Is, Who He Was, and Will Always Be. The Great I AM.