December 23, 2024

Season of Gratitude

November 14, 2014 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15

 

But thanks be to God!
He gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57

‘Tis the season to be grateful.  All around are commercials about gifts and then there’s the occasional “I want that!”  We stress and we try to figure out where the money will come from to buy these gifts and think that ‘if we had just kept Christmas about His birthday’ there would be more joy.  So today, as we enter into this season, may we focus on just being grateful for the gifts that He has already given us.

See, before the Christmas tree, there was a Baby.  He was born in a manger, made of wood from a tree, and He was surrounded by His parents and the animals of the barn.  His coming is the greatest gift of all.  That little tiny Baby would grow up to take the big sins of all the world and nail them to the cross with Him.  He would die and rise again, and then ascend to Heaven to prepare our home.  And while we are in this place…as we wait for His second coming…we count all the ways that He loves us.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34

And because of this love, we have a joy that goes beyond circumstances.  Just sitting in His presence brings a warm feeling and so much love for Him.  He doesn’t promise a life without heartache and trouble, but He does promise that He would go before us and with us through it all.

I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart, I have overcome the world.
John 16:33

“For everyone born of God overcomes the world.
This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
1 John 5:41

Then comes a peace that passes all understanding.  In horrible sickness and trials, we can rest easy knowing that He has it and will carry it for us.  He is able and He will make a way for us.  When the way seems so dark that you cannot see to take the next step, trust His hand to guide you.

Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it.
Genesis 28:16

He is with you and that is the best gift of all, and definitely something to be grateful for.  So as Thanksgiving approaches,  I encourage you to look for the gifts that right now are all around you.  And find something each day to be grateful for. It is the season of lists; so, instead of making lists of things wanted, make lists of things that you already have and make sure you thank the Giver for it all.  He is such a good God and all He gives is good.  So today we praise Him for all the many blessings and those to come…and for Jesus Christ, His Son, who came to save us all from everything we will ever do and all the sins we have committed.  To give grace freely even though we haven’t earned any.  These are the best gifts to start with, things to be grateful for, on the top of your list!

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Do you know this God…the Creator of this whole world and the Creator of you? Oh friend, you need Him and all you have to do is ask Him to come into your life and all will be changed. Pray this prayer with me:

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner.  I am in need of a Savior.  I believe that You sent Your Son to die for my sins so that I am forgiven.  I will live eternally with You.  Come into my heart and be my Lord.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

 

 

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This Week…Psalms 111:1-4

November 14, 2014 by

seekingHimthanksgivinggraphic

Over the next few weeks, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, we will be focusing on gratitude, thankfulness, and giving thanks to Almighty God Who has so richly blessed us.  As the Scripture passage quoted in this beautiful graphic (made just for us!), we will be joyfully proclaiming our ‘thanksgiving to Him with psalms’.  Over the past few days Ahmee, Ann, Cynda, Laura, and Tina have focused their writing to bring our attention to the following verses.

Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
I will praise and give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart
In the council of the upright and in the congregation.
The works of the Lord are great, sought out by all those who have delight in them.
His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
The Lord is gracious, merciful, and full of loving compassion.
Psalms 111:1-4

Cynda asked us, in The Power of Public Praise to consider this: “Where would we be if David and the other authors of the Bible had not shared their praise with us?  Our knowledge of God would be severely limited.  What if friends or family that had seen God work in their lives—deliver them from trouble and despair—hadn’t shared their praise with us?  Our knowledge of His faithfulness would not be as deep.  If we do not share our praise publicly, we risk limiting someone else’s knowledge of God.”

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Tina gave us a wonderful acronym T.H.A.N.K.S. to help us remember things to be thankful to God for in Expressions of Thanks!

Throne

  • We are to bring our request to the throne of the One who can grant them.

Heaven

  • When we call upon the name of Jesus, He will take them to our Father as our Intercessor.

Answered

  • God will, in His wisdom, answer our prayers.

Noble

  • Our thoughts should always focus on what is good and noble. We are to train our thoughts on what is right and pure.

Knowledge

  • Our Father will give us a much greater knowledge of His Word. We will want to fill our minds and thoughts with His words, His goodness, His mercy, and His ways.

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In Grateful for His Works, Ann encouraged us to be grateful.  She wrote, “Sisters, it is the will of God for us to be grateful for what He has done.  Each time we should show a grateful heart to the Lord.  Do not murmur when you face adversaries; think of His wondrous works and His care for you night and day.  In fact we need to be grateful and sing new songs to Him…the songs that will be like a sweet aroma to Him.”

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Ahmee asked a really good question in Thankful for Life Itself:  “How often do you thank God for your life?”  She went on to remind us that in Psalm 139:14 David praised God for ‘…making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.’  And that we as human beings who are wonderfully complex.  We know to thank God for all good things.  Therefore, should we not stop to thank God for making us?”

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Laura shared with us her heart in her family’s loss of their little baby, along with a simple reminder of how thankful we are for the little ones in our individual families AND church families in Little Bundles of Thanks:  “…when we dedicate our children to the Lord we are thanking Him for sending us this little bundle of joy that brings love, pain, heartache, and everything else that goes along with it. In the company of other believers, we thank God for this little person and pledge…to teach the child to be a person who loves and honors God through worship and service.”

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Oh, Lord, what joy and privilege we have to come before You singing out our gratitude and thanks for all You have done and are doing for us, Your daughters!  May we reach out to those around us—whether we spend time with them each day or we just ‘happen’ to meet them in the grocery store—sharing with them how good, how kind, how gracious, how merciful, how generous, how compassionate, how forgiving, how wonderful You are!  With our whole hearts may we sing Your praise and give You honor and glory!  Thank You, dear Lord, thank You for Your goodness, Your grace, Your mercy, Your love.  We love You and adore You…and we praise and thank You!  In Jesus’ name, amen.  HalleluJAH!   ♥

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Made Me Glad

November 14, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

I will bless the Lord forever
And I will trust Him at all times
He has delivered me from all fear
And He has set my feet upon a rock

I will not be moved, and I’ll say of the Lord
You are my Shield, my Strength, my Portion
Deliverer, my Shelter, Strong Tower
My very present Help in time of need

Whom have I in Heaven but You
There’s none I desire beside You

Songwriter ~ Miriam Webster / Performed by Darlene Zschech and Hillsong United

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Do you practice blessing the Lord on a daily basis…or only when things are going well in your life?  God calls us to count our blessings on a daily basis.  There is ALWAYS something to be thankful for!

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT

This does not mean that we are happy all the time or would choose our current circumstances.  When you are in the fire and walking through extremely difficult circumstances, it can be harder to look for the things in which to be thankful. However, God is always faithful in our circumstances when we choose to be thankful and look to Him and what He is doing in our lives.

When I focus on the yuck in my life, it doesn’t help me.  But when I focus on God and the blessings that are there in disguise, my perspective changes and I begin to see the things that He is doing.  I would much rather focus on what God is doing in my life than what the enemy is doing.  Then I can watch this promise unfold in my life.…

And we know that all things work together for good
to those who love God
to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 KJV

I love the wording in this Scripture!  The first part, ‘And we know…,’ means we must know and believe that God will work whatever we are walking through for ‘good’. The next part that speaks to me is that God says He uses ‘ALL things’ (not just some things) but ALL things for good.  Keep looking for the ‘good’ in whatever you are going through.  He Who has promised is faithful.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
for He Who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23

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Heavenly Father, we thank You that You are our Shield, our Strength and our Portion.  May we believe and receive it in Jesus name.  AMEN!!!

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