December 23, 2024

Thanks and Praise

November 5, 2015 by

seekingHimthanksgivinggraphic
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; 
His love endures forever.
Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.”
Psalms 118:1-2

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Sunday night at church our pastor was speaking on the Book of Acts. During the sermon, Pastor Allen said “God spoke everything into existence, except man.  Man, He breathed life into.”

…and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.  And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:6-8

Think about that…God cared enough about us that He actually created the first man—every limb, each eye, the nose, all of the insides—God’s hands created, molded, refined, designed.  And then He breathed His spirit into the man…His Holy Spirit…the life-giving breath.

If God cared enough about the details of forming and making man, then how much more will He care about you and me?  During this holiday season, we tend to think of things we are thankful for, such as our homes, jobs, and children. We should, but we should also pause and meditate on how God has watched His creation grow and evolve over the centuries.

We are created to tell others about His great love for you and me. How He created the world; created a man and a woman to start the human race; gave them a job to do; gave them boundaries and consequences of not following His direction.  Sound like us? (It sounds like me.)  Our carnal (sin) nature, tells us we don’t have to follow God’s rules anymore.  Because when Jesus came to earth He fulfilled the Law and we do not have to abide by it.  Except, the only thing is, if we don’t know what the Law says, then how are we going to know what we need to do to get the blessing and not receive the curse?

As we go through the holiday season, remember to thank God for all that we have.  We are nothing without Him and His grace, mercy, and forgiveness.  God loves each of us without reservation. We are the ones who put ourselves on the fence and, at times, choose not to believe how much He loves us, so completely and totally.

The LORD is my Strength and my Shield;
My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart exults,
And with my song I shall thank Him.
Psalm 28:7

I will praise the name of God with song,
And shall magnify Him with thanksgiving.
Psalm 69:30

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Reasons to Give Thanks

November 4, 2015 by

seekingHimthanksgivinggraphic

Every day throughout November, we’ll bring you a  devotional focused on giving thanks, gratitude, or giving of ourselves. We welcome you to check in each day and give thanks along with us!

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.
Let Israel say, “His faithful love endures forever.
Psalms 118:1-2 HCSB

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Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.
Psalm 106:1 HCSB

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.
Psalm 107:1 HCSB

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.
Psalm 118:29 HCSB

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good.
His love is eternal.
Psalm 136:1

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34 HCSB

Repetition, in the Bible, emphasizes the importance of the statement. Psalm 118:1 must be really important since it is repeated almost verbatim at least 6 times.  I love how this verse creates a question and supplies the answer.

Give thanks to the Lord.
Why ?
For He is good.
Why ?
His faithful love endures forever.

I am sitting in a room in a skilled nursing facility as I am writing this, and thinking about the frailty of life and the finality of death.  Yet, looking at these verses, I am reminded that death is not final. God’s love endures forever.  His loves for us is eternal.  So much so that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 NKJV

As I was researching Psalm 118:1, I came across this quote from Matthew Henry:

“The more our hearts are impressed with a sense of God’s goodness, the more they will be enlarged in all manner of obedience.”

Praising God and thanking God reminds us of His goodness thus making us more willing to be obedient to Him.  I really want to be more obedient to God.  But sometimes I find it hard to gives thanks.  I get caught up in life.  What I need to remember is that circumstances do not determine my reasons for giving thanks.  My reasons for giving thanks is summed up in John 3:16 (God so loved that He gave) and  Psalm 118:1 (He is good).  Goodness is part of God’s character, it is what He is.  His love is faithful, enduring, and eternal. And those are the only reasons I need.

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So I will give thanks to You, Lord, for You ARE good and Your love does endure forever.
AMEN – it is so!

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God’s Goodness

November 2, 2015 by

seekingHimthanksgivinggraphic

Every day throughout November, we’ll bring you a  devotional focused on giving thanks, gratitude, or giving of ourselves. We welcome you to check in each day and give thanks along with us!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His love endures forever.
Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.”
Psalms 118:1-2

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The whole of Psalm 118 praises the Lord for His everlasting love for His people…how good He is from the start to the end.  The Bible gives us Scriptures that show God’s goodness in many ways:

• Good and upright is the Lord therefore he instructs sinners in His ways. (Psalm 25:8)

The main theme is how God in His wisdom guides sinners so that they become faithful believers.

• The Lord loves righteousness and justice, the earth is full of his unfailing love. (Psalm 33:5)

The love that is ‘unfailing’ is His unconditional love—the love that does not take into account what you have done (good or bad) in His sight.  And that His grace is sufficient and He still loves you anyway.

• Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. (Psalm 34:8)

(Also see Psalm 119:68, 145:7, Isaiah 63:7, Jeremiah 33:11.)

• The Lord is good, a Refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him. (Nahum 1:7)

In the above sections of Scriptures we see the goodness of the Lord being shown in different ways.  Brethren, let us trust in the Lord always for, indeed, His love endures forever.

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Dear Lord, we thank You and we bless You for Your lovingkindness.  We give You all the glory and honor because You are our God whose love never fails and endures forever.  Teach us to trust in You always.  Teach us to depend upon You at all times.  Forgive us for making You too small in our lives and following our own steps in other ways.  Hold our hands and lead us on all to the glory of Your Holy name.  May You be blessed in all the earth in Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

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