November 5, 2024

Thankful Heart

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

My open hands receive blessings You pour out on me
Your tender care restores my soul
Your faithfulness endures, as mercy covers all my sin
Your perfect love has made me whole
Beyond the words I’m searching for
I long to give You something more

Here’s my thankful heart, thankful heart
Offered up in gratitude for all You’ve done for me
Here’s my thankful heart, thankful heart
Offered up in praise to You

I’m unworthy of the gift of Your unfailing love
But You embrace me as I am
You provide my needs, and raise a harvest from the seeds I sow in vain
I bless Your Name
Beyond the words I’m searching for
I long to give You so much more

From the raising of the sun
‘Til it’s going down
The name of the Lord be praised

Written by Gary Forsythe

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

We can offer up our thankful hearts to our ABBA Father at any time; while

  • taking a walk along a path outside
  • singing praises with our church family
  • raking leaves (or shoveling snow!)
  • shopping for our family’s groceries
  • sharing our Thanksgiving meal with those who don’t have close family
  • getting our tasks at work accomplished
  • driving home…and being held up by traffic
  • sitting in His presence during our ‘quiet time’

The vital point is THAT we DO give praise to Him out of the abundance of our thankful hearts!!!

Listening to this sweet song, this is my oh-so-very-favorite part:

Beyond the words I’m searching for I long to give You so much more….

How about you…do you ever find yourself exclaiming similar thoughts to God?  Oh, I do!  So often I am simply without adequate words to tell God all that is in my heart! (As if He does not already know!!!)  But I am encouraged that He wants us (you and me!) to come to Him with all that is in our little hearts…what a kind, compassionate, loving Father!

Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to You!
Psalm 102:1

Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out Your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.  Selah
Psalm 62:8

…Unto You will I sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
My lips shall shout for joy when I sing praises to You,
And my inner being, which You have redeemed.
My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long….
Psalms 71:22-24

A big key to heartfelt praise and thanksgiving is to recognize where we were before God saved us through His grace and love.  Truly we were in a desperate situation. You could not save yourself from God’s righteous judgment.  But God sent His Son, to save you—to save all mankind!—by His grace.  Because now you have experienced His great love and grace, you delight in Him and His great salvation and you can’t help but sing for joy!  May I encourage you, friends, to never hesitate…never hold back…never deny yourself the joy of singing praises to our Almighty God!

Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming to the upright.
Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
For the word of the Lord is upright,
And all His work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.
Psalms 33:1-5

While studying through Psalm 33, I read Matthew Henry’s Commentary.  Here is a portion of what he wrote, “What a pity it is that this earth, which is so full of God’s goodness <verse 5>, should be so empty of His praises, and that of the multitudes that live upon His bounty there are so few that live to His glory!”

I hope that will not be said of us. As God’s “righteous ones,” let’s be all about offering up our thankful hearts through our praise and songs of joy.  Our lives are the proof that He delivers our souls from death. Our response should be to praise Him with thankful hearts.

Remember that line of this song that I shared I just love so much—Beyond the words I’m searching for I long to give You so much moreperhaps the words of the psalmist in Psalm 138 can help to express them.  These are my prayer; maybe yours, too.

I give You thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will sing Your praises before the gods.
I bow before Your holy Temple as I worship.
I praise Your name for Your unfailing love and faithfulness;
For Your promises are backed
by all the honor of Your name.
As soon as I pray, You answer me;
You encourage me by giving me strength.
Every king in all the earth will thank You, Lord,
for all of them will hear Your words.
Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways,
for the glory of the Lord is very great.
Though the Lord is great, He cares for the humble,
but He keeps His distance from the proud.
Though I am surrounded by troubles,
You will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out Your hand,
and the power of Your right hand saves me.
The Lord will work out His plans for my life—
for Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for You made me.
Psalm 138 NLT

We Have Already Won

encouragementbloggraphicromans15

So the people shouted, and the trumpets sounded.
When they heard the blast of the trumpet,
the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed.
The people advanced into the city, each man straight ahead,
and they captured the city.
Joshua 6:20

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

I am in awe of our God and His never-ending blessings.  He loves His children so much and He wants to bless each one of us…and He does.  As children, we are taught to tell the truth at all costs.  And if you have been around little children, you know that this is true. They tell the truth—even if it hurts!  But as we get older, we somehow lose bits and pieces of our honesty. One white lie leads to another and then we get used to our new way of telling the ‘truth.’  But God—He always tells the truth and He always keeps His promises.

Some of His promises are conditional, like “If you will ______ … then I will_____.”  This was the case in the Battle of Jericho (read the account here).  The Lord said, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, and its king and its fighting men.”  Can you imagine what Joshua thought? Maybe something like…”It doesn’t look like mine to me!” as he looked at the wall that he couldn’t get through!  But the Lord’s message was that the victory was already his but He wanted him to do a few things first.

Even today, God directs us in ways like this.  In the battles we face day to day, victory is already ours because of our position in Him.  But it may not be in our possession if He doesn’t get our full cooperation. See, God has already defeated the enemy by sending Jesus to die in our place…in sin’s place.  But some of the victories that we have are ours only if we take them.  We have to take that first step sometimes to show that we want it!  Here’s how:

Stay armed for battle — Joshua 6:3-9
God’s Word is a Sword. Our victories will never happen without it!

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
Ephesians 6:17

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Always stay on course — Joshua 6:3,14
Never get tired of doing the right thing. Pray every day that God will give you direction and lead you on the right path and that you will never grow tired of trying.

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses
surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight
and the sin that so easily ensnares us.
Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us….
Hebrews 12:1

~   ♥   ~

Always stay together with your army — Joshua 6:13
Surround yourselves with Jesus followers that will help you be the best you. The people that will lift you up out of the trenches and speak truth loudly over the enemy’s lies. Stay in the Church and serve with the body of believers so that the enemy cannot even get a toehold!

~   ♥   ~

Always stay awake and alert — Joshua 6:18
Always avoid the temptations that the enemy sends your way and keep your eyes on Him.  It is so easy to let your guard down and let our foot slip.  We start looking at our problems and we take the focus off of the Problem Solver. We lose hope.  Stay in the Word!  It’s the only way to keep your eyes always on the prize.

The things of this world look and smell and taste so good that sometimes we may slip into the enemies trap.  But God is bigger and He is mighty to save!  Psalm 13:8 says “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”

I am praying for each one of you to stay victorious!  We need to step out as His children and tell all who will listen that He is The Way!  And remember… you have already won!

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Let us pray: Dear God, thank You for loving us so much that You give us a endless supply of grace.  We confess that we don’t always stay close and we do take our eyes off of You and we need forgiveness.  Help us to stay in Your Word and really press into You so that the enemy cannot get through to us at all.  We love You and we praise You.  In Jesus; name, amen.

 

Here’s My Thankful Heart

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

My open hands receive blessings You pour out on me
Your tender care restores my soul
Your faithfulness endures, as mercy covers all my sin
Your perfect love has made me whole
Beyond the words I’m searching for
I long to give You something more

Here’s my thankful heart, thankful heart
Offered up in gratitude for all You’ve done for me
Here’s my thankful heart, thankful heart
Offered up in praise to You

I’m unworthy of the gift of Your unfailing love
But You embrace me as I am
You provide my needs, and raise a harvest from the seeds I sow in vain
I bless Your Name
Beyond the words I’m searching for
I long to give You so much more

From the raising of the sun
‘Til it’s going down
The name of the Lord be praised

Written by Gary Forsythe

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

We can offer up our thankful hearts to our ABBA Father at any time; while

  • taking a walk along a path outside
  • singing praises with our church family
  • raking leaves (or shoveling snow!)
  • shopping for our family’s groceries
  • sharing our Thanksgiving meal with those who don’t have close family
  • getting our tasks at work accomplished
  • driving home…and being held up by traffic
  • sitting in His presence during our ‘quiet time’

The vital point is THAT we DO give praise to Him out of the abundance of our thankful hearts!!!

Listening to this sweet song, this is my oh-so-very-favorite part:

Beyond the words I’m searching for I long to give You so much more….

How about you…do you ever find yourself exclaiming that same thought to God?  Oh, I do!  So often I am simply without adequate words to tell God all that is in my heart! (As if He does not already know!!!)  But I am encouraged that He wants us (you and me!) to come to Him with all that is in our little hearts…what a kind, compassionate, loving Father!

Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to You!
Psalm 102:1

Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out Your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.  Selah
Psalm 62:8

…Unto You will I sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
My lips shall shout for joy when I sing praises to You,
And my inner being, which You have redeemed.
My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long….
Psalms 71:22-24

A big key to heartfelt praise and thanksgiving is to recognize where we were before God saved us through His grace and love.  Truly we were in a desperate situation. You could not save yourself from God’s righteous judgment.  But God sent His Son, to save you—to save all mankind!—by His grace.  Because now you have experienced His great love and grace, you delight in Him and His great salvation and you can’t help but sing for joy!  May I encourage you, friends, to never hesitate…never hold back…never deny yourself the joy of singing praises to our Almighty God!

Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming to the upright.
Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
For the word of the Lord is upright,
And all His work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.
Psalms 33:1-5

While studying through Psalm 33, I read Matthew Henry’s Commentary.  Here is a portion of what he wrote, “What a pity it is that this earth, which is so full of God’s goodness <verse 5>, should be so empty of His praises, and that of the multitudes that live upon His bounty there are so few that live to His glory!”

I hope that will not be said of us. As God’s “righteous ones,” let’s be all about offering up our thankful hearts through our praise and songs of joy.  Our lives are the proof that He delivers our souls from death. Our response should be to praise Him with thankful hearts.

Remember that line of this song that I shared I just love so much—’Beyond the words I’m searching for I long to give You so much more’—perhaps the words of the psalmist in Psalm 138 can help to express them.  These are my prayer; maybe yours, too.

I give You thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will sing Your praises before the gods.
I bow before Your holy Temple as I worship.
I praise Your name for Your unfailing love and faithfulness;
For Your promises are backed
by all the honor of Your name.
As soon as I pray, You answer me;
You encourage me by giving me strength.
Every king in all the earth will thank You, Lord,
for all of them will hear Your words.
Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways,
for the glory of the Lord is very great.
Though the Lord is great, He cares for the humble,
but He keeps His distance from the proud.
Though I am surrounded by troubles,
You will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out Your hand,
and the power of Your right hand saves me.
The Lord will work out His plans for my life—
for Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for You made me.
Psalm 138 NLT

Psalm Of Gratitude

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Psalm of Gratitude
Psalm 138

I give You thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing Your praise;
I bow down toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to Your name for Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness,
for You have exalted above all things
Your Name and Your Word.
On the day I called, You answered me;
my strength of soul You increased.
All the kings of the earth shall give You thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of Your mouth,
and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord is high, He regards the lowly,
but the haughty He knows from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
You preserve my life;
You stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and Your right hand delivers me.
The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me;
Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of Your hands.

 Composed by Esther Mui  ~  Scripture, NKJV

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~   ♥   ~   *

What do you think of when someone mentions that it is November already … Christmas, snow, shopping, Black Friday…?  I dare say that many times our minds jump right over the National Holiday of Thanksgiving (at least until we think of the big family dinner we have to prepare!)  We have much to be thankful for—now and all year ‘round.

Perhaps you’ll agree with me as I say that I need to slow down from the busyness of this time of year, and take time to sing and meditate on this psalm.  God deserves our thanks from our WHOLE heart:

  • He gave us His WHOLE heart, His steadfast love and His faithfulness, when He gave His only Son to save us. (John 3:16)
  • Not only that, but everyday when we call out to God, He answers us. His Holy Spirit dwells with us to increase our strength. God preserves our life, and His right hand delivers us. (Psalms 23:3-4)
  • God has a purpose for each of us, and He promises to fulfill it in us. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
  • God’s love is so solid that He promises to NEVER forsake the work (you and me) of His hands! (Jeremiah 32:38-41)

There are over 130 verses in the Bible that use some form of the word “thank” in it.  As I have been thinking of Thanksgiving, many of these verses keep coming to mind.  Here are just a very few that you might incorporate into your personal worship time or at your Thanksgiving table:

Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.  For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.
Psalms 95:2-3

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

I will give thanks to the LORD because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
Psalm 7:17

The LORD is my Strength and my Shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.
Psalm 28:7

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Colossians 3:17

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 4:15

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
2 Corinthians 9:11

I always thank God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in Him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge.
1 Corinthians 1:4-5

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Will you join me, today and throughout the rest of this month, in giving thanks to our God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?  He deserves our all.

They sang,
Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength belong to our God
forever and ever! Amen.
Revelation 7:12

CHRISTLife — An Intentional Quiet Time (Part 2)

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Each Saturday for the next few weeks, we will look in-depth at a few of the most important aspects of having a quiet time—or as some folks call it—a devotional time.  Last week we talked about one aspect of a quiet time—reading the Bible. This week we will focus on recognizing how vital it is to include singing praises to God as part of our quiet time.

If you are like me, you have found that singing and praising through song is so uplifting; don’t you think?  Almighty God is the point…He is the focus…keeping my mind and heart set toward Him is my aim.  He is the reason why I sing praises to Him!

Psalms 147:1, 7
Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God,
for He is gracious and lovely; praise is becoming and appropriate.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
sing praises with the harp or the lyre to our God!

There are more reasons to praise our God than we have words enough to do so!  Here are just a few of His attributes:
• He is full of glory (Psalm 138:5)
• He is great (Psalm 145:3)
• He is wise and powerful (Daniel 2:20)
• He is good (Psalm 107:8)
• He is merciful (Psalm 89:1)
• He is faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9)

And just some of His wonderful works:
• He is the One who saves us (Psalm 18:46)
• He keeps His promises (1 Kings 8:56)
• He pardons sin (Psalm 103:1-3)
• He gives us our daily food (Psalm 136:25)

There is a day coming when all will praise God by bowing to Jesus the King!

Philippians 2:10-11
That in (at) the name of Jesus every knee should (must) bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
And every tongue [frankly and openly] confess and acknowledge
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Almighty God is oh-so-worthy to be praised!  Psalm 107 would be a great place to look to be encouraged with reminders of what God has done for His children! Throughout this particular psalm are listed proof after proof of God’s goodness.

Psalms 107:8, 15, 21, 31
Oh, that men would praise [and confess to] the Lord for His goodness
and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!

The Book of Psalms has been called the ‘Praise Book’ of the Bible.  In it are literally hundreds of examples of praises and reasons why praise is oh-so-very important. Did you know that every single one of the 150 psalms included in the Book of Psalms is an actual song?  Steve Pearson, a wonderful singer and songwriter, has written and recorded many songs using the words of the Psalms and his own inspired musical accompaniment. To my knowledge, he has now written and recorded a melody to each of the 150 psalms!  Here is a link to his website  www.psalmistry.com  Check it out!  Click on a song you have chosen to listen to…this will give you the particular songs words.  then click on “mp3 or midi” (I usually choose midi and listen to a piano rendition of the song). Also you can choose to view (and print!) the sheet music for the song.  I would love to hear how these wonderful songs and website have been a blessing to you!

As I read the Scriptures, one thing is clear: singing our praises is a good thing!

Join Miss Amy Grant as she sings Sing Your Praise to the Lord!

Psalm 92:1
It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High…

Psalm 138:1-5
I will confess and praise You [O God] with my whole heart;
before the gods will I sing praises to You.
I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name
for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness;
for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word
and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!
In the day when I called, You answered me;
and You strengthened me with strength
(might and inflexibility to temptation) in my inner self.
All the kings of the land shall give You credit and praise You, O Lord,
for they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled].
Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord
and joyfully celebrate His mighty acts, for great is the glory of the Lord.

Keep worshipping Him and enjoying your quiet time with your Lord!  As you seek Him, He will be found…He promises!