What Shall I Render to the Lord?

Psalm 116:12-17 - What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me? 

   I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. 

   I will pay my vows to the LORD now in the presence of all His people. 

Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints. 

   O LORD, truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have loosed my bonds. 

   I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.

What does all this mean? As I read this this morning I thought of all the people who have gone before the Lord and received their salvation. They have met with God, recognized Him, called upon Him, chosen His free gift of salvation and now serve Him.

What happens when this free gift is received? The main thing is outright acknowledgement of God our Father, Creator, Redeemer. We recognize Him as sovereign over all. We see His hand in all things. Our hearts and minds change through Him. We grow in the knowledge of our Lord. We begin to know truth. Yesssss. We recognize how flawed our thoughts and hearts once were. And this is all good.

We will pay our vows...we will bring to Him a heart of thankfulness for what He has done in us. We will rejoice in our salvation, which only comes from Him. In this world we can be successful, but it ends when our lives end. Salvation through Christ brings a different, lasting type of success. Wise Solomon came to this conclusion:  “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?” Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3,13-14)

There truly is nothing more important in this life than to walk with God. Only one who has chosen this course can understand this. 

At first it seemed curious the statement: Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints. In the context of the other verses, I see this as the rejoicing that God and the angels do when one comes to Christ. We are now His saints and we have given up our old lives, the old man has now become new. We have died to ourselves and have become alive in Christ. This is precious to Him. 

I am reminded of the one stray sheep Jesus referred to:

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!" I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:4-7)

I imagine He leaves that sheepfold daily for that one lost sheep. That prodigal son or daughter. That one Saul who would be made Paul. He knows them all by name. 

When we give in to His calls, His outstretched hand, He loosens the bonds of this world and its lies and death. As the song goes: 

All I once held dear, built my life upon

All this world reveres and wars to own

All I once thought gain I have counted loss

Spent and worthless now compared to this...

Knowing You, Jesus

We become His! The price of His death was paid for us. Can we even fully understand this? God Himself came down from the throne of heaven to live on this earth that He might die for all mankind...all who would seek and serve Him. Who does that? This is hard: He is God to those who do seek Him. If one does not, He is not their God and we are not His child. He died for all, but not all will receive. Not all will give up that old life for a new, sure, everlasting life. 

So, He continues daily to call. Daily He reveals Himself. He works to break hard hearts, that none would perish. He longs to hear the call of the seeking heart and the final words of joyful thanksgiving for the free gift, His salvation. Will you render your life to the Lord? To render means to give up and yield, break down. Will you render to the Lord for the benefits He offers you? His gift. His life. Freedom in Christ. Everlasting life.

Psalm 107:8-11 - Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons—because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High...

Worthy!

Revelation‬ ‭5:11-13‬ ‭- Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

Thanksgiving. Perfect timing, as someone said about our study on the Book of Revelation, that we hear about who we should be most thankful for. I read an article or post by someone saying something like, while for most people it's a day off work, stuffing faces and football, some look at it as a time, like Christmas, as a time to be thankful for our God. So here goes.

What I am thankful for:

First and foremost for a loving God who called me to Himself and saved me, redeemed me, called me His child. I am thankful for assurance, even in these days, of my future because of Him. He has shown me, and continues to do so, what is important: His Word and promises to those He calls His own, and the privilege to share about Him.

I am in the beginning of a study on the Book of Revelation. The first weeks have been showing us in great detail, driven into our spirits like the nails in His hands, that “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation‬ ‭5:12‬) Amen! He is Creator of ALL things and He is in control; no man, whether self, ruler or clergy. He alone. He is seated in the center of heaven on His throne and should be the center of our lives.

I'm thankful for my husband, my family, friends, and church family. I'm thankful for all He has created as a means to show Himself and His glorious attributes to the world and I'm thankful He doesn't stop revealing Himself in this world and that anyone who responds to His call He will receive as His own. He is so willing to give all spiritual blessings and promises to anyone who seeks Him.

I am thankful for those I know who honor Him and for those who will. All praise and honor and glory are His!

It all starts with Him. Everything else falls into place after that. That's all there is to say. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 
‭‭(2Corinthians‬ ‭9:15‬, James‬ ‭1:17)

Thanksgiving

Psalm 107:21-22 - Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.

When one becomes a born again Christian one looks at life differently. While I am thankful for the freedoms we have had in the United States, I realize they can be taken away...which we are seeing. I'm still thankful for what we have left. If we live to see more erosion, will we still have something to be thankful for? If life becomes harder for whatever reason, will we still have something to be thankful for? If we call ourselves Christians, disciples of Christ, we should.

So what is my view of Thanksgiving? For some Thanksgiving is just another day off work, food, drink, football and family. Others will celebrate this year and truly will be thankful for God's goodness toward them. A very good friend of mine will testify to this through her waiting on God without any inkling of what she would be facing. And for some, her in particular, He has proven what trusting in Him is all about. (I may post this testimony in time!) I am thankful most of all for God's love, grace and mercy to me. Without Him there is no hope. In Him I have a freedom that cannot be taken away at someone else's whim.

Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness. Thanksgiving is thanking the Lord...that He chose me, redeemed me, guides me...and it is He I can put my trust in.

I recently found out that Thanksgiving as we may know it didn't really happen the way we think. If you are interested in what it might have been, you can research yourself. It was not as Christian a day as we all believe it to be, sad to say. It may have been thanksgiving for lives saved, but not so much for the way of life they lived.

Putting the real story aside, and coming to what we can truly be thankful for...we can thank God today for the physical blessings He has given us. But it's so much more than the physical blessings, or possessions. The biggest thanks we can have is the thanks for our salvation. Two verses prior to the ones above say this: Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

Not a new story as far as my posts! When we come to the end of ourselves, can't possibly imagine how we will get through something, we CAN cry out to the Lord and He will heal and deliver through His Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. We can be thankful, truly thankful, if we have received Christ.

He offers the greatest blessing of all time. If we have called on Him for forgiveness of our sins and have continued to follow Him and trust in Him, we can lift up our voices in the most amazing thanksgiving. It's not always about the possessions we have or our freedoms but our spiritual condition, our rightness with God or relationship with Christ. Nothing is more important to God than that.

I am thankful for His sacrificial love for all of us. None of us deserve eternal life. But He offered up His life anyway so that all men who would call on His name, receive Him and wait on and trust in Him would have this eternal life. He gave His life for us. How can we not be thankful for that? When we are at the place where we can thank Him for this, then His hand will be upon us. But how do we live that out? By loving Him first, or what the world believes is important? Think about it...

Oswald Chambers wrote this: The religion of Jesus Christ is a religion of personal relationship to God and has NOTHING to do with possessions. Professional Christianity is a religion of possessions that are devoted to God. The disciple realizes that his life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses, because what we possess often possesses us; we are possessed by possession.

Look at it this way, though. If we have Christ we have the greatest possession. He is the greatest treasure. He will not leave or forsake anyone who claims this possession. Matthew 6 tells us Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

There are many verses on thanks and thanksgiving to God. He is a great and awesome God who gives generously to those who trust Him. Sometimes what He gives isn't in ways we would expect. We might not even be able to put a finger on what He gives; sometimes it's just in the peace and contentment we feel. Then at other times, because He knows what we have need of (not want of) He provides. And He knows each one of us has need of a Savior. We should be thankful He provided His Son to be that Savior. We should be thankful for the freedom we have in Christ. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:36) Do you know this freedom?

Psalm 100: Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. - A Psalm of Thanksgiving

Praises to God!

Psalm 98:1 - Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. 

Lord God,

Thank You for this day. Thank You for who You are in my life. Thank You for Your free gift of salvation, for Your shed blood on the cross...Your death for my life. For Your resurrection and Your living among us today.

Heavenly Father, forgive me of my insecurities and oh so many faults. I know in You I am Your new creation and yet still so in need of You. I have Your righteousness and holiness, not because I deserve them but because You chose to give them...and not just to me but for anyone who desires to be in relationship with You.

I thank You that only You can open the eyes of those who do not know You in ways unimaginable, that they might believe. I thank You for Your creativeness. Continue to soften hearts to receive You. Let us be able to see the need in others. Let us respond like You would. Let us be Your hands and feet.

You know, Lord, I am not arrogant about my relationship with You. I am unworthy, and yet You love me just the same. Thank You that's how You feel about others. I pray that we do not frown at the thought of someone not knowing You instead of feeling a desire they do know You. Give us compassion for their souls.  Forgive us, Lord, if we fail in this area. Forgive us as You forgive them because "they know not what they do."

Your name is holy. Your name is above all other names. No one is greater than You. You are high and lifted up. The train of Your robe fills the temple with glory. What a vision that is. Your name is beautiful. There is no other name but the name of Jesus. How I long to see Your face...that our faith will be replaced by Your face.

With that thought and vision in my mind, let Your kingdom come, Father God. Let Your will be done. We see this world in turmoil and see the anger and/or fear that is arising because people are not seeing the hope and change they had been looking for. You are the only real hope and change. Let all mankind put their trust in You, for only You are worthy.

Lord, provide for us today. Whatever our need might be, let us look to You for it. Sometimes our only need is to be in Your will...and all other things will fall into place. Hallelujah! Our need today may not be the need of tomorrow, but then You know it all; nothing is hidden from You. We can trust in You.

Let us call on You in every time of need. Remind us that we are who You say we are in You and that at just the mention of Your name, Jesus, our enemy must take flight from our presence. We are stronger than we know! We have power we cannot even yet imagine...let us use that power to overcome any obstacle thrown before us, including any temptation.

You alone, my God, are the King of all. Your power far exceeds the power of any man and only You, Lord, are to be glorified. I will trust in You for my life, my hope and, above all, my change. Continue to change me, to make me into exactly that person You desire me to be.

I will praise Your name forever.

John 17:11 - Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.

His Way, The High Way

Nehemiah 8:10 - Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

Make sure your security and significance is in Christ and not in your son or daughter [or anyone/anything else]. Your identity is in Christ. Your Savior defines your success. Make sure you go to Christ for a cup of joy. Drink often. The Lord’s joy is limitless. (Taken from reading #82 in the 90-day devotional book, Seeking God in the Psalms.)

I was out for a glorious walk yesterday with a friend. What a beautiful day, probably the last for awhile. What I loved about our walk was the nearly three+ miles of sharing about and with Jesus. We don't yak about the big sale at the store or gossip about this person or that. Jesus is our center...and you just gotta know if He's the center of our talks, He's right there with us! And then the lunch we shared...we shared with Him as well.

The quote above from a Wisdom Hunters devotion tells it like it is. As we walked I brought up the sometimes frustrating feeling I get when people "don't get" the concept of Christ. In my heart I know the joy that comes in a relationship (not religion, not denomination). Jesus wants all men to know Him. That breaks down the denomination barriers. Such an easy concept yet, like the Pharisees, clinging to religious beliefs is the stumbling block to knowing Jesus the way He wants us to. There is the belief there is more than one way or it’s their way or the highway. How about His Way, the high Way?

Yes, it’s frustrating because I was once there, pushing Him away for my belief that I know who Jesus is. Isn’t that enough? I have to remind myself, however, that I came from that side of understanding, or rather not understanding. I didn’t want this relationship, this born again concept thing, shoved down my throat...and I know that’s how others feel. But when He grabs hold of a heart...and truth is revealed, you don’t want to let go. 

When Jesus came to this earth as this baby boy and grew into His ministry, to make Himself known as the Savior of the world, He was not received very kindly either by the religious leaders who also "thought they knew it all." They exchanged the truth (of who He was) for a lie (that it's not about religious rites but a relationship...with Him) (Romans 1:25). They just didn't get it. Their pride in who they thought they were as these leaders got in the way of this humble concept that God sent His only Son to earth to die for all mankind. And the response should be: Just give me Jesus, as Fernando Ortega sings!

If I sound like a broken record, I don’t care...it’s all about Jesus! There IS such joy in knowing Him. We still go through tough times but there's an underlying sense of peace knowing that He is walking beside you to be there at your call or prayer for comfort, peace, guidance or whatever is needed. How hard things can be without this in-depth knowledge of one single Man. It may not seem a difficult life, but there’s so much more on the “other side of knowing.”

We discussed how thankful we are that by having this relationship we can stand secure in knowing no matter what life throws at us. Even with the issue of death, we are secure in Him. He takes our death today on earth and turns it into life. That’s all the hope I need. Heaven awaits those who turn to Him.

His joy is limitless if you make Him the center of your life, if you think/talk about Him all day, spend quiet time with Him, seeing things in life through His eyes, expecting Him to be in and around your circumstances, giving opportunities for you to show off His glory!

Joy starts with thankfulness. It’s biblical! Tough situations of life may be just that, tough, but thankfulness...to God...will strengthen and help. Sometimes we allow a burden to capture our hearts and minds. We can't let it go. But when we finally do, when we finally give in to Jesus and say "I’m giving this to You, Lord," because His yoke is heavy but His burden is light, a shift occurs, and joy takes hold again. The burden in our heart lifts knowing that we serve a God who is always in control. A good kind of supernatural joy...

Just take hold of Jesus...

Psalm 30:5 - ...Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. 

Thankfulness

1Thessalonians 5:18 - In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

Happy Thanksgiving. This is the time (the week, the day?) of year focus--for some--is on thankfulness. Shouldn't we, though, dedicate all our time to it? It should be a daily thing.

I heard a man on the radio yesterday say before his eyes are even open he realizes he's awake and he's thankful for a new day. He opens his eyes and sees the dawn lighting up the room and he's thankful he is able to see because there are some who cannot. He sits on the edge of his bed and is thankful because some may not have a bed to sleep in. And so the day goes. Stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at evening. - 1Chronicles 23:30. We are to be thankful for all things.

We are to be thankful in good times and bad. Some may find this hard to understand. How can we when our life has been thrown a curve ball? When loss has been dealt us or illness strikes in a way we had not anticipated?

There are two people I know going through the first stages of treatment for cancer. No one would wish this on anyone but it happens, sometimes so very unexpectedly. There's a difference between these two women. Although both I believe are fighting in their own strength, one appears stronger than the other. For one, keeping up the appearance of strength is not so easy. I don't think anyone can enter this sort of battle without some sort of trepidation.

But.....

What Jesus tells us in 1 Peter 5:7 is what we are to do when we come to a time in our lives where it is not just another day: Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. His yoke is easy and His load is light. We are to trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding (Matthew 11:30, Proverbs 3:5). These are not just man’s words; these are the words of God. They are there to encourage and strengthen. Often times it is when we reach a point like this in our lives that we turn to God for His refuge; they point us to Him.

We should be thankful everyday we have this Lord and Savior available to us. When we know Him and know His peace, comfort, strength, promises, He will gladly give them to us.

But let me tell you, He is not just loving, He's judgmental. He's jealous after each of us. He wants all to seek Him and be saved. He wants us to trust in Him...and cast our cares at His feet. He judges those who do not look to Him or follow His advice. He's not a dictator. He's like a father who disciplines because He loves, not that He causes illness or loss to come into our lives. But He's there to help pick up the pieces of our lives  and strengthen us in our battles. 

Life is just fuller when we have this Savior as part of our daily lives. Fuller, more meaningful, richer, more satisfying. He is not a crutch, as some would say. He is a stronghold, a tower, a rock. He is always there with words of encouragement, peace, comfort. The world offers much but there will always be something lacking. There is no good thing that we lack when we receive Jesus into our lives.

So let us be thankful not just today, but always. Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. First and Last. Beginning and End.

Ephesians 5:20 - ...giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanks Be to God

Psalm 100:4 - Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 

As we approach Thanksgiving, we are especially reminded where thanks giving should be given. We can start small and be thankful for what we good things we have. Even if we haven't much we should be able to be thankful for something. Think of just one thing.

Take it a step further. We should be thankful as a nation for the freedoms we have thus far. Let's be thankful now before they are taken away. We see in the news there are a whole lot of people who cannot be thankful. What's that all about? How sad. Will that ever change?

Okay, so another level higher. The highest level. Being thankful to God...because it is He who has given us everything we have. If we are not thankful to Him we have turned our backs on the one Who has created all things that we might partake of them.

And if you don’t think we can’t go any higher than that...be thankful that He sent His Son that we might have spiritual freedom...along with eternal life. Galatians 5:1 tells us it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Free from the yoke of slavery in this world. What greater thanks do we need have?

I searched the scriptures for some additional words on thanksgiving and thanks. For His creation, for the love and provision to His people, and especially for offering His Son Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins and the victory of eternal life through Christ Jesus, His indescribable gift! Nothing speaks louder than the thundering voice of God through His grateful people:

Psalm 26:6-7 - I will go about Your altar, O LORD, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving and declare all Your wonders.

Psalm 69:30 - I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. 

Psalm 95:2 - Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. 

Psalm 116:17 - I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.

Philippians 4:6 - Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Revelation 7:12 - Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.

1Chronicles 16:8, 34 - Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

Psalm 30:4 - Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. 

Psalm 35:18 - I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people. 

Psalm 75:1 - We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near. 

Psalm 92:1 - It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.

Psalm 107:8 - Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!

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

2Corinthians 2:14 - Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

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

2Corinthians 9:15 - Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 

1Thessalonians 5:18 - …in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

Revelation 11:17 - We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned. 

And here’s one I pray for all of you for your Thanksgiving day. May He touch your hearts as you enjoy your celebration.

2Corinthians 9:10-11 - Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. 

Thanksgiving and Praise

King David knew how to praise the LORD. He sought God in all things and couldn't contain his worship. I would love to have been a fly on the wall in David's room where he worshipped God. I can imagine him dancing and singing with a tambourine in hand. He knew the God of the Heavens. He worshipped Him with reckless abandon. He made a joyful noise. He gave thanks because he knew of God's great power and His love and forgiveness. Not only was he able to do this, he had the gift of writing and he shared his feelings in the Psalms. 

We are called to be thankful and worship our God. There is so much to be thankful for. I can get wrapped up in some praise and worship music. It brings joy to my soul and lifts my spirit, especially when I'm having a bad day. We are called to think on things that are good and true and just. What better way than on the Word of God followed by lively praise and worship music.

We are approaching Thanksgiving, a day to first thank God for all He has done for us...then celebrate with a feast with family or friends...in that order. Worshiping and feasting were two very popular things in the Bible and there's a lot to be thankful for. Let David's words below penetrate your heart, even if you can't imagine the music. Then listen to the song below for a boost. 

What the LORD has accomplished and what He did for the people thousands of years ago, He has done and can still do for us. He can pull us up out of any situation and plant our feet firmly on His rock of salvation. We can become part of the heritage of these ancestors if we only choose to acknowledge Him and then worship Him like David did. Our God never changes. These words are timeless and priceless. 

Okay...David, let us know how you really felt!

Psalm 136

THANKSGIVING

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! 

           For His mercy endures forever. 

        2Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! 

           For His mercy endures forever. 

        3Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! 

           For His mercy endures forever: 

        4To Him who alone does great wonders, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        5To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        6To Him who laid out the earth above the waters, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        7To Him who made great lights, 

           For His mercy endures forever-- 

        8The sun to rule by day, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        9The moon and stars to rule by night, 

           For His mercy endures forever. 

        10To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        11And brought out Israel from among them, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        12With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        13To Him who divided the Red Sea in two, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        14And made Israel pass through the midst of it, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        15But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        16To Him who led His people through the wilderness, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        17To Him who struck down great kings, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        18And slew famous kings, 

           For His mercy endures forever-- 

        19Sihon king of the Amorites, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        20And Og king of Bashan, 

           For His mercy endures forever-- 

        21And gave their land as a heritage, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        22A heritage to Israel His servant, 

           For His mercy endures forever. 

        23Who remembered us in our lowly state, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        24And rescued us from our enemies, 

           For His mercy endures forever; 

        25Who gives food to all flesh, 

           For His mercy endures forever. 

        26Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! 

           For His mercy endures forever.

Psalm 150

PRAISE!

 1Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary; 
praise him in his mighty heavens. 
2Praise him for his acts of power; 
praise him for his surpassing greatness. 
3Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, 
praise him with the harp and lyre, 
4praise him with tambourine and dancing, 
praise him with the strings and flute, 
5praise him with the clash of cymbals, 
praise him with resounding cymbals. 
6Let everything that has breath praise the LORD . 
Praise the LORD . 

Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord!

Thanks be to God

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! [And] thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. - 2Corinthians 9:15, 1Corinthians 15:57

Thanksgiving probably is more thought of as Turkey Day...food and football. That's what Glenn Beck proclaimed. When he asked what most people think it is, that was my immediate response, probably even out loud!

He took the word thanksgiving and broke it down into thanks and giving. Is that what we do? give thanks? And what are we thankful for and to whom do we owe these thanks?

I'm going to suggest you think about that for a few minutes.

Okay...we should be thankful for every day we have as long as we have it. That's a good place to start. How about being thankful for family and friends...even those who give us grief? Our health, even if we aren't the perfect picture of youth and vitality. We're still useful in some ways! Our homes, jobs, freedom, church, pets... Let's be particularly thankful for what freedoms we have while we can...

But there's one more "thing" to be thankful for. The most important thing. A God who brought everything we have into being. How often do we thank Him? Isn't that who the Pilgrims thanked when they settled here? How often do we thank Him for His Son Jesus for whom we owe the greatest thanks for the gift of salvation, that indescribable gift? A gift that keeps on giving, even after death. How often do we think that our families would not exist without His hand in the process? It is by His hand children are born. It is by His hand our food is available. And by His hand we are blessed.

There will be many this year who might not be able to rejoice as much because times are tougher for them. Will we reach out our hands a help in even the smallest of ways to help? If the days ahead grow slimmer for all of us, will we have the strength and perseverance to continue to thank God? We could start now...

I have a friend who thanks God every day for the little she has. She's content, as we all should be, with the basics and not much more. She knows who to thank and I believe because of being as content as she is, God continues to show His grace and provision upon her.

As Israel wandered with no food in the desert, God supplied them each day. They may have, unfortunately, been bored with what they got each day but they never went hungry or thirsty. I believe they thanked mostly when things were going well and, unfortunately, they quickly forgot. And then there's the loaves and the fishes story. When it was absolutely necessary, the bread and fish miraculously never ran out and fed thousands with some left over. Who's to say that doesn't happen today for those who trust the Lord? What is the saying: The Lord works in mysterious ways. That's not quite biblical but Psalm 77 says, You are the GOD who does wonders....and Your footsteps [were] not known. Whose to say?

We have it good in this country. We are envied. Well, maybe not as much today as a year ago. I would hate to see this country which for so many years worked hard to keep freedom and prosperity alive, fizzle. Let's be thankful right now. Let's keep in mind that even if things become bleak we need to thank God for supplying our needs. We are called to be thankful at all times. 1Thessalonians 5:18 - In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. If we ask he is gracious to give to those in relationship with Him.

I am thankful first for my God, then for the salvation I have in Jesus Christ. I'm thankful for what He has allowed me to have in my life, both good and bad, because everything has shaped me. He has shown me the direction I am headed and I'm thankful for the discernment and wisdom of this powerful and awesome God. I'm thankful for family and friends. I'm thankful for the roof over my head and even creature comforts. I know what it was like to have little and somehow I managed to get through. 

Our thankfulness at any time is a benefit. If we choose not to give thanks we are heaping bitterness, unhappiness, unforgiveness upon ourselves. A friend of a long time ago used to quote the second part of this scripture but seemed to overlook the first part: A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. Proverbs 17:22. 

As this Thanksgiving week approaches, let's be thankful for all the nuisances and interruptions in our lives. Let's hold our tongues to the words of those less thankful and say something from a merry heart instead.

No matter where we are in life's circumstances, we can find something to be thankful for. It's my reminder that looking only at what we see in front of us or coming down the road, especially if it doesn't look good, can bring us down. Look up instead. Look to God. Look to Jesus for your help. Thank Him even now for the things He can provide in the future.

Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. [I will] seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added...Psalm 123:1, Matthew 6:33