Psalm 100 is one of my favorites. Looking at this through the lens of thankfulness to God- what attributes of God do you see in David’s song?
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. 3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
I see that David is coming to worship with gladness in his heart and the joy of singing on his lips. His reasons are various: God is God, God is creator of all heaven and earth, we belong to Him, He is our shepherd, we can come into His presence to worship Him, God is good, His love is unfailing and unending and God is forever faithful generation to generation. Join David in praise and worship today of Almighty God. There is much to be thankful for!
Psalm 28:7-8 is part of a psalm where David cries to the Lord for help as his enemies seem to be assailing him. He has been contending with people who are two faced and deceitful. He knows they do not know the Lord but thankfully David knows that God is his strength and defender. Here his words:
“The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. The Lord gives his people strength. He is a safe fortress for his anointed king.”
Could this be our song as well? Do you know God as your shield, strength and safe place? Do you trust Him with all your heart? David was convinced. He had walked with God from a young age and seen how God was always with him as his perfect shepherd. God had kept him safe from the lion and the bear. God had been with him though the fight with Goliath, kept him ahead of pursuing King Saul and given him prosperity and victory as Israel’s King. David knew and trusted his Lord and called upon Him for strength and protection.
If God is your strength, shield and safe fortress, then you have much to be thankful for, just as David did. May your cries of thanksgiving and praise reach to the heavens today. May you extol God Almighty and put your trust in Him!
“Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.”
In Hebrew the reference is to giving thanks and worshipping God because of His holiness. Have you ever thought about why we should give thanks that God is holy? Holy means pure, blameless, set apart. Only God is without sin and perfect. I like the definition given in my Bible Study Fellowship manual for explaining God’s attribute of holiness to the children; “God is high and lifted up. He is set apart from His creation. Our English word “holy” is from the same root word as “whole.” God is whole – perfect in goodness and righteousness. No one is like God. Even God’s holy angels tremble in reverent worship before Him. God sets apart His children for Himself and commands us to be holy as He is holy. Being holy makes you whole– what God intended you to be.”
Thinking about Holy God creates in me a sense of humility and unworthiness followed by extreme thankfulness. How is it that Holy God cares for me? Repeatedly in scripture we are assured of God’s love and care. Nahum 1:7 is one of my favorite verses “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,” God has compassion upon me and seeks to draw me unto Himself. God loves me so much that He sent Jesus to die for my sins so that I can be brought into a relationship with Him. My faith in Jesus restores me and covers me in His righteousness. What a marvelous gift from our Holy God! Because of God’s love and Jesus imputing his righteousness to me, I can seek to live rightly before Him and honor Him in all I say and do. We can be ‘whole’ before Him and that is something to praise, sing and honor God for! Thank you Jesus for giving me a way to be right with God through faith in you.
“Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. 36 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!”
This scene takes place when David was rejoicing at the arrival of the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem. The ark was the object containing the mercy seat on top and inside the 10 Commandments, Aaron’s rod budding rod and a jar of manna. All these objects were precious to the Israelites and reminded them tangibly of their unseen God’s provision and mercy. The attribute David is extolling God for is being their Savior. He was remembering how God saved them from slavery in Egypt, brought them through the wilderness and led them to conquer the promised land. God had delivered them repeatedly and their eternal God is worthy of all their praises.
When has God saved you? If you are a believer, you were saved from the penalty of sin which is eternal death, when you accepted Jesus as your Savior. Perhaps you have also had other experiences in your life where you have been threatened physically or spiritually and God rescued you from harm. When God saved us by faith in Jesus, it was for eternity and we will belong to Him forever. All the benefits of knowing Him are ours by faith and we can claim the promises He has for us in His Word. The fact that Jesus Saves is worthy of rejoicing and giving thanks. Where would you be without Him? You would be eternally lost and separated from God which are the consequences of disbelief. Thank you Jesus for saving me from that horrible eternal fate and giving me a new life with a new heart and spirit within me. In Ezekiel 36:26 God promises us both. “And I will give you a newheart, and a newspirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
Dear Lord, I am so grateful for your Spirit within me that gives me life, hope and guidance as I seek to honor and serve You. Thank you.
This morning I was studying about the righteousness of God made manifest in Jesus the Son. Then Psalm 7:17jumped out at me as I was reviewing passages on giving thanks. “I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.”
What greater reason do we have to give thanks than that we stand on His righteousness and not our own? The Bible tells us in Romans 3:10“None is righteous, no, not one;” We are all born sinners. You only need to look at yourself and you will realize that every day you cannot do everything right, say everything correctly, hurt no one, be kind at all times, etc. It is not possible. But, Jesus tells us that in Him all things are possible. Having His Holy Spirit within us, empowers us to live rightly for Him. I love the way Titus explains this in 2:11-13 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”Through Christ alone we obtain our right standing with God. Paul writes in Philippians 3:8-10 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,”
Knowing then that our right standing before God is all because of Christ and His sacrifice on the cross, shouldn’t that lead us to thankfulness? Without Christ, we are condemned, lost and would be eternally separated from God. Thank you Jesus! Due to your righteousness, I am healed, loved, freed from the power of sin, saved, cherished as God’s child, cared for, protected, provided for, and blessed. The list of what Jesus has done for me is endless! May these facts cause us to be living in thanks to Him. Giving Him praise and honor for all He has done and will do! May the words of Psalm 7:17 be on your lips today in praise.
“I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.” Psalm 7:17
What attribute of God am I most thankful for? When I pondered this question, the first thing that came to mind was God’s love for me. He loved me so much He sent Jesus, His only Son, to die for my sins so that I could be brought into a relationship with him through faith in Christ. John 3:16 says it so well. ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God wants me to be with Him for eternity and be freed from the power and presence of sin. What an amazing gift we have in His love! Thoughts of God’s love lead me to think about the perfection and purity of His love. In our world we don’t know love that is not motivated by some selfish desire. It is part of our world and our nature no matter how hard we try. God is pure love. His love is not short lived but longsuffering and eternal in nature. His love is steadfast and we can always count on it. Multiple scriptures express the truth that God’s love is steadfast, everlasting, eternal and forever. Here are a few:
1 Chronicles 16:34 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”
Psalm 136:1-26 repeatedly says, “ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
God’s love is steadfast, true, pure and will be with me for eternity. I can rely upon God’s love always as God is faithful.
Today as you consider reasons for your thankfulness, I pray that God’s love will be ever present in your heart and mind. His love is an eternal truth we can always be thankful for in every circumstance.
Praise God!
Linda
Take time to read Psalm 136. Read it aloud and let the truth of God’s love sink into your soul.
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love the food and the gathering of family around the table. The decorations are festive and everyone is reflective of what has transpired during the year- both good and bad. We enjoy having friends join us and as a nation join together in being thankful. When I looked at the scriptures on giving thanks or thankfulness, the predominate theme is thankfulness for God himself, his character, his wonderous deeds and the ultimate work of Christ on the cross. This reminds me how far we have strayed from the true reason for thanksgiving. The pilgrims wanted to give thanks for God seeing them through a hard year, for their harvest, their success and their lives. They attributed all of these things to the grace of God and His abundant provision.
What about you? What are your reasons for giving thanks? Is God the source of your thankfulness? This month I want to focus on God and why He alone is the best object for our praise and thanksgiving. He is worthy to be praised! 1Chronicles 16:8-10 is a song David sang when they brought the ark of the covenant back into Jerusalem. He was overjoyed and sang and danced to the Lord. He rejoiced at the presence of the Lord in their midst.
“Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! 9 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! 10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
Do you have deeds you know God has done this year in your life? Can or will you praise Him each day this month and speak of Him around your table? He is worthy of all our praises. Rejoice in the presences and the goodness of the Lord all month long.
As I end this month long journey of thankfulness, I am more content and satisfied with my present circumstances because of all of the wonderful promises and truths we’ve seen. My final choice this last day of November 2020, which has been a particularly difficult year world over, is Philippians 4:6-7. I like the Amplified translation as it makes it very clear, 6 Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. 7 And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].
This promise of not needing to worry about anything is very reassuring. To really believe this, one must believe God exists and is Sovereign over all things in His creation. God is in control and I need to pray specifically about my concerns and needs and leave it to God. Worry or anxiety is human but is not what God wants for us. He wants us trusting in Him, releasing our worries to Him and living with His peace in our hearts. His peace for our mind, body and soul comes from and through Christ Jesus. He promises to guard our hearts and minds and give us a transcending peace. All this comes as we commit ourselves to being thankful in all things and believing in faith that God has things handled.
May the thankful promises of November carry you into December so you can rejoice in the Advent season. The reason for our thankfulness is found in Christ!
Matthew 21: 20-22 is the setting for today’s promise that will lead us to greater thanks. Jesus was hungry and on the road with his disciples. He went up to a fig tree and it had no figs. Jesus cursed the tree and it immediately withered. This provided a teachable moment for Jesus. When the disciples questioned him, he was able to explain to them the power of faith and answered prayer.
When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked. 21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
So is Jesus saying, I can pray for anything in faith and it will be given to me? Not at all! Jesus wants us to know the power of prayer and faith together can, through Him, can accomplish anything. If that is true, why don’t I have all the things I want or desire? I can just pray for them. James gives us the reason this is not possible. 2 “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ” James 4:2-3 God knows our hearts and sees what our real motives are for asking. Yes, faith and prayer can overcome but our heart attitude needs to be right with God and aligned to His purposes. Perhaps, you feel that you asked with the right heart attitude and were praying for God’s will to be done. Don’t lose heart. Remember our timing is not God’s timing and you may still have to wait longer for your prayers to be answered.
I find this encouraging. God knows the desires of my heart and I need only tell Him. I need to trust Him to bring it about if it is in His will, in His time and in His way so that He is glorified and I am uplifted in faith. Faith and prayer can accomplish great things in and through Christ. Pray fervently and have faith trusting God for the answer whether it is yes, no or wait. Walking in faith is difficult but always produces godly results and brings thankfulness.
I was thinking this morning about the designation ‘Black Friday’. It seems that since the 1950’s the day after Thanksgiving has been called ‘Black Friday’. It began as a term used to describe the crowds, like the street was black with pedestrians. It then became a day term retailers used to signify when they began to turn a profit and moved from the ‘red’ into the ‘black’ as the volume of their sales increased. In the Bible the blackest Friday would be the day of the crucifixion. It was the day when the skies turned black and darkness covered the land. “It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Luke 23:44-46 The blackness of that Friday is a picture of the sin that Jesus bore on the cross for you and me. His death on that darkest day brought the greatest profit for us. John 12:46 puts it in perspective for us as to why that blackest of Friday’s had to happen. “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”
Even on that blackest of Fridays, the people were rushing around preparing for their Sabbath. Since they could do no work on the Sabbath, they hurried to get Jesus down from the cross, buried and settled in a borrowed tomb. Mark 15:42-47 describes these events done in haste. After the Sabbath was over, several women came back to the tomb to anoint Jesus with spices as his burial had been done in such a hurry they felt they had not been able to treat his body properly on that Friday. “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.” Mark 16:1 Their walk to the grave site was done in sadness but their return was joyous as they learned of Jesus’ resurrection and his defeat of sin and death. An angel spoke to them when they got there, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” What joyous news they had to share!
That blackest Friday brought death and burial to Jesus but brought the greatest profit to you and me. Colossians 1:21-22 explains where we were on the black Friday and where we are now because of it. “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,” That was the the biggest gain or profit for mankind ever in history. Christ reconciled us to God so that we can be in communion with Him and have our sin’s forgiven. We are free to live a life in Christ that is pleasing to God and that is free from the penalty of death brought on by sin. That Black Friday was the best one in history for you and me.
During these COVID times you may not be venturing out physically but think about that blackest of Friday’s and how much you gained through Christ. Praise Him and Give thanks for His sacrifice that brings the greatest gains-salvation, eternal life, His indwelling Holy Spirit, heaven, godly character, a relationship with God, resistance to temptation, purpose in life…..- to you and me!
Fearless Living 