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“Enter
into his gates with thanksgiving, and into
his court with praise: be thankful unto
him, and bless his name”
(Psalm 100:4).
“Offer
unto God thanksgiving, and pay thy vows unto
the most High”
(Psalm 50:14).
Apostle Paul learned how to be content in
whatever state he found himself. “…for I
have learned, in whatsoever state I am,
therewith to be content” (Philippians
4:11), and he found himself in very
unsatisfactory conditions many times! But
he never sat in the muck of self-pity in his
less-than-desired state. He kept on
pressing “toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 3:14). He didn’t change his
aim because of circumstances. His eyes were
always on the goal, and that was enough to
keep him thankful. He knew what lay ahead
and lived in that hope.
" Behold,
the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear
him,, upon them that hope in his mercy"
(Psalm 33:18).
There are over thirty-one and a half million
seconds in a year; eighty-six thousand and
four hundred of them in one day. God is
mindful of us every one of those seconds! We
are never just an afterthought to Him. How
many of our seconds do we spend mindful of
all our blessings as a child of God? An
hourglass holds just so many grains of
sand. How many grains are dedicated to
acknowledging our Heavenly Father’s
attention toward us and being thankful for our
many blessings daily!
Every second of every day matters to God.
We need to let every second count by
guarding our minds and thinking on things
that are praise-worthy, giving thanks to God
for all His benefits.
“What
shall I render unto the Lord for all his
benefits toward me?”
(Psalm 116:12).
We need only to read the first thirteen
verses of Deuteronomy 28 to discover the
“benefits” toward us.
“And it
shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken
diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy
God, to observe and to do all his
commandments which I command thee this day,
that the Lord thy God will set thee on high
above all nations of the earth: And all
these blessings shall come on thee, and
overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto
the voice of the Lord thy God”
(Deuteronomy
28:1, 2). (Read the rest of the blessings
in verses 3-13.)
Details are not wearisome to the Lord. One
source says this: There are 66,420 yods
(“jots”) in the Hebrew Scriptures, according
to some commentators. Jesus declares that
not a single one of these will fall away
without the fulfillment of all things
(Matthew 5:18). This should give us comfort
and motivation. If God is that concerned
with the things most people would not even
notice, then how much more is He concerned
that we fulfill the destiny He has planned
for our lives? Should we not be just as
concerned?
If our Lord is aware of all those “yods,”
how much more is He aware of us?
“No weapon
that is formed against thee shall prosper;
and every tongue that shall rise against
thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This
is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and their righteousness is of me, saith the
Lord”
(Isaiah
54:17).
Are you feeling thankful yet?
If not, observe the seconds as they tick by,
and think, “God is totally aware of me every
second. Not for a single one of them
does He forget me!”
“Let us
come before his presence with thanksgiving,
and make a joyful noise unto him with
psalms”
(Psalm 25:2).
“I will
praise the name of God with a song, and will
magnify him with thanksgiving” (Psalm 69:30).
During this Thanksgiving Holiday, tell those
around you that you are thankful for them
and give God praise as you count your
blessings!
“Being
enriched in every thing to all
bountifulness, which causeth through us
thanksgiving to God”
(2 Corinthians 9:11).
Now that we have our personal thanksgiving
in motion, let us turn our attention to
corporate worship and thanksgiving. When
Jesus established His church, He meant for
us to be His Body on earth. Paul said that
we being many were one body. Every member
of the body is essential and important to
the head--Jesus, and to each other.
“But now
hath God set the members every one of them
in the body, as it hath pleased him”
(1 Corinthians 12:18).
He went on to say there should be no
division in the body but that we should care
for each other to the extent that we hurt
when another member of the body has pain,
and we rejoice when another one has been
honored. (1 Corinthians 12:25, 26).
Together we give thanks for one another and
to God who has miraculously formed us
together.
With this nucleus, we form nations around
the world, but we are all part of His Body.
Some might feel more loved or even less
loved than other members of the Body, but
God cares for us the same with His
unconditional Love. What God intended was
for us to be one in Him, not splintered and
fighting among ourselves.
Unfortunately, an enemy slipped into the
camp and caused schisms, deceit and hatred.
We who are Christ’s Body have the healing
balm to soothe the wounds of those who will
allow it. Jesus Himself took care of all
arrangements to deliver the world from its
downward trek. Not everyone will accept the
remedy; but for those who will, they too
will become part of the Body of Christ for
whom we can be thankful as we love one
another.
There are great benefits for the nation that
acknowledges that God rules supremely and
uniquely. Let us spend some time during
this Thanksgiving holiday praying for
nations to turn to the one God who can bring
peace and security to our troubled world.
Let us be thankful that we live in one that
gives us freedom to worship as we choose and
pray for leadership that will guard this
freedom and acknowledge God as supreme
ruler.
“Blessed
is the nation whose God is the LORD…”
(Psalm 39:12)
Jesus is Lord! No questions, no disputes,
no other god; and those who refuse to serve
Him now, one day will bow before Him. Some
will bow in adoration, worship and
thanksgiving; others will bow to their
condemnation because they rejected His
Lordship.
“Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given
him a name which is above every name; That
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven, and things in earth,
and things under the earth; And that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father”
(Philippians 2:9, 10, 11).
Give thanks to God for nations ‘whose God is
the LORD’ and pray for those who do not know
Him that their eyes will open, their hearts
softened that they will join in the
Thanksgiving Parade before our beneficent
God.
~~Delores~~
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