Be thankful…

God has given us the Moon and the stars and our planet with all of the diversity to keep us wondering what He was up to. For many years scientists have been trying to figure out the universe and anything else they can find to “prove” that all of this just came from a big bang or from a pool of water but they can’t. Even their computers tell them that evolution from single-cell organisms to all of the various forms of life on Earth cannot happen in the time allowed. God created all that we can see or hear or feel in this world and we should be thankful for it. If He had not created life here then we would not be here.

Be thankful for your life and each breath that you take every day because many people have trouble breathing. Some due to diseases and some because of the way they were born. God has a purpose and a plan for everything in our world today and we should be thankful for everything that we have and everything that we can experience in life. Sometimes our experiences aren’t good ones but they are not all bad. Even our bad days can be a blessing because something good will come from that day. Maybe not today or tomorrow but if you believe in God and put your trust in Him then your days, whether good or bad, will be a blessing to you or to someone you know or love.

So many days we go about our business and take so many things for granted or we don’t notice the “little” blessings that we are given at all. Like a cool breeze on a hot day or a cloud that gives you some shade on a sunny, hot day. They may not seem like much but those are blessings that God sends our way all of the time. They are not noticed much because we are so busy. We have so many thoughts and problems running through our minds that we don’t notice when we are blessed by God with our health and our ability to enjoy the day regardless of the problems that we see in it.

Give God the glory and praise Him for your health and your family tomorrow. It is His blessings that enable you and yours to enjoy the day and the fellowship of the day. Don’t allow squabbles and family problems to destroy the day and the thanksgiving meal that goes with it. Seek Him and allow Him to guide you from the point that you wake up tomorrow until you go to sleep tomorrow night.

Give to the Lord and He will give back to you

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 2 Corinthians 9:6 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/2co.9.6/77051

God rewards each person for whatever they offer to Him but only to those who give with a cheerful attitude. If you are a grumpy giver then your attitude will keep you from receiving a reward from Him, so be a cheerful giver of your time and your talents as well as your money.

Have you thanked God today?

Most of us wake up and just get up, if possible, and make coffee to start the day. We don’t wake up and thank God Who gave you the breath during the night to see this morning. We don’t thank God for the strength and the health that He gives us each day to do whatever we do. God gives each of us a number of days and years to live on this Earth and He gives us the strength to serve Him every day if we will live our lives doing that. So…why don’t we?

I wake up and try to remember to thank Him for allowing me to have one more day to serve Him. There are some days that I forget to thank Him but I usually get around to it before the day is too far gone. My point is that He gave His Son to pay the penalty for our sins so we could be useful and able to be His servants while we have the time to do so. Therefore, why can’t we thank Him every day for the blessings that will come on that day? The blessings may not be financial or healing but they could be a friend dropping by or the way your dog or cat makes you laugh. Some blessings aren’t easy to see but many times you will realize a blessing after it has happened and you will recognize it because it could only come from God.

Thank God for all of the little things and the big ones and your health and your family because you wouldn’t have them if it weren’t for His pleasure in giving them to you.

Give generously and reap generously

There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. Proverbs 11:24 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/pro.11.24.KJV

Tithes should be given with a generous heart, then God can reward you generously. When you withhold what should be given, God can too.

Give thanks to the Lord for His mercy endures forever…

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Psalms 100:4‭-‬5 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.100.4-5.KJV

Give thanks to the Lord, always…

In Ephesians 5:20 Paul writes: “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

During this time of year when we give thanks for the blessings of God which we have received do we think about why God has given us those blessings? Do we think about all of our needs that have been met, at times without us even asking for them?

We go through some trying times and many of us actually blame God for those rather than thanking Him for the strength to get through them. Yet, we are supposed to give thanks to Him because it is a commandment…not a suggestion. God loves each of us and whether we realize it or not we should give Him the glory for all that He has given us. Although many of us look at what we have and we think that we are the ones who got this thing or that thing when it is really God Who has given us the ability and the knowledge needed to do our jobs and be able to provide for our family.

Being thankful for everything is not hard to do, but it is difficult to give thanks to the right One Who provided for us. We have grown up in a world that teaches independence and individuality so we look at what we have as our accomplishments and not as gifts from God. Living in the world as it is today we look around and see that the world is so focused upon what each person wants and their personal idea of the “truth” and what is right in their eyes until any idea of looking at the bigger picture is lost. To many people, it seems to make no sense. Why would they want to consider their actions having an impact on the lives of many people in the world?

If they aren’t hurting others with the way that they live then why should they care about someone in another country having air pollution problems or problems growing enough food? We have become so individualistic until we live selfish lives and look at the world around us and we just don’t care about anyone less fortunate than we are.

Being thankful to God is actually the secret to a happy and productive life. So why can’t we live thankfully all the time rather than on just one holiday during the year? Paul wrote in Ephesians that we should be “thankful always” and that is why we seem to have trouble with this. Give thanks to God for your home and your family. Give thanks for your retirement or your job. Give thanks for your spouse and your children and your grandchildren and for their continued health.

Thanksgiving is coming soon and we should truly give thanks to the One Who provides for us every day. Psalm 68:19 says: “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation”. Every day each of us gets a fresh basket of benefits such as the air we breathe, the food we have to eat, and the clothes we wear so we should never pray or do anything without thanking God for everything.

Consider this: why should God give you anything else if you don’t even thank Him for what He’s already given to you? We should be leaving out some of our complaints in our prayers and be adding in more thanks for those good things which we enjoy! Like having food on the table and a warm place to sleep and clean linens and clothes to wear. We take many of these things for granted but in other parts of the world, not very far from where we live, there are many who would love to have even the things which we throw away.

In the Old Testament book of Exodus, Moses had to put up with all of the Israelite’s complaints and their whining about all sorts of things…but they weren’t slaves anymore. Many of them even wished to go back to being slaves because they didn’t like the conditions of their freedom. Moses had to plead with God many times to redeem the people from His wrath or they would’ve been wiped out by the God Who had saved them. They weren’t thankful for the manna which fed them every day. They weren’t thankful for being set free for very long.

We should be thankful for our freedom which was given to us through the suffering of Jesus on the cross. We are free from the burden of sin and it’s consequences if we have given our lives and our heart to Him. Yet, many times we begin our Christian life with Him and we are thankful for the burden being lifted and for a time we are very thankful. Then when temptation comes back and we slip or we feel that we are being wrongfully tempted we blame God for it. He didn’t tempt us but we want to blame someone and it is either Him or the Devil.

Be thankful for your life and all of the good things and the bad days that you have since many of our bad days would be welcomed by other believers who are in countries where they are persecuted much more harshly than we are.

What are you thankful for?

Psalm 107

1Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

2Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

3those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. a

4Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle.

5They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.

6Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

7He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.

8Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

9for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

10Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains,

11because they rebelled against God’s commands and despised the plans of the Most High.

12So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

13Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

14He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains.

15Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

16for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.

17Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.

18They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death.

19Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

20He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.

21Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

22Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.

23Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters.

24They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep.

25For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves.

26They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril, their courage melted away.

27They reeled and staggered like drunkards; they were at their wits’ end.

28Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.

29He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea b were hushed.

30They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.

31Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

32Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.

33He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground,

34and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

35He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs;

36there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle.

37They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest;

38he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish.

39Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity, and sorrow;

40he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste.

41But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks.

42The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths.

43Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.

ThankfulLiving This Psalm is all about being thankful in all circumstances. This is what we should do every day and yet many of us don’t. We grumble and complain and gripe about one little thing or another when we should be thankful to have another day to live and serve our Creator and Redeemer! Seek Him in His Word and get to know your Redeemer and your Savior because it doesn’t matter what kind of car you drive or how big your house is…on the day that you die those possessions will belong to someone else. Make sure of your salvation in Jesus Christ so that your mansion in Heaven is assured and where you will spend eternity with Him!