Thanksgiving and Praise

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever,

his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100:4-5 NIV

Some things just go together. Things like turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, hot rolls and butter, and pumpkin pie and whipped cream. Sitting down to a delicious Thanksgiving dinner certainly stimulates our taste buds into action. Be honest, if you are like me you want to wear your most comfortable pants or dress to this gala! Most of us have been waiting all year with wild anticipation for this dinner where all of our favorite, traditional foods will compliment each other in such a way that we will eat until we enter that state of feeling “stuffed”. At our house we always hope that everything will settle enough so that later in the evening we will have enough room in our tummy to have a turkey sandwich and just one more slice of pie! Gluttony, pure gluttony! Sometimes Thanksgiving seems to be a little too much about food. The fact is there are other things that should, without a doubt, be considered on this special American holiday. Things like our faith, freedom, family, and friends.

 

Another example of things that go together well is thanksgiving and praise. I have been in the company of many people who are indeed thankful for what they have but they seem to be completely void of praise to the One who is their supplier. They think that they are fortunate to have good health and that they are lucky to have met their soul mate. They think only their efforts have lined their bank account. They believe themselves to be their own provider.

 

As Believers, we do not believe in luck. We believe that God is Sovereign and has a plan for our life. Yes, we know that we are fortunate to have the things we enjoy, but we know that it is the hand of God that has equipped us with intelligence to do our work, and has given us the gifts and abilities to succeed in our jobs. If we happen to be among those who God has blessed with good health we give him thanks and praise. We believe that when we trust God and ask him for direction, it is God who brings our spouse into our life and blesses us with that special one who he has sent to be our helpmate.

 

The truth is, all that we own, all that we are, all of the spiritual benefits we are privileged to enjoy, all of creation, and every breath we take comes from our Creator, our Savior, our Sustainer. Our God is an awesome God. That is why those who follow Jesus Christ give thanks and praise to our Almighty God. That is why on Thanksgiving and every other day of our lives we are to “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever, his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5 NIV

 

We enter his gates not just when we go to church but every day during our time of prayer. God invites us into his courts every single day. He craves our praise and desires to see our thankful heart. The fact that God desires our gratitude and praise may seem that God is interested only in himself. This is simply not true. God never demands our thanksgiving and praise but he always deserves it! Why? Because he is good and his love endures forever. God deserves our thanksgiving and praise because he is faithful. Not only to us, but he promises to be faithful to all generations of believers in the future. God has promised to provide for the needs of his children. However, God is not a wishing well. Those things that come from the hand of God that are above and beyond our needs are additional blessings that he chooses to give us. We can ask God for anything but the bottom line is, he knows what is best for us and so we trust him to answer our request in a manner that is in line with our best interest. Gifts should not be ordered. They should always be graciously received.

 

It is God who blesses both the godly and the ungodly. We all receive from the same hand. Sometimes this seems extremely unfair. The truth is, God loves all of us and he uses his provisions and blessings as a tool to point all mankind to himself. It is his desire that someday those who pay him no mind will eventually see how much he loves them, through his provision. Narcissistic ideas of accomplishments are void of both thanksgiving and praise. Some people are thankful but it is so noticeable that they speak without praise. Thanksgiving without praise is somehow empty. It is only a follower of Jesus Christ, who gives both thanksgiving and praise. The object of our thanksgiving and praise is none other than our God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and his precious Holy Spirit that lives within us.

Questions:

1. Do you see how beautifully thanksgiving and praise go together?
2. Most of us are thankful, but how are you doing on your praise?
3. Will you purpose in your heart to enter the gates and courts of God everyday with a thankful heart and words of praise?
4. Will you make a conscious effort to offer up to God both gratitude and praise as you prepare for Thanksgiving?

Prayer:

 

Dear God,

 

Forgive me when my words and actions seem to mirror that I am ungrateful. Forgive me when I enter your gates and courts with only requests and then leave without offering even one word of praise. Thank you and Praise you God because your love endures forever. Even when I fail, still your love endures forever. Thank you and Praise you God because you are good all the time. Forgive me when I begin to think that just because I am going through a difficult time that you have ceased being good. I thank you and praise you God that you are forever faithful. Even when I am unfaithful, you still remain the same faithful God. You always pursue me, you always provide for me, and you are always waiting for me to enter your courts. Only an awesome God like you is deserving of my thanksgiving and praise.

 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

A Foretaste of Heaven

“However, as it is written:

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,

no mind has conceived

what God has prepared for those who love him”

I Corinthians 2:9 NIV

 

Of all the holidays, I seem to enjoy Thanksgiving the most because it only lasts for one day. It celebrates faith, family, friends, and food! Thanksgiving is a special day that I focus on my many blessings and offer up my gratitude to God for his provision. Although I enjoy Thanksgiving it is not my favorite holiday. Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but because Christmas seems to last for months it wears me out! The preparation and the clean up just about ruins the meaning of this holy holiday. I find that I must always guard against that scenario. Easter is an amazing holiday because it signals the arrival of spring and the message of our risen Lord. Easter gives eternal hope to all believers! For that reason I would have to say that Easter is my favorite holiday.

 

Thanksgiving is a special American holiday that is set apart from other days. It is a day for all of us to focus on our blessings. Being thankful for the good things in life are always at the top of my list! I am ashamed to say that sometimes I verbalize that I am thankful for family, health, and financial provision before I even think to be thankful for my precious gift of God’s forgiveness and my hope of eternal life. I neglect to express thanks for the graciousness of God as he continues to give me his love, joy, peace, comfort, and guidance. In reality all of the things that I cannot put a price tag on are my most treasured possessions. My faith, family, health, and God's provision for me cannot be purchased and they are my greatest blessings. I must remember that I do not have a single blessing outside of the hand of God. I am so thankful that God loves me so lavishly and extravagantly. I will never understand why God is so incredibly good to me.

 

There is no doubt that sometimes life hits us hard and throws us for a loop! Sickness comes, we experience personal loss, bills pile up, and natural disasters destroy our homes and communities, wars separate us from those we love, and death robs us of someone dear to our heart. Still God is good.

 

God has so much in store for those who love him. A new Heaven and earth, and his Kingdom, will be ours to enjoy for all eternity! It will be a world without end. We will enjoy forever a life void of conflict, tears, pain, abuse, misunderstandings, stress, and struggle. Sickness, suffering, and death will be left behind.

 

Even on my worst day, I am still so blessed! It is sometimes hard for me to imagine more blessings. I can always imagine more wealth and happy endings but I cannot imagine more of what God has planned for me! The blessings that God has so richly bestowed upon me now serve only as a foretaste of what God has in store for me in eternity.  My blessings in this life is a little like pinching off a bite of the turkey before mom has placed it on the table. Or a bit like tasting the stuffing before it is served. For sure it is like licking the beaters after the sweet cream is whipped and then sticking my finger in the pumpkin pie! The yummy before dinner bites is just a little foretaste of what is yet to come. Soon most of us will sit down to our traditional family feast. We have waited all year for this meal and anticipated all day actually eating the delicious food that has been tantalizing our nostrils as we have patiently waited to be called to the table of blessing. Finally, the moment is here and it is above and beyond all we could have ever anticipated or hoped for.

 

I can only imagine that heaven will be the same way. We read God’s Word and learn about this wonderful place. We especially tune in to the words of Jesus as he tells us he is going away to prepare a place for us, a place with many rooms; so that where he is we may be also. In the book of Revelation we read John’s description of heaven and the Lamb of God, and we dream, anticipate, and look forward to Jesus coming again. Believers long to be a part of the rapture that will sweep us up to heaven before our death, but even if death takes us first we still are comforted with the blessing of our hope of heaven.

This life offers many tantalizing blessings of many earthly pleasures that come straight from the hand of God. These blessings are but a foretaste of heaven divine! Jesus wants us to experience the love of family in this life so that we can better understand his love. Jesus wants us to plunge deep into our relationship with him now so that when we meet him, our Lord and Savior, we will behold his glory in an even greater capacity. God wants us to experience the beauty of his creation and the bounty of his provision now, so that we can look forward to an even more magnificent perfect creation and his limitless provision forever. God is a God of abundance! As we experience this abundant life now, we still look forward to an even greater abundant life in heaven that will last forever. For all these things we give thanks not only on Thanksgiving but on every other day as well!

 

Question:

 

What are your top three priceless blessings?

Even on your worst day, do you still feel blessed?

 

Have you taken time to tell God how grateful you are? 

 

Prayer:

 

Dear God,

 

I am privileged and blessed to experience amazing blessings from you loving hands every day. I thank you God for your goodness to me. God you are good all the time not just in plenty but also in want. Father, forgive me when I become so self absorbed that I forget that all things are from your hand. God, I thank you for your forgiveness of my sin. I even thank you that you take my misfortune and make it into opportunities to change me and develop godly character within my heart. Heavenly Father, I am so blessed to know that even when the circumstances of life seem to be more than I can bear you are still there. God you come along side of me and weep when I weep. You see my need and always provide more than enough.  You provide for many who are not able to work and also for those who cannot find work. You give strength to the weak and weary when it seems that their strength is almost gone. You give comfort in loss and hope for tomorrow. Today God, I pray for all those who today may be alone, hungry, cold, sick, suffering, and feel they are at the end of their rope. Father, send someone to help them in their darkest hour. I pray Father, that all of us will look to you whose heart is good all the time, and give grateful thanks.

 

In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.

An Upside-down Thanksgiving

"O give thanks to the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endures forever."
1 Chronicles 16:34 AKJV

Every Thanksgiving we have a delicious meal of turkey and stuffing with all the trimmings. I then invite our guests to make their way to the dessert buffet. I’m always accused by someone of saving the best for the last.

I wonder what would happen if we started with the dessert buffet? I know for a fact it would make my grandchildren happy and many of the adults as well! It’s not that they don’t enjoy the main meal it is just that they would like to have what pleases them the most first.

If you are like me you live each day in a spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving. However, on Thanksgiving Day most of us will pause, at least a few moments to think about what it is that we are thankful for. Hopefully that thanks will be directed toward God because it is God who provides all things.

When you ask a child what they are thankful for they usually say, their toys, or their electronic games. Sometimes they are thankful for mommy and daddy. Their list is usually very short and self-centered. I am appalled when I realize that far too often I fall into that same pattern of thanksgiving.

Why is it that when someone asks me what I am thankful for my mind goes immediately to things that are self-centered and right in front of my face. High on my list of thankfulness is my family, my home, my job, my health, my food, my friends, my church, my, my, my, everything. This is not wrong because we should be thankful for all that God has so richly provided for us. I know beyond a shadow of doubt that God is not amazed by my responses because he knows that I am human. The Bible tells me that I think on things below rather than things above. My thoughts are without a doubt upside - down thinking.

Sooner or later I finally do get around to being thankful for my salvation and for all the many blessing that come my way because of my faith. I am thankful for peace and joy. I am thankful for wisdom and understanding. I am thankful for God’s amazing love and faithfulness. I am thankful for the hope I have in heaven. I am thankful for God’s guidance in my life. I am thankful for God’s grace, his compassion and mercy towards me. His marvelous mercy that says, Paula, I know you are dust. I understand that your thinking is upside down. I love you regardless of the order in which you give thanks. I know your heart says things that your mouth does not speak. I love you unconditionally with a love that never ends.

Yes Lord, I am privileged, blessed and thankful! I’m glad that you understand that I save the best for last even though it is the sweetest of all!

Questions:

Have you ever experienced upside-down thankfulness?

What are you most thankful for?

Are you thankful for God’s love and mercy that endures forever?


Prayer:

Dear God,

Thank you that you are a God of never ending love and mercy towards all those who love you. Forgive me Lord when I express self centered thanksgiving. Help me God to be more conscious of my intangible blessings. Today I want to express my thanks for those blessings first of all. In addition, thank you for all the things that you give me to see, hear, taste, smell, touch, love, and personally enjoy. God, from the bottom of my heart I want to thank you for all of my temporal blessings. God you are amazing! Thank you for your merciful love that understands and covers all my upside-down thinking.

In Your Son’s Name I Pray. Amen.

The Trees of the Field Clap Their Hands

“You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”
Isaiah 55:12 NIV

Although autumn is beautiful, it sill is not my favorite season because the crispness of autumn signals the coming winter. All of my flower gardens suffer the sad effects of the cool days of autumn. The annuals die and my perennials are in need of being cut back as they prepare for their winter nap.

Yet there are moments in autumn that our amazing God dips his creative hand down to earth and swishes his glorious paint brush over the trees creating a thrilling scene! It is especially beautiful against the back drop of a deep blue cloudless autumn sky. This exquisite picture is indeed a feast for my eyes!

I believe this may have been what the prophet Isaiah was describing when he wrote that the mountains and hills burst into song and the trees of the field clap their hands. The display of the rich red, orange, gold and yellow leaves of autumn are indeed reason for the trees to clap their hands in praise to their creator. It is this autumn beauty that ushers in the harvest and Thanksgiving Day.

Every Thanksgiving, right before prayer, our family sits before our Thanksgiving feast and each of us pick up the two kernels of Indian corn that has been placed at our plate. As a small basket makes its way around the table every adult and child drop into the basket their corn kernels, and one at a time each person express two special blessings that they want to thank God for.

This year my thanks will not be for the many temporal blessing of provision that God has given to me, but rather for two other amazing gifts. The first gift is the joy that I have in my soul even during days of trouble and uncertainty. The second gift that I am grateful for is God’s sweet gift of his peace.

This Thanksgiving I want to join in with the trees of the field and clap my hands in praise, worship, and thanksgiving for two of the most satisfying gifts that God could ever bestow upon me, his joy and his peace.

Questions:

Can you think of a special time when you witnessed the beauty of nature praising God?

What two things are you the most thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Prayer:

Dear God,

Thank you for such a beautiful visual of how the trees of the field clap their hands in praise and worship. God, create in me a pure heart that also praises you in delight for all of your amazing works. Today I bow before you with a thankful heart for the many blessings that you have brought into my life. Thank you also for your joy and peace.

In Your Son’s Name I pray. Amen.