Give Thanks to the Lord
Give Thanks to the Lord
Well, here we are – the day before Thanksgiving. Where has this year gone? How can it be Thanksgiving week? The busyness has begun. We are cleaning, prepping food, baking, borrowing chairs, bracing ourselves for extended family, pulling out our stretchiest (Is that a word?) pants, streamlining our strategy for black Friday, staying up way too late and dragging ourselves out of the bed painting a great big smile on our face. Yet, here it is – the Thanksgiving Holiday - the time to stop and reflect on all that we are thankful for, all our many blessings. But we are too focused on the cooking and feeding of our family to pause and praise the One who deserves all our praise.
Today, let’s STOP! Let’s pause for a few minutes and choose to be thankful for what matters most – Jesus! Let’s thank Him for who He is and what He has done. It is our sin that sent Him to the cross. He bore our shame, paid our ransom, may our heart break. Oh, Jesus, thank you! Let’s thank Him for the gospel, for the gift, for our salvation and let’s share Him with those we love most.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17
It is our love for God that propels us to walk in obedience to Him. His Word is filled with scripture about being thankful. Did you know that thankfulness is a prominent theme throughout the Bible? It must matter, so let’s be obedient and offer up our thanksgiving.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I Thessalonians 5:16-18
God is good, always good, even we are going through difficult times. His goodness is constant and should never be questioned. We can trust in His goodness, always. His love for us is steadfast, everlasting. He loved us long before we loved Him. Oh, God, we thank you! Let’s whisper… thank you, God, for being so good to me and for loving me so! You are good. You are loving. I thank you! I praise you!
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 136:1-3
God, we thank you because…
“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.” James 1:17
God, we seek you…
“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.” 2 Corinthians 2:14
God, we look beyond the here and now…
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptable with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28-29
God, we rejoice, we praise You and honor You – even during hard times…
“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen - you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls.” I Peter 1:6-9
God, thank you that we are set apart and not of this world. Help us to stand out and point others to you. We pray for our lost family members today and pray they would see You in us. Help us to never be ungrateful. Help us to be lovers of God…
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” 2 Timothy 3:1-4
Jesus, thank you for what You did for us, what You offer us. We want to know You more…
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
We are thankful for our future, our final destination and we place our focus, our gaze, there…
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3
We are thankful and we offer our thanksgiving and our praise to You, Lord! Thank you! We are grateful and full or love for You! We humbly bow before you and offer up our thanksgiving to You.
Happy Thanksgiving, my friends! I love you and am thankful for you!
Pam
A Note from Pam:
I am so thankful for you! Thank you for taking time to read this post. Let's stay connected and hold each other to live a life that glorifies our Lord! Follow Master What Matters on FB and Instagram and subscribe to the YouTube Channel! We will see you there! Love you!