Tag: Thanksgiving

The Password is “Thank You”

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Psalm 100 is a familiar Psalm to many. It is heard more this time of year, as we approach Thanksgiving in the United States.

This is the Psalm of Thanksgiving. But what does it mean and what are God’s promises to our offerings of praise?

A psalm of thanksgiving.

1 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.

This Psalm directs us to approach our Lord full of joy, gratitude and with gladness. As we approach His gates we cry out, “Thank you Lord!” The gates open wide so we can enter with thanksgiving and go into His courts with praise. We are to enter His presence with singing and shouting, giving thanks with each step we take. We have much to be grateful for, the Lord is good! His unfailing love continues forever! His promise to us is that His faithfulness will continue to each generation. What an incredible Lord we have! As we pause to reflect on all the blessings He has poured into our lives, may our hearts be filled with gratitude and our words full of thankfulness.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, we thank You that You love us. Thank You for the many blessings that You give us each day. You woke us up today and give us air to breathe and a heart that beats. Please help us to go about our day, cheerfully, with hearts full of love and thanksgiving. We know that all we have is Yours. Thank You for blessing us and please use us to bless others. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

Some or Best?

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In Genesis, there is a story of two brothers who both offer God a sacrifice. One brother’s sacrifice is accepted and the other’s is not. In chapter 4 of Genesis starting in verse 1, we read, “Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced a man!” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. 3 When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, 5 but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected. 6 “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? 7 You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out!”

There is one word in these verses that makes the difference. In verse 3, we read that Cain presented “some of his crops” as a gift to the Lord. Whereas in verse 4, we read that Abel brought the “best portions of the firstborn lambs” from his flock. There is a big difference between ‘some’ and the ‘best of the firstborn’.

The firstborn males, to include animals, were the Lord’s. Not only did Abel bring the best of his flock, but he also ensured that his gift was the best from the firstborns. Abel’s gift showed his love and respect for the Lord. His gift shows he feels what a joy it is to give to the Lord. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9:7 that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. God knows our hearts and minds and whether we are giving out of joy and love or obligation and guilt.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, we thank You that You love us. Please help us to give to Your kingdom cheerfully with hearts full of love and thanksgiving. We know that all we have is Yours. Thank You for blessing us and please use us to bless others. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

Every Breath You Take

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It is easy to take God for granted. We are very busy with work, errands, parenting, caregiving, petsitting, yard work, family events, scrolling social media, helping friends and on and on. “For the life of every living thing is in His hand, and the breath of every human being.” One simple way to focus on Him and just how involved He is in our lives is to take 30 seconds of deep breaths.

Every breath you take is from God. You can speak or sing or sigh only because God allows you to have air to breathe into your lungs. He allows your lungs to inflate to hold air and to deflate as the air flows out of your body. Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.”

It is the same with your heart beating. Every single time your heart beats to send blood throughout your body, it is because God makes it beat. He allows your heart to beat and your lungs to hold air. Every breath you take belongs to God. Job 27:3, “As long as I live, while I have breath from God,4 my lips will speak no evil, and my tongue will speak no lies.” May that be true for all us still breathing.

Since God allows us to breathe in His air so we can speak, shouldn’t we be very cautious about what we say with God’s air? May we sing to the Lord as long as we live and praise God to our last breath! (Psalms 104:33). May we pray as long as we have breath! (Psalms 116:2). We were created to bring Him glory – in words and deeds. If we do not praise Him, He will make the rocks cry out and give them the breath intended for us. (Luke 19:40).

We were created to tell others about Jesus. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19). Our purpose in life is to show a lost and hurting world that there is a Savior, a God Who loves them. A God Who took the breath away from His own Son so we may be saved. “Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.” Luke 23:46.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, we thank You that You love us. Please help us to use each breath that you give us to bring You glory. Thank You for the Spirit of God Who has made us, and the breath of the Almighty that gives us life. Thank You for Jesus, breath and our heartbeats. Thank You for blessing us and please use us to bless others. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.