Give Thanks?

"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



Just a few days ago, I was felling pretty down about some circumstances in my life. My family has a practice where each of us have a journal where at night we write in that journal about some way that God has showed Himself faithful to us that day. Well, the night I was feeling pretty down I wrote in that journal about the ways the Lord had helped me that day. As I wrote, the Lord just seemed to put it right in front of my face how that I had many things to be thankful for and I needed to focus on those things not my circumstances.



Many times in life we get so discouraged about so many different things. However, we all seem to forget that God commands us to give thanks in everything not just when we feel like it (1 Thess. 5:16-18). You may think,"But I can't find anything to thank the Lord for." Well, are you saved? That's one major thing to thank the Lord for. He saved your soul from eternal hell separated from Him because of your sin. But God in His great mercy, when you repented( acknowledged was sorry for your sin ) and trusted in Jesus Christ, saved you from hell. If you look around and ask the Lord to open your eyes, you will see the many blessings God has given you. So don't get too down, just thank our good God in heaven for what He has done. Thankfulness is a choice not a feeling. We may not feel like being thankful but we are commanded to do it by God because it is one of the keys to having peace (Phil. 4:6-7). I'm telling this to myself as much as anyone else. Almost evrything I write about is something that God has spoke to me about and that I need to work on too. We all are human and have our weaknesses, but the Lord Jesus is with us holding us up and giving us strength to live this Christian life (Ps. 37:23-24, Heb. 13:20-21).

Sunday Scriptures

Here's a great passage form the Bible that shows how God is a loving Father Who, after He corrects, will comfort and restore.

"For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." - Lamentations 3:31-33

No Other Gods

There once was a father who had three children whom he loved very much. The children loved their father very much also and whenever he came home from work, the kids would run to him and yell," Hi Dad!" as their father lifted them into his strong arms and gave them a kiss. One day, in expression of his deep love for his children, the father bought them a big screen TV. The children thanked him and were extremely excited.

However pretty soon, when the father came home and in expectation yelled,"Hey, kids, I'm home!" This time there was no sound of little feet running to him or the sound of little voices greeting him. The father walked further into the house and saw his children sitting in front of the new big-screen TV. With their eyes still riveted on the television, they nonchalantly waved and mumbled a "Hi Dad."

The father walked in front of the TV and said to the children,"Kids, I bought this TV for you. It was an expression of my love for you and I do not appreciate you giving your love to this television instead of me."



Do those kids remind you of anyone? We can be like them so much can't we? In his great love for us, God gives us things that are good in and of themselves like talents, friends, ect. But we turn around and give those things preeminence to the great One who in His love gave us those things in the first place. We sacrifice the wonderful, strong love of our heavenly Father for the temporary things of this earth that will never satisfy us. The Lord is the one who will give us the grace and peace to make it through all of life's trials. Nothing compares to Him and His fellowship. If we give our whole hearts to seeking after things on this earth and put them before the Lord we have commited a terrible sin (the first of the Ten Commandments to be exact: Exodus 20:3.) Dueteronomy 6:4-5 says,"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." The first step to doing this is to put the Lord first in everything in your life. We will never know the fullness of His fellowship if we do this.

We will not be sorry when we put the Lord first. He and His everlasting love and grace will always satisfy us. He will endure forever not the things of this world. Let's put Him first.

Sunday Scriptures

Today's verse from the Bible is 2 Samuel 22:31. It's a great verse that everyone needs to keep in mind.

"As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him." - 2 Samuel 22:31

Food for Thought

Even in the midst of the broken pathways of life, lies a stream of hope that God causes all things to work together for good to those that love God and are the called according to His purpose. ( Romans 8:28 )