Thanks: September 2, 2010

Today's Word for Thursday September 2, 2010

THANKS

DEFINITION

To express gratitude or appreciation; a grateful feeling.

SCRIPTURE

"Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercies endure forever." I Chronicles 16:34

"Oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." Psalm 107: 8-9

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift."
II Corinthians 9:15

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

When the American colonies were first settled one man suggested that as a group they were dwelling too much on their problems. It was time to focus on their blessings. Thus, we had the first thanksgiving celebration in America.

As Christians, every day should be a day of thanksgiving. Just take a moment and list in your mind all the things that God has given you to be thankful for. Our health, our family, our salvation, our job, our home, our neighbors, our church, our Bible, our automobile and the list goes on and on. Many people in our world, in fact over 85%, do not have any where near the many things that we as Americans have to be thankful for. How much more then should we be thankful to God?

It is so easy for us to take for granted how much God has blessed us. In Psalm 103:2 it reads: "Praise the Lord, Oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits." WOW! Do we really thank God for all He gives us?

As far back as we can remember we spent time every day praying and thanking God through prayer for His blessings. As a child we prayed before every meal, we prayed every morning and we prayed every evening before we went to bed. This training developed a lifestyle that we used to train our kids and now our kids are training their kids in the same manner. What a marvelous heritage.

What about you? The past is no longer vital if you do not have that heritage. The present is vital so now is the time for you to take time every day to thank God for His blessings. Our God is a loving God and yearns for your gratitude. And He will respond by multiplying His blessings upon your life if you just take the time to thank Him.

Have you thanked God recently for sending His Son to pay the penalty for your sins? Have you thanked God for the assurance that you have that He is in heaven preparing a place for you for eternity? The apostle Paul calls God's gift of salvation and grace that he gave us by giving His only begotten Son to die on the cross as "GOD'S INDESCRIBABLE GIFT." We should be so thankful for this gift that Paul says is above all else.

If we pause to think, we will have cause to thank. We need to remember with gratitude God's many blessings.

LEARNING

Our memory verse for this week is found in Galatians 2:20.

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me."

PRAYER

Give me this day a spirit of gratitude to You, dear God, for all that You have blessed my life with. As a family may we begin today spending more time just to thank You for all that You mean to us. Thank You for Your goodness and for Your wonderful works. Thank You for satisfying my longing soul and for filling my life with Your goodness.