Thanks: November 22, 2012

TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2012.

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.

For 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; good health, family, our salvation, a job, a home, friends, church, the Bible, food, material possessions and the list goes on and on.

Many people in our world, in fact over 85%, do not have anywhere near the many things that we as Americans have to be thankful for. How much more then should we be thankful to God? Take a moment now to read the three scriptures we have written for you above and then reflect on how God has blessed you.

In Psalm 103:2 it reads: "Praise the Lord, Oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits." It is easy to forget all the benefits God has given us. How often 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 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. Christian parents have the responsibility of teaching their children the benefits they received from the Lord and to be faithful in thanking Him for them. In Psalm 103: 3-5 David reminds us of the benefits we receive. Be sure to read these to your children and discuss them with them. We are thankful for the marvelous heritage we received from our Christian parents to remember all God’s benefits and be thankful to Him. We passed this heritage to our children. Now it is their responsibility to pass it on to their children. 

What about you? If you do not have that heritage now is the time for you to take time every day to thank God for His blessings and establish that heritage with your children. Our God is a loving God and deserving of 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 you pause to think, you will be aware of how many benefits you have from God that should give you cause to thank God. We need to remember with gratitude God's many blessings each and every day, not just on Thanksgiving day.

LEARNING: 

Our memory verse for this week is found in Joshua 24:15.

Choose for yourselves whom you will serve: as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

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 the benefits we receive from You. Thank You for Your goodness in forgiving our sins, for redeeming us and giving us eternal life and for Your wonderful blessings to us. Thank You for satisfying my longing soul and for filling my life with your joy and peace.