Some thoughts on Thanksgiving (part 9)

"1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."

(Psalm 100:1-5)

Salvation is a good enough reason to continually give thanks unto God our Redeemer. In Salvation we become His people. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, and ye are not your own?" 1 Cor. 6:19. In the Psalm, Israel is God's elect nation, and I do not wish to blur the distinction between Israel and the church. In the New Testament, saved people are His people. He bought us with a price (v.20 says: "For ye are bought with a price..."), we as Christians have the freedom and privilege to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for the blood of the Lamb.

Some thoughts on Thanksgiving (part 8)

“1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” (Psalm 100:1-5)

The Psalmist wrote ‘and not we ourselves.’ It points out that everything we are and have come directly to us because of God’s goodness. Wm. Cooper put it this way “Thankfulness is rather the confessing of our debt than the payment of it; and forasmuch as we are bound always to be thankful, it doth acknowledge we are always beholden to God and always insolvent.” The Apostle Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 15:10a “But by the grace of God I am what I am…” When we pray, we remind ourselves, and show God, just how dependent we are on Him; and when we offer thanksgiving unto Him, we remind ourselves, and show God our indebtedness to Him. Celebrate Thanksgiving by realizing that we owe it all to God the Father and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and that we are not self-sufficient. Selfishness and pride are not honored guests in the Thanksgiving season.

Some thoughts on Thanksgiving (part 7)

"WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLIC THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God..."

- Signed by George Washington Oct. 3, 1789 entitled "General Thanksgiving."

Some thoughts on Thanksgiving (part 6)

"1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." (Psalm 100:1-5)

Singing is a natural human behavior. God wants us to sing unto Him. He gave us our voices so that we may lift it up in praise to Him. To some people, singing is not something they are acquainted with. But God wants to hear us sing His praises. For sure, we must strive to sing excellently, but to sing out of a heart of obedience is far better than merely hitting each note head on. Obedience sounds (or sings) better than hypocricy. Here is a good thought to ponder: "The voice you are born with is God's gift to you; the use of your voice is your gift to God." (Kenneth Osbeck). This Thanksgiving let us come before His presence with singing!

Missions Conference Week (15th-19th)

Taking a break from the blog world due to a hectic week here in Brogue. God bless!

Some thoughts on Thanksgiving (part 5)

"1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."

(Psalm 100:1-5)

What a privilege it is to serve the Lord. There is a particular way in which God wants us to serve Him and that is ‘with gladness.’ This attitude stems from understanding who God is and what He is like. God has many attributes both incommunicable (these are ones only He possesses) like omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence, etc. and communicable (these are ones which we can and should aspire to attain) holiness, love, meekness, etc. Considering the power of God and His graciousness, isn’t it reasonable to serve the Lord and to do it with gladness? So long as we keep our focus on the Lord, our service towards Him will always be with gladness. We gladly pray, we gladly give, we gladly sing, we gladly partake of the ordinances, we gladly proclaim the Gospel message, we gladly preach, we gladly assemble each weekend and mid-week for church (at least the church in Brogue, PA). We gladly visit the sick, and the shut-ins, the fatherless and the widows, we gladly serve in the prison ministry, we gladly serve the Lord in the public schools, and in the senior center, we gladly read the Bible everyday, we gladly memorize His Word, we gladly share our testimonies, and so on and so forth. Serving the Lord is the golden key of the Christian life, and serving the Lord with gladness is what God wants us to do. Gladness and thankfulness go hand in hand.

Some thoughts on Thanksgiving (part 4)

A PSALM OF PRAISE or THANKSGIVING

"1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." (Psalm 100:1-5)

This Psalm is classified as “A Psalm of Praise or Thanksgiving.” Here God invites everyone (“all ye lands”) to render praise unto Him. God did not intend to save a few, to reach merely one nation (i.e. Israel) but rather through Israel, other nations can be blessed (see Gen. 12:3). Even in the Old Testament, God is interested in the salvation of mankind. True worship of the LORD is not subdued, rather it was expressly loud. Again great liberty is given to God’s people in regards to thanksgiving. In fact, according to some commentaries, this is the psalm that they would sing when offering their thanksgiving sacrifice. Sharing a testimony of God’s goodness is certainly part Bible thanksgiving and we as Christians, of all people, should not hold back.

Some thoughts on Thanksgiving (part 3)

“And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will.” (Leviticus 22:29)

God has made provisions even in the Old Testament dispensation of the Law for an individual to express their thanksgiving. The Lord gave them great liberty in expressing their thankfulness towards His mercies, abundance, protection and blessings. As Christians, we should take great liberties in expressing to God our thankfulness for who He is and what He has done for us. What form will your thanksgiving sacrifice be this season?

Election Day

Somehow I think that if you have to motivate someone to vote, then most likely, they will vote contrary to your opinion. Today will be an important step in our nation's path, which way it will go, the people will decide. I welcome today as an opportunity to vote as a Christian.

Some thoughts on Thanksgiving (part 2)

"...and be ye thankful."

(Colossians 3:15b)

Thanksgiving - "An acknowledging and confessing with gladness, the benefits and mercies, which God bestows either upon ourselves or others." (Alexander Cruden)