One More Day - Sons Of Sunday

What more can I say but hallelujah, thank you Jesus!

Video: One More Day | Sons Of Sunday

I'm a sinner grace is still healing
I'm a story time is revealing
I'm all of these things
But mostly, I'm thankful, yes, I am
I'm a fighter caught in a struggle
A survivor rising above it
I'm all of these things
But mostly, I'm thankful

'Cause You gave me one more day
To say I love You
You have brought me all this way
To testify Your grace
What more can I say but Hallelujah
Thank You, Jesus
Thank You, Jesus
Thank You, Jesus
'Cause You gave me one more day
One more day

Ooh, when the night was closing in on me
Didn't know if I'd see the morning
You held onto me
And Jesus, I'm grateful, yeah
When my enemies turned up the fire
El Shaddai, You were right there beside me
You showed up for me
And Jesus, I'm grateful

'Cause You gave me one more day (Hallelujah)
To say I love You (oh, God)
You have brought me all this way
To testify Your grace
What more can I say but Hallelujah
Thank You, Jesus

Experience The Goodness Of God

Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

1 Chronicles 16:34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 23:6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.

Romans 2:4  Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

Every one of us has experienced God's goodness in their life to some degree and most of us have experienced a very high level of God's goodness in comparison to thousands of other people that have lived. But despite how good he is God's people always need to be reminded of this fact.

We have a difficult time appreciating the goodness of God, it goes all the way back to the garden of Eden, no matter how good we have it we always think there is more that we should have. Living in the garden was the greatest experience of God's goodness that mankind has ever known but that didn't guarantee the best outcome. 

If Adam and Eve can feel that there is something that they were missing then we are surely guaranteed to doubt the vast amount of God's goodness as well. In our social media world we have the ability to compare ourselves and the stuff that we have with a multitude of other people. We need a way to stay focused when we have the fear of missing out that causes us to doubt God's goodness.

Taste

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

To focus on God's goodness you need to taste it and taste it again just like you would taste again and again a delicious food. Don't be satisfied with just the aroma, don't walk by the kitchen and catch a whiff, step in and grab a plate and have a taste!

The joy of tasting is a personal experience, somebody else can help you know a little bit about the taste but you must have your own taste. The flavor is something that you can know only through your own experience. A taste this good should motivate you to taste it again and again.

Trust

Nahum 1:7 The LORD is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him.

Thankfully the most powerful being is also the most good! Very few people with power are very kind, if you or I were powerful we would probably do like everybody else and use it for our own advantage, but thankfully the most powerful is perfectly good. 

If the most powerful was any less good we couldn't trust him enough to draw near, we wouldn't have a strong refuge that we can trust and draw close to.

We need to remember that we cannot measure the goodness of God with problem free living. The person with the most trouble in this life may be living the most in God's will. Just like the religious leaders that Jesus rebuked, we cannot accurately discern why they have the trouble so we should not blame them for their situation. Nobody in the Bible was rewarded with an easy life as a reward for obedience.

Isaiah 48:10  I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.

The goodness of God is always there, even in suffering, our holiness is usually becoming more perfect in difficulty. This is a reality that will change your perspective of "good" and "bad" circemstances. 

How can anything be bad if God is using all things for my good? (Romans 8:28, Hebrews 12:10) We all want the easy life but the most important thing to God is for us to be like him. 

A more difficult truth to accept is maybe the hard time you are going through has nothing to do with you?  Just maybe your country, your church or your family is being disciplined and you are affected by what God is doing in others. How much did good people suffer in the Old Testament because the rest of the group was being punished by God? 

A great example of this is Joseph in an Egyptian prison or Daniel and his friends in Babylon. We focus everything on ourselves but God's story is not all about us.

Treasure

Ephesians 1:7-8  He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.  8  He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

To remember God's goodness we need to treasure the most important gift ever! God made the most extravagant purchase ever, what an incredibly high price for such lowly, undeserving creatures.

You may be so kind that you would die for your family or a small group of friends but God showed us perfect kindness by taking his perfect wrath upon himself, through his perfect son. God's awesome goodness could stop there and we should be eternally grateful but there is more goodness coming our way eternally if we accept Jesus sacrifice. (Romans 8:32)

1 John 4:9-10  God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.  10  This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

The greatest gift, the one that I really needed the most, is the reason we celebrate Christmas but his arrival was just the beginning of the story of God's plan to destroy the work of Satan so that everything bad can be made good. Don't take his kindness for granted.

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The Grain Offering

A gift of thanks for the kindness of the King.

Leviticus 2:1-2 "When you present grain as an offering to the LORD, the offering must consist of choice flour. You are to pour olive oil on it, sprinkle it with frankincense, 2 and bring it to Aaron's sons, the priests. The priest will scoop out a handful of the flour moistened with oil, together with all the frankincense, and burn this representative portion on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

Leviticus 2:8-9 "No matter how a grain offering for the LORD has been prepared, bring it to the priest, who will present it at the altar. 9 The priest will take a representative portion of the grain offering and burn it on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

---

God's people must receive forgiveness before he will accept anything else from us, the Israelites learned that they cannot give any other offering to God before they have their sins forgiven. But after their relationship was restored through the burnt offering it is only proper to honor God by showing their gratitude. ( 2 Corinthians 5:18-21)

The grain offering was an important part of worship that reminded them that everything they had came from God. God knows the heart of man will turn away from him if we just keep taking from him without acknowledging him by giving back a portion.

God's people prepared this offering at home before they took it to the priest. The priest would burn a portion on the altar and the rest was used by the priest for his food because he was not allotted any land to produce his own food.

Three kinds of grain offerings are listed: 

• Choice flour with oil and frankincense, 
• Baked cakes or wafers of choice flour and oil, and 
• Roasted kernels of grain with oil and frankincense.

God's people are not in the Promised Land yet, they aren't harvesting anything, if they had any grain for this offering it would have to be what they brought from Egypt. But we already know that they didn't have grain to make flour to feed themselves because God was giving them manna, their daily bread from Heaven to sustain them.

We can't be sure how this offering worked out before they took the Promised Land and started growing their own food but their future has a promise of abundant crops. So abundant that they were warned over and over before they even arrived that they would be ungrateful and turn away from God.

They were going to be blessed in their new homeland so that they could be a blessing and point people to the source of their blessings but we know they failed to do this even though they were warned ahead of time. (Deuteronomy 8:7-11)

Sacrificial giving is a great challenge for most of us. In our self centered culture it is difficult to think of giving away something that you feel like you deserve because of your work to produce it. The attitude of the carnal man is, I'm all that matters in the world (narcissism), others don't matter (individualism) and neither does God (secularism). (From the post "The Solution to Self-Centeredness")

Just like God's people in the Promised Land we also struggle to acknowledge him when we have so much abundance. Most of us have back-up plans and safety nets, margins and contingency plans that keep us from being reliant on anybody, not even God.

It is difficult to give so much that it makes you rely on God daily for your needs. We see little need to pray for today's bread when we have enough in the cupboards to sustain us for weeks. 

Consider sacrificial giving in scripture:

• The first fruit offering which was given before the barns were full. (Proverbs 3:9-10)
• The Gentile widow that fed Elijah with her meager resources. (1 Kings 17:8-16)
• The poor widow that gave her last two coins. (Mark. 12:42)
• The offering that the Macedonian church gave out of poverty. (2 Corinthians 8:1-2)
• Paul's instructions to the church in Corinth. (2 Corinthians 9:10-11)

I have never seen giving done to the extreme that it is in the Bible. The examples given in scripture show kindness toward others that exceeds any kindness that most people would ever consider even to their best friend. Our gifts to God are not really very sacrificial.

We struggle with, or just ignore the fact, that we are to desire what's best for others even though we have been given the ultimate example of what that looks like. We treat others with the same attitude as the world has, we interpret situations and respond no different than the world, we view our stuff the same as the world. 

If Jesus gave away his right to be individualistic and self centered what right do we have to contradict his attitude in our own lives? (Philippians 2:5-8)

Seeing Jesus in the details of the grain offering:

• The oil (Lev. 2:1–2, 4, 6, 15), either poured on it or mingled with it, a picture of the Holy Spirit of God, who was given to Christ without measure (John 3:34). 
• The salt (Lev. 2:13; Matt. 5:13), which speaks of our Lord’s purity of character. 
• Jesus compared himself to a grain of wheat (John 12:23–25), and He was crushed (“fine flour’’) and put through the furnace of suffering that He might save us from our sins.
• Jesus told us that he is the bread of life (John 6:32)
• Leaven is to be excluded from the offering. This speaks of the fact that there is no evil in Christ. There is no sin in the life of Christ.
• Honey was also excluded. It represents natural sweetness. It will sour, just as leaven is a souring thing.
• Frankincense was a pleasing aroma to God

The greatest way to honor the King for what he has done for me is to give him a portion of his provision for me back to him. I need to be grateful to God for his blessings and realize that I have been blessed so I must be a blessing or I am being disobedient.

Before the grain was used personally for groceries, a portion of it was first prepared and taken to the temple to be offered to God first and then to others (the priest). This attitude should still be in us today!

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A Heart Of Thanks: Even When Life Is Difficult

The wilderness is for my own good so I should be thankful for it.

 

Psalms 95:1-11 Come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come to Him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to Him.

3 For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods. 4 He holds in His hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. 5 The sea belongs to Him, for He made it. His hands formed the dry land, too.

6 Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, 7 for He is our God. We are the people He watches over, the flock under His care. If only you would listen to His voice today!

8 The LORD says, "Don't harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness. 9 For there your ancestors tested and tried My patience, even though they saw everything I did.

10 For forty years I was angry with them, and I said, 'They are a people whose hearts turn away from Me. They refuse to do what I tell them.' 11 So in My anger I took an oath: 'They will never enter My place of rest.'"

---

When we think about all of the reasons we have to be thankful, we should go to God and give him praise and worship, if we consider just a fraction of what he has done the praise and worship should be unrestrained.

Maybe that isn't your experience right now, you know he deserves it but you are wondering around in the desert and your feelings are just not there. You are in a situation that you don't want to be thankful for.

Our number one desire here in the United States is to be comfortable, more money, better health, a house full of stuff and we are happy. The only problem with that way of thinking is that it isn't God's number one desire for you.

We like to pray for him to close doors that we shouldn't go through but what if he closed that door to test your faith? Do we really believe that God is in control when things happen?

God's number one desire for you is to make you holy, he is the master gardener that prunes his vine to make it more productive, pruning doesn't feel good but growth usually comes in the most difficult moments.

We are just like God's children in the wilderness, we have been brought out of slavery, we have witnessed unexplained miracles but at the moment we are out in a desert and the last thing we want to do is thank God for this situation.

We need to see God's presence in even the most difficult times and realize that sometimes he strategically puts us where we would never choose to go. 

Have you considered the reality that Jesus knew the weather forecast and he still put his disciples in a boat on two different occasions? 

Why would God ask Jonah to go start a revival in enemy territory? 

Why would faithful men have to make a stand for their beliefs and get thrown into a furnace?

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

When everything is going our way we take prosperity and comfort for granted but when things get tough we realize that we are powerless to control our circumstances. If you begin to see that everything you have and everything you have counted on can disappear in a second then it becomes much harder to take it for granted.

A heart of thanks can help you persevere when stress and heartache come upon us. You can focus on the current situation and forget about the past experiences that we have already come through. God brought you through yesterday, last month and last year when you thought things were so bad so why won't he do it again?

Lord help me to remember that you are in control and that I should not look at the people and circumstances around me and blame them for interrupting my plans to be comfortable. Thank you for loving me enough to die for me and for using any means necessary to help me grow.

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Thank God!

Thank you Lord for supplying for my every need.

Psalms 65:1-13 For the choir director: A song. A psalm of David. What mighty praise, O God, belongs to You in Zion. We will fulfill our vows to You, 2 for You answer our prayers. All of us must come to You. 3 Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, You forgive them all. 4 What joy for those You choose to bring near, those who live in Your holy courts. What festivities await us inside Your holy Temple.

5 You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas. 6 You formed the mountains by Your power and armed Yourself with mighty strength. 7 You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations. 8 Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, You inspire shouts of joy.

9 You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile. The river of God has plenty of water; it provides a bountiful harvest of grain, for You have ordered it so. 10 You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops. 11 You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance. 12 The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy. 13 The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy!

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Thank God! I mean really do it. We say a lot of things that we don't really mean in our culture, our words are not used very accurately, it is "amazing" how much we use the word "amazing." We use the short sentence "thank God" a lot without much concern for really being sincere.

Thankfulness is the only proper response for all of our blessings, followers of Jesus should be the most thankful people on the planet, as children of the king we have been given everything for doing so little. The child of God has the assurance that all things work together for our good so how can we not be thankful for all things? (Romans 8:28)

Thank God For:

God's Grace - The Savior of Sinners

Praise God he has a people that are chosen to live eternally with him. God has given me the privilege of being a priest with direct access to him, he answers my prayer and forgives my sin without any interaction with anybody else. (1 Peter 2:9-10, Revelation 1:5-6)

Romans 5:2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory.

God's grace proves him to be compassionate and generous to sinful rebellious beings, shielding us from his wrath, forgiving them, and giving on us his righteousness.

God's Government - The Ruler of All Nations

He is “El Shaddai” the Almighty God who rules all of creation, he is sovereign over every kingdom and government, and his sovereignty will never end. Things look out of control but God's rule and final authority will bring everything to a peaceful conclusion when the temporary ruler of this world is dethroned.

God chose a people to rule so that the nations around Israel would have a witness to the power and blessings of the rule of God over a nation. God's children were a light to the Gentile nations around them and now as followers of Jesus we are the light and the testimony to the goodness of God and his rule in our lives.

God's Goodness - The Provider Of All We Need

The Lord will provide, Jehovah Jireh, the creator of every good and perfect gift. God supplies everything that is needed for everything that he has created, he sustains everything but he gives special care to his own people.

Philippians 4:19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

In a land full of opportunity and such amazing resources it is easy to rely on ourselves, pride laziness and indifference. It is easy to make idols out of the blessings and worship the things instead of the giver of the gifts. We are easily tempted to forget, to take for granted, and to ignore God who takes care of our every need, especially our spiritual needs.

Thank you Lord for supplying for my every need. You gave me grace, love and mercy and you have gone way beyond that and blessed me beyond measure.

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I Will Give Thanks

Absolutely everything we have to be thankful for comes from God.

 Video: Elim Sound - I Will Give Thanks

I will give thanks to the Lord forever, I will give thanks
I will give thanks to the Lord forever, I will give thanks (repeat)

For He is good, And His love endures forever
For He is good, And His love endures forever

I will give thanks to the Lord forever, I will give thanks
I will give thanks to the Lord forever, I will give thanks

For the Lord has been so good to me
He has blessed my life abundantly
He’s provided, guided, lifted me, He is faithful through it all

O His love endures, yes His love endures
O His love endures, yes His love endures

Can we ever comprehend how good God is to us? I don't think that we can comprehend or appreciate it before we get to heaven and meet him face to face. Then we will understand why the song says "I will give thanks to the Lord forever!"

Psalms 30:11-12 You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give You thanks forever!

As you count your blessings today don't forget to praise and worship God for the gifts that are impossible to have without him. Things like salvation, true love, the ability to know him and relate to him, if we really appreciate these things then our desires for the stuff that the world has to offer will fade.

Give Thanks To The Lord

God's chosen people should be grateful and tell everyone about his greatness. 

 

1 Chronicles 16:7-36  On that day David gave to Asaph and his fellow Levites this song of thanksgiving to the LORD:

Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done. Sing to Him; yes, sing His praises. Tell everyone about His wonderful deeds. Exult in His holy name; rejoice, you who worship the LORD. Search for the LORD and for His strength; continually seek Him. Remember the wonders He has performed, His miracles, and the rulings He has given, you children of His servant Israel, you descendants of Jacob, His chosen ones.

He is the LORD our God. His justice is seen throughout the land. Remember His covenant forever--the commitment He made to a thousand generations. This is the covenant He made with Abraham and the oath He swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant: "I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession."

He said this when you were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan. They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. Yet He did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf: "Do not touch My chosen people, and do not hurt My prophets."

Let the whole earth sing to the LORD! Each day proclaim the good news that He saves. Publish His glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things He does. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods. The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the LORD made the heavens! Honor and majesty surround Him; strength and joy fill His dwelling.

O nations of the world, recognize the LORD, recognize that the LORD is glorious and strong. Give to the LORD the glory He deserves! Bring your offering and come into His presence. Worship the LORD in all His holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before Him. The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.

Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Tell all the nations, "The LORD reigns!" Let the sea and everything in it shout His praise! Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise, for the LORD is coming to judge the earth.

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever. Cry out, "Save us, O God of our salvation! Gather and rescue us from among the nations, so we can thank Your holy name and rejoice and praise You."

Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting! And all the people shouted "Amen!" and praised the LORD.

Realizing our moment-by-moment dependence on God the Creator for our very existence makes it appropriate to live lives of devotion, commitment, gratitude, and loyalty toward him, and scandalous not to.

—J. I. Packer, Christian theologian

In this season and all year long we should be overwhelmed with gratitude for the greatness of our God which is beyond our comprehension. Our gratitude should inspire us to worship, that is the only appropriate response for the deep level of gratitude that we should have to someone who has done so much for us.

Thank You For The Cross

Worthy Is The Lamb - Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.

Thank you for the cross Lord 

Thank you for the price You paid 

Bearing all my sin and shame 

In love You came and gave amazing grace 

Thank you for this love Lord 

Thank you for the nail pierced hands 

Washed me in Your cleansing flow 

Now all I know Your forgiveness and embrace 

Thank God

Thank the Lord for his steadfast love.

Psalms 107:1-43  Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!  2  Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble  3  and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

4  Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;  5  hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.  6  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  7  He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.

8  Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!  9  For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

10  Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,  11  for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.  12  So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.

13  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  14  He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.

15  Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!  16  For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.  17  Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;  18  they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.

19  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  20  He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.

21  Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!  22  And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

23  Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters;  24  they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep.  25  For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.  26  They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;  27  they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end.

28  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  29  He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.  30  Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.

31  Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!  32  Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

33  He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,  34  a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.  35  He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.  36  And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in;  37  they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield.  38  By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish.

39  When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow,  40  he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;  41  but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks.  42  The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

43  Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

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God Blesses More Than We Thank

One out of ten lepers appreciate Jesus

Luke 17:11-19 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.

15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

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Modern medicine has an effective treatment for leprosy but back in ancient civilizations it was greatly feared and those that were affected had to isolate themselves from society.

There were different methods that Jesus used when he healed somebody, in this situation he told the guys to go see the priest before they were actually healed. The Old Testament law said that they were to go to the priest after they were healed so that he could verify the healing and offer an animal sacrifice as part of a cleansing ritual. (Leviticus 14:1-32)

The ten left Jesus to go to see the priest and then on the way there they were healed. Out of ten that needed relief, there was only one that returned to Jesus and this one happened to be a Samaritan, the people that the Jews despised. The crowd must have groaned when Jesus pointed that out to them.

We can never thank God enough for his kindness

Psalm 95:6-9 Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over,   the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today! The LORD says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness. For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw everything I did.

Ninety percent of the men healed that day did not acknowledge that God had blessed them and changed their lives. That statistic probably stands true for every generation that has ever lived. We do not acknowledge God's love and compassion for all of the blessings that we have been given. His chosen people took him for granted and we all do the same. Worship was the appropriate response to the touch of Jesus in his life, Luke's gospel says that the man fell at Jesus feet and said “Praise God!” How often do we remember to stop and run to Jesus feet?

Reasons why people forget God:

• Easy circumstances - Deuteronomy 6:10-12
• Idolatry - Judges 8:33-34
• Pride and stubbornness - Nehemiah 9:16

Consequences of people forgetting God:

• Spiritual adultery - Hosea 1:2
• Social decay - Hosea 4:1-3
• The destruction of the nation - Deuteronomy 8:19-20
• The death of the sinner - Psalm 9:17

God has healed me and provided for every need that I have ever had, he has blessed me a lot more than I have ever said "thank you." I need to remember that I was made to worship him and I have more than enough reasons to do so.

Thank you Lord for all of your blessing. From salvation from my sins to the awesome planet that you chose to create for my pleasure to the daily provisions that you have provided, there isn't anyway to adequately say thank you.

I Am Thankful For Answered Prayer

The power of prayer gives us a lot to be thankful for.

Psalm 107:19-22  “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

20 He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death.

21 Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. 22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.

Psalm 107:28-32  “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

29 He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. 30 What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor!

31 Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. 32 Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.

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The most powerful answer to pray that I have witnessed recently is in the life of Pastor/Missionary Eddy Williams. After suffering a major heart attack and major setbacks he was able to return home after twenty-six days in the hospital just a few days ago. Here is where his story began as told by his daughter via Facebook:

On Monday night my Dad, Eddy Williams had a massive heartattack.  The awesome staff of St Joseph's Hospital did everything they could to repair the damage to his heart. They attempted to place a number of stints which unfortunately was unsuccessful. They attempted an angioplasty which also was unsuccessful. With these continued attempts to repair the blood flow to the right side of his heart more damage was done. Like a domino effect, everything they tried was not only failing but was causing more damage in the process.

At 2am Tuesday morning he was rushed into emergency bypass surgery. Needless to say, our family was devastated. After a total of almost 14 hours of surgery and numerous less than positive updates from the staff we met my Dad's surgeon.  Dr Sherman's message was a ray of sunshine after a night of fear. My Dad, the stongest willed man I know survived the surgery that statistically he had only a 5% chance of surviving... did I mention my Dad's amazing? :) Dr Sherman repaired much of the damage but even with this the right side of his heart is still not working. The doctors remain optimistic the heart will improve over a time of rest and healing.

The power of prayer was flexed all over the world as friends and family and complete strangers from every corner of the globe were crying out to God. Eddy was snatched from death's door (Ps 107:20) because God's people cried out in distress (Ps 107:19). God's people cry out and he answers! Eddy still needs more prayer for a complete healing as his heart still only functions on the left side but God has given us a lot to be thankful for.

Prayer shouldn't be neglected or abused, as a pastor recently said "prayer should be a wartime walkie talkie, not an intercom to the butler to come bring us something or to move the thermostat"

The Psalmist gives us instructions on what our response should be to answered prayer. We should be full of praise, we should offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, we should sing joyfully and we should do all these things out in front of everybody  as a testimony of God's goodness (Ps 107:21-22, 31).

I am thankful for prayer, the ability to talk to God and maintain a relationship with our creator and to know that he wants to hear from us and he wants to help us in our distress is a wonderful blessing.

Thank you Lord for prayer and the power that it brings into our lives.

I Am Thankful For God's Deliverance

The Lord helps his children to overcome.

Psalm 35:9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be glad because he rescues me.

10 With every bone in my body I will praise him: “Lord, who can compare with you?

Who else rescues the helpless from the strong? Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?”

Psalm 66: 8 Let the whole world bless our God and loudly sing his praises. 9 Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling.

16 Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me. 17 For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke. 18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

19 But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. 20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.

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God's children have an ally that looks out for their well being. He rescues us from the messes that we make and from the many problems that come from the world around us. We may think that we need to look out for our own interest and keep our guard up and take care of things in our own strength but as King David said in Psalm 44:6 "I do not trust in my bow; I do not count on my sword to save me." He knew that it is all about God's strength and not his own.

Our lives are fragile but thankfully we have God on our side, we are totally dependent on him, whether we want to be or not, we don't have a choice in the matter.

God does not give us unlimited access to his blessings, we do not get these benefits without some responsibility on our part, if we continuously have unconfessed sin in our life God may not answer when we pray for help. We don't get a blank check from him to run around and do what we want, expecting to continue to receive his blessings, he will not allow us to abuse him.

God has rescued us from every possible foe, even death has been destroyed because of God's love for us that sent Jesus to earth so that he could deliver us from our ultimate enemy.

Thank you Lord for all of the many ways that you have saved us, you have saved us from our own mistakes, from our enemies and you saved us from death.

I Am Thankful For God's Goodness

Everyday should be thanksgiving day.

Psalm 136:1-9,23-26 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. 2 Give thanks to the God of gods. His faithful love endures forever. 3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His faithful love endures forever.

4 Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles. His faithful love endures forever. 5 Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully. His faithful love endures forever. 6 Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters. His faithful love endures forever.7 Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights. His faithful love endures forever. 8 The sun to rule the day, His faithful love endures forever. 9 The moon and stars to rule the night. His faithful love endures forever.

23 He remembered us in our weakness. His faithful love endures forever. 24 He saved us from our enemies. His faithful love endures forever. 25 He gives food to every living thing. His faithful love endures forever. 26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever.

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It is way to easy to take our lifestyle for granted and to demand to have a better lifestyle every chance that we get. Our culture has taught us that we can get satisfaction and happiness from consumerism and it is tempting us to replace God and take him for granted.

We need to remember all of the ways that God has blessed us. We can learn about him through the example that we have in the Bible. His book is a love story, from cover to cover, it tells us about our creator and his pursuit for our hearts. We see his love in creation and we see it over and over again in his kindness to his people, his kindness that we still benefit from today, after all the Psalms tell us that God's "faithful love endures forever."

God has seen me through difficult times, he has always been faithful, whether I needed money, food or a close friend, I have never been for too long without the provisions that I needed. As blessed as we are we should make everyday be thanksgiving day.

We can see all of the ways that God blessed Israel, here are a few from Psalm 136:

• Brought them out of bondage (Ps 136:11-12)
• Gave them safety (Ps 136:13-15)
• Showed them the way(Ps 136:16)
• Proved to them that he is in charge and that he will judge his enemies(Ps 136:17-20)
• Give awesome gifts to his children(Ps 136:21-22)

We can expect the same care from him today!

How Exciting Is My Quiet Time?

If you are yawning through it then you need to wake up.

Nehemiah 8:1 All the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had given for Israel to obey.

2 So on October 8 Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand. 3 He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law.

Nehemiah 9:3 They remained standing in place for three hours while the Book of the Law of the LORD their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the LORD their God.
What if you only had the Book of Law to read for your daily quiet time, I don't know if I could keep a journal or a blog of my daily quiet time if I only had the Book of Law to read, how exciting would it be to sit down and read God's word?

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Thankfully we have a more complete revelation of God and what he is like, he has revealed himself to us through the sixty-six books of our Bible, and we have a better understanding of who he is through the teachings and the life of Jesus.

Heartfelt, genuine worship like this is seldom seen in churches today, just let the pastor ramble on for five extra minutes and the congregation is going to be zoned out. The Israelites had been given so much as the Lord restored their nation and they were so in awe of what he had done for them that they couldn't help but praise him and learn about how to please him.

The Lord has shown me incredible mercy and love but I can be very nonchalant and unresponsive to these great gifts that I did nothing to deserve.

Help me Lord to always stay aware of your gifts to me, and to always appreciate them, I don't want to ever be indifferent.Help me to always be excited about studying your word.

Thank God

His love is never going to stop.

Psalms 100:1  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.

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We are the wealthiest Christ followers that there has ever been in history and yet many of us yearn for more. We have it so good, don't kid yourself into thinking that you don't:

How much money is in your bank account? 80% of the people that share this planet with you exist on less than ten dollars a day.

How many cars does your family have? 93% of the world's population does not have a car.

We have a great God (verse 5) and he has blessed us tremendously but sometimes I think that we think that he isn't so great when we aren't as prosperous as we would like to be. Don't make the mistake that his greatness is defined by how easy your life is, his greatness has nothing to do with how well off I am, even when things don't seem so good to me he is still great and I shouldn't forget it.

Some of his greatness shows in his decision to make us his chosen people (verse 3), we didn't do a thing to get a relationship with him, and we are his only because he reached out to us.

His greatness shows forth in his everlasting love and faithfulness (verse 5), no matter who I turn out to be or what I do, he couldn't love me any less. His love and faithfulness are not dependent on anything that I do.

Thank you Lord for your great love and care for us, we should come to you in praise (verse 2,4) constantly, help us to remember how much we have been blessed and to always be thankful.

Don't Forget To Appreciate.

SCRIPTURE

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Genesis 8:15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. 21 The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

Genesis 9:12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

OBSERVATION

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It’s a shame that the rainbow has become a symbol of the homosexuals, just another of their perversions of something that God gave to his children.

Noah was told by God to get into the ark and he waited until God told him to get off the ark, he was always obedient.

Noah was also thankful and he couldn’t wait to worship God for his salvation. Oh how slow we are to be thankful for the devastation that we have been saved from and to worship our savior who provided our way of escape.

APPLICATION

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I need to be more aware of the salvation gift that God has freely given to me. He is my ark of protection for this life and for eternity and I need to be thankful all the time. I have truly been blessed and it should show everyday.

PRAYER

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Thank you Lord for your protecting love for me, may I always show my appreciation.