Thanksgiving                                                    06-19-15

Psalm 116:17 (ESV) ¹⁷  I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.

Philippians 4:6 (ESV) ⁶  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

There's a common thread here isn't there? I am not appealing to the legalistic nature here, but, it seems that there is a certain inward posture that we, as God's children are encouraged to cultivate, don't you agree? Without getting off point, take a look at Cain and Able next chance you get. God most certainly did respect Able's sacrifice(approach) above that of his brother.

Jesus Himself said there was a certain way to the Father didn't He? As a point of fact, He narrowly qualified His words by stating that indeed there was only ONE way to the Father. Through Him ALONE. The Bible then goes beyond salvation and instructs us that we should pray a certain way.....how? In Jesus Name. You gettin my drift?

Keeping the above in mind, as I sat out on the deck this afternoon, soaking in the warm ,no HOT rays, I took notice of how GOOD it felt. Yes Shelley, my dear wife, hot is good, hot is very good! (sorry) Anyway, I remarked rather offhandedly to the Lord how good the sun felt. Without any blinding light, or rumbling thunder, He matter of factly responded to me"Well, why don't you thank me for it?" And I did just that.

Then something odd happened. As I was thanking the Lord for the sunshine, all sorts of things started crossing my mind's eye. Things that God had done for me personally and for those close to me. All of a sudden, I was thanking God for the many blessings He had sent my way. A feeling of gratefulness filled me up on the inside. That word thanksgiving stuck in my heart and I had my message.

So, as I am sitting there musing on what I will say, the Holy Spirit speaks to my heart and tells me that there is a practical benefit in approaching God with a heart of thanksgiving. And He used an episode from a devotional that I had read recently. It's an interesting take.

 Acts 12:15 (ESV) ¹⁵  They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!”
Acts 12:16 (ESV) ¹⁶  But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed.
A little background is in order. Peter had been imprisoned. While in prison the church was praying for him. The Bible says "earnest prayer" was being made for him. And here now is the point. Although the church was praying, praying earnestly,they weren't really believing or a better word EXPECTING God to answer their prayer.

You see they were gathered to pray for Peter's release from prison, but, when he shows up at the door they don't believe it's him. They are praying hard but do they  really expect God to answer? even when the answer is knocking on the door?That's much the same way with us isn't it. Many times we pray but we don't expect. Many times God answers, not because of our faith but because of His grace.

But,that's like what happened to me today on my deck. When I began thanking God for all he had done, it changed my insides. Not only did I have an inward sense of gratefulness, but, my faith was bolstered. When I was being reminded of all the blessings and answered prayer that God had bestowed upon me, I was encouraged. When I stopped and stilled my heart and mind on what God had already done for me, it gave me an inward peace. He's got my back.

No, He doesn't want us to ritualize our prayer time with "I gotta do this and I gotta do that." No,no. What He wants ,it seems to me, is for us to develop an INWARD attitude of thankfulness. Then we don't have to"make it happen." It just naturally flows from our hearts. Take some time to thank God for what He has done. You'll be amazed at how it makes you feel. Not only that it will give you a sense of expectancy when you remind yourself of how much God has done for you. Amen!    

Psalm 107:22 (ESV) ²²  And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!



God Bless