Tag: Gratitude

GLAD…

Glad…

I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. ~ Psalm 9:1-2

I needed a word today to express what my soul is feeling….  To be glad is to experience pleasure, joy, or delight. It expresses the feelings of being pleased, satisfied, and full. It connotes the emotions of elation, happiness, and gratitude.  Indeed, to be glad should be the preeminent response of our hearts to the love and mercy of God our Savior … who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Yes, today and always, I will be glad and rejoice in the One who loved me and gave Himself for me!

If you need a word of encouragement today, I think you could revisit these thoughts of King David … a man after God’s own heart. Let each one remind you to be glad for the faithfulness and goodness of God in your life: 

Psalm 5:11-12 (NIV)

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Psalm 16:8-10 (NIV)

I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

Psalm 31:7-8 (NIV)

I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.

Psalm 32:10-11 (NKJV)

Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in Him. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Psalm 40:16-17 (NIV)

May all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who long go Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be exalted!” But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.

Psalm 68:3-4 (NKJV)

But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.Sing to God, sing praises to His name; praise Him who rides upon the clouds, by His name YAH,
and rejoice before Him.

Psalm 92:4-5 (NIV)

For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts!

Psalm 118:22-24 (NIV)

The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.

Lord, I am filled with gladness this morning.  I am overflowing with a joy unspeakable and full of glory.  For you are my Redeemer … you are my Deliverer … you are my Fortress and my Refuge.  In you and you alone, I have placed my trust! My heart abounds with your lovingkindness … your tender mercies and your unfailing love. What can I offer You … O Lord my Rock … You who have anointed me with the oil of gladness?  I will offer you the sacrifices of my lips. Yes, my lips shall praise you! My mouth shall praise You with joyful lips! Yes, Lord, receive the fruit of my lips as I offer boundless thanks to your wonderful, glorious name!   

Have a Blessed Day!

Singing With Gratitude…

Colossians 3:16 (NIV)

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Our Verse of the Day was tucked in the middle of two other verses we have focused on this past week of Thanksgiving.  While it has been cited in prior commentaries, I still want us to reflect on its focus: singing to God with gratitude in our hearts.  Yes, singing psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, is another form of expression of gratitude and thankfulness. And the reason we are filled with overwhelming gratitude is the gracious and merciful life transformation we have experienced through Christ Jesus … our Lord and Savior! I think the Apostle Paul articulates this incredible life change we have received so well within the foregoing context of our verse:

Colossians 3:1-17 (NIV)

1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Indeed, every one of our hearts should be overwhelmed by what God has done for us through Christ Jesus.  We should exalt and sing with the deepest gratitude and the highest praise from our hearts for His wonderous love!  Oh, I think of the following scripture that details the reason for our passion:

Romans 5:1-11 (NIV)

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And let us boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but let us also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

So, yes, let us sing to God with gratitude in our hearts!

Come let us worship our King!

Come let us bow at His feet!

He has done great things!

See what our Savior has done.

See how His life overcomes!

He has done great things!

He has done great things!  (Great Things ~ Phil Wickham)

Father God, I cannot contain the joyful gratitude I feel in my heart. I sing to worship you … to declare your praise … to rejoice in your salvation! Yet, who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare His praise? (Psalm 106:2) So I pray, “Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise! (Psalm 51:15) Oh, how I thank you Father, that you have chosen me in Christ Jesus to declare praises unto you … because you called me out of the darkness into your marvelous, glorious light! Indeed, I will sing: “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name! (Psalm 103:1) Amen.

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!

Overflowing with Thankfulness…

Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

A life changed by coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ is a life characterized by thankfulness! As Paul described in our Verse of the Day, our hearts should “overflow” with thankfulness … with humble gratitude … for the One who saved us and set us free from the condemnation of sin! For we have not been appointed to the coming wrath for those who are rebellious and disobedient; rather, we have received salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:9) Indeed, our thankfulness should abound with the highest praise:

Ephesians 1:4-10 (NIV)

4 For God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, 5 He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. 7 In Jesus we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that He lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 God made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:13-15 (NIV)

13 It is written: “I believed; therefore, I have spoken.” Since we have that same Spirit-given faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to Himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Hallelujah! As believers we have great reason to be thankful for the riches of His lavish grace! And so, I pray we will take a moment to give our Lord Jesus overflowing praise today … and every day! Indeed, let thanksgiving abound to God for all He has done! For He chose us in Christ before the creation of the world and made us His handiwork; created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Cf. Ephesians 2:10) Yes, let us continue to live our lives in Christ, rooted and built up in Him through the faith we have been taught by the Word and received through the grace of God. Let everything we do in service to our Lord overflow with thanksgiving! In His Saving Name, I pray. Amen.

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!

Thanksgiving and Praise…

Psalm 100:4-5 (NIV)

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

As we celebrate this Day of Thanksgiving, our Verse of the Day reminds us of the preeminent reason for giving thanks – our merciful, gracious, compassionate, faithful, and loving Father!  When we consider all that God has done for us … bringing us peace and reconciliation through His Son … we need to keep His mercy and grace in perspective. His lovingkindness should be at the forefront of our thoughts each morning when we awake. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

You and I are “this” generation! His faithfulness has extended through the ages even unto us! So, yes, take a moment to give Him thanks … exalt Him and give Him the glory due His Name! Spend some time with the Father who sought you from afar and brought you near … who demonstrated His love for you through Christ Jesus … who made plans to prosper you and give you a hope and a future. He has restored what the locusts have eaten … and what the enemy has stolen. He has supplied all your needs according to His riches in glory. He has healed your brokenness … and said “no more sorrow … no more pain.” He has released you from the bondage of sin! He has refreshed and restored your soul! He is the One who has affirmed, “The old has gone … the new has come!” He is the One who is alive forevermore … the Alpha and the Omega!

Yes, enter His gates with thanksgiving in your heart and enter His courts with praise! In humility and gratitude, bow before His presence … before His throne of grace to receive what you need. Surrender your heart and enter into His glorious rest! Oh, indeed, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is worthy of our thanksgiving and praise both now and forevermore! Amen.

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!

Thanking God For You…

1 Corinthians 1:4-5 (NIV)

I always thank my God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in Him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—  

I always thank my God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in Him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—  

As we enter the second day of this week of Thanksgiving, our Verse of the Day is a call for us to offer our thanksgiving to God for other believers. The Apostle Paul often began His epistles with an expression of gratitude toward the believers in the churches who he had mentored during his missionary journeys. Here are a few examples:

Ephesians 1:15-16 (NIV)

15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

 Philippians 1:3-6 (NIV)

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Colossians 1:3-4 (NIV)

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (NIV)

2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 (NIV)

3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

Philemon 1:4-6 (NIV)

4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear about your love for all His holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.

Notice how these passages have some common elements.  First, Paul assures the churches that he is praying for them all the time.  He expresses this discipline in prayer as “always”, “continually”, and “not stopped.” Secondly, we observe that in his prayers, Paul is giving thanks to God for these believers … and specifically for their faith in Jesus Christ. In addition, Paul typically commends HOW their faith and service to God is evident by their love for one another.  Indeed, it is their love generated by their faith that Paul is so grateful to see coming to fruition! Their response to the grace of God is ample cause for rejoicing and thanksgiving, and Paul is inspired to let them know.

So, I see an application for us to consider … and I believe we should ask ourselves some questions:

  • “Do I give thanks to God for other believers who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ?”
  • “Do I appreciate their gifts, talents, and service to Jesus Christ as members of His Body?”
  • “Am I grateful for their fellowship and love as expressions of their faith in Him?”

As I pondered these questions, I found myself feeling appreciation and gratitude for other believers and their labors of love toward people through the ministries of the Church. And I have, from time to time, expressed my thanks to them for their devoted service. But as I think of Paul’s example, continual giving of thanks to God for my brothers and sisters in Christ, I find myself falling short of this ideal. Yes, I must confess that thanksgiving for others during my prayers has not been often enough; and I think that, perhaps, I have been missing an essential focal point of prayer. I am convicted and convinced that I should never cease remembering the Body of Christ throughout the world, nor should I ever cease to mention those who attend our local assembly in my prayers. Paul has made it clear that it is important to be faithful in sincerely giving thanks to God for their lives, their gifts, their service, and their love….

So, in this season of Thanksgiving, I pray that we all will remember this fundamental truth: that in Christ we form one body … His Body. Though we are many members, each individual member belongs to all the others. (Cf. Romans 12:4-8) And as Paul instructed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” Thus, in light of this context, I believe it follows that we should continually give thanks to God for each other during our daily time of prayer. Yes, let us make this our practice … to remember each other and to express gratitude to God for each other in our prayers as often as possible.

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!

1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NIV)

1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Come with Thanksgiving…

Psalm 95:1-2 (NIV)

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.

As we begin this week of Thanksgiving, I thought it would be nice to send out a verse of thanksgiving and gratitude each day….

Our Verse of the Day is a call to worship … a call to come before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to extol Him … to exalt Him … to lift up shouts of praise and thanksgiving to Him for our salvation!  Hallelujah!  Oh, indeed, let us come before Him singing … with music and song let us adore Him and rejoice!  Let us enter His presence today with joy and gratitude!

Psalm 118:19-24

19 Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. 22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad!

Father, we give you thanks today for your awesome deeds … for the wonders of your mercy and grace!  With gratitude we humble ourselves before you and bless your name. Thank you for your lavish love!  Thank you for your redemption of our souls!  Thank you, Lord, for your deliverance from the valley of the shadow of death.  You alone are worthy of our praise! In Jesus Name! Amen.

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!