Be Thankful and Praise His Name

Be Thankful Unto Him and Bless His Holy Name

 

Today was the first Sunday of Advent and a special combined service with Grace Point Church and their Pastor Roy as guest speaker.  Following the service, the Grace Point members treated us all to a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings.

Pastor Roy was reading from Psalms 100.

Psalms 100:  Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands!
² Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
³ Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has 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 to Him, and bless His name.
⁵For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

I took notes and have digested his message for today.  We all seem to have busy lives and it is necessary to choose to take time to give Thanks.  We choose to make a Joyful Noise and keep in focus that our praise is unto our Lord. 

We are challenged to embrace gratitude, which is different than being happy.  There is a way of being in the world and we find ourselves tempted to be glad that we are better off than someone else.

True gratitude comes not from comparing how it could be otherwise.

We are thankful for rain, clothing, food, lodging – it is obvious.

People are geniuses to create advertising that causes us discontent.  Suddenly our house is not big enough, our hair is not the right color, we are too tall, or too short, and our car is not fancy enough. 

Pastor Roy said, he recently viewed an advertisement for a beautiful Cadillac automobile, with the caption, “Thou Shalt COVET.”

There is a thought many of us have probably said at one time, “There by the Grace of God, there go I.” This is not a God given gratitude.  It is a Sudo attitude.

The Pharisee prayed thus:  “I thank you God, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.”

This type of gratitude was not what the Psalmist had in mind.  We celebrate and recognize that it is God who had made us and not we ourselves.  We choose to be thankful and realize our blessings are real. 

Pastor Roy said, he has begun to pray over his food with his eyes open, so he can see his bounty and think about being grateful for his meal.  With our eyes open may we be thankful in this moment and for what God is doing today.

Grasp true gratitude.  Focus, shout, sing and bless His Holy Name.

We are here today, because God has been present in our lives.  I am alive, and I could be otherwise.  There are no guarantees regarding tomorrow.  Around us there is ridicule, anger, malice resentment, and we can choose NOT to participate.

A thankful person finds it difficult to have a negative attitude.  A good frame of reference is to have delightful words, and to guard our mouths. 

Even if my decision is wrong, God is still God, and we are to celebrate the good things in our lives.  The truth that remains, is the sun is shining whether we see it or not.

His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.