Give Thanks

Good morning all!

Father, we pray that we would lose sight of all things that are temporary right now so we won’t lose sight of what’s eternal, YOU. Lord, thank you for allowing us to celebrate this time of year, to be grateful for our friends and families and all the blessings You have given us. Open our hearts this season and let us declare Your faithfulness, Your love, Your song, and let it be filled with nothing but thanksgiving and joy, Amen. It’s go time…

Psalm 100

1-Shout for joy to the Lord ALL the earth.
2-Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with JOYFUL songs.
3-Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made US, and WE are HIS, we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
4-Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give THANKS to Him and praise Him.
5-For the Lord is GOOD and His LOVE endures forever; His faithfulness continues through ALL generations.

Bottom line

As we draw close to this years’ holiday season things are certainly different from prior holidays. Many are being told to not share thanksgiving with family & friends or at least reduce the number that celebrate it together. There might even be the feeling to boycott the holiday, after all many would say this has been a difficult year and not that much to be thankful about anyway. Of course, that’s NOT how God sees it, you want proof? Right before Jesus went to the cross He had all His disciples took part in a feast together, how many were missing from that table? ZERO!! And after they finished the feast what did they do next? No Macy’s parade, No football, No holiday movie special to watch…none of that, so they did the next best thing…they were so thankful, and grateful because they were all together they went outside to watch the sunset and they sang.

That’s right, the One that knew moments later that night He would be betrayed, rejected and left all alone by everyone at that table…SANG praises. If you’re like me, one of the best indications of true thanksgiving and joy is when we sing, there’s a release and freedom that can only be expressed through a song. Do you have a favorite song? Can you sing it this thanksgiving? Can we honor the God of heaven and earth with the greatest gift due His name? I know we all have a lot of things we could complain about this holiday season but resist that temptation and allow yourself to rejoice, be thankful and if possible, share your favorite song and sing!

This is NOT a political statement for any of us, God is NOT a politician He is the savior of the world. Let this be a statement of our faith this year, a statement of our trust and belief that if our God says to enter His gates with THANKSGIVING in our heart and enter His courts with PRAISE then He must know what He’s talking about when He tells US to do so. I believe He wants us to have an expressive heart that is truly thankful and our houses filled with songs of praise this year, let that be our statement, let it be the greatest declaration of our faith ever.

You know the chosen children of Israel all danced and sang AFTER they crossed over the Red sea…big deal…can we dance and sing before we get across our Red sea? Can we dance and sing before we go to Calvary? Let our faith give thanks this year, let faith gather at your table this year and let your song be heard in the halls of heaven…we don’t have to die to give thanks but if we do, let’s go out singing!