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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
Thanksgiving is a holiday we celebrate on the fourth Thursday of November. We, as a nation spend time preparing and or eating a ‘traditional’ dinner. During the day we may find some time to reflect on things for which we are thankful.
However, thanksgiving encompasses much more. As God’s children we, on a regular basis, are to express gratitude to God for all He has done for us. God’s word has several scriptural passages that speak of giving thanks to God for His presence, His miraculous deeds, and His gifts to us and the people He sends into our lives when we need them.
King David penned these words: “I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O LORD, proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds.” Psalm 26:7 (NIV)
What he tells God is something we all need to put into practice. We need to verbalize our words when we praise Him. Also, we need to TELL what He has done for us. I remember a verse from a children’s song we used to sing. “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Hid it under a bushel? No, I’m gonna let it shine.” As God’s children, have we hidden God and His deeds under a bushel?
In what ways can we praise God? What does it do when we express gratitude to Him? David shares with us two ways to honor our Creator. “I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving” Psalm 69:30 (NIV). We sing hymns at every service as a way of expressing our gratitude to Him. When we thank God either through songs or giving praise, we bring glory to Him. For some time, at the end of my prayer list was a section called Praises. Each day I would list at least one praise for God. This past spring, I started a list of blessings. My goal was to find 1,000 ways in which He blessed me. Some days, I would have one or two; other days I seemed to have eight or nine. I used these to help me write my blog entries for this month. I found this to be a good exercise.
When I was in the fifth grade, our language teacher had us memorize poetry for different seasons of the year. For Thanksgiving, we learned the 100th Psalm. Here’s what the psalmist says we are to do about thanksgiving and praise: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4 (NIV)
Did you catch it? We are to approach God with the goal of expressing gratitude. Then we are to give praise to Him for those deeds and elements that make Him who He is. As humans, what we sometimes do is go before Him because we feel we have to.
This week I attended a meeting where the guest speaker challenged us to think about those who have encouraged us and then give thanks to God for them. As of this posting, I am still working on my list. The pastoral staff and the office staff at our church have the most genuine, caring and wonderful people working for the Lord. They encourage all who approach them each and every day.
One of my closest friends always listens to me when I have been ‘beaten down’ by circumstances. Another close friend finds ways to make me laugh at things in life. One of my newer friends has a way of speaking God’s words to me when I have a need. For each of these godly people, I am thankful. For whom or for what are you thankful?
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Cecelia Lester has been serious about her writing for over two decades..
She composes Christian essays and posts them to her blog quietspirit-followingmyking.blogspot.com/
She has served in a faith-based organization, Grace In Action by writing two newsletters and searching for possible grants.
In July 2017, she published her first book, 'Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy.'
She and her husband of 54 years live in central Indiana. They have one grown son.
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