Thanksgiving is a special time of the year. Do I enjoy all the good food and especially the desserts? Yes, I really do! I would also like to think that I am blessed by focusing on the goodness of God.
In past years, when my mother and dad came to visit for Thanksgiving, I always asked Dad to share thoughts about the Lord. He loved to read from Psalm 100:4-5, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations."
What is thanksgiving to God? It is gratitude - a grateful language to God. It is an act of worship. Strong's concordance states that thanksgiving can be an extension of the hand in adoration. It can also be a choir of worshippers, a sacrifice of praise, or an offering. Join me as we give thanks.
As we approach our national holiday of Thanksgiving our thoughts turn more to the word "thanksgiving". Hopefully, we as Christians will see this not as just a calendar event, but as another opportunity to saturate ourselves with praise and thanksgiving. As we habit ourselves in thanksgiving and prayer, we tend to become people who worship God from within.
RESULTS OF PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING:
1. Praise Opens the DOOR to Effective Prayer which Results in Deliverance. "Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me" (Psalm 50:14,15).
2. Blessing, Praising and Seeking the Lord Brings an End to Lack. "I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing" (Psalm 34:1-3,10).
3. Praise to God Brings Increase - "Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him" (Psalm 67:5-7).
4. Praise with a Pure Heart Brings God's Salvation - "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God." In the Hebrew translation, the word "salvation" means: liberty, deliverance, prosperity, safety (to be safe), to preserve, to get victory.
How can we as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ live a life of thanksgiving which causes us to flow in praise and thankfulness? In the Old Testament verses, the Hebrew translation for praise and thanksgiving is the same. The real meaning given by the Holy Spirit warms our hearts as we are given insight into the thoughts of God.
PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING MEANS TO:
**Declare openly-confess freely
**An extension of the hand - to revere or worship with extended hands
**An adoration ( a choir of worshippers)
**Make a confession
**Give an offering
In the new Testament, Philippians 4:6 states that we are to present our requests (prayers and supplications) to God with thanksgiving and then an amazing thing happens - the power of a thankful heart brings peace and guards our hearts and minds.
I am reminded of my dad, Rev. J.T. Campbell, who pastored in many churches for over fifty years. When he and my mother came to our home for Thanksgiving dinner, he would always ask one of the grandchildren to read Psalm 100 just before we enjoyed our meal.
"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."
The Bible teaches that God has special concern for the poor and helpless. "Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble" (Psalm 41:1). There is great blessing in helping the poor. In the original Hebrew this word poor means those who are impoverished, oppressed, needy, feeble, weak or thin.
It seems the Lord takes special notice on those who show kindness and love to those in need. Remember the words from Matthew 5:7, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."
As we reach out to the poor, we can be assured that God will:
1. Deliver us when we are in trouble (vs. 1)
2. Protect us from harm (vs. 2)
3. Bless our lives (vs. 2)
4. Give us His presence
5. Give us healing when we are sick (vs. 3)
The Bible emphasizes the need for kindness, pity, and sympathy toward those who have been brought into poverty or want. Let us remember the poor!