(Chapter 39) God so Loved the World that He Gave His Son:

God so Loved the World that He Gave His Son: The greatest Spiritual battle ever fought – part thirty three

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day for 2023. We trust that you had a good time with family, and of course lots of great Thanksgiving food! Today is Friday, commonly called Black Friday. I woke up this morning not thinking about Black Friday, however, I still had thankfulness on my mind. In this country we have so much to be thankful for! As the line in the song “America the Beautiful” goes… “God shed His Grace on Thee!” I’m not sure that I have ever thanked the Lord for the Grace He shed on the United States of America. So I will do that right here: Thank you Lord for Your Grace that we enjoy every day in this country!!! Amen! Let’s spend a little time looking to see what the Bible has to say regarding thankfulness. These are just a few of the many passages I could have listed. We’ll start first with the Old Testament:

Psalm 100:4 (ESV)
⁴  Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Psalm 106:1 (ESV)
¹ Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Jeremiah 30:19 (ESV)
¹⁹ Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving, and the voices of those who celebrate. I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.

Daniel 6:10 (ESV)
¹⁰When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

Now we will check the New Testament for encouragement to give God thanks:

Ephesians 5:18-21 (ESV)
¹⁸ And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, ²⁰ giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Philippians 4:4-7 (ESV)
⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵ Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:16-17 (ESV)
¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 4:2 (ESV)
² Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)
¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing,¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Do you get the idea, as I did, that God wants us to have a thankful heart, to give Him praise, and to tell Him “thank you” for His goodness and kindness? Let’s all take a moment to tell Him thank you right now.

He is worthy!!!   Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are blessed!