Psalm 100:4 NIV Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Thanksgiving is often brushed aside in all the frantic business of life, but it is the very attitude of Thanksgiving which should not only be reserved for the holiday we will celebrate today, but thanksgiving should something that lasts all year long. In the Scripture we are commanded to be thankful.
What must we do to develop and cultivate thanksgiving? How can we be thankful for everything in our lives? What does it mean to be truly content? First, we can remember the all that the Lord has done for us. David said in Psalm 103:2-5, Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits–who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
What does Thanksgiving do for us? It helps us to focus on His Name, His love and His faithfulness as well as His goodness, His glory and grace. Thanksgiving reminds us of Who He is. He is the Rock of our Salvation. The Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hand are the the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His Hands formed the dry land.
The Apostle Paul said he was thankful for the following…
I am convinced that the Apostle Paul knew how that thanksgiving led to living a life filled with praise and worship. He knew that the principal of praise and worship in the Old Testament is found in the Hebrew word shachah. Shachah means to “depress,” “bow down,” or “prostrate,” as in Exodus 4:31, where they bowed their heads and worshipped.
The context of Exodus 4:31 speaks clearly to the physical act of thanksgiving, praise and worship being both volitional and emotional. The Old Testament idea is therefore the reverential attitude of mind or body or both, combined with the notions of giving the Lord the adoration, obedience, and service due Him.
The principal of praise and worship in the New Testament is found fifty-nine times in the Greek word proskuneo. The word literally means to “kiss (the hand or the ground) toward,” hence, as often in the idea of kneeling or bowing prostrate upon the ground. The New Testament idea of praise and worship is a combination of the feeling of awe, veneration, and adoration.
The Lord Jesus told the Samaritan woman in John 4:23-24, Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. True worshippers are genuine without guile or false humility. They worship in spirit and in truth. It is the attitude of the heart that matters, not where, but how (in reality, out of the heart of man, the highest and best part of man, as well as in purity of expression, purity of heart. All praise and worship should be in accordance to the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:5) who is the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). These kind of worshippers the Father is still seeking today.
I encourage you to thank the Lord today by saying…I love You Lord Jesus. I bow my knee and lift my voice to worship You. Hear my heart today, there is none like You my God, there is none like You. You are my everything. You are my all. I bless Your Holy Name. Amen.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.
Robert
Advertisements Share this:
