Tag: blessings

GOD IS GREAT AND GOD IS GOOD. LET’S BE THANKFUL.

When I was growing up our family had a simple prayer that we took turns saying at each meal,

“God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.”  

My four siblings and I were more interested in eating so we’d often say it as fast as we could, not giving much thought to what was being said. The truth is we need to be mindful of the Giver of all good things and be thankful for all He’s blessed us with. God has taken a bad rap by a false narrative in our fallen world. His goodness, greatness, and public image has been maligned. The worship He so rightly deserves has been wrongly transferred to the created (Rom. 1: 21). 

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (Psalm 34:8, 1 Pet. 2:3).

God is great.  His greatness is evident (Rom. 1:19-20, Ps. 111:2). He is omnipresent (all-present/everywhere) (Ps. 139:7-12, 46:1, Prov. 15:3). He is omnipotent (all-powerful/mighty) (Gen. 17:1, Ps. 91:1, Jer. 10:12, Rev. 1:8). He is omniscience (all-knowing) (Isa. 40:13-14, 28, Rom. 11:33-34, 1 Cor. 2:11). God is eternal and immortal (everlasting) (Isa. 9:6, Jer. 10:10, 1 Tim. 1:17, 6:16, Rom. 1:23). He is immutable (unchanging, Heb. 6:17-18, 13:8).

“For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods” (Psalm 96:4).

God is good.  It’s His essence. He is filled with compassion, grace, and longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth (Ex. 34:6, Ps. 86:15). God is incapable of lying (Titus 1:2, Heb. 6:18) and cannot be tempted with evil, nor tempt anyone with evil (James 1:13). He is true, righteous, and faithful to His word and promises (Heb. 10:23). James 1:17 says that, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation or shadow.”  This means every good and perfect thing in your life is from the hand of God and so should be received with gratitude.

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).

God is grand. His grandest gift to mankind is eternal salvation through His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16, 1 Cor. 15:57, Col. 1:12-14, Tit. 1:2, 3:7).  One of the greatest attributes of God that mankind can be thankful for is His longsuffering (forbearance). He has allowed men and women free will to choose good (His ways) or evil (their own selfish ways and desires). God’s longsuffering is salvation as He’s not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance and the acknowledging of the truth (2 Pet. 3:9, 15, 2 Cor. 4:6, 2 Tim. 2:25). His mercy is so rich, and His love is so great (even while we were still sinners Christ died for us) (Rom. 5:8). Even when we were dead in our trespasses, God raised us up together with Christ Jesus to sit in heavenly places (Eph. 2:4-5). This is an undeserved gift that must be received from God through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). 

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15).

Benefits of a Grateful Heart

“Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving…” (Ps. 95:2).

When we focus our minds on the Giver and our blessings above, the things of the earth pale. As we receive His gifts with a grateful heart (lifting up our prayers to Him with thanksgiving) we receive a peace that passes our understanding and a protection for our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:6-7).  “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Tim. 1:17).

 Laura

“…Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:15-21).

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ANOTHER YEAR BEGINS–2016…

ANOTHER YEAR BEGINS—2016 (if you’re counting). 

The God Who created all things, created the earth that we live in to be confined to set times and seasons (Gen. 1:14; Eccl. 3; Ps. 19:1-6, 104:19). He created man to be set within this time structure even though He himself is not, as He is eternal (Deut. 33:27; Isa. 57:15; Ps. 90:2; 1 Tim. 1:17; Rev. 1:4).

Since we’re human and confined to time, we do count things—the hours of the day—the days that pass—maybe milestone years. I have a dear friend who lived to the age of 97 years. That’s a lot of years! He was a good friend in Christ and will be dearly missed. I count that a loss to me personally but I can be thankful for all the days that added up to the 14 years that we enjoyed.

The number of days of one’s life, for many on this earth, will not even come near to the years of my friend. Some lives are cut short for reasons only God may have knowledge of. If those that we have loved are Christians who have died (fallen asleep in Christ), we have the hope of seeing them again in a place where time has no bounds (1 Thess. 4:13-18, John 3:16).

Since our days on this earth are numbered, it’s best if we can have a thankful heart to count our blessings even in the midst of our losses. As the Psalmist says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:12). Paul exhorts the Ephesians in verse 16, to walk wisely, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Paul counted all things a loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, His Lord, for Whom he had suffered the loss of all things, yet counted them rubbish in order that he gained Christ and was found in Him (Phi. 3:7-8).

No matter the number of the year, one thing we can always COUNT ON is GOD’S FAITHFULNESS. The Holy Scriptures document and testify of God’s faithfulness. His mercy reaches unto the heavens and His faithfulness reaches to the clouds (Ps. 36:5, 57:10). The Lord is faithful and will establish you and guard you from the evil one (2 Thess. 3:3). “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it” (1 Thess. 5:24).

So let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful (Heb. 10:23)!

Laura

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