Declaration of Thanksgiving

Well, I'm getting very close to the end of my joy study, and today, Day 26 out of 30, the action item for the day was to write a "Declaration of Thanksgiving" and share it with others! And the cool thing is, that this declaration pretty much sums up what I've been learning throughout this whole study. :)

~~~~~

Declaration of Thanksgiving

      It is good and fitting for us to give thanks to the Lord in all circumstances, and not just because "this is God's will for [us] in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess 5:18) God deserves our thanks at all times and in all situations because He is God! He is good, his love endures forever, and he has redeemed us from the pit of our sin. He has performed innumerable awesome deeds before Mankind, including sending his son to die for a bunch of sinners, many of whom would continue to reject him after the fact!
   
     No matter how difficult or painful our circumstances, God does not change.

     Not only can we thank God for who he is and what he's done, but for the many blessings he's given us--ex. family, friends, a home, food, etc.--and for the many "invisible" blessings we've received. In other words, we can thank God joyfully for all the trials and burdens we have not had to face in our lives--ex. a debilitating disease, a serious car accident, a house fire, that our country's not being invaded, or my personal favorite: that I've never not had a Bible around!

     I desire to express my gratitude to the Lord in prayer, in worship, in front of others, and in whatever I do (Colossians 3:17). I also desire this gratitude to overflow in thankfulness to the people God has used in my life, whether to encourage and/or bless me, those who have prayed for me, taught me, and even those who have rebuked me in love (or not) and have helped me grow.

     Lastly, I desire to declare aloud, to others, and often the gratitude in my heart, because I've learned that gratitude in not merely learning to recognize the benefits I've received from God and others, but to express my appreciation. For what good is all this thankfulness if it's kept hidden inside of me?

    "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say this - those he redeemed from the hand of the foe..." (Psalm 107:1-2)

~~~~~

I'd like to end this post with sharing my "Top 5" list of outstanding blessings I'm grateful for. This is a list the study suggested we write to always be able to turn to when we're feeling down and find it hard to be thankful:

  1. That I will receive an inheritance from God, my Father. He didn't have to promise me anything after saving me from sin and damnation, but He chose to make me an heir in His kingdom!
  2. For God's steadfast love and forgiveness.
  3. That I have been redeemed from the pit of my life before Christ!
  4. For the incredible earthly father I've been given, who is hardworking, loving, forgiving, protecting, proactive, and a great discipler!
  5. That I don't have to go solo on the narrow road to eternal life - that God has given me a greater Body to be a part of - and for the wonderful local Body God has given me!! I am so blessed.
~~~~~~

In Christ,
Ellie


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

People Matter

Image
Today was one of those first time experiences that I'll never forget. I've been a part of our local Church Body - Southwest Wake Christian Assembly (SWCA) - for right around eight years, and although we've had a dozen births and a handful of marriages, we've never had a death of one of Body members. One of our oldest members, Mr. Bob, was just transferred to Hospice this week with likely only a few more days to live on this earth. The whole situation was rather sudden - I knew he'd struggled with health issues for a while and was weak, but I didn't realize how close he's been to death. Today I got to visit him. Unfortunately, he was sound asleep the whole time, but I still got to talk and sing loudly to him. Even if he didn't hear anything I said or sang, I'm sure God will pass along the message when Mr. Bob falls into His embrace. I admit, I cried. It was emotional seeing him there, knowing he won't be here for much longer. I was also sad tha
Read more

Gracious Speech - Part 2

Image
In my last blog post, we looked at the attributes of Jesus' speech, seeing that we are to follow his example. One of those attributes is that he was submissive to the Father, both in word and deed. Today, we're going to look at some of those verses where Jesus submits to the Father, and by doing so shows his authority. ~~~ "Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.' Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'" ~ Mt. 3:15-17 Sometimes, from our time in prayer, reading in the Word, and/or a rebuke from a brother or sister in Christ, we can wonder why God wants us to do something or do it a certain way. In following Jesus' example, we should be quick to answer
Read more

Dance Before the Lord

Image
Today I read 2 Samuel 6. This is when David and all of Israel are bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. The first time is a failure (the dude touches the Ark and dies, David gets spooked, and lets some other guy take care of it for a while), but I focused my study on the second part of the chapter, when they're bringing it in again the right way. It says that David danced before the Lord (and subsequently all of Israel) with "all his might". There were shouts, and trumpets, and other musical instruments blaring, I'm sure. Then David began "leaping and dancing" in celebration and thankfulness before the Lord. Not only is David held in honor by the people for this whole-hearted display (as we find out later in the chapter), but David also blesses the people by giving them all food. However, David's wife Michal (Saul's daughter), despises and condemns David for his dancing, saying that he made an utter fool of himself before the people.
Read more