THANKS-LIVING
BREAD
16 Be
joyful always; 17 pray
continually; 18 give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
15 Be
very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every
opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the
Lord's will is. 18 Do not
get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the
Spirit. 19 Speak
to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in
your heart to the Lord, 20 always
giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Ephesians 5:15-20 (NIV)
1 I will
extol the Lord at all times; his
praise will always be on my lips.
Psalms 34:1 (NIV)
1 I will
exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. 2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever. 3 Great is the Lord
and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. 4 One generation will commend
your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. 5 They will speak of the
glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They
will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great
deeds. 7 They
will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. 8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich
in love. 9 The Lord is good to all; he has compassion
on all he has made. 10 All
you have made will praise you, O Lord;
your saints will extol you. 11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak
of your might, 12 so
that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your
kingdom.
Psalms 145:1-12 (NIV)
15 Through
Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the
fruit of lips that confess his name.
Hebrews 13:15 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Thanksgiving
is good, but thanks-living is better.” Matthew Henry
“(Why does God)
bother to speak to us? The truly
staggering answer that the Bible gives to this question is that God’s purpose
in revelation is to make friends with us.
It was to this end that he created us rational beings, bearing his
image, able to think and hear and speak and love; he wanted there to be genuine
personal affection and friendship, two-sided, between himself and us—a
relation, not like that between a man and his dog, but like that of a father to
his child, or a husband to his wife.
Loving friendship between two persons has no ulterior motive; it is an
end in itself. And this is God’s end in revelation. He speaks to us simply to
fulfill the purpose for which we were made; that is, to bring into being a
relationship in which he is a friend to us, and we to him, he finding his joy
in giving us gifts and we finding ours in giving him thanks”. J I
Packer
“Christian thanksgiving is the life of Christ in the heart — transforming the disposition and the whole character. Thanksgiving must be wrought into the life as a habit—before it can become a fixed and permanent quality. An occasional burst of praise, in the midst of years of complaining, is not what is required. Songs on rare, sunshiny days; and no songs when skies are cloudy—will not make a life of gratitude. The heart must learn to sing always. This lesson is learned only when it becomes a habit which nothing can weaken. We must persist in being thankful. When we can see no reason for praise—we must believe in the divine love and goodness, and sing in the darkness. Thanksgiving has attained its rightful place in us, only when it is part of all our days and dominates all our experiences.” J. R. Miller
“When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement, vowed to Awe Himself, covenanted to Christ –and I took the whole of everything He gave in this gloried world into my open arms with thanks. Because really? Yeah, I guess so -- Anybody can be a cynic. Cynicism is laziness in every way. The real heroes are the ones who never stop looking for the possibility of joy.” Ann Voskamp
HEART SAVOR
- · I am to be joyful always.
- · The Lord is good to all. He shows compassion to all He has made.
- · Anyone can be a whiney complainer we must choose to be joyfully thankful. I am not to kick against God’s best! My heart must learn to sing always!
