Morning Devotional October 12, 2014

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

As I read of our brothers and sisters in Canada are celebrating their nation's Thanksgiving Day tomorrow, I am reminded of the verses above.

The Lord tells us in His Word several times we are to give thanks to God for everything in our lives. But I believe the most important thing we have to give thanks for is the grace and mercy our Lord showed upon us when He offered Himself as the sacrifice for our dead and lost souls. What a joyous moment that is when our Lord sends His Holy Spirit to prick our hearts and show us what evil lost sinners we are. And that moment when our Lord opens our understanding and gives us the faith to believe His Son, Jesus Christ, is our only hope for salvation.

What a glorious revelation to see what has been hidden from us. What a blessing to know that the Holy Father has chosen us from before the foundation of the earth to be His child. What a miracle the Great Physician performs to change us from death unto life. Praise the Lord for our salvation!!! Praise the Lord for giving us eternal life and saving us from our sins!!!

And even after all this we still fail Him. What wicked sinners we are. Even after all He has done for us and has given us we still struggle with the sins of this life. We still forget to turn to Him in our greatest times of need.

Even though He has given us the Great Comforter to dwell within us we still forget who are and who's we are. We must remember we are children of the King of all creation! We are joint heirs with the Son of God! Without Him we are nothing and we have nothing.

We must remember to “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

So as our brothers and sisters in Canada celebrate their Thanksgiving Day tomorrow I pray that they remember to give thanks to the only one who deserves our thanks. Give thanks to our Heavenly Father.

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!

 

Morning Devotional October 5, 2014

I Chronicles 29:11-14

 

“Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reighest over all; and in thy hand is power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.”

O what a glorious God we serve!!!

King David, in this prayer praises the Lord for all the blessings He has bestowed upon the nation of Israel. At the end of David's reign as king, as he is about to pass the keys of the kingdom over to his son Solomon, prays a prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God who has blessed the people and their king. My favorite part of this prayer is the last verse where David so humbly says: “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort?” Who are we? What gives us the right to come before the Almighty God and proclaim His name and to sing His praises? Where does this willingness come from? The willingness to want to worship God. The one and only true God. The one who sent His only begotten Son to die a horrible death so that our sins would be forgiven and washed cleaned. The one who gave us eternal life. A life in eternity with Him.

David answers these questions in the same verse: “For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.” Praise God!!! Our worship and admiration for Him is not dependent upon us. For with out His Holy Spirit living within us we would have no desire to worship Him or to praise His name. David knew that all things come from God. The very will to worship God. The very will to want a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father. Is not our own will but His will bestowed upon us.

 

 

Praise ye the Lord!!!