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Feeling Gratitude?

Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!    Psalm 105:1-4 (NKJ)


I can't help but wonder what it would sound like to all of heaven if every man, woman, and child were to offer up the heart felt gratitude that God so richly deserves at the same time - everywhere, all at once.

I have no doubt that it would be an awesome sound that would bring great joy to the inhabitants of heaven to hear God being justly praised, holy worshiped and righteously thanked for all that He's done for mankind - beginning with the provisions made to sustain him and the plans made to divinely profit him even before man himself was created.

Life itself is a gift of grace and before any naysayer begins to tell of the negativity of their life's hardships, let me point out something to consider. Every soul that God has created and given life to has also been given an opportunity that far outweighs any miseries, burdens or hardships in this temporary life to bear. Every soul has an opportunity to make a choice, that if made rightly will make them heirs to countless lifetimes in the perfect peace and perfection of God's presence without the hardships of this life and free of the disease and sin we're currently surrounded by. I believe that God's grace covers the innocent taken without opportunity and that the opportune choice alone offered to the rest of us by God's plan and grace to give us life, is cause to give thanks unending, but is also only the beginning of countless other reasons.

Among the baser of those other reasons for example - water. Without it we die and among those living on this earth, there are those forced to drink from mud puddles and dirty streams in order to survive while the rest of us bathe drink and use it for a host of other things without even considering the gift we enjoy. How many other things do we thanklessly enjoy? 

In fact, there is nothing that man has "created" that was not made using something God graciously made available - truly creating from nothing by the way, for man's use. Indeed, even the skills, talents and intelligence of mankind are God given, so there's truly nothing that mankind can take absolute credit for. We live moment by moment, completely and wholly, dependent on God's grace - even for His will to continue to allow our hearts to beat within us. How often do we thank Him?

I thank God for being who He is. The many facets of His character are perfect and without flaw. I thank Him for who He has chosen to be to us - Father, Redeemer, Savior, Provider, Counselor, Healer, etc... If He were different we would not have the perfect Father, friend and Savior who seeks our good at every turn - good being defined by His divine and eternal economy. His character, when beheld in truth even by limited human kind, is indescribably precious, beautiful, and awesomely awesome. This perfect and all powerful God has adopted as His own those who choose rightly to honor, respect, love and obey Him, including the accepting the of sacrifice of His Son as the substitution to pay for our own sins. This is our Father, The God who deserves our gratitude for as long as the undeserved grace of eternal life lasts ... 

                                ...Are you feeling it yet?

"Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."  1 Thessalonians 5:14-24 (NKJ)


"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8 (NKJ)


“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good? Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it."  Deuteronomy 10:12-14 (NKJ) 


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