Bible League: Living His Word Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;for his steadfast love endures forever! Giving thanks to God is not optional for Christians. There are many passages in the Bible that command us to give thanks to Him. Aside from our verse for today, Psalm 100:4 says that we should "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!" Psalm 95:2 says "Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise." And Psalm 50:14 says "Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving." Giving thanks is commanded in the Bible because it is the appropriate thing to do. One might say that it is the socially appropriate thing to do in the presence of God. Proper etiquette simply demands it. Psalm 92:1 says "It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High." It is good because that is what you do in the presence of the Most High, in the presence of the Almighty God upon whom heaven and earth depend for their very existence. Anything less would be unseemly and indecorous. Many Bible passages, however, include more personal reasons for why thanks are appropriate. Our verse for today says we should give thanks because God is good to us and because His love for us endures forever. Further in Psalm 118 it says "I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation" (verse 21). After giving a list of requests and concerns to God, David promises that he will "thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you" (Psalm 35:18). The thanks we should give to God are not conditional upon our liking the way things are. I Thessalonians 5:18 says "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" and Ephesians 5:20 says "giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." We give thanks in all circumstance because "we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). There is no good reason, in other words, to withhold our thanks to God. From the Bible's perspective, thankfulness should be a regular feature of our relationship to God at all times and in every situation. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingEcclesiastes 7, 8, 9 Ecclesiastes 7 -- A good name is better than fine perfume NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ecclesiastes 8 -- "Keep the king's command!" because of the oath to God. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ecclesiastes 9 -- All things come alike to all. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 2 Corinthians 11:1-15 2 Corinthians 11 -- Paul Defends His Apostleship; Paul's Sufferings NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.Insight Most of us have learned how to pretend to love others—how to speak kindly, avoid hurting their feelings, and appear to take an interest in them. We may even be skilled in pretending to feel moved with compassion when we hear of others' needs, or to become indignant when we learn of injustice. But God calls us to real and sincere love that goes far beyond pretense and politeness. Sincere love requires concentration and effort. It means helping others become better people. It demands our time, money, and personal involvement. No individual has the capacity to express love to a whole community, but the body of Christ in your town does. Challenge Look for people who need your love, and look for ways you and your fellow believers can love your community for Christ. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Galatians 5:1 The liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.This "liberty" makes us free to heaven's charter--the Bible. Here is a choice passage, believer, "When thou passest through the rivers, I will be with thee." You are free to that. Here is another: "The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee;" you are free to that. You are a welcome guest at the table of the promises. Scripture is a never-failing treasury filled with boundless stores of grace. It is the bank of heaven; you may draw from it as much as you please, without let or hindrance. Come in faith and you are welcome to all covenant blessings. There is not a promise in the Word which shall be withheld. In the depths of tribulations, let this freedom comfort you; amidst waves of distress, let it cheer you; when sorrows surround thee, let it be thy solace. This is thy Father's love-token; thou art free to it at all times. Thou art also free to the throne of grace. It is the believer's privilege to have access at all times to his heavenly Father. Whatever our desires, our difficulties, our wants, we are at liberty to spread all before him. It matters not how much we may have sinned, we may ask and expect pardon. It signifies nothing how poor we are, we may plead his promise that he will provide all things needful. We have permission to approach his throne at all times--in midnight's darkest hour, or in noontide's most burning heat. Exercise thy right, O believer, and live up to thy privilege. Thou art free to all that is treasured up in Christ--wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. It matters not what thy need is, for there is fulness of supply in Christ, and it is there for thee. O what a "freedom" is thine! freedom from condemnation, freedom to the promises, freedom to the throne of grace, and at last freedom to enter heaven! Daily Light on the Daily Path 1 Peter 5:10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.Exodus 33:19 And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion." Job 33:24 Then let him be gracious to him, and say, 'Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom'; Romans 3:24,25 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; • whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; John 1:17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 1 Timothy 1:2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 1 Peter 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. James 4:6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." 2 Peter 3:18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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