Praise and Thanksgiving Tuesday, October 9th, 2012

Praise and Thanksgiving

What’s our reaction to receiving gifts?  When we really take the time to reflect on the gifts God has blessed us with what is our reaction?  It is one thing to marvel at the gifts and enjoy them. It is good to do so but if we were to stop there I believe we would fall short.  The Lord does not grant us good gifts so that we can say, “Hey, look at all these gifts!”  We should be thinking also of the giver of the gifts, spending time in thanks and living out a thankful response.  We can be thankful for the gift itself but also the love that it symbolizes.  When we meditate on that love, especially the love exhibited in Jesus Christ, we will desire to live out our thanks and use our gifts for the building of God’s kingdom.  In  I Chronicles 29:10-13 David is giving from his treasury for the building of the temple.  He praises God with his gifts and acknowledges that it all came from the Lord anyways.  Let this also be our prayer during this Thanksgiving season:

“Praise be to you, O Lord,

    God of our father Israel,

    from everlasting to everlasting.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power

    and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,

    for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom;

    you are exalted as head over all.

Wealth and honor come from you;

    you are the ruler of all things.

In your hands are strength and power

    to exalt and give strength to all.

Now, our God, we give you thanks,

    and praise your glorious name.