Give Thanks!

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,

On an instrument of ten strings,
On the lute,
And on the harp,
With harmonious sound.

For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands.

O LORD, how great are Your works!
Your thoughts are very deep. Psalm 92:1-5 NKJV

“O Give Thanks” appears 19 times in the King James Version and a reminder to us of thanksgiving–giving thanks 28 times.

If we are yet alive, breathing and able to see, hear, and move; have family that love us and friends who care, we have something we can give thanks to God for and if we have received His Son–the work on the cross–our means of salvation, then we can truly shout–Thank You, Lord!

Every day should be a day of giving thanks for if it had not been for The Lord on our side, where would we be?

I start each day, thanking God for life, health, strength, ability to move, see and talk. I thank Him for the wisdom He is constantly pouring into me and for loving me enough to use me to promote Him. It is His mercy and grace that have kept me thus far and it will be His mercy and grace that keeps me until He desires me to be with Him, for all eternity.

Thank You, Lord! If I had 10,000 tongues, I couldn’t praise You enough and there are no words to express my gratitude for all You’ve done for me. But when we all get together, seated at Your feet, my love for You will radiate through the heavens, just as my love for You is now demonstrated in my desire to please You and You alone. For You and You alone are worthy of all praise!

Those are my thoughts about giving thanks! I pray that everyone who reads this today or whenever, will have just as much or more to be thankful for. He deserves our praise and thanks giving just because of who He is!

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A Friend’s Love!

“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (I Peter 2:11,12 NIV)

When Peter writes this letter to Believers–especially to those who are new to the faith–his greeting lets people how he views them–friends.

When we write a letter to a friend (I know–strange concept huh), how do we greet them? Dear______! What’s more important is how we treat them. Do we love them enough to tell them the truth or do we simply keep quiet and let them fall by the wayside of life?

Peter urges all to abstain–don’t give into–from sinful desires which engage our spirits with our fleshly drives. We can do it. We have Holy Spirit to give us strength to fight off the urges of the flesh which desires those things that are not good for us. Sometimes, in order to fight that fight–we have to remove ourselves from certain environments or people to make sure we are not enticed or led astray. Those who deliberately lead another astray–away from doing what is right–are not friends, they are fiends–tools of the devil.

We are to live the good life that God has planned for us–doing what is right no matter what others think or say. In fact, we are told to do to keep doing what is right or saying what is right to the extent that those who find fault with us, will soon acknowledge that we are indeed messengers of God and live according to His Divine Plan for us. When they see us not caving to gain favor of others, but living to please God, they will be convinced and some will change their ways because of what they see in us–the love of God shed abroad in our hearts–filled to overflowing onto others! Hallelujah!

Are you a friend that loves enough to tell your friends the truth? Do you love your friends enough to live God’s Best Life for you in front of them? Do you love your friends enough to be a living letter of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Dear Friends,

I love you enough to always pray for you–that you’ll understand why I do what I do and say what I say–in agreement with God’s Word–so that I will spend eternity with you in heaven and together, we will glorify God at the foot of His throne. I love you enough to back you up in all the good you do and to admonish you when I see you going astray. I love you enough to always tell you the truth, even though the truth may sting for a moment. I love you enough to be there when you need me, always ready to listen and to encourage you to do things God’s way!

Love, your friend in Jesus!

Counting on Friends

In the middle of events–whatever they are:  good times, bad times, etc.  we need to know who we can count on–who has our backs!

From the time we’re in school–elementary and beyond–there are people who move in and out of our lives.  Some we develop such an affinity with they become lifelong friends and others–they are acquaintances, affiliates, associates, that are only in our lives for a season.  Some are only in our lives for what they think they can get from us–the moochers, the leeches–you may know some of these.  They don’t hang around long and they only want you to be there for them; they are seldom there for you.

The friends–the loyal persons who are there through disagreements, happy and sad times–the ones you can count on and they can count on you–they are there for the duration and no matter how far away they may be–they still have your back.  Most of us only have a few people like this in our lives or at most a handful because true friends–are hard to find and certainly hard to keep.

There is One–who has our backs no matter what we do, how far we stray or how long we stay away–He’s our Friend we can always count on.  The question becomes then, can He count on us to do what He has asked us to do?  Can He count on us to live the way He wants us to live?  Can He count on us to represent Him in such a great way that all we meet, will also meet Him?  Do we really have His back in what we do?

The Word tells us that in order to have friends, we must “show ourselves to be friendly”.  That does not mean that we become like others, but that others should so like what they see in us that they become like us.  Can He count on you to promote the Gospel and truly represent Him?

Meeting The Needs of Others

When someone you know is in need—what is your response?

Do we first think about whether or not we like the person before we decide to help?

Do we assess our ability to meet the need?

Do we offer encouragement in times of struggle?

Do we refer them to others when we know where help can be accessed?

Whatever we do, we should remember that we never know when it might be us in need. With that in mind, how should we expect others to respond to us?

Whatsoever a man/woman sows, that only is what they can expect in return. Or to simplify this—whatever goes around, comes around. We can only receive what we are willing to give. Open your heart, your mind and sometimes—your wallet. Ask for wisdom in all things and then strive to do whatever is necessary to meet the needs of others.