Giving Praise and Thanksgiving

I realized, today (once again) that I do not always Praise the Lord and give thanks as I should.

What does the Bible teach us about the acts of praise and thanksgiving?
Just how often, and for how much, should we render thanks to God?
"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Eph. 5:20.

Think of that... "all things" .... that includes our trials and disappointments. Why should we give thanks for them?
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God." Rom. 8:28.

What did Paul and Silas do when put in prison for their faith?
"And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them." Acts 16:25.

And so,,,How did the Lord show His pleasure at their course of action?
"And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loosed." Acts 16:26.

And also...After being imprisoned, and then beaten by order of the Jewish Sanhedrin, what did Peter and John do?
"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." Ps. 42:11.

When properly offered, what does praise to God become?
"Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me; and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God." Ps. 50:23.

Think about this....Should our praise to God be confined to our secret devotions?
"My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear Him." Ps. 22:25.

Why ought we to praise God like this?
"My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. " Ps. 34:2. "And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah: and they were smitten." 2 Chron. 20:22.

How should we then, approach God in prayer?
"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Phil, 4:6 (Col. 4:2),
In other words, don't worry about anything, instead, talk to God about everything.

What then is the will of God in all these matters concerning us?
"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thess. 5:18.
Everything ???? .... yes everything!!!!

Notice how our Saviour taught us to pray.
"Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Matt. 6:10.

Remember what David was led by the Lord to exhort all to do?
"O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together." Ps. 34:3.

What a good example he set for us! It is worthy of imitation by us when with our brethren.
"Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul." Ps. 66:16.

What became of those, in those days, who were not thankful?
"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." Rom. 1:21.

What signal deliverance was once wrought for God's people when they offered praise to Him?
Prayerfully read this story from 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. It is a most thrilling account of deliverance from the enemies of God and His people.
1 It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?8 And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,9 If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.13 And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.14 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.26 And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.28 And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.

Praise GOD!!!

By Faith we Obey HIM

As I write this blog I come to this subject as I struggle to know precisely what GOD will have me do here and I am drawn once again to the experience of Abraham

Can you imagine hearing GOD talk to you? Can you imagine the thoughts and feelings that Abraham had as GOD commanded him? What command did the God of heaven give to Abraham?
"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee." Genesis 12:1.
...
"So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran." Genesis 12:4.

We can now look back and see why, and for what purpose GOD commanded him this way. We can see that HE gave Abraham a way to understand a little of what GOD himself would be doing in giving HIS only SON for our salvation. So... What promise did Abraham's obedience result, or bring forth fruit?
"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." Hebrews 11:8.

As difficult as that first step would be for us today, that was just a "beginning exercise" of Abraham's faith. That was the easy part. Now...What later command did the Lord give to Abraham?
"And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." Genesis 22:2.

Some people have twisted these verses to make it look like GOD is some sort of horrible figment of a sick mind, but if we read the entire story in context and compare it with the scriptures in the New Testement regarding this same event we are enlightened to see how GOD was teaching Abraham.
Do you remember upon what ground were the previous promises made to Abraham later renewed?
"And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." Genesis 22:16-18.

and...What was it that enabled Abraham to obey the great test?
"By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son." Hebrews 11:17.

...by faith Abraham obeyed

So then, what were these works of Abraham an evidence?
"Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?" James 2:21.

Notice this...By his actions, or works, what was shown to be perfect?
"Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?" James 2:22.
(not faith alone....but faith with his works results in faith being made perfect)

When GOD reveals the smallest thing to us, it is imortant that we act on that thing so that HE can reveal more to us. This exercise of our faith strengthens us.
therefore, What is genuine faith?
"For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love." Galatians 5:6.

Then ... just what is the purpose of the grace of Christ?
"By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:" Romans 1:5.

Can you imagine what would happen today if we would determine in our heart to obey Him?...to take hold of HIS hand , to take hold of HIS strength and choose to obey HIM? ... Indeed ,it will take HIS power in our lives for us to do it, and HE will give it to us.
Notice...What was the effect of the Apostles' preaching upon the hearers?
"And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith." Acts 6:7.

Have you ever looked at your own life and realized that your spiritual growth has slowed down or maybe even stopped, or even worse...reverted to some old ways?
GOD is gently calling us to changed lives. He reveals things to us so we can call upon HIM to make those changes. Sometimes the devil, the enemy of our souls, will try to make us believe that we do not have to do these things, remember...the devil himself will trasform himself and pretend to be and angel of light or even higher.... be sure to cling tightly to the clear WORD of GOD.
How highly does God regard obedience in the lives of men?
"And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." 1 Samuel 15:22.

Ask yourself this..."What example of obedience to the will of the Father has Christ given to us"?
"And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Philippians 2:8.

And then think about this... "What great cost did even He learn the lesson of obedience"?
"Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." Hebrews 5:8.
Wow!!! Jesus learned obedience... He truly did allow himself to be subject to the same trials and temtations that we humans face, He laid aside his own Divine powers and was only able to learn , obey and overcome by calling on His FATHER. What and example and encouragement to us!!!

So...to whom did Christ become the author of salvation?
"And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." Hebrews 5:9.

obey? such a small word...but such power... because how can we obey? Like Abraham...we can only obey by faith. GOD has promised us the strength to obey HIM if we will only take it.

So then...How complete should this obedience be?
"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5.

Have you ever noticed that many church groups follow so many tradiditons? Some traditions are not found in GOD's WORD at all.
What important fact did Jesus mention about the Pharisees?
"And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition." Mark 7:9.

This is serious! What will be the future of those who refuse to obey the gospel of Christ?
"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thessalonians 1:7,8.

On the other hand... What is the result of faithfully obeying the truth by the enabling grace of Christ?
"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:" 1 Peter 1:22.

"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land." Isaiah 1:19.

Let us each one determine in our hearts that we will grasp hold of HIS hand and follow HIS every command... Thank GOD that HE forgives us for the sins we have committed as we ask to be forgiven in the name of Jesus Christ, and then HE goes on to give us the strength to be cleansed from all unrighteousness...
See 1 John 1:9