November 25, 2018 Psalm 100

“1 ¶ A psalm of thanksgiving.

Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth!

2 Worship the LORD with gladness.

Come before him, singing with joy.

3 Acknowledge that the LORD is God!

He made us, and we are his.

We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;

go into his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good.

His unfailing love continues forever,

and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”

(Psalm 100:1-5 NLT)

Thanksgiving has come but hopefully not gone for thanksgiving is essential every day. Thanksgiving helps keep us balanced living in a world where things can be more important than people or a relationship with God. To give thanks for what God has given to us is to understand God’s love and faithfulness.

From being thankful for what we have takes us from the shallowness of happiness to the height of joy! We shout, sing and even dance for joy as we are thankful for God’s greatness and acknowledge God is our Lord and provider!

But what if we are in a tough time and we think God has forgotten us or doesn’t care? Does that means God is not faithful or not great!

The National Day of Thanksgiving does not come from the Pilgrims but was begun by Abraham Lincoln during the early part of the Civil War when the United States was losing! Thanksgiving Day was a day to offer thanks to God for His faithfulness and righteousness through prayer and fasting.

We are called to give thanks not by sight but by faith in our Lord God Almighty! We give thanks to God who loves us in spite of our sinfulness and would allow us to kill Jesus so we may LIVE! Thanksgiving is not just thanking God for what we can see but also for what we cannot see!

Only then can we reach beyond thankfulness to true praise! Only after we have gone through the Gates of Thanksgiving can we come into God’s Court and truly praise and worship in God’s presence!

All thanks to our faithful God Who is worthy of all praise!