Tuesday, November 07, 2006

What should we thank God for?

There are so many things to be thankful to God for. I can name so many things in my own life. Today, I wanted to focus my attention on what the Bible tells me I should be thankful to God for. In my quiet time with the Lord today, I wanted to give Him thanks for all of His attributes.

"It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your loving kindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night," Psalm 92:1-2

In this verse I find that He is faithful and kind.

"Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness." Psalm 107:8-9

In this verse I find that He is good, and I should be giving thanks for His wonderful works. He satisties my soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.

"Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? Who can declare all His praise?" Psalm 106:1-2

"I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving." Psalm 69:30

There are so many things to be thankful to God for. I can name so many things in my own life. Today I wanted to focus on what the Bible tell us we should be thankful to God for.

What should I thank God for? Here are just a few things I found in God's word today.

For what God did for me in sending His only son to die on the cross.

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.

Why does man need Salvation??

Mankind is lost spiritually. Sin separates man from God. God is holy and cannot have sin in His presence. God is a loving God and He so wants to have a close relationship with us but sin separates us from God. The Bible tells us that ALL on this earth have sinned and have fallen short of God's glory. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they brought sin into the world and upon all mankind and the close fellowship that they had with God was no longer possible because of sin.

God instructed man to make unblemished animal sacrifices for their sin. The Bible tells us that "For without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sin." The blood of these animals covered man's sins but the blood of animals could not actually take sins away. God had a wonderful plan to restore mankind unto Himself. This plan would take away the sins of the world. All one would have to do is accept God's free gift of salvation. Man has been granted a free will by God and because of this God will not force Himself on anyone. But He wants His creation to come to Him and be saved. God's plan of salvation is so wonderful.

Salvation is a FREE gift. This means that you cannot earn your way into heaven. Your good works will not get you to heaven. Being a good person cannot get you into heaven. You can never be good enough to get into heaven because even one sin will keep you out of heaven. Jesus already paid the price for your sins. To say that you can save yourself is an insult to Him who gave His life for you. The Bible says that our righteousness is like filthy rags and there is no way that we can make it into heaven by our own works. The Bible says that we are saved by grace through faith and NOT of our own works. Salvation is a gift from God.

Here are more things that I am thankful to God for.

God's righteousness and holiness - Psalm 7:17, 30:4, 48:10, 71:16, 24, 99:3

All God's marvelous works - Psalm 9:1, 66:3-7, 71:16-17, 72:18, 92:4-6, 105:5

My body - Psalm 139:14-16

God's guidance and instruction to me - Psalm 16:7, 48:14, 71:17

The hope God has given me - Psalm 16:9

Salvation - Psalm 16:9-11, 71:23, 92:1, 96:2

The joy God gives me in His presence - Psalm 16:11

God is great and worthy of praise - Psalm 18:3, 48:1, 96:4, 145:3

When I was in trouble, God heard my cries for help - Psalm 18:6, 22:24

Deliverance - Psalm 18:49, 54:7, 68:20

Mercy and kindness - 117:2 , Psalm 18:49, 31:21, 57:10, 86:13, 100:5, 106:1

For not staying angry with me and not giving up on me - Psalm 30:5

God's blessings and benefits - Psalm 68:19

God's laws and commands - Psalm 19:7-8, 48:11, 112:1

God's judgments and the warning they have provided to me - Psalm 19:9-11

God's power - Psalm 21:13, 29:3-10

Faithfulness - 71:22

For preserving my ancestors - Psalm 22:4-5

For the strength and confidence God gives me - Psalm 27:1-6, 28:7-8, 29:11

For listening to my prayers - Psalm 28:6, 66:20, 116:1-2

God's Word - Psalm 56:4, 56:10

For being truthful - Psalm 33:2, 57:10, 117:2

For filling the earth with His love and goodness - Psalm 33:5

Creation of the stars - Psalm 19:1-4

God's thoughts, many and deep - Psalm 139:17-18

6 comments:

Mountain Mama said...

My list of things to be thankful to God for is neverending.
That he chose to send my spirit to live here on earth is a big blessing.
I think I'm here for multiple reasons, to serve Him, and to be tested for sure.

Linda said...

I am so thankful for Who He is. I am thankful that He never changes. It is the very foundation of my life.

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

great collection! There are even so things that we should thank Him for that we don't even know about it!

Pamela said...

Wonderful Lori! Singing his praises! What a nice selection, and thankful for all of his glorious blessings! God is Great! :)

Lori said...

mountain Mama,


You are so right, I think the list could go on forever.
Linda,

Thank you for your list of praises to our Lord.

J.

You are so very correct!


Pamela,

Yes, I do love to sing His praises.

Anonymous said...

This is a good reminder. I like to keep this in mind especially when my prayer request list is so long. I want the Lord to know that I am thankful first for all the blessings he already has given me.