By Pastor William Y. K. Brown Ph.D
(Resident Pastor)
Seventh-day Adventist Church
Osu-Bethel.
Tel: 0244165628/0243310773.
wykbrown@gmail.com
TUESDAY
THEME: THANKSGIVING BOUQUET”
SCRIPTURE: Psalms 100:4-5
“[4]Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. [5]For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.”
REFLECTIONS
As long as you have breath, you owe God an outpouring of thanksgiving and praise. You owe Him a new song of praise and thanksgiving for preserving your life and counting you among the living. The dead cannot praise God, but the living are privileged to do so. Nobody is alive by chance. We are alive for a purpose known entirely only to God but ultimately for our good. Our experiences – pains, joys, disappointments, opportunities, failures, and achievements, are all to lead us to one end – trust and depend on God.
Worshipping God must be a delight and a welcoming event. The Kingship Psalms 93-99 confirm God as King, and therefore, He reigns. If so, Psalms 100 expresses thanksgiving – a doxology to the King. Praise and thanksgiving are essential aspects of worship. We are all implored to “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, . . .Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.” – verses 1,2. A joyful shout, serving with gladness, and singing in His presence are remarkable evidence of our recognition of God as King, the creator who has made us; we are His privileged and loved people and considered the sheep of His pasture.
Every opportunity for thanks and praise is worth taking advantage of. As His people, we cannot live without God – He is all that life is to us. How, then, do we offer our bouquet of Thanksgiving? We are first encouraged to “Know that the Lord, He is God; He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.“ – Verse 3. The expression “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture” is a heartwarming and positive statement. It confirms God’s intimate relationship with us and His willingness to provide for our needs. Second, we are to “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” – Verse 4.
Expressing appreciation and gratitude to God is worth everything: “For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.” – verse 5. As often as you thank God, you multiply your blessings, and your trust in Him grows and causes you to stay on the path to victory.
MY SONG OF COMMITMENT
“My Tribute” – Rendered by Wintley Phipps
LET US PRAY
– Praise and thank God for His lovingkindness; list at least ten things to thank God for; pray to be thankful despite some adversities;
– Pray for your family, church members, and acquaintances who face challenges to focus on giving thanks to God;
– Pray for people who find themselves in serious predicaments, those who are almost losing hope, people with suicidal tendencies, and young people who are unclear about life;
– Pray for the peace and development of the nation and to thank God for spreading His word, healing the sick, and comforting and counseling the bereaved.
