“Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever! Say also: ‘Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name and glory in Your praise. Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!’ Then all the people said, ‘Amen!’ and praised the LORD.” 1 Chron. 16:34-36
Devotional Thought For The Day
Those who know the goodness, kindness, love, forgiveness, mercy, and salvation of God, the LORD, the God of our salvation, find it difficult to not give thanksgiving, praise, honor, glory, and worship to the LORD. These words of praise and thanksgiving to God were proclaimed when the Ark of the Covenant was brought into Jerusalem by King David. Thanksgiving was compelled by God’s goodness and blessing, and just being in the presence of God and participating in His worship was wondrous: “that we may give thanks to Your holy name and glory in Your praise.” Note that it is a glorious thing to participate in the praise of God – simply because of Who He is and what He does for us. But I fear we have allowed our “worship” to become much too superficial – and in many instances there is so much concern about “performance details” that God is far removed from the center. What is such worship worth in comparison to participating in the glory of His praise? The real joy of worship is not in ourselves but rather in the glory and splendor of God, His gracious mercy and forgiveness. If we lose sight of this, we have forfeited real worship of God.
One of the dynamics that has diminished thanksgiving and praise of God is the incessant advertising that we are exposed to each day. All of this is designed to make us feel discontented with what we have, in that it focuses our attention on what we don’t have, and promises much greater joy, satisfaction, fulfillment, and even glory if only we make that next purchase. One focused on what he doesn’t have, especially if he believes happiness and joy depends on getting something he doesn’t have, makes for a rather sad, discontented, and perhaps even angry individual. The question soon arises as to why God hasn’t given me the very thing that will make me happy. Such a person is highly unlikely to give thanks to the Lord, or to worship Him, or to find glory in His praise. So we must give careful attention to this matter of inner contentment, focusing on the rich blessings God has already bestowed upon us, especially in the gift of His Son Jesus, our dear Savior.
The blessedness and praise of God is forever, “from everlasting to everlasting.” Participating in such thanksgiving, worship, and praise of God is to participate in the eternal. Nor can it be isolated and individualistic – for God is love, and love requires an object, an “other.” Though it grates against our sinful nature – which desires that we distinguish and separate ourselves from others – it is a most blessed thing to participate in, when all the people say “amen” and praise the Lord together. So we pray that God would “gather and deliver us from among the nations,” acknowledging that we live as aliens and strangers amongst the unbelieving, and properly belong with God and His dear people of faith. Disregard for the church, loathing of worship, and disgust to fellowship with other believers – how can this not be seen as reprehensible sin to be repented of and overcome? Our choices and decisions in regard to “fellowship” reflect inner spiritual reality, and loyalties that will last forever.
Tomorrow is set aside for giving thanks to the Lord. A multitude of things presses to get in the way of this, to prevent our thanksgiving to God’s Holy Name and to denude us of the glory of His praise. Do not let it happen! There is nothing so important, so enjoyable, so traditional, so habitual, that it trumps the opportunity to worship God in thanksgiving! May the blessing of worship be yours tomorrow, that you truly have a “happy Thanksgiving.”
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, forbid that we ever lose sight of the glory of Your praise, or allow our slothful sinful nature to lure us away from opportunities to worship You. Keep our sinful desires for separation in check, that we never lose the joy of the fellowship of Your people of faith, our real family. May we give You our thanks and praise every day, and especially within real worship in the church. Amen.
Note of update regarding flooding in Lyons and other mountain communities:
I wanted to give you a brief recap of what has kept us busy over the past couple of months. We have been reaching out to people in Lyons and the smaller mountain communities just west of us – to provide immediate food and money assistance and to build relationships that will enable greater help in the next year or two of recovery. We have distributed over $12,000 in gift cards, another $3,000 in other forms of aid, and will distribute another $30,000 in the next month – all from LCMS Disaster Relief, through the Rocky Mountain District of the LCMS. We just submitted a major grant proposal to bring recovery funds to people deeply impacted by the disaster. Our congregation has supported individuals and the Lyons food bank, and is providing 18 large, fully cooked Turkeys for the Lyons Thanksgiving meal tomorrow. Our folks are bringing the food to our church by 7:30 am to be picked up and transported to Lyons. We are also hosting and fully providing a Thanksgiving meal for the people of Jamestown – in Jamestown. Only about 18 of 260 people living in Jamestown remain there. Our gathering will reunite about 45 people at the town center tomorrow at 3:00 pm.
Please continue to keep all of these people in your prayers as they work hard at remediating houses and property – and suffer serious financial obstacles. If you wish to contribute funds that will go 100% to people in need, go to the website www.lcms.org and negotiate to “make a gift,” and make sure it is designated for Colorado flood relief; or perhaps more simply send a check to Eternal Savior Lutheran Church, 2688 North Park Drive, Lafayette, CO 80026 clearly designated as “flood relief.” All such gifts are tax deductible and will immediately go into an account specifically limited to flood relief efforts. Think of us tomorrow afternoon and pray for us as we join the folks of Jamestown for thanksgiving fellowship.