Gratitude

Bible Questions Answered:

“...so last time practically no one came to our thanksgiving dinner, probably because we didn't have a big fancy home as many of them do, so now how do we react to them? ...”

Les/ San Diego, California U.S.A.

Gratitude:

The quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful:

(Dictionary.Com)

How easy it is to loose the true meaning of thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving - Gratitude, In The Old Testament:

I Chronicles 16:1-36 NLT

1 They brought the Ark of God and placed it inside the special tent David had prepared for it. And they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to God.

2 When he had finished his sacrifices, David blessed the people in the name of

The Lord.

3 Then he gave to every man and woman in all Israel a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins.

4 David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the Lord—to invoke His blessings, to give thanks, and to praise The Lord, The God of Israel.

5 Asaph, the leader of this group, sounded the cymbals. Second to him was Zechariah, followed by Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. They played the harps and lyres.

6 The priests, Benaiah and Jahaziel, played the trumpets regularly before The Ark of God’s Covenant.

(David’s Song of Praise)

7 On that day David gave to Asaph and his fellow Levites this song of thanksgiving to The Lord:

8 Give thanks to The Lord and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done.

9 Sing to Him; yes, sing His praises. Tell everyone about His wonderful deeds.

10 Exult in His holy name; rejoice, you who worship The Lord.

11 Search for The Lord and for His strength; continually seek Him.

12 Remember the wonders He has performed, His miracles, and the rulings He has given,

13 you children of His servant Israel, you descendants of Jacob, His chosen ones.

14 He is The Lord our God. His justice is seen throughout the land.

15 Remember His covenant forever— the commitment He made to a thousand generations.

16 This is the covenant He made with Abraham and the oath He swore to Isaac.

17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:

18 “I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.”

19 He said this when you were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.

20 They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.

21 Yet He did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf:

22 “Do not touch My chosen people, and do not hurt My prophets.”

23 Let the whole earth sing to The Lord! Each day proclaim the good news that He saves.

24 Publish His glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things He does.

25 Great is The Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods.

26 The gods of other nations are mere idols, but The Lord made the heavens!

27 Honor and majesty surround Him; strength and joy fill His dwelling.

28 O nations of the world, recognize The Lord, recognize that The Lord is glorious and strong.

29 Give to The Lord the glory He deserves! Bring your offering and come into His presence. Worship The Lord in all His holy splendor.

30 Let all the earth tremble before Him. The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.

31 Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”

32 Let the sea and everything in it shout His praise! Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!

33 Let the trees of the forest sing for joy before The Lord, for He is coming to Judge the earth.

34 Give thanks to The Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever.

35 Cry out, “Save us, O God of our salvation! Gather and rescue us from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you.”

36 Praise The Lord, The God Of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting!

And all the people shouted “Amen!” and praised The Lord.

Psalms 92:1-5 KJV

1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto The Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:

2 To shew forth thy loving kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,

3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.

4 For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.

5 O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.

Psalm 136:1-6, 23-26 KJV

1 O give thanks unto The Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever.

2 O give thanks unto The God Of gods: for His mercy endureth for ever.

3 O give thanks to The Lord Of lords: for His mercy endureth for ever.

4 To Him who alone doeth great wonders: for His mercy endureth for ever.

5 To Him that by wisdom made the heavens: for His mercy endureth for ever.

6 To Him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for His mercy endureth for ever.

23 Who remembered us in our low estate: for His mercy endureth for ever:

24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for His mercy endureth for ever.

25 Who giveth food to all flesh: for His mercy endureth for ever.

26 O give thanks unto The God of heaven: for His mercy endureth for ever.

Thanksgiving – Gratitude, In The New Testament:

Luke 17:11-19 KJV

11 And it came to pass, as He went to Jerusalem, that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

12 And as He entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

14 And when He saw them, He said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

19 And He said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Philippians 1:3-5 KJV (Apostle Paul)

3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,

5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

I Thessalonians 5:15-18 KJV

15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

16 Rejoice evermore.

17 Pray without ceasing.

18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Matthew 26:20,26-30 KJV (I Corinthians 11:23-30 KJV)v

20 Now when the even was come, He sat down with the twelve.

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body.

27 And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

28 For this is My Blood Of The New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.

30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

Does your group of believers, celebrate communion on Thanksgiving?

It should, because communion speaks of overcoming victory for the follower of Jesus Christ!

The Greek word for Thanksgiving is the word, Eucharist.

Eucharist: Greek: Eucharistia (Yoo-khar-is-tee): Gratitude, grateful language to God.(Thanksgiving) as an act of worship: thankfulness, rejoicing, the giving of thanks.

Psalm 63:3,4 KJV

3 Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

Psalm 134:1-3 KJV

1 Behold, bless ye The Lord, all ye servants of The Lord, which by night stand in the house of The Lord.

2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless The Lord.

3 The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.

Psalm 141:2 KJV

Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Psalm 143:6 KJV

I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.

Alright, people of God, when you received communion, did you raises your hands and voices, in praise and honor to The Living God?

Will the “real,” people of God please stand!

“Pastor, don't you realize that is -emotionalism- we don't want to be apart of that!”

One day this poor old broken down pastor will write a book about “The Devils Best One Liners.”

And that phrase “Oh, that's emotionalism,” will be in it.

Don't tell that to the Psalmist, who wrote the psalms you just read, or for that fact, don't read the psalms at all, because they might hurt your darkened theology.

When is the last time you went to a baseball game? Here in Minnesota, we just built a new football auditorium, built to hold many thousands of people, the cost of the stadium, over One Billion Dollars.

Would you to watch a game there, everyone is waving their arms and shouting at the top of their voices, what a shame, such emotionalism! This is to say nothing of our fine new baseball stadium with shouting waving fans, packed!

Friends, it has been long enough, the people of God, have been, beat down, and defeated by “our,” spiritual enemy, the devil!

Let's get our minds of holiday commercialism, and get it back to unabashedly worshiping The Living God!

Psalm 9:1 KJV

I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy

marvelous works.

Dear Friend, today, is the day to call upon the name of The Lord. We have no promise of tomorrow!

Proverbs 27:1 KJV
Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Hebrews 4:7 KJV
"...To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.

Acts 2:21 KJV

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of The Lord shall be saved.