THE WORK OF THANKSGIVING

“To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever” (Psalm 30:12 NKJV).

The reason for our blessings is that God may be praised. Our blessings are not given to us primarily for our good but primarily for God’s glory. God is the important One. Our verse speaks to us about the work of thanksgiving - what it does and requires.

The praise in thanksgiving – “To the end that my glory may sing praise to You.” Here thanksgiving is involved in praising God. Some music today thank God for His blessing. However it is done, thanksgiving will honor and praise the Lord. This is one of the works of thanksgiving, and the reason we should express our thanks to God frequently.

The profession in thanksgiving – “Not be silent.” This means a public profession of our faith. Being a silent Christian is like being a secret believer, and the Lord has little use for secret discipleship (Matt. 10:32 - 33). In context, David kept nothing secret but was thankful to the Lord for stopping the pestilence. He was not silent but publicly gave honor to the Lord in spite of the chastening hand of God upon his people. To be a faithful testimony we must be public regardless of our situation. Our profession of faith is evident in the giving of thanks.

The practice of thanksgiving – “I will give thanks to You forever.” Two lessons are given here about the practice of thanksgiving.

The passion for thanksgiving: “I will give thanks.” This statement expresses the Psalmist passion to give thanks. Thanksgiving is not easy and we may be mocked or ridiculed for the act of thanksgiving. Nevertheless, we must be diligent in our stand to give thanks. It takes effort to give thanks.

The perpetuity of thanksgiving” “Forever.” Thanksgiving is to be a continuous attitude, not a one-time, or a once in a while action. We certainly have cause for continuous thanksgiving - God’s blessings are “new every morning” (Lam. 3:23). New blessings come every day, therefore we are always, every day, to give thanks.

(Adapted from Butler's Sermon Starters)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Too many focus on ThanksHAVING - instead of ThanksGIVING!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Drift away

In Heb. 2:1 we read, “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away” (NKJV).

Drift away is the Greek word pararreō (παραρρέω = par-ar-hroo-eh'-o). It is made up of two words: “para” which means beside, and “rheō” which means flow. Literally, the word means to flow past and so to glide, to be washed away, to drift away. Figuratively, it means to slip or drift away from belief. It describes that carelessness of mind. It is like a ship drifting without anchorage and so drifting away from its moorings and from a place of safety to one of danger.’ In the Septuagintpararreō to refer to water gliding by. In the New Testament pararreō carries the idea of a warning against being apathetic (indifferent, uninterested, unmoved) toward the teachings of the gospel. Those who do not give “earnest heed” to the message of Christ are in danger of drifting away.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah in a glorified state (Dan. 10:5-6)

New Testament Fulfillment – Rev. 1:13-16

Did You Know…

In the Bible it states that the Lord Jesus came to give the Father’s words (John 17:8).

Bible Quiz

According to Philippians, how should we make our requests known to God?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: What instructions are given in Ephesians 4 to the believer who steals? “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need” (Eph. 4:28).

Names For God Found in the Bible

“Yahweh Nissi”

"And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner; for he said, because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation” (Ex. 17:15-16).

1. Meaning – Yahweh Nissi means “The Lord our banner” or Jehovah is my standard. It reflects the theology that Jehovah is the only true God who will fight our battles, and we fight under His direction

2. Insights – In context, the altar spoke of devotion and reverence to God. After this event, Moses was quick to ascribe victory to the Lord. The defeat of the Amalekites displayed the power God and His willingness to come to the assistance of His people in times of crisis

Did You Know – Christian History

John Eliot was born in 1604 in Widford, Hertfordshire, England. He was an English Puritan missionary to the Native Americans of Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Eliot attended Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating in 1622. As a young Puritan Pastor, Eliot left England, arriving in Boston in 1631. He worked in Boston for a year, then established a church five miles away in Roxbury, where he remained for the next 58 years. From the beginning he established an excellent relationship with the Narragansett Indians in the area and gradually also with other inhabitants who spoke related languages.

With the support of his congregation and fellow ministers, Eliot began a mission to the Native Americans, preaching at Newton and at other towns. Groups of “praying Indians” soon arose, and by 1674 there were 14 villages with 4,000 converts. The following year, however, the communities suffered serious setbacks from persecutions that occurred during King Philip’s War, and the villages never fully recovered.

Eliot’s work was financed chiefly from England, where his activities inspired the creation of the Company for Propagating the Gospel in New England and Parts Adjacent in North America (1649). This was the first genuine missionary society. Eliot’s methods set the pattern of subsequent Indian missions for almost two centuries. Civilization, he believed, was closely bound up with evangelization.

Eliot’s converts were gathered into Christian towns, governed by a Biblical code of laws, and gradually introduced to the English manner of life. Each village had a school where the Indians were taught English and the handicrafts by which they could support themselves. After severe testing, believers were organized by covenant into a Puritan church-state, and native teachers and evangelists were trained.

Eliot himself, called the “Apostle to the Indians,” produced the needed literature in the Massachusetts Algonquian language. He had gone to the Indians of Massachusetts as a preacher, learned their language, created its alphabet and translated the Bible into their language, beginning with his primer or catechism of 1654. Eliot’s translation of the New Testament appeared in 1661, and the Old Testament in 1663. Among his other works are The Christian Commonwealth (1659) and The Harmony of the Gospels (1678). Eliot spent the remainder of his life reestablishing other villages. He died in 1690 at age 85; his last words were “welcome joy!”

A Little Humor

Six-year-old Barbara had been praying for a baby brother for months. So, she was overcome with joy when she saw her new twin brothers. That night her prayer was this happy thank-you: “Dear God, thank you for sending me a baby brother. But I thought you would like to know he arrived in two pieces.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“We are the objects of God’s grace; let Him be the object of our gratitude!”