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 occasion of this Psalm of praise and thanksgiving was the end of the pestilence that came to Israel after David had numbered the people. The last verse speaks to us about the work of Thanksgiving – the praise, the profession, and the practice in thanksgiving.

The Praise in Thanksgiving – “To the end that my glory may sing praise to You.” Thanksgiving will praise God, and here music is involved. Only some music today thank God for His blessing. However it is done, thanksgiving will honor and praise the Lord. That is one of the works of thanksgiving, and it is why we should express our thanks to God frequently.

The Profession in Thanksgiving - “Not be silent.” Being a silent Christian is like being a secret believer. In the circumstances of this Psalm, David kept nothing secret in thanking of God for stopping the pestilence. He was not silent but publically gave honor to God in spite of the chastening hand of God upon his people. To be a faithful testimony we must be public regardless of our situation.

The Practice of Thanksgiving – “I will give thanks to You forever.” Two lessons are given here about the practice of thanksgiving. Firstly, the passion for thanksgiving: “I will give thanks.” This statement denotes the Psalmist passion to give thanks since thanksgiving is not easy. We may be ridiculed for the act of thanksgiving, but we need to give thanks anyway. Secondly, the perpetuity of thanksgiving: “Forever.” Thanksgiving is not a once only deed. It is a continuous act. We certainly have continuous reasons for thanksgiving. God’s blessings are “new every morning” (Lam. 3:23), thus we are to be always thankful.

(Adapted from Analytical Biblical Expositor)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Thanksgiving is the vibration of the soul’s heart-strings under the soft touch of God’s benevolence!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Endless

In 1 Tim. 1:4 we read, “Nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith!” (NKJV).

Endless is the Greek word apérantos (ἀπέραντος = ap-er'-an-tos). The word means unfinished, limitless, unrestrained, something that cannot be passed through or settled. In classic Greek apérantos was used of boundless space, endless time, countless number. In the Septuagint apérantos was used of God’s countless (infinite) years. Apérantos occurs only here the New Testament and refers to the study of “endless” genealogies which only produced controversies and disputes in the congregation!

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle” (Judges 4:18 KJV).

Did You Know…

The Book of Philemon written to deal with the problem of a runaway slave (Philemon 1).

Bible Quiz

How did the apostle Paul say we should let our requests be made known to God?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: What did the apostle Paul say kept him from being conceited? A thorn in his flesh (2 Cor. 12:7).

Names For God Found in the Bible

“STONE OF ISRAEL”

"But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel)” (Gen. 49:24 NKJV).

1. Meaning – STONE OF ISRAEL speaks of God as being dependable, and communicated constancy, and the security of Divine support.

2. Insights – In context, Jacob is blessings his sons. Coming to Joseph, Jacob overflowed with predictions of a fruitful future for him. Although persecuted, Joseph was sustained by the mighty God of Jacob. This was the God who had been Jacob’s own shepherd, Protector, and “Stone of Israel” throughout his life. Our God is strong and dependable.

Did You Know...Christian History

Little is known about Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts in the Bible. We do know that he was a physician and the only Gentile to write any part of the New Testament. Paul’s letter to the Colossians draws a distinction between Luke and other colleagues “of the circumcision,” meaning the Jews (Col. 4:11). This makes Luke the only New Testament writer clearly identifiable as a non-Jew. Further, it appears that Luke is from Antioch, which may explain the reason Antioch seems to be at the center of the Book of Acts.

Luke does not name himself in either of his books, but the apostle Paul mentions him by name in three of his Epistles. Both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts are addressed to the same person, Theophilus (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1). No one knows exactly who Theophilus was, but we know that Luke’s purpose in writing to him was to ensure that he knew with certainty about the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 1:4). By counting the pages written by Luke in both his Gospel and the Book of Acts, it is clear that Luke wrote more pages of the New Testament than any other writer, including the apostle Paul and the apostle John.

Luke was a close friend of the apostle Paul, who referred to him as “the beloved physician” (Col. 4:14). The apostle Paul also refers to Luke as a “fellow laborer” (Philem. 1:24). Luke joined the apostle Paul during his second missionary journey, as the word “we” indicates (Acts 16:6-11). Luke was left in Philippi during the second missionary journey (Acts 17:1) and rejoined the apostle Paul on the third journey (Acts 20:5). He accompanied the apostle Paul on his journey to Jerusalem and Rome and was with him during his imprisonment (2 Tim. 4:11). Luke’s vivid description of his travels with Paul in Acts 27 seems to indicate that he was well-traveled and well-versed in navigation. Scholars have also noted that Luke had an outstanding command of the Greek language. All this would indicate that Luke was a well-educated, observant, and careful writer.

Luke showed an intimate knowledge of the Temple, more than any other of the Gospel writers. He described the announcement to Zacharias concerning the birth of John the Baptist and described in considerable detail the rotating selection of the priests for service according to their families. He further described the position of the priest before the altar of incense, where the angel appeared to Zacharias (Luke 1:8-20). Luke pulled back the curtain on the young Jesus more than any other gospel writer. It is highly probable that he interviewed Mary and got most of the details from her. Luke relates the story of the birth of Jesus primarily from Mary’s point of view. Without Luke we would know nothing about the boy Jesus’s thinking.

The date of Luke’s death is not known, but the fact that he did not mention the martyrdom of James in AD 62, the persecution of believers under Nero that began in AD 64, and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, lead us to believe that he died sometime before these events. If the apostle Paul owe his life to Luke, then we owe Luke our thanks, because it was the apostle Paul who wrote most of the New Testament letters and who evangelized the west.

A Little Humor

A potato and a sweet potato were playing on the playground. The sweet potato told the potato, “Hey, I just found out I’m related to you.” The potato said,” No you’re not!” The sweet potato said back, “Yes, I yam.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Sin is the greatest of all detectives - be sure your sins will find you out!”