Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 105:1 ESV
As Christians we have so much for which to be thankful; if we lived a hundred lifetimes, we could only begin to to express our gratitude to God. Wait. We ARE going to live more than a hundred lifetimes; WE are going to live for eternity. We should practice each day doing what we will spend eternity doing. Praising and thanking God for He is good! While there are a multitude of things for which to praise Him and be thankful, let us focus on three.
First, I will praise and thank Him for eyes to see.
Simeon, in Luke 2:30, said that he could die in peace because he had seen the salvation of the Lord. Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word: for my eyes have seen your salvation. Luke 2:29-30 ESV Salvation can only happen when a person sees the salvation of the Lord sent for them. Think with me for a moment. There were many people in the temple that day, but only Simeon is mentioned as the one who saw the Salvation of the Lord. Are you a Christian? Then you are as one who has been given sight to see the Salvation of the Lord. How many in the world today are just living day to day without the eyes to see the Savior? As a Christian you are responsible to tell others of the Salvation you have seen and received from the Lord.
Second, I will praise Him for ears to hear.
I am thankful that someone shared the Gospel with me at a young age, and I believed in the Good News of Jesus for my life. I did not hear this with just physical hearing but, even as a child, with spiritual hearing. No matter what the age, you will not hear unless someone brings the message of the gospel and the Holy Spirit opens your ears to hear. ….. How then will they call in him whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they had not heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? Romans 10:14 ESV …. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13 ESV
Thirdly, I will praise Him for His love.
I am thankful for His love. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 ESV If people do not see themselves as sinners in need of a Savior or hear the message of the gospel, then His love will not impact their life. God would not be anything more to them than just a gate keeper blocking hell gates for those who lived decent lives. God is so much more!!!!! He is the creator of the universe who chose rather than to destroy the world, to send His only Son to take the consequences of our sins upon Himself. Not because we deserved it, but because he loved us. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 ESV
Christians, we truly have so much for which to be thankful. Let us begin with these three mentioned above…. seeing, hearing, and basking in His love. These three can take you to a deeper relationship with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the indwelling Holy Spirit. You will be blessed in doing so, as well as, being a blessing to others because of Him.
Because of His Grace~ Pastor David
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