Along the lines of Thankfulness....

My last post focused on being thankful for the little things, and taking the time to enjoy life and time with our families.  I also discussed how this could influence your worship.  But I don't feel that I covered it well enough to get the point across.  Thankfulness is a lifestyle that accompanies the worshipers lifestyle.  They go hand in hand.  Today, I want to talk more about this.

Psalm 100:4King James Version (KJV)

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.

The above scripture gives us a distinctive approach to how we should come into the house of God.  First, we enter His gates with Thanksgiving.  Today, that would equate either driving on the property, or stepping through the doors into the area just outside the sanctuary.  Secondly, when we enter his courts with praise, that would usually mean into the sanctuary.  The next phrase however, does not exclude thanksgiving because we are now beyond the gates.  It says to be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

This signifies that our worship starts with being thankful, then goes into praise, which consists of blessings and being thankful some more.  More and more Christians will sing God's praises with songs like "How Great Is Our God," "How Great Thou Art," and "Revelation Song;" but we forget to simply say Thank You, Lord.  We will declare that His blood was shed for me, and that my healing comes from Him, but do we sit back and say "Thank you, Lord!  For my salvation, and for my healing?"  The weight of love, and adoration you send to God with two words can be more important than anything you sing to Him. Why?  Because you are taking the time to tell the most high God that you know where the blessing came from, and you are very much appreciate what He's done for you.  It has more meaning than just a praise song without any semblance of thankfulness.

When we sit down to eat, most people will say the blessing (or grace) over the food.  This, too, has become more of a ritual.  Everyone has "their" prayer that they always do, and they will say it and eat.  In my house, my kids ask the blessing on the food more than me or my wife.  What I have tried to teach my kids is that when you pray and ask God to bless our food, don't rush through it and don't recite some words that you've heard and that sound good.  Instead, talk to God differently every time.  This isn't a requirement, but at their young ages, it helps to solidify praying from the heart.

My oldest son will usually start off like this..."Thank you, Lord, for daddy's job, for daddy's Rondo, for mommy's van, for our house, and for our food...." and then he goes on to thank God for our food and asks Him to bless it for the nourishment of our bodies.  Sometimes, he thanks God for our family, his grandparents, and great grandparents.  I believe he has the firmest grasp of truly being thankful!  But more than that...he is usually the first to say thank you, he is quick to say thank you, and you can hear sincerity in his voice.

Imagine how I feel when my son tells me "thank you."  How do you feel when your child tells you, "thank you?"

How does God feel when his children, with heartfelt sincerity, says "thank you?"
 Take the time to tell Him how thankful you are...It will make the difference in your worship, and your life!

Give thanks to the Lord, Our God and King

I recently was able to spend a few hours with my Grandparents.  With work, family, and church keeping me busy, it was nice to surprise them and see them.  I always seem to get too busy with everything that I don't take the time to do the things that need doing.  Sometimes that means the grass goes another week before its cut.  Or, the car goes another couple hundred miles before it goes to the shop for servicing or repairs.  Or, it means I don't spend time with those I love like I should.

It doesn't mean I am lazy, or that those things aren't important.  It's just that work is so demanding and stressful, and preparing for services is also time consuming.

Anyways....

I was thrilled to be with my Grandparents, at their home.  My Grand Dad and I discussed the church, the Bible, and family.  I watched my Grand mother play with my six month old daughter.  The other four kids were running around like chickens with their heads cut off!  But it was a good time.

When I left, I was thinking about how fragile they looked.  I wondered how long we (my family) would have them here on earth.  On March 1, 2017 they had been married for sixty-seven years.  He is getting ready to turn ninety-two, and she is just a few years behind him.  They can still take care of themselves.  My mother goes and gets their groceries and medications for them once a week, and until recently, they still made it to church for every service.  There is a lot to be thankful for in this family...

Thankfulness...that's a word that most don't think about.  It's also a word that describes a singular part of our worship.
We love to sing His praises, to declare that He is the King of all kings, and the Lord of all lords.  We declare what He's done in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

But have we thanked Him?  Have we thanked Him as part of our worship?

How often have we just told God, "Thank You, Lord," and raised our hands while we did so?
I think we don't do it often enough.

Why do I say that?  Because we are all so very busy that we miss the little things He does for us.  We're too busy to look at our past and see where we've come from.  We are just too busy to take the time to look at our families and friends and see how God has used them to encourage us, to pray for us, to sit up with us and talk about the problems we are having.  We are always looking to save some time, or get done faster with our tasks.  We're not looking back to where we were, we're looking ahead to where we want to go.  And the fact of the matter is this, if God doesn't help us get there, most of can walk away without a second look.

I hope this doesn't apply to my readers, but overall...most of the congregants at church are this way.  They may never say it, but it's in their lifestyle.

As worship leaders, we are obliged to examine the things we need to be thankful for, and show the church how to use that thankfulness in worship.  Hearing us give thanks to God might spur a memory in someone and they begin to thank God.  This will spread like wild fire.  Just..."Give thanks to the Lord, our God and King."

I am so very thankful for my family.  God has indeed blessed me with Grandparents, Parents, In-laws, a wife, and five beautiful children.  All of these will pray for me, and I them.  They seek to uplift, to encourage, and to provide insight to what they've read in the Word of God lately.

Thank you, Lord...Thank You for your blessing in my life!