Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever...

Well I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was great and full of thanks!! As I was sitting in church yesterday listening to one of the awesome preachers from Cape Bible Chapel, he held my attention with a captivating sermon about giving thanks. I wanted to share with you some of the awesome things that he said as well as some of the scripture that we looked over yesterday.

The main theme of the message was that its not hard to give thanks when things are going great but how often do we give thanks when things are hard? It's a great question to examine ourselves over. I know for me as Brett and I have been sitting at 70% for our support total I rarely give thanks for that, but Im willing to bet if our support was finished last week I would be wanting to praise the Lord all day long! How contrary is that to what the Lord's word teaches us!? Well let's just see:

Nehemiah 9:24-26

Psalm 106:7

Psalm 106:13

Hosea 13:4-6

Romans 1:20-21

1 Cor. 4:7

James 1:17

Deut. 8:11-18

2 Cor. 4:15

Psalm 100:4

I definitely encourage you to look up theses verses and pray that the Lord will establish a heart of thankfulness at all times in you!

A big mistake that I think many people make that James taught on yesterday was that I don't need to view God's character in light of my circumstances rather I need to view my circumstances in light of God's character. Which basically means, how often when things are going bad do you sit and wonder if God is still good? Do you ever question it? If so then you are acting in the first way that I mentioned. But when we can view our circumstances in light of God's character then we are training our mind in the proper way. In a biblical way. When we can sit and praise God even when we don't understand him or see any good coming from what he is doing and simply trust that He is a good God because His word says He is, then that is pleasing to the Lord. Some of you might say, well that sounds like a blind trust, trusting something because it says so. And I would have to agree, but isn't that what faith is... the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen. I am assured that the Lord is real and He is who he says He is and I'm trusting in the things that I cant see. That's what faith is. For we are nothing without faith.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17