Reason for Thanks 1 Chronicles 16;34-35 11-26-13

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.
35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior;
    gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
    and glory in your praise.” (1 Chronicles 16:34-35)

Thoughts: Two lessons of thanksgiving are here.  First we are to thank God for He is good.  God defines goodness.  Without God, there is no ultimate good.  If there is no God, then there is no soul.  If there is no soul, then we are just molecules.  it makes no difference whether one molecule is kind or mean to another if there is no judge to say one action is better than the other.  But if there is a judge, then what we do matters and makes a difference.  God is good- let us give thanks that there is such thing as goodness- and that it is defined by God.  God is as good as it gets.  God defines goodness by His own character and quality.  God is good to us- so let us give thanks to Him.
     Second, Asaph the writer, asks that God would save us, gather us and deliver us so that we might give thanks.  It is almost as if God has in Himself, a desire that we give Him thanks and praise.  This is not a bad prayer to pray.  Lord, save me that I might praise and thank you properly.  Another Psalmist asks for God to deliver him from death because the dead do not praise God (6:5; 88:10; 115:7).  It is similar to bargaining with God to keep us alive that we might thank Him to His praise. 

Prayer: Lord, you are good to me adn I thank you.  Lord, preserve me that I may continue to thank and praise your name.
   
     

11/5/13- Saved to Give Thanks

34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.
35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior;
    gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
    and glory in your praise.”
36 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.

Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.” (1 Chronicles 16:34-36)

Thoughts: This was a Psalm of David and Asaph, the famous poet of the Bible, when the Ark of the Covenant was brought into Jerusalem.  They had tried to bring the Ark into Jerusalem earlier but were careless in the way they did it and some died.  But now the Ark was there in the middle of the new capital city.  There was a sense that God was blessing them- and He was.  When we are in a time of blessing, we not only should give thanks, we need to give thanks.  To not give thanks when God has blessed us is to not recognize that God is the giver of blessing.  The doxology that is often sung is a great reminder that it is God from whom all blessings flow.  But the blessing was exponential- for the people were thanking God for worship.  They were thanking God for the opportunity to thank and praise Him.  Thanksgiving is an essential part of worship.  

   The actual words of thanksgiving here should be examined.  God is thanked for He is good.  In the end, God defines what is good.  The blessings we receive come from the God overflowing from His good presence.
    That God's love is not a flash in a pan should be a comfort to us.  His love is steady, constant, and lasts forever.  It is from everlasting to everlasting- double infinity.
     Salvation is not just for our own comfort- but now that we are His people, we are saved for a higher purpose- to thank Him (vs.3).  We are saved not for our own skin.  We are saved to give thanks.  Think of that.  We are created to give thanks and when we get in trouble, we are saved to give thanks.  Thanksgiving should be an essential and encompassing part of who we are.  

Prayer: To you, right now, I give thanks.  Thank you for enabling me to give thanks.  Thank you for saving me from trouble so that I might thank you.