Thank Jesus For His Goodness … and Talk About it!

Scripture: Psalms 107: 1-3, 5-9

O Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.(1-3)

Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainteth in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men. For he satisfieth the longing soul, and fillets the hungry soul with goodness.(5-9)

Scripture Commentary: We need to thank Jesus for what he’s done for us … and tell others about his goodness

When was the last time you told anyone what Jesus has done for you? Did you thank him and praise him when you were distressed and needed help and he rescued you?

We, who have been redeemed, need to thank God and tell others how he saved us. Jesus wants us to tell our story of how he has taken us out of darkness and put us in the light.

This is our declaration, that when we live in God’s presence we will not be able to keep this glorious experience to ourselves. We do have a lot to be thankful for, so tell someone.

We are free from sin because God sent his son to free us. If God did this while we were captive to sin, how much more merciful is he now that we are his followers?

We are no more wanderers or prisoners, and we are not sick. How wonderful is that? What has Jesus Christ done for you? Is there someone you can tell?

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Psalms Chapter 107

The Conclusion is to Know God

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 12: 12-14

And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Scripture Commentary: No matter what happens in life, the final conclusion is to recognize God as first in your life

These final three verses of Ecclesiastes Chapter 12 tell us that no matter what the mysteries and apparent contradictions of life, the final conclusion is that we must aim to know God.

Solomon shows us that we should enjoy life, but this does not exempt us from obeying God’s commandments. We should acknowledge the evil, foolish, and unjust parts of life, yet maintain our faith in God. Oftentimes we see our human endeavors as not for God, but for ourselves.

One day all of us will stand before God and be judged for what we did in this life. What will you say during your judgment? Remember this, you cannot use life’s inconsistencies as an excuse for not living as God mandated.

God is first in your life. Recognize that human effort apart from God is futile, not Godly. Everything good is a gift from God. Realize that God will judge the quality of your life; He will judge both the good and the evil.

How strange that people that do not know God spend their lives striving for the enjoyment of life that God gave freely as a gift.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Ecclesiastes Chapter 12

Use God’s Gifts to You

My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding. Then shall thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2: 1,2,5

Commentary:

To know God is to seek Him. We don’t seek Him only when we need his help, we seek God because we want to be with him. God has given us the gift of wisdom, but we have the choice of how we use it. If we are rebellious and foolish, it will take a great effort on our part to find and use. When we are on the path, we discover that true wisdom is in God and that he will guide us and reward our sincere and persistent search.

God gives us wisdom and victory, but not for drifting through life or acting irresponsible with his gifts and resources. If you do not use your gifts that God gave you, then you lose them, and Satan begins to work on you to become one of his workers. If we are faithful and keep his purpose in life, God will keep us from the things that will lead us astray. We gain wisdom through a constant process of growing. By studying the Word of God we are better to evaluate courses of action and consequences. We are the children of God and he has given us His gift. Use it for his glorification.

Let God Help You Make Decisions

Do not be wise in your own eyes

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.

Proverbs 3: 7

Commentary:

Leaning has the sense of putting your whole weight on something, resting on and trusting in that person or thing. When we have an important decision to make, we sometimes feel that we can’t trust anyone, not even God. But God knows what is best for us. He is a better judge of what we want than even we are! We must trust him completely in every choice we make. We should not omit careful thinking or belittle our God-given ability to reason; but we should not trust our own ideas to the exclusion of all others.

We must not be wise in our own eyes. We should always be willing to listen to and be corrected by God’s word and wise counseling. Bring your decisions to God in prayer; use the Bible as your guide; and then follow God’s lead. He will make your paths straight by both guiding and protecting you. To receive God’s guidance said Solomon, we must acknowledge God in all our ways. This means turning every area of life over to him. Look at your values and priorities. What is important to you? In what areas have you not acknowledged him? What is his advice? In many areas of your life you may already acknowledge God, but it is in the areas where you attempt to restrict or ignore his influence that will cause you grief. Make him a vital part of everything you do; then he will guide you because you will be working to accomplish his purposes. Take self out of what you are thinking or doing and let the Holy Spirit guide, then and only then can the glory of what is being done can be for the glorification of God.

God the Creator

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his, we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100: 1-5

Commentary:

God is our creator; we did not create ourselves. Many people live as though they are the creator and the center of their own little world. This mindset leads to greedy possessiveness and, if everything should be taken away, a loss of hope itself. But when we realize God created us and gives us all we have, we will want to give to others as God gave to us. Then, if all is lost, we still have God and all he gives us. God alone is worthy of being worshiped. Do you willingly and joyfully come into God’s presence, or are you just going through the motions? This psalm tells us to remember God’s goodness and dependability, and then to worship with thanksgiving and praise. So go and shout a loud joyful cry to our Lord and spread the word of Jesus Christ through the land.

A Lifetime of Experience Should be Handed Down

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy, O most High: For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.

Psalm 92: 1,4,6,13

Commentary:

When you get up from sleep do you thank God? Do you take your life for granted? Tomorrow is promise to no one, but if you are reading this, God gave you this day. What are you going to do in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ today? If nothing, you are like the brutish person who goes through life taking and not giving anything back that can benefit fellow people. When you are working for Jesus you are planting seeds that will flourish not only for yourself, but for many. If you are a child of God, being so is your gift to God – to work for him. Even in old age, a devoted believer can produce a large amount of spiritual fruit. Keeping your mind of God will give you a fresh outlook and will help you teach young people a lifetime of experiences being a child of God. If you are young, seek out an elderly person, and if you are old seek out a youth, and tell them about Jesus.

A Bad Day isn’t a Bad Life

And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillars, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord you God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.

Joel 2: 25-26

Commentary:

When we go through this walk in our lives, we are encountering many things. A young man was going to commit a serious mistake, he dialed what he thought was his home phone number. But instead it was his best friend. He told his friend what he was going to do. His friend told him he was just having a bad day and not a bad life.

We go through these ups and downs for a reason. If life was always good you might feel like you don’t need God. When things are bad and we call on God for help. The helps us find our way out of it it’s a wonderful feeling to know how God has helped you. In these two verses God through Joel is saying if you repent, and live a Christian life he will save you. God’s intentions are to heal and to save.

Trust God Instead of Yourself

Thus saith the Lord; cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and taketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

Jeremiah 17: 5-7

Commentary:

Do you do for yourself, for others, or for God? What do you trust? In these verses the Lord is writing about those who trust in themselves and those who trust in Him. If you are like the people of Judah and trust in yourself then you are like a waterless tree – barren and unfruitful. In contrast, those who trust in God flourish like a tree planted by water. In times of trouble, those who trust in human beings will be impoverished and spiritually weak. But those who trust in Jesus Christ will have abundant strength, not only for themselves, but for the needs of others. Are you satisfied with being unfruitful, or do you, like a well watered tree, have strength for the time of crisis and even some to share as you bear fruit for the Lord? Plant yourself in his pool.

Know God’s Truth

Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, the Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken? Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God. And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.

Ezekiel 13: 7-9

Commentary:

We today have false prophets before us who are telling us words not of God. They are seeking popularity and speaking for God. The words they say are to make people happy and tell them the lives they live are okay with God. When these people say you may marry man to man or woman to woman, this is not God’s words. Read Romans 1: 25-28 – God says to this false mind, “God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” False people do not care about the truth, but we – the children of God – know the truth. All we have to do is go to his word in the Bible. The Bible is God’s word and we can not twist it to fit anything else.

Learning From Adversity – Isaiah 30: 20-21

Scripture: Isaiah 30: 20-21

And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner anymore, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Scripture Commentary – Learn from Adversity – Discover What the Lord Wants to Teach You

When the people of Jerusalem departed from God’s path, he would correct them, as he will correct you today. The Lord gives us the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but he promises to be with us to guide and teach during difficult times. God expects a lot from us, and many times following him can be painful but he always acts out of his love for us.

To learn from adversity is challenging. The next time you are going through difficult times, try to learn what God wants to teach you. Look at the beginning of your hard time and then look at how far the Lord has taken you. See the love he has for you. God shows his love by patiently walking with you through the hard times. When you hear his voice of correction, be willing to listen and follow it. God’s voice is the voice of love for you.

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Isaiah Chapter 30