Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the LORD.
Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name;
If you want to know how to receive Christ as Savior and know forgiveness of your sins, click on this link: http://www.campuscrusade.com/fourlawseng.htm
Doveseye a once a week email devotional: http://az-doveseye.blogspot.com/
Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. Seek the LORD and His strength;
Seek His face continually. Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, I Chronicles 16:7-12
My Brothers and Sisters, chosen by God,
God's word is living and powerful and surprising! David was King. The Ark of the Covenant was back in Israel and it set David's heart to rejoicing and his feet to dancing! Food was distributed to each person in Israel. David appointed Levites to minister before the Ark of the LORD and celebrate by giving thanks and praising the LORD. Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the LORD. They were skilled and trained in singing and musical instruments.
Picturing myself a relative of Asaph, I wondered what would I be thinking about my assignment? Giving thanks is a spontaneous action of my spirit and far from something assigned to me! My spirit bristled at this phrase until I reflected on the Psalm which followed. It was filled with beauty and worship and praise to our LORD; expressed in singing and with musical instruments. This was coupled with the speaking of a His wonders. Verse 11 calls you to seek the LORD and while 'seeking' the LORD and His strength, remember His wonderful deeds and in verse 29 ascribe to Him the glory due His name! With word and song praising His attributes now and forever!
My desire was to have my complaining heart transformed into one joyfully surrendered and actively worshiping God in my daily walk! I believe I needed to settle a few things for this to happen. The key was to decide what I believed about God. Did I believe He is good? truly and deeply believe this? Hand in hand with this is 'Do i truly believe He is in control of all things?' If I do would I not surrender to Him and embrace His will and do so without insisting on understanding? If I am complaining over how my day is going that either reveals I do not believe He is good or I do not believe He is Sovereign. If He is good and Sovereign... making no mistakes, worthy of all praise and always acting out of His goodness while superintending my day, would I be grumbling? For if a Christian cannot thank and praise God as well in calamities and sufferings as in prosperity and happiness, he is as far from the piety of a Christian as he that only loves them that love him... For to thank God only for such things as you like is no more a proper act of piety than to believe only what you see is an act of faith. (law)
It was then I thought of I Thessalonians 5:18: 'in everything give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.' It is easy to say these words but living them in the mundane calls for death to the flesh. When my attitude is grateful and I am being thankful in word and attitude, I bring Him glory. It was exciting to see in some mysterious way the giving of thanks and making known His deeds is symbiotic! Hand in hand this heart moving scripture (I Chron 16:29) further instructs us to bring Him an offering and worship in holy array. And Hebrews 13:15: Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. This is such a powerful verse I am drawn to stop typing and fall on my knees with a hungry heart. I want to know this kind of thanksgiving. Praise that costs the giver.
Thankfulness is the opposite of griping and is ours through reckoning ourselves dead with Christ and alive with Him. Surrender to the Holy Spirit fuels a grateful spirit. It comes through Christ... it is not the natural outflow of my human heart, but by His enabling, His life through me. Giving thanks is to be continual, not a Sunday thing, not a Thursday in November thing, nor is it dutifully contrived thing any other day.
Begin today. Begin giving thanks for small things which is often the most difficult. God is worthy to be praised no matter what He allows in our day. I believe the sweetest praise given is that which costs. It is praise rooted in sacrifice... the fruit of my lips. Thanksgiving spoken or sung aloud. I believe this discipline will grow into full blown, daily praise to our King bringing Him pleasure. This too is a mystery... How can rebellious, sinful human bring this amazing God pleasure anymore than an ant crossing your foot could 'give' you anything?
Praise: He loves me and He is good.
Praise: He attends my way in perfect wisdom because He is Sovereign and in control.
Praise: For He is worthy to be praised regardless of how I 'feel' or what mood I am in.
O that we would be a praising company before the throne to bring honor to our King. Can such praise be 'assigned'? It's embarrassing to admit, at times I find it hard to be grateful even when it is a good day. This reveals just how terrible and ungrateful my sinful nature is and I must choose to surrender to Galatians 2:20, 'not I but Christ'. Only then will His fruit produce the sacrifice of praise in and through me.
The world is filled with negative words and actions. Let us see it as an opportunity to make known His deeds by simply being thankful and expressing it throughout the day... yes even while driving, or waiting in line, a long line. Even when disappointed and in the face of rejection and loss we can remember the goodness and faithfulness of the LORD and find we are lifted up and strengthened as we speak by faith words of thanksgiving.
Lord, help me to brag not about who I am but about who You are. Never let me run out of words to praise You for your goodness and kindness. AS
May grumbling cease for it cannot co-exist with a grateful spirit. We wound our loving Father when we are ungrateful.
Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols. Ezekiel 6:9
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; Isaiah 63:10
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
II cor 4:17-18
When we look on the Cross, and really see Jesus and believe His faithfulness, how can we gripe and grumble? Let us rise in His strength and count it all joy? Paul was so content in his prison he sang songs in the darkness and stench of his surroundings, which provided him with more than sufficient reason to complain. How unfairly he was treated and beaten and maligned. But He sang praise... make today one of praise. Read all of I Chronicles 16 for a real blessing.
Father, worthy One, I seek Your face! I want to be faithful and thankful and remember your faithfulness and wonderful deeds. Splendor and majesty are before You. I exalt you. You know how I struggle every day with being grateful. Forgive me and change me! I want to go beyond birth truths and know You intimately. Teach my sisters and brothers and me how to be grateful and offer You the sacrifice of praise and to glory in Your praise. I ask You, Compassionate One, to lift us above the rebellion of complaining. Thank You for Your nearness and Love. Your nearness is our good. In the name of Jesus, amen
Assigned to give thanks,
az
Seek His face continually. Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, I Chronicles 16:7-12
My Brothers and Sisters, chosen by God,
God's word is living and powerful and surprising! David was King. The Ark of the Covenant was back in Israel and it set David's heart to rejoicing and his feet to dancing! Food was distributed to each person in Israel. David appointed Levites to minister before the Ark of the LORD and celebrate by giving thanks and praising the LORD. Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the LORD. They were skilled and trained in singing and musical instruments.
Picturing myself a relative of Asaph, I wondered what would I be thinking about my assignment? Giving thanks is a spontaneous action of my spirit and far from something assigned to me! My spirit bristled at this phrase until I reflected on the Psalm which followed. It was filled with beauty and worship and praise to our LORD; expressed in singing and with musical instruments. This was coupled with the speaking of a His wonders. Verse 11 calls you to seek the LORD and while 'seeking' the LORD and His strength, remember His wonderful deeds and in verse 29 ascribe to Him the glory due His name! With word and song praising His attributes now and forever!
My desire was to have my complaining heart transformed into one joyfully surrendered and actively worshiping God in my daily walk! I believe I needed to settle a few things for this to happen. The key was to decide what I believed about God. Did I believe He is good? truly and deeply believe this? Hand in hand with this is 'Do i truly believe He is in control of all things?' If I do would I not surrender to Him and embrace His will and do so without insisting on understanding? If I am complaining over how my day is going that either reveals I do not believe He is good or I do not believe He is Sovereign. If He is good and Sovereign... making no mistakes, worthy of all praise and always acting out of His goodness while superintending my day, would I be grumbling? For if a Christian cannot thank and praise God as well in calamities and sufferings as in prosperity and happiness, he is as far from the piety of a Christian as he that only loves them that love him... For to thank God only for such things as you like is no more a proper act of piety than to believe only what you see is an act of faith. (law)
It was then I thought of I Thessalonians 5:18: 'in everything give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.' It is easy to say these words but living them in the mundane calls for death to the flesh. When my attitude is grateful and I am being thankful in word and attitude, I bring Him glory. It was exciting to see in some mysterious way the giving of thanks and making known His deeds is symbiotic! Hand in hand this heart moving scripture (I Chron 16:29) further instructs us to bring Him an offering and worship in holy array. And Hebrews 13:15: Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. This is such a powerful verse I am drawn to stop typing and fall on my knees with a hungry heart. I want to know this kind of thanksgiving. Praise that costs the giver.
Thankfulness is the opposite of griping and is ours through reckoning ourselves dead with Christ and alive with Him. Surrender to the Holy Spirit fuels a grateful spirit. It comes through Christ... it is not the natural outflow of my human heart, but by His enabling, His life through me. Giving thanks is to be continual, not a Sunday thing, not a Thursday in November thing, nor is it dutifully contrived thing any other day.
Begin today. Begin giving thanks for small things which is often the most difficult. God is worthy to be praised no matter what He allows in our day. I believe the sweetest praise given is that which costs. It is praise rooted in sacrifice... the fruit of my lips. Thanksgiving spoken or sung aloud. I believe this discipline will grow into full blown, daily praise to our King bringing Him pleasure. This too is a mystery... How can rebellious, sinful human bring this amazing God pleasure anymore than an ant crossing your foot could 'give' you anything?
Praise: He loves me and He is good.
Praise: He attends my way in perfect wisdom because He is Sovereign and in control.
Praise: For He is worthy to be praised regardless of how I 'feel' or what mood I am in.
O that we would be a praising company before the throne to bring honor to our King. Can such praise be 'assigned'? It's embarrassing to admit, at times I find it hard to be grateful even when it is a good day. This reveals just how terrible and ungrateful my sinful nature is and I must choose to surrender to Galatians 2:20, 'not I but Christ'. Only then will His fruit produce the sacrifice of praise in and through me.
The world is filled with negative words and actions. Let us see it as an opportunity to make known His deeds by simply being thankful and expressing it throughout the day... yes even while driving, or waiting in line, a long line. Even when disappointed and in the face of rejection and loss we can remember the goodness and faithfulness of the LORD and find we are lifted up and strengthened as we speak by faith words of thanksgiving.
Lord, help me to brag not about who I am but about who You are. Never let me run out of words to praise You for your goodness and kindness. AS
May grumbling cease for it cannot co-exist with a grateful spirit. We wound our loving Father when we are ungrateful.
Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols. Ezekiel 6:9
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; Isaiah 63:10
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
II cor 4:17-18
When we look on the Cross, and really see Jesus and believe His faithfulness, how can we gripe and grumble? Let us rise in His strength and count it all joy? Paul was so content in his prison he sang songs in the darkness and stench of his surroundings, which provided him with more than sufficient reason to complain. How unfairly he was treated and beaten and maligned. But He sang praise... make today one of praise. Read all of I Chronicles 16 for a real blessing.
Father, worthy One, I seek Your face! I want to be faithful and thankful and remember your faithfulness and wonderful deeds. Splendor and majesty are before You. I exalt you. You know how I struggle every day with being grateful. Forgive me and change me! I want to go beyond birth truths and know You intimately. Teach my sisters and brothers and me how to be grateful and offer You the sacrifice of praise and to glory in Your praise. I ask You, Compassionate One, to lift us above the rebellion of complaining. Thank You for Your nearness and Love. Your nearness is our good. In the name of Jesus, amen
Assigned to give thanks,
az
If you want to know how to receive Christ as Savior and know forgiveness of your sins, click on this link: http://www.campuscrusade.com/fourlawseng.htm
Doveseye a once a week email devotional: http://az-doveseye.blogspot.com/
