How could we not praise Him?

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"So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding." (Ephesians 1:6-8, New Living Translation)

I am thinking this morning of the incredible grace and kindness of God. If you read yesterday's post, you know everything is not sunshine and daffodils in my world right now. Yet, I cannot escape the reality that I am a beneficiary of God's abundant grace and mercy. I am forgiven! I am free! I belong to Him! How could I not praise Him?

Your life may not be sunshine and daffodils right now either. Or maybe it is, but you know it will change. I once heard someone say that we have either just come out of a time of trial, are currently in one, or are about to enter another one.

None of those circumstances changes the character of God. His kindness and grace are the same. We either have the grace of deliverance or we have the grace of perseverance. And through it all, if we have trusted Christ for salvation, we never cease to belong to Him.

How could we not praise Him?

Question: what can you do today to focus on the kindness and grace of God in the middle of your circumstances?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your perspective.

What you choose affects how you feel

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"I will give to the Lord the thanks due to His rightness and justice, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High." (Psalm 7:17)

Which words stand out for you in that verse? Which ones affect the way you read all the others? Read the verse again slowly, emphasizing those words.

For me, the words "I will" are the ones that drive all the rest. They speak of intentionality, of conscious, deliberate choice. They speak of awareness of reality apart from flights of feeling.

"I will" says that I choose thankfulness and praise when I feel disappointed. It is not a denial of disappointment, but an acknowledgement that God is bigger than my little corner of His world.

If we were to speak all day long of the things for which God is worthy of praise and thanksgiving, we could not exhaust the list. And the amazing truth is that we are much more likely to FEEL thankful if we have deliberately chosen to BE thankful.

QUESTION: What is your "I will" today?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Gratitude Attitudes

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  "Open your mouths with thanks! Sing praises to the Eternal! Strum the harp in unending praise to our God Who blankets the heavens with clouds, sends rain to water the thirsty earth, and pulls up each blade of grass upon the mountainside. He opens His hands to feed all the animals and scatters seed to nestlings when they cry. He takes no pleasure in the raw strength of horses; He finds no joy in the speed of the sprinter. But the Eternal does take pleasure in those who worship Him, those who invest hope in His unfailing love." (Psalm 147:7-11, The Voice)

As we begin Thanksgiving week, I wonder if we can begin to shape our gratitude attitudes around the awareness of who God is and what He does. Will we be thankful to Him? Will He take pleasure in us?

How did you worship Him with thanksgiving today?