Thanks!

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say this! (Psalm 107:1-2)      

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I like the way The Message version of the Bible renders the psalmist’s call to gratitude: “Oh, thank God—he’s so good! His love never runs out. All of you set free by God, tell the world!”

God is good—all the time!  That truly is the testimony of my life—and I have a feeling it is true of your life as well.  Certainly, I ought to be proclaiming God’s goodness to anyone who will listenand even to those who won’tmuch more than I do.  Add to that the fact that I am, on my best day, not so good, and on my worst day, frankly, pretty bad, only adds to the brilliance of God’s overwhelming goodness.

The New King James translation of the psalmist’s words are even more meaningful to me: “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Mercy—I can really relate to that.  Now don’t misunderstand what I’m saying:  I’ll take either enduring love or enduring mercy—I can’t live without either one.  Love and mercy are simply different facets of the same diamond we understand as the goodness of God.

But God’s mercy really speaks to me, and I’ll bet if you thought about, it, you would say the same.  Someone said that mercy is not getting what you deserve.  The truth is, you and I depend upon God’s mercy every single moment just to draw in the next breath, since the holy and righteous God has had every reason and right to annihilate us from the planet because of our sinfulness.  Jeremiah said it well in Lamentations 3:22-23,

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

The entirety of Psalm 107 is simply giving one example after another of how God in his faithful love and enduring mercy has freed his people from what they deserve.  And at the end of each example, the psalmist expresses the call to gratitude:

Oh, thank God, he is so good!  He love never runs out!

I’ll bet you could write your own Psalm 107.  In fact, that might be a good assignment for you on this Thanksgiving Day.  And then, like the psalmist suggested, we should go tell the world.  Now that’s a pretty tall order, so how about starting with the people with whom you will enjoy the holiday meal today?  Write your psalm and share it with your spouse, your family, and your friends.

I am not sure how they will feel about it, but you will certainly feel pretty good.  That’s what heartfelt gratitude to God for his faithful love and enduring mercy does.

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“We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good; if bad, because it works in us patience, humility, contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.” (C.S. Lewis)

Thanks!

Read Psalm 136

Featured Verse: Psalm 136:1

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.

There’s a chorus we used to sing in our church called Hallelujah, Thank You Lord.  The song has a line that says, “Who could ever list your miracles?  Who could praise you half enough?” 

That’s so true!  How can any of us narrow down all the many reasons we have for thanksgiving to just a few words? Yet whenever I begin to count the many blessings in my life—like family and friends and the fellowship of the church, prosperity and provision, health and wholeness, and so many other wonderful blessings that come in the form of people, things and experiences—I always come down to  this bottom line reason for my gratitude:

God’s grace and mercy in my life! 

That’s really the reason I’m most thankful.

In Lamentations 3:22, the prophet Jeremiah summed up this whole idea of grace and mercy in one of my favorite verses, where he wrote these words:

Because of the Lord’s great love
we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is your faithfulness.

Think about it:  If it weren’t for the great love of the Lord, none of us would be able to sit at the Thanksgiving table with our loved ones to recount our reasons for gratitude.  That’s God’s mercy.  In his rich and unending mercy, God didn’t give us what we really deserve: judgment and complete separation from his presence.

So on the one hand, I’m sure thankful for what I don’t have, what I didn’t get, what I do really deserve: God’s wrath poured out on me.

On the other hand, I’m thankful for what I did get—and what I got is what I really didn’t deserve: God’s favor in the form of his love, his friendship, his protection and his provision both for this life and for the next.

Unlimited mercy and undeserved grace! I don’t think I’ll ever recover from that—and I don’t really want to.

And that’s why I am most grateful.

“Gratitude has been called the gateway to the virtues. As Cicero put it, ‘Gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues, but the parent of all others,’ opening the heart to deeper appreciation, compassion, repentance, forgiveness, generosity and wisdom. Giving thanks should be cultivated as a habit. It is a kind of therapy for the spirit.” ~Bruce Chapman

God’s Love Never Runs Out

Read Psalm 107

Featured Verse: Psalm 107:1-2

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say this!”

I like the way The Message version of the Bible renders the psalmist’s call to gratitude: “Oh, thank God—he’s so good! His love never runs out. All of you set free by God, tell the world!”

God is good—all the time! That truly is the testimony of my life—and I have a feeling it is true of your life as well. Certainly, I ought to be proclaiming God’s goodness to anyone who will listen, and even to those who won’t, much more than I do. Add to that the fact that I am, on my best day, not so good, and on my worst day, frankly, pretty bad, only adds to the brilliance of God’s overwhelming goodness.

The New King James translation of the psalmist’s words is even more meaningful to me: “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Mercy—I can really relate to that. Now don’t misunderstand what I’m saying: I’ll take either enduring love or enduring mercy—I can’t live without either one. Love and mercy are simply different facets of the same diamond we understand as the goodness of God.

But God’s mercy really speaks to me, and I’ll bet if you thought about, it, you would say the same. Someone said that mercy is not getting what you deserve. The truth is, you and I depend upon God’s mercy every single moment just to draw in the next breath, since the holy and righteous God has had every reason and right to annihilate us from the planet because of our sinfulness. Jeremiah said it well in Lamentations 3:22-23,

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

The entirety of Psalm 107 is simply giving one example after another of how God in his faithful love and enduring mercy has freed his people from what they deserve. And at the end of each example, the psalmist expresses the call to gratitude: Oh, thank God, he is so good! He love never runs out!

I’ll bet you could write your own Psalm 107. In fact, that might be a good assignment for you and me this week. And then, like the psalmist suggested, we should go tell the world. Now that’s a pretty tall order, so how about starting in the part of the world in which you live? Write your psalm and share it with your spouse, your family, your friends, and then your co-workers.

I am not sure how they will feel about it, but you will certainly feel pretty good. That’s what heartfelt gratitude to God for his faithful love and enduring mercy does.

“Peace of conscience is nothing but the echo of pardoning mercy.”
~William Gurnall

Psalm 107: God’s Love Never Runs Out

One Year Bible: I Samuel 10:1-11:15; John 6:43-71; Psalm 107:1-43; Proverbs 15:1-3
Today’s Reading: Psalm 107:1-43

God’s Love Never Runs Out

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say this!
(Psalm 107:1-2)

I like the way The Message version of the Bible renders the psalmist’s call to gratitude: “Oh, thank God—he’s so good! His love never runs out. All of you set free by God, tell the world!”

God is good—all the time! That truly is the testimony of my life—and I have a feeling it is true of your life as well. Certainly, I ought to be proclaiming God’s goodness to anyone who will listen, and even to those who won’t, much more than I do. Add to that the fact that I am, on my best day, not so good, and on my worst day, frankly, pretty bad, only adds to the brilliance of God’s overwhelming goodness.

The New King James translation of the psalmist’s words is even more meaningful to me: “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Mercy—I can really relate to that. Now don’t misunderstand what I’m saying: I’ll take either enduring love or enduring mercy—I can’t leave without either one. Love and mercy are simply different facets of the same diamond we understand as the goodness of God.

But God’s mercy really speaks to me, and I’ll bet if you thought about, it, you would say the same. Someone said that mercy is not getting what you deserve. The truth is, you and I depend upon God’s mercy every single moment just to draw in the next breath, since the holy and righteous God has had every reason and right to annihilate us from the planet because of our sinfulness. Jeremiah said it well in Lamentations 3:22-23,

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

The entirety of Psalm 107 is simply giving one example after another of how God in his faithful love and enduring mercy has freed his people from what they deserve. And at the end of each example, the psalmist expresses the call to gratitude: Oh, thank God, he is so good! He love never runs out!

I’ll bet you could write your own Psalm 107. In fact, that might be a good assignment for you and me this week. And then, like the psalmist suggested, we should go tell the world. Now that’s a pretty tall order, so how about starting in the part of the world in which you live? Write your psalm and share it with your spouse, your family, your friends, and then your co-workers.

I am not sure how they will feel about it, but you will certainly feel pretty good. That’s what heartfelt gratitude to God for his faithful love and enduring mercy does.

“Peace of conscience is nothing but the echo of pardoning mercy.”
~William Gurnall