Video Friday: "Be Born in Me"

Enjoy!!!

A Recipe for Giving Thanks...

Have you ever read the phrase "when it rains, it pours"?  Often times we use this phrase when negative circumstances seem as if they are flooding our lives and we are in grave danger of being swept away by the torrent waters.  As we approach the end of 2014 and are just a few short weeks away from the Christmas and New Year's holidays, it seems as if its not only raining in the "Altom House;" it's as if one thing after the next is causing the failing drops of water to rise beyond unsafe levels.  Now, don't get me wrong, not ALL of the rain is negative.  Some of it is helpful and positive, but it's rising nonetheless.

Its amazing to me that God knows exactly what I need at just the time I need it.  As I was lying in bed last evening before drifting off to France (France was in my dream last night? LOL), I asked God to point me in the direction that He wanted me to go in my daily Bible reading.  Yesterday, I finished a study in 2 Corinthians and today brought a new beginning in my daily devotions.  After getting my morning "java fix" at Hot Shots, I arrived at the office to begin my day.  After reading a chapter in a devotional book I'm reading (Intimate Moments with the Shepherd), I opened my Bible and once again asked the Lord for direction.  God led me to Psalm 100.

Psalm 100 is ONLY 5 verses in length but it contains the materials needed to build a dam (to continue the metaphor) of protection from the rising waters that are ever increasing.  Because I am a pastor and possess multiple opportunities to preach/teach God's Word, I am always looking to break down scripture in "outline" form.  This helps me accurately process what I am reading and it enables me to "zero in" on specific truths.  Psalm 100 revealed a recipe for what to do when it seems as if life is a monsoon.  Psalm 100 provides a recipe for giving thanks.  Let's take a look.

A Recipe for Giving Thanks

Psalm 100:1-4 (ESV)

#1:  Make a Joyful Noise--verse 1

("joyful noise could also be translated "shout for joy) 

*We are to make a "joyful noise" to the Lord.

*Who is to make a "joyful noise"?  Answer?  ALL THE EARTH!!!

#2:  Serve the Lord with Gladness--verse 2a

#3:  Come into His Presence with Singing--verse 2b

#4:  Know that the Lord, He is God--verse 3

*He made us.

*We are His.

*We are His people.  

*The sheep of His pasture.

#5:  Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving/Enter His Courts with Praise--verses 4a

#6:  Give Thanks to Him--verse 4b

#7:  Bless His Name--verse 4c

 If you are anything like me (if you are, that's scary) you might be wondering the "why" behind this.  If you are anything like me, you might be asking, "Why should I do all this?" You don't have to look any further than verse 5 of Psalm 100 for the answer to this important question.  Read the following words aloud.  Let them sink in.  God wants you and I to understand the depths of these truths.  God wants you and I to understand that no matter how much rain seems to be falling in your life or my life that these words are still true.  Again, read these words aloud:

Psalm 100:5 (ESV):   

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

The goodness of our God is the reason why.  The steadfast love of our God is the reason why.  The faithfulness of our God is the reason why.  Even if its raining pregnancy, car issues, vacations, holidays, year-end projects, ministry demands, death, health concerns, money issues, family turmoil or disease, God is the reason why we should follow the recipe for giving thanks.  Blessings!