Day 2 of Our Christmas Devotional

Monday-December 2

Today our reading is found in the writings of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. His writings were very familiar to Jesus in fact Jesus quoted from Isaiah and Psalms more than any other Old Testament books.

Isaiah will speak of events that will come to Israel and Judah because of God's wrath for their sin. The armies of Assyria and Babylon will come in like a flood of water that you will be unable to stop! Destruction will happen! You must understand you will not be able to save yourself God alone is able to save you!

This is the theme of Isaiah. God alone saves! When the people would see Isaiah, hear his voice or even speak his name they would be reminded of the fact of that salvation comes from the Lord. His name proclaims that fact for the name Isaiah means “The Salvation of Jehovah,” or “Jehovah Saves”. Anytime you face fear whether it is fear of rejection or the fear of the future understand God alone can help you! When you appear to be up against overwhelming odds, don’t look for rescue or support anywhere else! Turn to God for only He offers His people the hope of deliverance! He has been faithful to offer deliverance to His people in every era!

The dependence upon our own human resources for direction will only lead to more darkness. That had been the path of Ahaz who refused the instruction from the God. He was an unfaithful king who took the nation deeper into darkness.

The passage of Isaiah 9:1-6 that holds today's scripture reading speaks of the anti serum for darkness which is light! The light would come through the coming King! God's revelation of Himself as light would come through His Messiah as joy would sweep over the people (2-3). Why would there be joy? Because Israel will be liberated from the yoke of oppression and war (4-5). Who would bring this? It would be the King of Kings! He would come as a child able to relate with His human creation yet would be the divine ruler. God is strong enough to overcome His enemies by becoming vulnerable, transparent, and humble.

The  titles that are given in verse 6 proclaim the deity of the child. He is wonderful and the greatest counselor ever. Human wisdom will fail but His wisdom will always give success! The phrase "mighty God' speaks of His strength! He can solve every problem! He can carry you through every battle! He is the everlasting Father, that is a father who will always be there (Matt 28:20) who will outlast your need of Himself! Remember of His Kingdom there will be no end (7)! Your promise of everlasting life is if He is your King! This is a birth announcement. An announce of the One who is coming!

Take time to slowly read the scripture. Mediate on the words that describe the coming One! Remember what He’s done for you in the past. Remember how He’s demonstrated through the centuries that He loves you and will care for you. Answer the question of how these words concern your individual life! Pray that God will give you the light of revelation that no matter how dark the night your God alone will help and save you!

Isaiah 9:6-7 (KJV 1900)

⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

⁷Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, To order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice From henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. 

A Christmas Devotional Wrapped Around the Advent

The official start of the 2013 Christmas Holiday's has started! Your stomach is stretched from Thanksgiving and your wallet is shrinking because you fought the crowds to get the best deals on Black Friday! You hope that the opposite will have happened by the time you get to the end the Christmas season! Your wallet will be stretching and your stomach would be flat!

You love God with all your heart but it's always a struggle this time of the year to spend time with Him. It's a battle to remember that: Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

What can we do to help us remember the real reason for the season? We can celebrate the Advent. What is the Advent? The English word "Advent" comes from the Latin word adventus, which means "coming"! It is a season before Christmas that Christians look back to the birth of Lord Jesus. Yet it is more than remembering His first coming it is looking forward to His   Second coming!

For the next twenty five days I will be trying to remember these two important truths. His first coming brought to me the means of salvation, that is Calvary, and His second coming will complete my salvation. How will I do this? By taking time each day to read and meditate on scripture from the Word of God that is connected to these two events! Each Sunday of December I will be posting what I will be reading that will answer certain questions about these comings. About His first coming questions such as these:

            1.         Who is coming?

            2.         How did He come?

            3.         Why did He come?

            4.         Where did He come?

            5.         Who saw Him when He came?

            6.         What happened when He came?

            7.         What does His coming mean for me?

Concerning His second coming questions like the following:

            1.         Why is He coming?    

            2.         How is He coming?

            3.         When is He coming?

            4.         What happens when He comes?

            5.         What does His coming mean for me?

            6.          How to get ready for His Coming?

Let's link together and seek to keep our focus on the main reason for the season, Jesus!

Why Are Traditions Important?

Recently Prince William and Kate were blessed with a little baby boy. This gift demanded that they give him a name. But one name would not do! It had to be at least three or four! His father was named William Arthur Philip Louis and the grandfather, Charles Philip Arthur George. The great-grandmother, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary.

"I think because the child is going to be the third in line to the throne, they have to maintain all this tradition," said Pauline Maclaran, a professor of marketing and consumer research at Royal Holloway and the co-author of the upcoming book, "Royal Fever: The British Monarchy in Consumer Culture."

In other words Prince William and Kate could not break tradition and name their baby as other parents of the world do and give him a trendy name like "Aiden" (the most popular male baby name of 2012 http://www.babycenter.com/top-baby-names-2012)! Why? Because the closer to the throne the more you have to hold on to tradition!

Tradition is negative word to many yet has great value to the Royal Family of God as it gives direction when needing to make decisions for the future!

We are living in a time of great confusion in our Apostolic Pentecostal family! Many different brothers and sisters going in many different directions. Choices are being made that will lead some to leave our beliefs with the intention of winning the world! Their motive might be right but their actions could be wrong. Which way should you and I go? Do all roads lead to Rome? No they do not. But how can I make sure I'm headed in the right direction? 

The place of traditions in the life of the church is addressed by Paul in his 2nd letter to the church at Thessalonica. This is one of the earliest writings of the New Testament. Paul states the following to the church:

2 Thessalonians 2:15 (ESV)

¹⁵So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

The Greek word for "traditions" in this verse is παραδόσεις. It is defined as: "the content of instruction that has been handed down", tradition, of teachings, commandments, narratives"

(William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000). 763.)

It is important in the study of scripture to notice the verbs of the verse. The verbs help us with the practical application of the verse since they tell us the actions to take or the state of being we are to have. The verbs in this verse are : Stand and hold. Both words have the same morphology: VPAM2P. They are Verbs Present tense Active voice M imperative mood 2nd person Plural tense. What does this say to us? We are commanded (Imperative mood) to take any needed action (active) to hold on to the traditions that have been given to us! In 2 Thess 3:6 he states to even separate ourselves from those who do not hold on to traditions! How long are we to hold on? Paul is stating because he speaks the words stand and hold in the present tense to hold on with no thought of ever letting go!
(present — The verb tense where the writer portrays an action in process or a state of being with no assessment of the action’s completion.
Michael S. Heiser, Glossary of Morpho-Syntactic Database Terminology (Logos Bible Software, 2005). 

How did these traditions come to the Thessalonians' Church? By the word coming from the mouth of Paul and his written letters (2 Thess 2:15b)! Preaching, teaching and personal communication were the means to pass these traditions on!

What do traditions do for us today? There are those who state that "they were born in a different era and time, perhaps they are not relevant to us in this postmodernist time".

Physiologist Susan Lieberman gives a statement that helps us understand the importance and purpose of traditions even for us today.  She states:

 “Family traditions counter alienation and confusion. They help us define who we are; they provide something steady, reliable and safe in a confusing world (Reference below).”

The New Testament uses the imaginary of the church as a family (Matt 12:49-50; Rom 12:10; 1 Tim 5:1-2; 1 John 3:1-2) . The church, the family of God, is in a world that is unsafe physically and spiritually. Our world is confusing especially for the young! They are bombarded by a culture that is dominated by sex and entertainment! Their sexual identity is challenged as well as their ability to make correct decisions! They do not want to judge the actions of others and yet they want truth!

Knowledge and practice of our Apostolic Pentecostal Church (family) traditions give us identity! They should mark us as being the people of God! Our Apostolic traditions will help us to remain steady in the course of construction of the Church. Our generation must continue to build upon our foundation (Eph 2:20; 1 Pet 2:1-10) with same dedication and sacrifice as previous generations. Through these traditions we connect with the original Apostles and their commission of being witnesses of Jesus (Acts 1:8). We must not let our discipleship just be knowledge of history but allow it to be the stabilizing force in our lives. At the same time the traditions need to motivate us to the dedication to takes to do powerful ministry through the Spirit! We must understand that our protection to having powerful moves of the Spirit is the living of a life of separation from our culture! We must not assimilate neither isolate from our world. The god of this world, Satan , is trying to give the church inferior materials to use to build the church. Why? He understands that inferior materials will lead to disintegration of the Church until it is a pile of rubble. As rubble it will  have no ability to protect from the elements either be a wall of protection from enemy spiritual forces. We must hold on to the traditions that the elders have given to us and understand that they are the building blocks that have been passed to us to use for the building God family in our time!

   (Susan Lieberman (20th century). New Traditions: Redefining Celebrations for Today's Family, ch. 2 (1991).

Recently I came across the following story! It struck a cord in my mind and heart! I was challenged to decide how I was going to let life's trials affect my life! I hope it will help each of you to make the right decision about your challenges of Life!

The Parable of the Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee

A young woman went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She then pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The granddaughter then asked, "What does it mean, Grandmother?"

Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity -- boiling water -- but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her granddaughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity? Do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor of your life. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level?

How do you handle adversity? Are you changed by your surroundings or do you bring life, flavor, to them?

ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?

Life Lessons from Joseph & Mary

The month of December is one of my favorite times of the year. Our days will be filled with Christmas events which will include family, friends and food, and, yes, gifts!  All of our gifts will appreciated but some will be returned because of wrong size, color or we already have one. But my most valuable gift of this month will return but not be returned by me! What gift might that be? The gift of The Lord Jesus Christ, for one day He will return to my world!

As I think of this gift my mind goes to the scriptures. They are my point of reference as to His life story. They give information about His birth, ministry and purpose. In December I always read His birth story.

As I read the birth story this month in Matthew 1:18-25 many thoughts filled my mind as I pondered the story. Mathew writes the following (King James Version):

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 

The word 'found' gives the thought that the promise was true. The promise was wonderful but it also brought problems.

Who found it? Mary found out first. It must have created great emotion tension within her mind and heart. The rubbing together of opposite forces and thoughts always creates heat. The forces, that is the Spirit and flesh, have meet. She is pregnant! She being used by her LORD yet her lifelong dream is about to be destroyed, that is, her marriage to Joseph. Will he believe my story? Will he  think I'm lying? I must  also protect his reputation and let others know that he has not violated me neither failed as an honorable man and kept himself. Will others believe that he is just?

19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 

Joseph found out second! Her story brings clouds of doubt and despair to his mind! What action should he take? Joseph is a man of high character. He is described as just. His emotions run wild! They stumble over the logic of how conception happens! Her story seems impossible. She must be lying. His own self esteem is being attacked! I'm not good enough to keep her from desiring other men. Yet her character weighs in and tries to balance the accusations of his logical mind. He comes up with a plan. I will put her away. I will take it on the chin! I will move forward.

20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 

He placed Mary on trial in his mind as he tried to sleep. He tossed and turned. What shall I do? His analytical mind spoke the impossibility of her story. Reasoning cross examined the story. No way! Then to her defense her character took the stand and spoke. She's always been honest and true. But she is pregnant! Why did she give such an illogical reason for how it happened? Wouldn't had been better for her to say she had been violated by one of the Romans soldiers? He would have felt the emotions of anger and hatred toward his oppressor for their abuse of such an helpless one as Mary. This would have caused him to feel compassion and concern for Mary! Yet her story was impossible to believe! He finally fell asleep!

In middle of the night the door opened in the court room that played in his head. An angelic being walked in and spoke with the defense counsel! The creature was sworn in and Joseph found out who it was: The Angel of the LORD! With a calm confident voice the angle spoke! He turned and look at Joseph. Mary has been overshadowed by the Spirit of God! God is using her to bring the Savior of the world into physical being! She has been faithful to you! She is telling the truth!

22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 

Now Matthew interject his interpretation to the reader as to why the story has to be true! It is a fulfillment of a promise of scripture spoken by the prophet Isaiah (7:14)! God always completes His promises! The Word is always fulfilled!

24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 
25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. 

Joseph awakens and sits up in his bed! The cloud of confusion and depression has been blown away by the Spirit! He has direction and  confidence! He will continue with the marriage! He understands that not only has Mary been chosen but also he has been chosen to protect, provide and prepare the child to be the Savior of  the World!

His understanding of God's purpose for Mary and himself causes him to discipline himself and not allow his flesh to rule! Even though married he will keep himself from her! God's will must rule everything!

When asked after the birth what is your son's name? He continues to obey the angel and speaks loudly for all to hear: Jesus, Jehovah has become salvation!

What lessons do I learn from my Christmas reading of 2012?

The first one is that it is important to have the Holy Ghost overshadow you. When the Holy Ghost is within it will impregnate you with your purpose for existence. You must allow this revelation to grow within your being and push it to the forefront of your life! It must come to be known to all!

Secondly what God places in your life might not be understood by others. They might have other plans for you and the birth of God's dreams clash! It is lonely when you are trying to do the will of God!

Thirdly, we must understand that disciples disciple themselves. We must disciple ourselves to daily spend time in prayer and His word. You cannot live your life in a fleshly state and expect to be anointed by the Spirit! Remember that God's Spirit is the Holy Spirit! The adjective of Holy was the primary word that the New Testament writers used to describe characteristic of the Spirit. What is Holy or hágios? It means properly, different (unlike), other ("otherness"). It also implies something "set apart" and therefore "different (distinguished/distinct)" – i.e. "other," because special to The Lord (http://biblesuite.com/greek/40.htm). Since the Spirit is Holy then if the Spirit is to operate through our lives then we must continually be striving to live a different and distinct life from the other lives and influences of this world (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1).

Fourthly, we must be as Joseph and obey what is spoken to us. Verse 24 states that Joseph "did" as the angel of The Lord bid him. Obedience to God's Word is a must to receive our blessing! Yet obedience was not a one time act, for Joseph took Mary as his wife in obedience to the angel yet he continued to obey and pronounced that the name of his son was Jesus as instructed. We must be continually obedient to the will of God throughout all of our lives if we are to see salvation come to the world though us!

Yes, Christmas is a time of gifts but understand the greatest joy is in the giving of a gift not the receiving of a gift! The best gift you can give to your world this Christmas is the gift that God has given to you, that is, share with someone the story of how the Holy Ghost has overshadowed your life and changed your world!

The Life Story of My Mother

My mother, Imogene Wilmoth, entered into eternal life at the age of 81 years, 10 months 20 days. She resided in her "little mansion" at The Pines Mobile Home Park at 6746 Tam O Shanter Avenue Space 69 in Stockton, CA. She passed from this life on December 4, 2012 at Elk Grove, CA after a brief vicious battle with cancer.

She was born at Paragould, AR on January 14, 1931 to Fred and Bertha Kieffner. She was named by her oldest brother Edwin who decided on her name because a neighborhood girlfriend was named Imogene. She the ninth of 11 children. Seven brothers and three sisters. She was the baby of the four girls.

Her home was filled with the love of a wonderful mother and work ethic of her farmer father. Her older brothers would laugh and fight while her sisters would baby her. Her outgoing personality at times would help to evade her parents’ correction. When she failed to get them to laugh she would run and hide in the tree outside the house to avoid the switch of her mother.

As a girl she was expected to wash dishes, feed the chickens, and clean the house. Her most despised chore was chopping the long rows of cotton in the heat of summer. She said that the hot and humid Missouri sun seemed to create a mirage of eternal cotton rows.

As a young girl she had many favorite things such as the book, Little Women, the Christmas Holidays, and spending time at Paragould Park, wading in the creek. School was an opportunity to study history which proved to be her favorite subject along with making friends like Norma Jewel Buck. Being from Arkansas she was fond of all types of southern food but pork chops topped the list.

When asked what her parents taught her she began with the values instilled into her by her father. This included: to obey others, be honest, work hard, have commitment, be zealous for life, and be a lady with respect. Her mother taught her, to be kind to others, always be myself, respect my elders, feel free to ask and then you will receive.

The love of her father, she said, gave her security, the sense that he will always take care of me. She loved that her mother was loving and kind. She always appreciated her mom’s trustworthiness as she could confide in her and know that the secrets were safe.

School was a wonderful place for her. A place to be surrounded by people! As a young girl she loved playing sports, especially basketball since she was naturally tall. She was a natural at acting in dramas. She had no problem with speaking her lines and getting in character.

It was at Arbyrd High that she met the love of her life Buel Wilmoth. This handsome young man who was extremely athletic caused her heart to skip! They were both 18 years old when they were married on May 28 1949 at 11:30 AM in Paragould Arkansas. Her dreams were fulfilled as he lifted her and carried her over the thresh hold of the little rented house.

The Korean War was approaching and Buel joined the Marines. After Boot Camp they were stationed at different bases from Florida to Southern California. At the conclusion of his time of service they moved to Flint Michigan joining two of her sister's families looking for auto factory work.

They found work but she found something more! She found another love, The Lord Jesus Christ! Her sister's, Ona and Daisy, and her brother in law Harold Ruff led her to their church. South Flint Tabernacle became a home away from home. Here she was baptized in Jesus name and received the gift of the Holy Ghost in 1954. This experience marked her life! It would become her tower of strength in times of heart ache.

Faithfully she attended becoming involved in many area of serving. From singing soprano in the choir to cooking chicken dinners. But the one area that she loved most was in ministering to children. Here her love for acting motivated her to help direct in the children's Christmas Dramas. Her outgoing personality caused her to be able to hold the attention of her Sunday school students. She was very demonstrative in her teaching. Her love for the children was so great that she would awake at night to write songs for her class, such as "We are the Pentecostal Children".

After a life changing divorce she began to work on her education. She attended the following schools: Victor Business School and Dempsey Key Punch. She needed to provide for her children. This love for education led her to enter into C.S. Mott College in her late 30's. It did not matter that she was the oldest in the class, she wanted to excel. Her desire was to be a teacher and the goal was met as she began to teach at C.S. Mott College.

She moved to California at the age of 52. Her son, BJ and daughter Rhonda had moved to there to go to college. She would say to all that like Huck Finn "I've come to California to see what the world about"! Here she started over, looking for work. She was aggressive when looking for job and seemed to always find something very interesting. She worked as a hostess at a hunting club in the San Joaquin Delta where she met individuals such as Baron Hilton of Hilton Hotels. A freak winter storm caused the island to become a covered with water. This led to her finding employment as the private cook of Charles Berolzheimer the owner of California Cedar Products Company (Cal Cedar) the world's largest supplier of wooden slats used in the production of wood-cased pencils and the developer of the Duraflame log. Her job allowed her to be paid year around but only to work 9 months of the year. It seemed perfect for her but after a few years she grew bored and desired other work. She took the needed test and became an employee of the State of California. She continued to reach back to her past and became a teacher again for the California Youth Authorities. This was the position she retired at.

In retirement her grandchildren became the center of her attention. Her home was a place where they would come to always knowing that "Grams" would allow you to get away with murder. Eddie's Pizza was always delivering to her door. At Grams you would be able to lie in bed and eat chips never having to worrying that you would get in trouble for it. In fact she became an accomplice with you in your crime by getting her own bowl, filling it with chips and munching right beside you in the bed .

Chocolate was important to her and her family. She would make "Chocolate Pizza and Chocolate gravy"! The grandchild would beg her to make her world class "Chocolate Rolls" that her mother had taught to her to make. These special deserts would satisfy everyone's sweet tooth.

There were special times when she would covered her hands with lotion to rub your feet so you could relax. She would also sit you at her feet and slowing she would rub your head and face. At the same time she would be saying: "Swish, Swish making sounds of waves of the ocean! She would say: “The waves come in and the waves go out, Swish! She was rewarded when you fell asleep!

One of her dreams was to take her total family on a cruise. This dream became a reality in 2005 when she paid all eleven to go spend three days together, laughing and eating!

As her journey of life came to a close she began to feel physical pain. Her last two months were months of extreme pain! Yet as her pain would reach its climax she would call on the name of Jesus! Her faith in Him helped her to cope as she entered into eternal life.

She is survived by her sisters Ona Ruff of Forrest City, AR and Daisy Young of Grand Blanc, MI. Her last surviving brother is Bobby Kieffner of Newport, AR.

She has two children, by her husband Buel Wilmoth. The children are son BJ Wilmoth who is married to Michelle, and daughter Rhonda Castaneto who is married to Arthur.

Here grandchildren are:
Brandon and Rachael Wilmoth of Redlands, CA.
Derrick and Alyssa Wilmoth of Redlands CA.
Todd and Courtney Wilmoth of Riverside CA.
Stepheny and Eric Weisz of Lodi, CA
Chelsea Castaneto of Long Beach, CA and
AJ Castaneto of Lodi, CA.

She has also been blessed to have five great grand children:
Brenden Wilmoth of Redlands, CA
Larissa Wilmoth of Redlands, CA
Luke Wilmoth of Redlands, CA
Audery Wilmoth of Redlands, CA and
Shiloh Wilmoth of Riverside CA.

She has been a wonder daughter, special sister, loving aunt, faithful mother, and caring grandmother and great grandmother. I honor her today!

The Importance of Thanksgiving Every Day

Each month I try to read Proverbs daily and I couple another book or books with it. In October it was the Proverbs and the gospels. During the month of November the book of Proverbs and Psalms.

Psalms is a book that expresses the emotions of the writers and humans in general. I have noticed that one  of the most important emotions that is expressed is of thanksgiving. Twenty two times the writers use the word "thanks" and eight times "thanksgiving".

This attitude of gratitude shows appreciation to God for His attributes and blessings. These attributes run the gambit from thanking Him for His mercy to thanking Him for His goodness (107:1). Thanksgiving is used to describe the needed attitude when coming to His house (100:4). It must continue to be in our hearts and  mouth after we enter His house. Why? For it is the means of how we are to enter into the presence of God (95:2) once we are in His house. Thanksgiving is used as an adjective to describe our singing (147:7). It is the attitude we need to have when we testify of the Lord and His  wonderful works to those who do not know Him and/or serve Him (26:7).

The command of thanksgiving that has impacted me the most is to "magnify the Lord" with thanksgiving (69:30).  The writer says this "pleases the Lord" (69:31) better than any other sacrifice (69:31)! This has affected my prayer life as it has caused me to enter into prayer in a positive manner instead of the negative thinking of my circumstances and problems. As I thank Him for His goodness, mercy, and provision of the past He becomes magnified, that is literally "to grow up or become great" (Brown-Diver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon) and powerful in my mind. This cause my faith to grow! If He provided in the past He will provide in the present and future!

Now faith grips my heart and mind! Hebrews teaches me that my faith also pleases the Lord (11:6)! My faith will cause me to seek the Lord diligently and my reward will come.

Thanksgiving and faith are tightly connected. Thanksgiving builds my faith and as my faith is built my prayers become powerful! My prayers of faith bring the blessings of God  to the work of God and my family.

As we enjoy Thanksgiving today, make sure you think and speak about thanksgiving not as a special day that happens once a year but as an needed component of our every day prayer life!