Reading: Genesis 8:1-9:17, God’s Covenant with Noah

S-cripture
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose.”  And the Lord was pleased…
Gen. 8:20-21

O-bservation:
After many years of building the Ark, several months of enduring the flood, and months of waiting for the flood waters to recede - when the time finally came for Noah and his family to leave the Ark the first thing Noah did was build an alter and sacrifice burnt offerings.  When I think of what Noah went through and his response I’m reminded that the Lord knows what is best, and that I need to be grateful for the blessings I have and not complain about the challenges I am faced with.

A-pplication:
Life is much to short to sit around complaining, Noah at the time was 601 years old and he had no time for complaining (and his life was much longer than mine will be)!  So, I am making the decision to focus on the good in life to avoid complaining about the not-so-good.  Also recognizing that when I do overcome a challenge I won’t grumble about the hardship I went through….I will give thanks to God for guiding me through my difficult times.

P-rayer:
God help me to see that Your plan is greater than any obstacle that might be placed before me.  I pray that my attitude and the words I speak will be positive in nature and help build others up not break them down.  In Jesus name I pray, amen!

Has there been a time when you faced a challenge and got through it, but instead of giving thanks you continued to complain about how hard the chllenge you faced was.  I know I’ve done that before, but I don’t want to anymore! Let me know what you think, share your comments below.

Thanks Nina!

Today’s Reading: Psalm 75, 106, 136 & Proverbs 26,

Theme: Thanksgiving

Day 26

Scripture: Psalm 136 (read the whole chapter)

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever. 2 Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. 3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever . . . . . . . . .

Observation:

I noticed that the phrase, “His love endures forever”, is mentioned 26 times in this chapter. To me it means this is the ONLY kind of love that exists in heaven and on earth. This particular psalm is probably written specifically for public worship and serves as a refrain to echo each line praising and declaring specific attributes of God. It is a call to the listeners to give thanks to the God who alone is God of the universe. It proclaims that God made the earth, the sky, the sun, the moon and the stars. It tells that God saved the Jews from Egypt and how He took his people from Egypt to Canaan. It tells that God remembered them and provided for them.

Application:

Reading this chapter reminds me that there are so many things to thank God for. I have a wife who loves Jesus and two great boys I’m proud of. I thank God for His loving kindness that is new every morning – He never runs out! He keeps us! I learned from this that the key to life is to be always “thankful”.  Thankfulness can overcome our wrong attitudes and redirects our focus to God. With this in mind, let us thank the Lord for at least ten things in our life today, such as good health, roof on our heads, or food on our tables. As we consider His material blessings, let us not forget to thank the Lord for all that is in our life because of His gift of salvation, such as forgiveness of sins and assurance of eternal life. We should be grateful when we are lacking or plentiful because it teaches us how to rely on God’s grace. Remember, “His Love Endures Forever”

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs . . . always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:19–20; Read also Luke 17:15-16)

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, without Jesus my life would make no sense and I won’t make it through a day without the Holy Spirit. For this, I’m forever grateful. Amen!

junn

Below, a video clip “His Love Endures Forever” by Chris Tomlin

 

 Gratitude: Play Now | Download

Dave DiSabatino

Gratitude, has it been so long that we have forgotten how to be thankful? Have we forgotten what this virtue represents? Join us as we learn to restore this forgotten virtue.