Devotional Song: ... Go to this link … Please take the time to take in a video of Josh Groban, one of my favorite singers, singing the poignant and always pertinent song… Thankful, … with a reminder that everyday and every way we have the tendency to forget what God has brought into our lives, and that we should remember the Giver more that what He has given us.
Highlight Passage: 1st Chronicles 16: 8a [NKJV] …
Oh, give thanks to the Lord! …
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Highlight Context - 1st Chronicles 16: 7-14 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
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Reference Passage # 1 - Psalm 100 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… David’s heart of gratitude on display in his great song of thankfulness …
Reference Passage # 2 - Psalm 139 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… I don’t see how one can meditate on this great psalm of David and not be grateful for Who our Lord is and what He has done for us …
Reference Passage #3: John 3: 16-17 [NKJV] …
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
… How could one meditate on this great truth from Christ’s own mouth and not be grateful!!! …
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional entry, authored by Jennifer Benson Schuldt, quotes a Duke University researcher and an ancient poet to make the point that an attitude of thankfulness is at the heart of our well being. She writes, … According to a prominent Duke University Medical Center researcher, “If thankfulness were a drug, it would be the world’s best-selling product with [health benefits] for every major organ system.”
And then Schuldt also quotes Cicero, who wrote, “Gratitude is our natural response to God’s grace. Nothing so takes the heart out of a person as ingratitude. Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”
How often do we have the tendency, when we are blessed by God in this life, to focus on the gift rather than the Giver? King David was an example of a heart of true thankfulness when the Ark of the Covenant, which had been carelessly left in a place outside of Jerusalem by Saul, was brought back and put in its rightful place, … in God’s City, Jerusalem. When that happened King David penned the glorious ode to his thankfulness in the song, a portion of which is linked and highlighted above in 1st Chronicles 16: 7-14 with verse 8 highlighted.
And this past Sabbath day, our former Pastor, Dr. Ernie Frey, had the congregation meditate on another of David’s great songs, Psalm 139 [linked above for your study]; and as I said above, I don’t think any true believer can meditate on this psalm without being grateful to our Lord for Who He is and what He has brought into our lives. And finally, I’m convinced that if you thrice recite a verse I’m sure you have memorized (and that is John 3: 16) and listen to Josh Groban’s song, Thankful, also linked above, you will come away from this devotional time with a thankful heart.
Please do so with me here today; … and then let’s do all we can to hold on to that heart of gratitude.
My Prayer for Today … O Lord, … help me capture a depth of gratitude which I confess is all too often lacking when I come here to be with You every day. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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