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Thank you! Everything in me says "Thank you!" Angels listen as I sing my thanks. I kneel in worship facing your holy temple and say it again: "Thank you!" Thank you for your love, thank you for your faithfulness; Most holy is your name, most holy is your Word. The moment I called out, you stepped in; you made my life large with strength. When they hear what you have to say, God, all earth's kings will say "Thank you." They'll sing of what you've done: "How great the glory of God!" And here's why: God, high above, sees far below; no matter the distance, he knows everything about us. When I walk into the thick of trouble, keep me alive in the angry turmoil. With one hand strike my foes, With your other hand save me. Finish what you started in me, God. Your love is eternal - don't quit on me now. (Psalm 138 The Message)
Happy Thursday! May this be the day that the Lord fill you with much goodness and joy and may that truly make us all the kind of people who can say, "Thank YOU!" to the Lord. I pray this is you, dear Friend.
I never heard my father gripe about his situation or station. He was a blessed man and he knew it. He knew the true wealth lay in the blessings that God shared with him, and he was thankful. And like him, perhaps one or both of your parents was that way, and our prayer is that we also would be that way. Nellie and I were thinking about some appointments that God shared with me that angered some other pastors. The very first appointment because it paid so well, and others thought it was their "turn" to go there. The second was supposed to go to someone with at least ten years of pastoral experience some said. The third was an election that someone else should have won, and the fourth, at my age, appointed to the church I was going to? Attitude determines altitude, and an attitude of gratitude goes much farther than trying to fly with your wings clutched behind your back in anger or disappointment. Don't get me wrong, I am not perfect, nor do I play a perfect person on television. The psalmist had that joy of knowing God had blessed him. He knew that his only but best response was to say thank you in all situations and circumstances. He knew that angels would listen in as he sang his thanks to the Lord. He knew that if he couldn't be in the temple he should at least face the temple and say, "thank you!" And then he lists the reasons why: Thank You for Your love, Lord. Thank You for Your faithfulness. David knew God's love. Davis also knew that all that he had was because God had blessed him richly. He was thankful for God's word, and for how God answered his prayers, and how, as a result of his prayers, God had made him bold, or "large" with strength. David says even kings will sing thanks to the Lord if they realize how blessed they are. And he lists why; God is all-knowing and knows all about us, especially as we walk into trouble or face turmoil in our lives. With one hand God can destroy our foes, and with the other hand save us.
Our work may seem incomplete for now, but God is at work in us. We join David as he said, "Finish what You started in me, God. Your love is eternal - don't quite on me now." Amen.
PRAYER: Loving Father, as we start this day, bless us with Your love and strength. May this psalm we just read and studied be part of our prayer as well. Bless me with the right ways to return thanks to You. May everything in me say, "thank You!" I am richly and wonderfully blessed, thanks to You. I pray this pray in the name of my Lord, Jesus Christ, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Live a Thank You life where others may see in you the gratitude towards God.
Eradio Valverde
PRAYER UPDATE AND REQUEST: Friends, I ask continued prayer for The Rev. Virgilio Vasquez Garza, his eye is found to be leaking again, and the pressure is dropping to levels where it should not be. He faces yet another surgery, which as you can imagine is quite stressful for our brother. Please pray for him, his wife Acacia, and their sons and family. Pray for one another, pray for yourselves.
