Today's WORD -- Thankfulness

Colossians 3:16

Let the [spoken] word of Christ have its home within you [dwelling in your heart and mind—permeating every aspect of your being] as you teach [spiritual things] and admonish and train one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 

THANKFULNESS (Strong's): grace, gratitude; 'that which affords joy, delight'

To have a THANKFUL heart is to have a heart filled with gratitude towards God, from Whom all Blessings flow. 

Psalm 56:10 "In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word."

Philippians 4:6 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Ephesians 5:20-21 "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Psalm 34:1 "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips."

Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

It is impossible to have a Gratitude Attitude towards God if we do not have a personal relationship with His only begotten Son Jesus Christ living in our hearts, Whose Holy Spirit leads us through God's written Word that we might become the people He has called us to be.

Do we have THANKFUL hearts? We must respond to this question. Where there is no thankfulness, no gratitude, no praise to God, there is no blessing of any kind. No peace, no hope, no grace, no mercy. 

Psalm 136 describes perfectly why we should have thankfulness in our hearts. 

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good.

His loving devotion endures forever.

2 Give thanks to the God of gods.

His loving devotion endures forever.

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.

His loving devotion endures forever.

4 He alone does great wonders.

His loving devotion endures forever.

5 By His insight He made the heavens.

His loving devotion endures forever.

6 He spread out the earth upon the waters.

His loving devotion endures forever.

7 He made the great lights—

His loving devotion endures forever.

8 the sun to rule the day,

His loving devotion endures forever.

9 the moon and stars to govern the night.

His loving devotion endures forever.

10 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt

His loving devotion endures forever.

11 and brought Israel out from among them

His loving devotion endures forever.

12 with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.

His loving devotion endures forever.

13 He divided the Red Seaa in two

His loving devotion endures forever.

14 and led Israel through the midst,

His loving devotion endures forever.

15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.

His loving devotion endures forever.

16 He led His people through the wilderness.

His loving devotion endures forever.

17 He struck down great kings

His loving devotion endures forever.

18 and slaughtered mighty kings—

His loving devotion endures forever.

19 Sihon king of the Amorites

His loving devotion endures forever.

20 and Og king of Bashan—

His loving devotion endures forever.

21 and He gave their land as an inheritance,

His loving devotion endures forever.

22 a heritage to His servant Israel.

His loving devotion endures forever.

23 He remembered us in our low estate

His loving devotion endures forever.

24 and freed us from our enemies.

His loving devotion endures forever.

25 He gives food to every creature.

His loving devotion endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven!

His loving devotion endures forever.

And above all this: JESUS DIED FOR US. For this alone, if for no other reason, THIS is why we should have THANKFULNESS in our hearts! 

1 Chronicles 16:34 "Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."

Psalm 100:5 "

For the LORD is good, and His loving devotion endures forever; His faithfulness continues to all generations."

Psalm 105:1 "Give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the nations."

Psalm 106:47 "Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise."

Psalm 118:25 "O LORD, save us, we pray. We beseech You, O LORD, cause us to prosper!"

See that? Prosperity is not in finances. Prosperity is salvation from God. Prosperity is knowing Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. We must be saved on an individual basis: each of us must fall on our knees before God in this life we have been given and acknowledge that He is God and there is no other. We must repent of our wicked ways (disobedience to God's Word) and seek His forgiveness. We must ask Christ into our hearts, to come and live there permanently; to change us from the inside out and wash away the sins from our hearts, making us clean and whole. 

What He did in the books of the New Testament He is still doing today! That's something to be thankful for! He still saves! He still heals! He still pours out His Holy Spirit on those who seek to walk in the power of God and speak boldly the Truth of the Word of God. 

The words "thank, thanked, thankful, thankfulness, thanking, thanksgiving, thanksgivings" when referring to thanking God are mentioned  129 times. This gives me the understanding that thanking God for everything is very important. But a thankful heart requires a thankful attitude. The Bible calls it being a 'cheerful giver', though this verse in 2 Corinthians 9:7 refers to the offerings, or donations, we give above and beyond the tithe we are required to give. Cheerfully, and with joy at being able to give at all. 

However, if we are not thanking God with a cheerful heart, then our thanks is not sincere and it won't be received. When the life we live in Christ and He lives in us is sincere and true, we can't help but be joyful in the thanks we render to God for every blessing He has given us. 

Let's be thankful people of God and nourish a Gratitude Attitude with the love of God through Jesus Christ that any and all who are around us can't help but notice there's something different in us. Let's be salt and light in a flavorless dark world. 

The Color of Worship ~ Beryl

We hear and see reasons why we, as a united earth, should "Go Green". Save the planet for future generations. Save the whales, the dolphins, the owls. Save, save, save; ignore, ignore, ignore.

What about save the people? The reason Christ was born was to save the people. He didn't die on the cross and rise from the grave to save the polar bears. He died for me and for you and for him and for her.

You want to "Go Green"? Okay. Let's "Go Light Green". In science, the color light green is associated with new growth, spring, new life. Flowers blossoming, trees budding and the first little blades of grass rising through the wet black dirt.

Zechariah 8:12 For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

3 John 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.

2 Chronicles 31:21 And in every service work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

Let's "Go Light Green"! This isn't about $$. This isn't about "Earth Day". This prosperity is prosperity of our soul: My Soul Prospers before the LORD. God wants us to be blessed with "every good and perfect gift from above." Money is not perfect. 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some have coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many arrows. You want true prosperity as outlined in the Word of God? Seek God. Seek His face, His will, His way. Read His Word, Believe His Word, Obey His Word.

Growth requires the four seasons: spring (seed time), summer (sunshine, rainy days), autumn (harvest time) and winter (dormancy, rest). In order for the seed to grow, it needs to take root. The seed requires sunlight and rain. Once the seed has budded and blossomed, new seeds are released. And then they are harvested. And the root of the seed rests until the next season arrives and begins the cycle again.

Psalm 1:3 "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper."

You and I are the seeds. Our roots reach deep into the Word of God, where we are grounded. Our hearts and minds and souls push forward through the darkness of this world into the Light of God's Love and Mercy. We stretch forth our hands and wave our arms in the breeze of His Holy Spirit. We receive and embrace the reign (rain) of Authority over us. Our thirst for the presence of God is satisfied when we open our hearts to Him. And when we share the Love of Christ, then more seeds are released to dig into the Word and take root. And so, the garden grows. We grow. We prosper.

While light green is not mentioned as such in Scripture, beryl is. Beryl is a mineral 'with gemstone varieties'. Aquamarine, Morganite, Heliodor and Emerald are all forms of Beryl. It is the darker green shades of Beryl that we associate with emeralds, but it is the lighter green, the pale, translucent greens that we associate with Beryl. A lighter shade of green.

It is the 8th gemstone layer in the wall around the new Jerusalem. While Beryl takes on many shades and colors, the color intimated here is sea-green: Revelation 21:19,20 "The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst."

Beryl is on the Breastplate of Judgment worn by the high priest (Exodus 28:20), signifying one of the twelve tribes of Israel. This beryl, though, is thought to be yellow jasper in color, which can also be construed as being a lighter shade of green, depending on the hue of such a stone.
Ezekiel 1:16 states that 'the appearance of the wheel was like unto beryl'.

When the bride describes her bridegroom, in Song of Solomon 5:14, she says, "His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires."

I love the many colors mentioned in The Holy Bible. It is hard to choose a favorite, but I like that this pale green, this beryl, tells me that 'my soul prospers'.  My spirit is transformed and my soul is uplifted.