Amazingly God continues to shower the world with blessings that testifies of His goodness – “..for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matt. 5:45). The Psalmist said, “The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” ( Psa. 145:9). The reason for this is stated in Rom. 2:4 “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”. To think that God thinks so lovingly of us should cause us to thank Him from the bottom of our heart. This was the grounds for Paul’s appeal to the men of Lystra. He said, “… We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.( Acts 14:15-17).That being the case, giving thanks is a universal obligation.

Here the final conclusion – “Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.” (Psa. 150:6); “O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.” ( Psa. 117:1). Whether you descend into the deepest darkest cavern or ascend to the highest mountain top there you will find reason for thanksgiving. Whether you are gathered around the table with your family, flat of your back in the hospital, or behind prison bars, there is something to be thankful for. God is good to all, all the time! – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”- 1 Thess. 5:18
The command – “In every thing give thanks”. Notice what we are to do – “give thanks“. That means more than being thankful. We are to “give” thanks – express our gratitude. That is a simple command. It can be understood by all and it applies to all. Notice where or when we are to do this – “In every thing“. Sometimes this seems impossible, but even then it is required. We are to give thanks even when we don’t feel like it. Thanksgiving is never out of season or without a reason. Even Job found reason for thanksgiving – Job 1:21. We are to give thanks always ( Psa. 34:1; Heb. 13:15). The Thessalonians had experienced great difficulties, suffering, and the death of many members, yet they were told to give thanks. That’s the pilgrim spirit. They faced great difficulties and half of them died the first year, but they found reasons to be thankful. What about you?
The cause – “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus”. Much more could be said but nothing more needs to be said. There are several benefits to giving thanks, but this one is of the greatest importance – it is the “will of God“. We shouldn’t need any other reason. Life is full of decisions, but there is one that helps us more than any other in that it helps us answer all the others. Here it is – “Is this God’s will?” That’s the question everyone should be asking about everything. The phrase “in Christ Jesus” tells us why. Thanksgiving was revealed by Him, required from Him, and for Him.
The congregation – “concerning you”. Although he was writing to “the church of the Thessalonians” (1 Thess. 1:1) this applies to all of us. No one has the right to ignore this command. Even the heathen are obligated to be thankful to God for His goodness toward them. There is not a creature upon the earth that dies not benefit in some way from His goodness. Most of all, the many blessing of believers ought to cause us to give thanks continually. – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:”- Psa. 103:1-2

Robert Morgan told of a terrific testimony by a woman in New York who heard her pastor preach one Sunday on these verses. “A few days later she awoke to find it was raining, and her truck had a flat tire. Her husband fixed the flat, but she left for work late. As she drove down the street, the truck’s exhaust pipe dropped off, hit the ground, and started dragging. She wanted to scream in frustration.

But she remembered to talk to herself: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. She took a deep breath, thought a moment, and thanked God for her husband who fixed her flat. She thanked God that it had been raining, for the rain had caused her to drive more cautiously and slowly when the exhaust pipe broke off. She reminded herself that the exhaust pipe hadn’t gotten mangled under the vehicle or caused a wreck. She thanked God for the coat hangers she found in the truck with which she was able to wire the tailpipe to the chassis, and she praised the Lord for an old burlap sack in the truck’s cab that she put on the ground when she laid down to wire the exhaust pipe.

She thanked God for the dexterity of her fingers as she wrapped the coat hangers around parts of the chassis. And she thanked God that no other trucks or cars came along to splash her with dirty water.

She later said, “That day I realized that I can choose how to respond to the things that happen to me. The problems I face can make me grumble or give up, to be bitter and angry, or I can choose to search for the good that is hidden in each trial—and I can thank God for every situation.” 
Perhaps you need to have a good talk with yourself. – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

As familiar as we are with the “Thanksgiving” holiday, not everyone understands thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is more than being thankful. Thanksgiving is giving thanks, expressing what we are feeling, giving a voice to an attitude of gratitude. If you are truly thankful you need to make it known. Those who have experienced God’s blessings should break forth in praise. That’s what we see in Psa. 30:11-12 “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.” Notice the words “not be silent“. Enough of that nonsense about being an introvert and not expressing your emotions. Break out of your bondage and do as you ought. Indeed we are all different and don’t express ourselves in exactly the same way, but that’s not a license to give no expression. If we are thankful it is our duty to make it known. Whether in prayer, song, or testimony we should give thanks. It is an obligation, an observance – something we do, and an opportunity.

If we are truly impressed by the greatness of God and grateful for the grace of God, we ought to impress others with our gladness for His goodness. In light of all He has done silence is sinful and shameful. Thanksgiving is a testimony that we are thrilled by God’s goodness. You might be thankful but you should be thanking. How can you claim you are thankful if you don’t even say thanks? Psa. 10:4 says, “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.”. Let it never be thought that we are among their number. Instead, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” – Psa. 103:1
Everyone is concerned about blessings. The problem is that they are usually more concerned about getting blessings than giving them. But there’s one that should always follow the other. He who is blessed ought to bless. But this takes on an even greater significance when we think about it in terms of blessings the Lord. Knowing He demands it, deserves it, and delights in it makes it of immense importance. How then could we dare do otherwise?

Our response to the blessings of God should be blessing God. As George Matheson wrote, “God speaks, and the echo is praise. God blesses us and the response is that we bless God”. Sadly we usually get it backwards. We usually commence our prayers by asking God to bless us, rather than seeking to bless Him. That is an evidence that we are selfish and therefore unworthy. But out of the depths of His grace God blesses us any way – giving all the more reason to bless Him.

Seeing the greatness of God’s grace and the marvelous manifestations of God’s mercy, how can we fail to magnify His name? We ought to be so thrilled by His treasures that we testify everywhere of His person and work. Being pleased by Him should prompt us to praise Him. His works and worthiness should cause us to worship Him in spirit and truth. Just as the river rises after a torrential rain it is only natural that our praise ascends to God’s throne after the out pouring of His blessings. It is a sinful shortcoming if that doesn’t happen. Moses warned us about this in Deut. 8:18-19 “But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish”.
 
Clearly, un-thankfulness is an evil, an extreme evil that will lead to our destruction. Let us then remember to never forget the blessings of God, nor our responsibility to bless Him. May we awaken every morning with these words ringing in our heart “Bless the LORD, O my soul“. May that be our theme song all day and our closing prayer at night. – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346