Thanksgiving as the basis of worship II

Greetings to you, dear friends! Grace and peace to you from Father God and our Lord Jesus Christ! The Bible calls us to always rejoice and give thanks in everything. Yesterday we discussed that God seeks worshippers, because He wants to give them peace and fulfilment! Worship is the source of fulfilment, and thanksgiving is the foundation of true worship. We also talked about how the lack of gratitude robs a person of the joy of fellowship with God and the joy of the ministry to God. Today let’s look at the life of Joseph and see what the place of thanksgiving was in his life. God did so much for Joseph. He saved his life when his brothers wanted to kill him. God showed him favor when he was sold into slavery. God abundantly blessed the work of his hands that his master placed him over his whole property. Joseph never forgot these blessings from the Lord. The realizations of God’s mercy filled Joseph’s heart with gratitude toward God and his master. It was his grateful heart that did not allow Joseph to hurt or grieve God: 
 «And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, „Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”»(Genesis, 39:7-9).
 If we forget where God has brought us from, then our hearts get filled with arrogance and pride and our bond with God weakens. A grateful heart always ties a person to God. Many of us today could have been alcoholics if not for God’s grace that touched our lives. Many of us could have destroyed our lives if not for God Who intervened and changed our lives. Many of us would have been slaves to sin, if not for God’s great mercy that made us the servants of God. That is why Apostle Paul wrote: 
 «I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be confirmed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God» (Romans, 12:1-2).
 Pall calls us to remember God’s mercy, give ourselves to Him, serve Him, seek His will and live for Him. When you live having a realization of God’s mercy, then your heart is filled with gratitude and then it is easy to live for God and other people. Gratitude births sacrificial living and ministry, and a sacrificial living kills lust. The world today is destroyed by different forms of lust. Sacrificial living is the alternative of lust! 
«…by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust» (2 Peter, 1:4).
 Lust means to seek self-gratification. The Bible says though: 
 «Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interest of others» (Philippians, 2:4).
 When a person realizes the part God and other people play in his life, he cannot keep living for himself only. Gratitude causes a desire to live sacrificially and help others. First of all, we must give thanks to God Who has given us life. It says in the Bible for all that have breath to praise God: 
«Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! » (Psalm, 150:6).
 Our every breath is a gift from God. We must be grateful to God for our every breath. A grateful heart makes a person into an effective minister to God. Commitment to God and ministry to people are expressions of our gratitude to God Who shows us mercy. Just like faith without works is dead, so our gratitude cannot be expressed in words only. True gratitude will inevitable be confirmed by the work of ministry of God and people. May this day be the day when you will look out not only for yourself, but also for the others! We will continue tomorrow! God bless you! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye

Support us so we can do more

We’ll get right to the point: we’re asking you to help us support our Church online minisry. We’re a nonprofit that relies on support from people like you. If everyone reading this gives €12 monthly, Spirit and Truth city Church can continue to thrive for years.

Similar Posts

  • Do not bury your miracle!

    Today I want to encourage you not to burry your dream, even when everything around you tells you that it won’t ever come true. There is such a thing as the power of resurrection. That is the word I want to bring to you.We started to talk about a woman whose hospitality and generosity brought a miracle into her life, and as a result she gave birth to a son.
  • In our lives we must reflect the life, the power and the nature of Christ II

    It says in the Bible: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path» (Psalm, 119:105). It is God’s Word that starts the light of God in our hearts and leads our steps on the right path: «You will light my lamp; the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness» (Psalm, 18:28).
  • Apart from Him there is no true satisfaction and happiness! III

    We will continue about Solomon’s search for happiness, satisfaction and the meaning of life. We have already discussed that in the beginning of his life Solomon sought God and loved him, and God gave him wisdom and riches, happiness and fulfilment in life. But Solomon got caught up with superficial things of this world and started to follow other gods. Solomon started seeking for happiness and satisfaction in things and activities. He found only disappointment in them and then he turned back to his beginning.The story of Solomon is a lesson to all of us; it tells us that the meaning of life, happiness and satisfaction cannot be found anywhere but in God alone. So we need to develop and strengthen personal relationships with God.
  • God helps us to develop compassion towards other people through the ministry as well

    It is true that ministry transforms us into the likeness of God. Since God is graceful and compassionate in His essence, then we His children should be able to show to others the grace and compassion of our Heavenly Father and we do that by serving other people. Earlier on, we already mentioned that God’s desire is to transform us into the image and the likeness of Christ so that we can begin to reflect the quality of character that Jesus had. It was Christ who came to reveal God to us so that we can follow in His steps. We know that changes automatically do not occur; changes or transformation happen only as we implement the laws and principles of God into our life. Ministry is one tremendous way we can do that; it is one of the many tools, God uses to mold and transform us into likeness of Christ.
  • Life is a test

    Once we understand our life is a test, many questioned get solved by themselves and we can rejoice and enjoy our life. Those who understand that life is a test, they treat every difficult situation as an opportunity, not as an obstacle. The Bible often tells us how God tests His children. He is not doing it because He hates us nor because He wants to see our fall. Not at all! God puts us in test for few reasons. God blessed Abraham with a son first, then tested him asking to sacrifice his son on the altar. God allowed ordeals in Job’s life, then Job went through all that horror and bitterness.
  • THE GOAL OF DISCIPLINE IS REPENTANCE OF PRODIGAL SONS AND THEIR RETURN TO HOME

    «As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent» (Revelation, 3:19). Repentance is the right reaction to discipline! Sin never is just one’s personal business, so to speak. Sin is not something you do to yourself; sin is something that inevitably affects others.