Thanks Living: My King!

Thanks Living!

Praising and thanking God for who He is!

My King!

Thanks Living: VERY Grateful–but for what?

And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. Jonah 4:6

Prepared: be reckoned, assigned (a place), of servant of

Very: in magnitude and extent, in intensity

Grateful: be glad, joyful, rejoicing

If you know the story of Jonah, a lot took place before Jonah found himself sitting in the hot scorching sun. Jonah was given a Mission from God. Go tell the people of Nineveh to repent of their sins, or God will destroy the City. Jonah refused and ran in the opposite direction—ended up on a boat, then in the belly of a fish, then back on dry ground. Jonah finally obeyed and went to Nineveh. The people of Nineveh repented and God spared the City. Jonah as upset with this, and went out of the city to sulk and pout. It was hot, so God created a plant to give Jonah shade. Jonah was VERY grateful for the plant. But then God destroyed the plant and sent a very hot wind. Jonah become angry—the plant was now dead. Jonah cared more about the plant and his comfort than the entire City of Nineveh.

(Read the Story here:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jonah+1&version=NKJV) 

Thanks Living means to first recognize that all things come from God. We are to be VERY grateful for all He give us. However, we also need to be VERY careful where we place our thanks. To be grateful for THINGS should not be greater than being thankful to God and doing His will. 

Thanks Living—VERY grateful—but for what? I first and foremost must be LIVING in God's Word and allowing God's Word to live in me and direct my thoughts, actions, attitudes and motivations. If God's Word is LIVING in me, then my THANKS LIVING will be directed to God, and not just the things He gives me. 

Thanks Living starts when I am obeying God and doing as He instructs—then my thanks, will be directed to God for all He provides. 

Thanks Living: Assignment

To stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at evening. 1 Chronicles 23:30

To stand: present oneself before, be attentive, arise, appear

Morning:  implying the coming of dawn, and even daylight

Thank: to revere or worship (with extended hands)

Praise: to boast, to rave; to celebrate

Likewise: faithfulness, in the same manner as before

Evening: originally sunset

In 1 Chronicles 23, David makes Solomon king and gathers together the princes, priests, and Levites, to assign them their proper jobs. I like the assignment given to the Levites, to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord—and do it again in the evening. 

Start the day thanking and praising God, and then end the day the same way. Beginning the day begun in thankfulness and praise will determine your mindset for the day. Ending the day with thanksgiving and praise will make you realize that God is working in and through you. 

How important is this assignment? Well, for David to have assigned it at all, shows that it is vital. Each and every morning and night, be attentive—specifically give thanks and praise to God. 

But what if I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, do I still have to thank and praise God? Especially on those mornings! For what better way to get an attitude adjustment, then to attentively thanks and praise God?! It's hard to have a bad attitude when thanking and praising Almighty God! 

Thanks Living is fully accepting the assignment of thanking and praising God each and every morning and night. A day that starts with thankfulness and praise will end on a high note!

Thanks Living: Thundering Noise

That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Your wondrous works. Psalm 26:7

Proclaim: to hear, understand intelligently, make proclamation to

Voice: call aloud, thundering, noise, yell

Thanksgiving: in songs of liturgical worship, adoration; specifically, a choir of worshippers — sacrifice of praise

Tell: to score with a mark as a tally or record, to enumerate; intensively, to recount

Wondrous works: wonderful acts of— in judgment and redemption; to be surpassing or extraordinary

Thundering noise. 

We shout loud for our Teams and even louder in the last few moments of a close game. They even have "thunder sticks" so that we can make even MORE noise. Those around us KNOW who we are cheering for by the sounds we make. And those teams don't even do anything really great—they just play a game. 

Since we are willing to make a thundering noise for a group of people (who we really don't even know), shouldn't we be willing to make that much noise about our great God? 

Thundering noise.

A noise of thanksgiving. Think for a moment of some of the extraordinary things God does. The sunrise—spectacular colors intermingled with different cloud formations. The way He keeps the Earth tilted at just the precise angle so that everything works in harmony; the tides, the weather, sunrise, sunset, the moon. And keeping a record of the extraordinary things God does creates an intelligent understanding that produces a proclamation—loud and proud—of worship to God! 

Thundering noise. 

A life of Thanks Living is to produce a desire to YELL, make a thundering noise of thanksgiving to God! The thanksgiving is to be accompanied with a tally of the extraordinary things God does—and that should make the thundering noise even louder! 

Thanks Living: PR Business

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15

Offer: of presentation as a priestly act

Praise: a thank-offering, presented to God for some benefit received

Fruit: that which originates or comes from something; an effect, result

Giving thanks: to praise, celebrate

To His name: promoting his cause; therefore equivalent to his divinity, the divine majesty and perfections

Comes from something. 

When you think about it, our attitudes and outlook on life, all are the result of something. If we want to live a positive life, we must start with praising God. Praising God puts us in our place, so to speak. We realize that it's not all about us, or what we want. Rather, it's about who God is and accomplishing His will to bring glory and honor to Him. 

Giving God the praise and worship because of who He is and the salvation He give us, will result in our celebration of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving will then in turn let others know of God as we promote Him and all He does. Yes, we are to be in the PR business for God! 

What is Public Relations (PR)? Public relations focuses on promoting the image of a company or individual. The aim of public relations is to inform the others and ultimately persuade them to maintain a certain view about an organization or individual. 

And to be in the Thanks Living PR business, it begins with praise to God as the result will be a celebration of thanksgiving to God! 

Are you in the Thanks Living PR business? I sure want to be!