Even In The Darkest of Times
With each generation, it seems as though the world grows further and further from God. Is there a reason for this? Could it have been prophesied in the Bible? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he shows us the importance of a grateful and thankful heart in his Thanksgiving message, Thanks A Bunch.
2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, ~ Nehemiah 2:2KJV
Nehemiah’s brother, along with some other men, had just returned from Jerusalem and told Nehemiah that the walls and gates of Jerusalem were broken down and burned, and the place was in shambles. And the remnant there in the province who had survived the exile was in great trouble and shame.
It broke Nehemiah’s heart, and his countenance changed from one of joy to one of mourning. What was happening was he was expressing outwardly what he felt inwardly. His equilibrium was in balance.
Now watch this. Countenance is the outward showing of God’s love that is in you and in me which is expressed on our faces through rejoicing. It is our way of expressing thankfulness to God our Father for His numerous blessings on us.
It’s our offering to Him. And now, this is the exciting part; rejoicing is directly related to the harvest. Every feast and every offering. Every harvest time and every sheep shearing time was to be accompanied with gladness and rejoicing.
Rejoice! Because the Lord, your God, has made you glad and has blessed you with good things to enjoy. Rejoice and be glad because the LORD your God has dealt wondrously with you. Meaning, He has given you a bountiful blessing to enjoy; now show thanks. So, remove that frown. Get rid of that downcast face. Look up and rejoice because the LORD our God reigns.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Lift Your Countenance.
13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. ~ John 15:13
Today, November 11th, is Veterans Day. It is the day we, as a nation, have set aside to honor those brave soldiers who have selflessly served their country. They gave up their free time, a lot of them their prime years, to serve our great nation. To fight for the freedoms we all enjoy today. Therefore, we take the time out to say thank you to each and every veteran for their service and their sacrifice.
Thank You, LORD, for the many freedoms we have today. Thank You for each life that willingly put their own life on hold and on the line for my freedom. I pray that You would protect and bless them and their families. That You would be with them and heal any wound they may have, whether it is physical or mental or spiritual. I pray that You would give them each peace. Thank You, LORD, for allowing me to live in a country that has granted me the freedom and right to serve You. I pray that You would protect that freedom that it might not be taken away from me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? ~ 1 Corinthians 5:6
Paul said a little leaven leavens the whole lump, and it’s that way with us as well. When we leave an open door, such as taking the things that belong to God, we stumble at AI; we lose the fight with Adultery and Idolatry.
We are deceived into thinking it is no big deal, but we lose, and sometimes we lose everything. We begin to make Mammon our god. Take things for granted. Become ungrateful.
An ungrateful heart will cause us to separate ourselves from God because we will no longer see all of the good things the LORD has done for us. Our hearts will become hardened towards the LORD and all of His good blessings upon us.
Therefore, strive to remove even the littlest amount of leaven from within you so that you might not be consumed by the flesh. Don’t be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. Give thanks daily to the LORD for His many, many good blessings and gifts. And in doing so, you will overcome an ungrateful heart that is tied with Mammon.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Overcome With Thanksgiving.
27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.” ~ John 12:27
Jesus said, “Now is my soul troubled.” Jesus knew what awaited Him. It came as no surprise. I did a comparison with that one sentence, “Now is my soul troubled.” And every one of the different translations said the same exact thing. “Now is my soul troubled.”
Something was deeply troubling Jesus. Some say that it was because Jesus would be separated from the Father for the very first time. And that may be so, but that was not the only reason. The word ‘troubled’ doesn’t give us a fair picture of the extreme stress that Jesus was under, especially that last week we call passion week.
Think about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Remember, this is after the great Triumphant Entry celebration. The cursing of the fig tree. And the last supper. Judas has just betrayed the Savior. Jesus is praying just before He is arrested. This was it. The time had finally come. The time determined from eternity past. The time of mankind’s purchase back from death to life.
Jesus is praying to God the Father that if He is willing, if there is some other way, if only He didn’t have to go through what He was about to go through, please save Him from His great destiny, yet He prayed, not my will but Your great will be done.
Please notice that an angel from heaven came to Jesus to strengthen Him, but it was not enough. This was, as we say, where the rubber hits the road. This was the beginning of the cup He was to drink.
He was in so much anguish that He fell to the ground and His sweat became drops of blood. The path Jesus had to take in order to redeem us wasn’t an easy one. It wasn’t just a walk in the park. This was an extremely difficult load He was carrying. It was literally the weight of the entire world weighing down on His shoulders, yet we live our lives for ourselves.
We call ourselves devout if we pray before each meal and before bed. We should be living our lives as a thank offering before the LORD. Our freedom is only in Him, for it is only He that gives us life and life more abundantly.
Dear LORD, thank You for taking my sin upon Yourself. I’m sorry for all the times I didn’t live my life for You. Please help me to live my life as a living offering holy and acceptable to You. Help me to live each day thankful for all that You’ve done for me. Please help my heart not to grow cold. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever. 2 Give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures forever. 3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His steadfast love endures forever; ~ Psalms 136:1-3
Twenty-three more times, this phrase, “for His Steadfast love endures forever,” is repeated twenty-six times in total. Doubtless to say, we are God’s valentine. We are His most loved and prized possession, and He wants us to know. We are the very apple of His eye. There is no sidestepping it or no getting around it. We are God’s valentine. It is hard to believe that an Almighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowing God and Creator can look at us and say, I love you this much, and then hold out His hands to us, revealing the nail prints in the palm of His hands.
Yes, we mean that much to God to send His beloved Son to die for us. Yes, we mean that much to Jesus for Him to come down to this old dusty earth to endure heat and cold. Sweat and sorrow. Pain and rejection. To know what it is like to be thirsty and hungry. To be mocked and ridiculed. To know what it is like to be weary and tired. Then to be punched and slapped and spat upon, and then to know what it is like to be whipped within inches of His life. And finally, to know what it is like to be crucified and to die. For what? For His dearly beloved bride, the Church.
Yes, it is true, God the Father loves us, and Jesus the Son loves us, and they gave us their Holy Spirit as a seal of adoption. No greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends. Jesus is our friend, He is our God and our Savior, but He is our friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, that You would send Your Son to die for me. Thank You, Jesus, for being obedient and coming to die for me. I can never repay You, but I will always love You. Thank You again for all You have done, and are now doing, and will ever do for me; in Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
23 Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for He has given the early rain for your vindication; He has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. ~ Joel 2:23
The LORD is saying through the prophet Joel, “Rejoice and be glad.” In other words, be grateful and thankful for what I give you, for apart from Me, you can do nothing. We express the love of God through our rejoicing.
God instructs Israel to rejoice in all situations because rejoicing can be considered an offering to the LORD that is connected to the love of God. God does not want us to walk around with our faces made up and our countenance fallen. He wants us to express and show His love because He is a God of love, and He wants and expects us to abide in His love. You cannot abide in God’s love without rejoicing.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Give Thanks In Rejoicing.
16 Rejoice always, 17pray continually, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances. The Scripture does not say give thanks for all circumstances, but rather, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of our God.
A thankful heart begins with joy. You rejoice because you are joyful. When you are joyful, you rejoice by giving thanks. Thanks for the things that you enjoy: food, nice clothes, a beautiful home, a comfortable car to drive, and the like.
There are many, many miracles and blessings that we enjoy that we should be praying the prayer of thanksgiving for in appreciation. When we harbor an attitude of gratitude in our hearts, it will bring with it the peace that passes all understanding. It will foster joy in our hearts. The kind of joy that does not depend on man nor on circumstances but on the good grace of Almighty God.
So, let this Thanksgiving be the start of a lifelong pursuit of joy through the attitude of thanksgiving. Giving thanks first of all to our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ, for dying on the Cross to pay the penalty for our sins. For choosing us before we had any inclination or desire to choose Him. For loving us while we were unlovable and dying for us while we were still His enemies.
Thank You, Father, for choosing me. Thank You, Jesus, for dying for me. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for leading me in all truths. Help me, LORD, to maintain a thankful heart that I might show my appreciation for the blessings of life. Bless Your people on this Thanksgiving Day, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, that our hearts may be overjoyed as we serve You and wait for the day of Your return. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen.
29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws. 34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation; 35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?” 36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. ~ Daniel 4:29-36
The LORD used Nebuchadnezzar and even called him His servant, but Nebuchadnezzar became prideful. He looked at all that he had and gave no glory to God. So, God humbled Nebuchadnezzar, and Nebuchadnezzar’s reason left him until he humbled himself before the Almighty. This is still true to us today.
Many of us have been blessed by God beyond measure. We lack nothing. Our business is booming. But we begin to forget God in the process. We don’t acknowledge all that God has done for us. The more we become prideful, the more humility flees from us. As humility flees from us, we become less and less like God and more and more like beasts. Selfishness begins to take over us, and we lose our sense. Our hearts become cold, and we no longer give anything to God or others. Thankfulness is driven from our hearts as we become more and more selfish. Without thanksgiving, the Fruit of the Spirit begins to flee us as well.
Dear LORD, please help me to never become ungrateful and unthankful for all that You’ve done for me. Soften my heart that I might always be thankful for all that You’ve done for me. Please humble me so that pride may never build up within me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
We are to serve Him with gladness. We are to come into His presence with singing because it was God who created us in His own image. We are not self-made people. We are the sheep of His pasture.
He loves us and cares for us, and He is faithful even when we are unfaithful, and all He wants is our obedience and our gratitude. Our thanks. Therefore, we should give thanks to God for all He has done for us and for who He is.
But you know what? God wants us to take it a step higher. He wants us to not only give thanks to Him but to live a life of gratitude. He wants us to live like we are thankful for life. Thankful for the things we enjoy. Thankful for the things we take for granted, like family and close friends. Thankful for the food we eat. Jesus never ate one bite of food without giving thanks. Should we do any less?
I read this quote by William Arthur Ward:
Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. Dear LORD, please forgive me for not being more thankful. I’m sorry for all of the times I have complained and only saw my glass as half full. Thank You for all that You’ve done for me and given to me. Thank You for Your promises. Please help me to be more thankful and more grateful with each and every breath. Thank You for all the good plans You have for my life; help me to follow them. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
