Praise (2)

We are here to worship God. Specifically, to give thanks to God. We give him thanks through praise. We praise God for who he is. He is good. He is the God of gods. He is the Lord of lords. There is no one greater than God is. All praise, all glory, all honour, all thanksgiving rightly belongs to him, for he created everything, simply by the power of his Word.

But what characterises God? What quality is most outstanding? Is it his power? Is it his justice? His righteousness? His awesome infinite knowledge and ability? It is all those things, and more.

It is his love. His love endures forever. Love, agape love, sacrificial love, committed love is his defining characteristic. His love isn’t wishy washy, circumstantial, prone to change with every wind and wave. God’s love endures, it endures forever. It is what governs all God’s actions, his power, justice, righteousness, knowledge and ability.

“For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (Jn. 3:16-17).

His love endures forever.

Who Does Wondrous Actions

God is the one who does wondrous actions. Consider the universe. Consider the complexity of the heavens, the stars and planets, the power of gravitational pull, the natural laws which govern everything. As great as our intellectual abilities are, we cannot begin to fully understand the universe as God understands it. He created objects out of sheer joy and delight, but also for function. The sun by day, the moon by night. The stars and their constellations to give guidance and direction for seafarers and travellers.

In addition to creating this incredibly diverse creation, God rules and governs it perfectly. He knows everything that goes on, everywhere at once. God is so powerful and mighty, totally sovereign and majestic that nothing escapes his attention.

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him, that is Jesus, all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (Jn. 1:1-3).

His love endures forever.

Who Saves His People

God is one who saves his people. Not only is God the creator and sustainer of his creation. He is intimately aware of his creatures. He created human beings in his image. He chose one nation out of many to be their God and they would be his people. So that they would bear witness of God to the world. He attended to their needs. He rescued them out of slavery in Egypt. He dealt a deadly blow to those who had treated Israel with deadly force. He rescued the helpless and the vulnerable. Those who couldn’t help themselves, he saved. Those who believed they’ve got it all together, he left to their own devices. Whoever calls upon him, he hears and rescues.

Jesus saw us in our helplessness and rescued us. “For Son of Man came to seek and save the lost” (Lk. 19.10).

His love endures forever.

Who Makes a Way

When Israel was trapped with the Red Sea before them, and the Egyptian army behind them, God made a way. He demonstrated his power over the wind and the waves, creating a path through the middle of the sea, so that all Israel could be saved. And when Pharaoh in his arrogance followed Israel into the sea, God swept them away. He truly brought low the proud.

Jesus is the way. He goes before us, behind us, beside us to protect us and bring us home to him. Jesus creates the path and lays it out before us. Even when we wander, even when we stumble and fall, he is always right there to rescue us.

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14:6).

His love endures forever.

Who Leads His People

He is the one who leads his people. He cared for them in the desert. Their clothes never wore out. He gave them manna and quail to eat. He brought water out of solid rock. He protected them from danger. He fought their battles for them. Every king who came against his people he struck down. They thought they could get the better of Israel, they thought they were in control, but God proved otherwise. He gave what they had to his people.

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (Jn. 6.48-51)

His love endures forever.

Who Knows All Our Needs

God is the one who knows all our needs. God knew we were trapped in our sin. So he lovingly sent his Son who gave his life as a ransom for us. Jesus took upon himself our sins, our iniquities, and died on the cross for our sake.

God knew we needed this, that we could never be good enough. He saw us in our low estate, our sin. He saw that we were trapped by our enemy, the evil one. In his love, he forgives us our sin through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Mt. 7.7-12).

His love endures forever.

Give Thanks

What response can we give to so generous, so loving a God? We give thanks. We respond with gratitude. You can grow in thanksgiving, in gratitude. Gratitude is taking stock of the way things are, really are. Gratitude is the act of giving thanks for what is. It is being amazed by what we have, amazed that we have anything at all!

God created us to be able to express thanks, to express gratitude, and to be blessed by that very act. Physiologically, thankful people are healthier, happier people.

This thanksgiving day we are thankful for who we are, what we have, and most importantly, who God is. God’s love endures forever. God’s love shows up where you are. Look at what’s around you! The kaleidoscope of colour in the fall. The beauty of a loved one. The blessedness of time with family and friends.

Look around you and see the gift of God himself.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3.17).

Give thanks.

His love endures forever.

Amen.