Give Thanks

Psalms 95:1 - 7, "Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is the great God, And the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand."

An outward look at creation makes me thankful. Who can gaze upon the wonders of this earth and not acknowledge God? When I see a beautiful sunrise or sunset, I am thankful. Sitting in the Rocky Mountains in Winter or Summer beholding the immense beauty, I am thankful. Seeing the thousands of stars littering the sky from the bush of Mozambique on a clear night, I am thankful. With my toes in the sand on any beach in the world, I am thankful. Looking with wonder and amazement at the balancing rocks or the great Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, I am thankful to the God of Creation.

An outward look at the world makes be thankful to be a Christ follower. If the 6.5 billion people of earth were reduced to a village of 100 people, 60 would come from Asia, 14 from Africa, 11 from Europe, 8 from North America, 6 from South America and 1 from Australia and Oceania. 34 world be Christians, 18 Muslims, 16 non-religious/athiests, 15 Hindus, 5 Buddhists and 12 others. The majority of the starving and illiterate people in that village would come from the countries with the least amount of Christians. Most of the wealth would belong to those from the predominately Christian nations. I am thankful to be a Christ follower, because He takes care of His followers much better than the other "gods."

An outward look at salvation causes me to be thankful. I realize that I cannot save myself. My sins have separated me from God. I have been given the gift of eternal life through my belief in Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. God loved me, before I loved Him.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Stan