IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV) 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

The last two days, we have gone over verse 16: “Rejoice always,” and verse 17: “Pray without ceasing.”  Today, I want to look at the last part of this powerful trio, verse 18.  It says: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Many people have taken this verse and made it say something that it was never intended to say, and that is, that no matter what comes against us in life, we are to give thanks for it.  Well, I do not think that is correct, because the Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8-9: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

If we were not to resist him, then we could say that no matter what comes our way, give God thanks for it.  But here, these verses tell us who the enemy is and that we are to resist him.  God does not want us to thank Him for what satan (or life) brings as calamity on people, but He wants us to resist the devil and push back his evil power.   Yet, in all of it, we are to thank God for the victory in it.       

God is for us and not against us. He wants us to be victorious over the works of the enemy.  So again, this says in everything give thanks, but it does not say for everything give thanks.  Today, give God thanks for all that He does, then defeat the works of the enemy, and give God thanks for the victory!

Confession: I will give my Heavenly Father all the thanks for all that He does.  My God is a good Father, and He has my best in mind.  Satan is a bad devil, and he want to kill, steal, and destroy.  Today, I declare that greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world.

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PRAY WITHOUT CEASING

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV) 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Yesterday, we looked at two small words that have so much power: "Rejoice Always."  Today, we are going to look at three words with a lot of power also, and they are: "Pray Without Ceasing." You might ask, “How can I do this?  How can I have a life of continuous prayer?”

Well, the first thing that we need to get into our minds is that prayer is not just when we are on our knees.  We can pray while we are walking or driving or cooking or hunting.  Prayer is talking with our Heavenly Father.  We can do that anywhere, because God is a Spirit.

John 4:24 says it like this: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  So if God is ever present, then we can talk to Him at any time and in any place.  We can share with Him our victories, and also our tears.

God, like any good earthly father, wants to spend time with us.  The same way we listen to some of the wildest stories from our children, I believe that God our Father wants to share and enjoy us telling Him some of our stories.

So today, take some time to talk to God when you do not usually talk to Him, and see how a fellowship of intimacy will build in your life.

Confession: I declare today that my Heavenly Father enjoys spending time with me, and I enjoy talking with Him.  I am going to pray at times that I did not pray before, and learn how to pray without ceasing.

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REJOICE ALWAYS

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV) 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Here, we have three verses that have so much in them.  Let us take one each day for the next three days. 

Verse 16 says, “Rejoice always.” Well, I do not know about you, but if you are living on planet earth and you are still breathing, to do this verse is not always easy.  To rejoice when things are not going our way, or when things are just going badly, is difficult.  Yet this verse tell us to do this, and one thing I have learned over the years is that if God gives us a word in the Bible to do, then He will give us the strength and power to do it.

How do we rejoice always?  Well, I believe that we need to see the best in what is going on around us.  We need to be positive, and to know that even if the devil is bringing something against us, our Heavenly Father will get us through.  The Bible says in Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”  Just knowing that God is for us is enough reason to rejoice!

So today, no matter what is going on, rejoice always!  Not for what is going on, but because your Father in Heaven is for you, and He will get you through it.  He will not let you down.  So today, rejoice always in Him!

Confession: Today, I make a quality decision to rejoice throughout the day.  When the enemy brings bad things my way, I will rejoice that my Heavenly Father will get me through them.  God is for me and not against me.  How can I lose?

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THE SECRET PLACE

Psalms 91:1 (NKJV) He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

There is no place like the secret place!  It is a place in Him; a place of His rest and His assurance.  It seems like we can never get there, but in this verse, it states that we can.  We can make a decision to get away from the rush of life, and dwell in His presence.

I know that we do not always have those big God moments, but I have found that as I make decisions to get away and get with Him, those moments give me the strength to get through the hardest of times.

When I talk about getting away, some might think that means I have to fast for 40 days, or go and live in a cave like a hermit.  No, sometimes that secret place can be on a pillow, or a walk, or even a drive.  Do not put restrictions on where God, your Father, can meet with you.  Remember, He is everywhere!

This week, or even today when you lay down, talk to Him.  Ask Him about this secret place in Him, and He will show you how much He desires these times with you.  I love these times with my kids.  How much more the greatest Father of all?

Confession: Today, I am going to dwell in the secret place of the Most High.  I am going to talk with Him, and enjoy perfect fellowship with Him.  My Father desires me, as I desire Him.  This is great!

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THE JOY OF THE LORD

Nehemiah 8:10 (NKJV) Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

The joy of our Father is our strength.  God wants us to be strong in Him.  True strength is not just muscle, or outward ability, but it is strength within us.  When we look at Samson, he had great strength on the outside, but inwardly he was very weak.

As we look to the Word of God, we see that we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us.  I want my life to be in His strength.

Now, this is not to say that taking care of our physical man is not important; it is!  But what we do on the inside, what we do with our character, our true lives, is what is going to last.  So today, make a decision to put together a plan of action for what you can do every day to strengthen your inner man. 

It might be to start each day with a devotional like this.  It might be to read a portion of the Bible every day.  It might be to have a quiet time with your Heavenly Father.  When you make a plan and set a goal to achieve spiritual strength, you will see such a change in your life that, after a while, you will look in the mirror and say, “Is this really me?”

So today, let the joy of the Lord be your strength!

Confession:  Today, I make a quality decision to let God, my Father, be my strength.  I make a decision to let His joy be what gets me over the trials, and even the mountains, of life.  I am more than a conqueror, through Him who loves me.

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NO LONGER SERVANTS

John 15:15 (NKJV) No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

We used to sing a song that said, “I am a friend of God.”  A person who invited a friend to one of our services asked her friend how she liked the service.  She responded by saying that she had a problem with that song.  She did not think we could be friends with God.

Now to me, that is what religion has done to us.  It says that we are so unworthy, and that there is no way that a holy God could be a friend with “worms” like us.  What I see is people who believe their feelings over what God has stated as fact in the Word.

I can say over and over that I do not believe in gravity because I do not feel like it is true, but if I jump off a cliff I will see its effect.  The same way we believe in gravity and its effects on us, we believe that we are friends of God.  Believing that has a great effect on our lives!

So today, do not go by your feelings.  Go by the true Word of Almighty God, and see the great effect that it will have on your life.

Confession:  According to the Word of God, Jesus has stated that I am not a servant; I am His friend!  I believe what Jesus has said over how I feel.  I declare today that I am a friend of God!

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TODAY IS A NEW DAY

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NKJV) Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Today is a new day!  God, our Heavenly Father, has given us this day to be victorious through His Son, Jesus Christ.  We can look back at our yesterdays and say, “I made so many mistakes,” but this verse tells us that His mercies start new in the morning!

So let your mistakes of yesterday be gone, and start a fresh new day!  God has given you this new day, so receive it as a gift from Him.  He wants the best for you, because He loves you and only has your best in mind.

In this life, we are going to make mistakes.  We all do!  God, your Father, knows that.  That is the reason that He is giving you a fresh start each day.  Too many people hold onto the hang-ups of their yesterdays, and it keeps them in bondage today.  But that is not how God wants us to live.  He wants us to ask for His forgiveness, and then live in His mercies in this new day.

How would we be as parents if we just kept telling our children about their shortcomings?  Yes, they have shortcomings, but, like good parents, we forgive our kids and encourage them.  That is what God does with us.  So let it go today!  It is a new day!  Thank Him for his mercies being new today!

Confession:  Today is a new day, and I am going to live in it.  My Heavenly Father has given me this day to live and to enjoy.  He has given me the beauty and the victory over the challenges that will come today.  Today, I will be victorious through Him Who loves me!

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