Give Thanks to the Lord, For He is Good!

Meditate. 

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34

King David proclaimed the goodness of God and sang praises encouraging the Levites, and thus other Israelites, to give thanks to the Lord. Sing His praises. Singing is a form of worship. Just as David sang to the Lord, we have the opportunity to praise the Lord and give thanks to Him…for He is worthy of our praise and worship.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!  He is good! Even Jesus acknowledged that. He was referring to God the Father.

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked. "Only God is truly good.  Mark 10:18

It is repeated over and over throughout the Bible:

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 136:1

God is Love and His love endures forever…never giving up.

I will sing of the LORD's unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens. Psalm 89:1-2

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:7

Do you feel loved by the Lord…with His unfailing love? 

Prayer ~ When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.  From Ephesians 3:14-19

Verse of Salvation ~ Save us, O LORD our God! Gather us back from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you. Psalm 106:47

Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34

It is important to give thanks before the meal. Remember how Jesus gave thanks at the Passover meal…known as the Last Supper? We should offer a blessing at any meal. Additionally, it is a Jewish custom to give thanks, offering a blessing after the meal, particularly one including bread, is eaten. That is known as the Birkat Hamazon. Grace after Meals. It isn’t so much as to express thankfulness as it is to be humble—recognizing God’s dominion

Here is a short example:

Blessed is The Lord our God, Sovereign of the universe, who sustains the entire world with goodness, kindness and mercy. God give good to all creatures, for God’s mercy is everlasting. Through God’s abundant goodness we have not lacked sustenance, and may we not lack sustenance forever, for the sake of God’s great name. God sustains all, does good to all, and provides food for all the creature whom God has created. Blessed is The Lord our God, who provides food for all.

Within a group of three or more Jewish men, Jewish women or Jewish children the Birkat Hamazon is recited or even sung and actually has four parts.

- Blessing the food just eaten, not just by us, but food for the whole world.
- Blessing the land…and the Torah as it recounts the Exodus story. Includes physical and spiritual blessing.
- Blessing Jerusalem.
- Blessing for God’s Kindness and Goodness.

Additional blessings can be expressed for the hosts, family and the coming of the Mashiach (the Messiah).

If it is not your habit, consider giving thanks, before and after your meals…especially the Thanksgiving meal coming up soon. It has been a custom at my family Thanksgiving meal to have everyone share what they are thankful for either before or during the meal. Even little ones can be thankful. What does your family do as a tradition at your Thanksgiving meal? 

Here’s a scripture oriented recipe that a friend shared with our church women’s group several years ago.

Scripture Bread
2½ cups flour (Genesis 18:6)
5 tsp baking powder (Galatians 5:9 NASB)
½ tsp salt (Mark 9:50)
¾ tsp cinnamon (Exodus 30:23)
3 Tbsp butter (Proverbs 30:33)
¾ cup sugar (Proverbs 24:13 – sweet honey)
1 egg Isaiah 10:14)
¾ cup milk (1 Corinthians 3:2)
1½ cups apples – peeled and diced (Proverbs 25:11)
½ cup raisins (1 Samuel 30:12)

Stir dry ingredients together. Cream butter and sugar, add egg and mix well. Add dry mixture alternating with milk. Fold in fruit. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until browned and inserting a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy and share with friends.

© 2020 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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