“I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name forever and ever.” Psalm 145:1
Dearly beloved in Christ,
I am grateful to God for His faithfulness, His goodness and all the wonderful blessings! We entered the year 2013 with great hope and expectations. The Word of God urged us to “Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast – as you really are. For Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed.” (1 Cor.5:7) As we are approaching the last days of the year, it is time to look back and take stock of our lives. If we look at what God has done for us during the year, we will realize that He has been faithful.
In Psalm 145 David praises God for all the benefits and calls us to take the time to look back on our lives and reflect on the goodness of God. He also encourages us to praise God for his greatness, his compassion, and his faithfulness, and to thank God for his many gifts throughout our lives. In other words, we are urged to “Count your blessings, name them one by one.”
Can we count our blessings and thank God for all His goodness throughout the year? When you look back on this year you may feel you were not blessed at all. Perhaps there is absolutely nothing that you could possibly be thanking God for. Perhaps life came at you in ways you never anticipated. If that’s how you feel, take some time to look back and trace the hand of God who provided you with everything you needed during the year. He stood by His promise and He never let you down. He was at your side and He supplied all your needs. “Great is Your faithfulness, Oh God!”
In spite of seemingly negative things that may have happened in your life, He has been faithful. He will forever stand by His promise and He will never leave you nor forsake you. He gave us the greatest gift imaginable, the gift of His only Son, the Lord Jesus. In Romans 8:32 Paul states, “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will He not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Be assured that this God is our God; He is for us and He will always be with us.
A just God cannot overlook sin, yet because of His infinite goodness and everlasting love, He chose to pay the penalty for our sins. We have now access to God’s grace through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. Grace is an expression of our heavenly Father’s goodness. Every day, we should remind ourselves of the Father’s extraordinary goodness to us and thank Him for it.
What can you and I give and what have we done in return for all His goodness and the benefits we have received? It would be a good exercise if we look back and examine what we have done for the Lord in return to all our blessings. Then it will really surprise you. You may have done something for the Lord, but is that really enough to feel satisfied? At the end of every year most of us take stock of our lives and feel disappointed for not having been able to do much for the Lord.
If you are really feeling disappointed, you have a wonderful opportunity to serve the Lord before the year comes to an end. “Power To Change” is a wonderful opportunity to serve the Lord. If you are willing and available for His service, you can help in this ministry.
The city of Mumbai is going to see an unprecedented revival during 15th November to 15th December 2013. You can also be a part of this movement. Please pray and participate for God’s glory. Let our mouth speak in praise of the Lord.
King David concludes the psalm saying “My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise His holy name forever and ever.” Psalm 145:21
Let us praise God for His goodness, compassion, righteousness and faithfulness throughout the year and thank Him for this wonderful opportunity He has given us to serve Him.
Peter exhorts us (1 Peter 4:11) “If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen!”
God bless
Pastor Jacob
