How do you say “thank you” to others?
How do we say thank you to the Lord?
Prayer, poetry, song, dance and art can be ways to express our
thanks to the Lord. Which one of these methods would be easiest for you?
In the Old Testament many thanked the Lord with their offerings.
The singer Rick Nelson expressed a “thank you” to Lord in song:
“Thank You Lord” by Rick Nelson
Thank you Lord for lovin’ me
For giving me the chance so I could see
The love that you feel inside for me
You’re everything I want you to be
And I thank you, my Lord
Thank you Lord for being there
You take me thru life and you always care
I think about the times I needed you
You were always there to see me through
And I thank you, my Lord
Chorus: I want to thank you, my Lord (repeat 9x)
Thank you Lord you’re my friend
You give me the strength to start over again
When life becomes hard no ones seems to care
I reach out for you and you’re always there
And I thank you my lord
Thank you Lord for lovin’ me
For giving me the chance so I could see
The love that you feel inside for me
You’re everything I want you to be
And I thank you, my Lord
Chorus
I want to thank you my Lord x4
When I’m feelin down and out
And I wonder what life is all about
And when you feel like cryin out
And there’s no one left to cry about
I want to thank you my Lord (repeat out)
What does
Scripture tell us? U
Scripture tells us of a story of great sacrifice, a sacrifice completed because God loves
us that much (John 3:16) . . . but how do we say thank you to the Lord for what He has
done for us? Below we take a look at 2 Corinthians 9:15 and Matthew 14:19.
2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV):
15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Matthew 14:19 (NIV):
19 And he directed the
people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five
loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and
broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples
gave them to the people.
The Book of Hebrews expresses some additional ways to
demonstrate that you are
thankful, by obeying God in various ways.
Hebrews 12:15-28 (NIV):
15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God . . .
16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like
Esau, who
for a single meal sold his
inheritance rights as the oldest son.
17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this
blessing,
he was rejected. He could bring
about no change of mind, though
he sought the blessing with tears.
18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and
that is
burning with fire; to darkness,
gloom and storm;
19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words
that those
who heard it begged that no further
word be spoken to them,
20 because they could not bear what was
commanded: "If even an
animal touches the mountain, it must
be stoned."
21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am
trembling
with
fear."
22 But you have come
to
city of the living God. You have
come to thousands upon
thousands of angels in joyful
assembly,
23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are
written in heaven.
You have come to God, the judge of all
men, to the spirits of
righteous men made perfect,
24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the
sprinkled blood that speaks a
better word than the blood of
Abel.
25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they
did not
escape when they refused him who
warned them on earth, how
much less will we, if we turn away
from him who warns us from
heaven?
26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he
has promised,
"Once more I will shake not only
the earth but also the heavens.
27 The words "once more" indicate the removing
of what can be
shaken—that is, created things—so
that what cannot be shaken
may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be
shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship
God acceptably
with reverence and awe
Questions:
- How do you say “thank you” to others? (a server at a restaurant; kids teacher)
- Do you provide a gift or a card when you say “thank you” to others?
- Are you thankful for living under the New Covenant in lieu of the Old Covenant?
- Can we thank God for something before it has been provided?
- Did Jesus thank God?
- How do we say thank you to the Lord?
For further reading on this topic . . .
Other related
Scripture references: 2 Chronicles
29:31; Psalm
100;
Isaiah 12:4;
Daniel 6:10;
John 3:16; Acts 27:35;
Romans 1:8;
1
Thessalonians 2:13;
1
Thessalonians 5:18; and Revelation
11:17.
References: The following websites were accessed on Dec. 07/08, 2006.
http://my.homewithgod.com/heavenlymidis2/tyl.html
http://www.rickynelson.com/lyrics/thankyoulord.html