PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine on us — so that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.

May the peoples praise You, God; may all the peoples praise You. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise You, God; may all the peoples praise You.

The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear Him.

Psalm 67

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How many ways has God blessed you? Do you think about it?

I’m convinced that we should do it daily. In fact, if you haven’t done so already, sit down and begin to write down every blessing you have received in your life. I think you’ll discover that your list will be extremely extensive.

Why should we do this?

Because something awesome happens when we take the time to formally count our blessings. We find ourselves taken to a place of praise.

That’s what happened to the psalmist who penned the 67th Psalm. Look at these wonderful words:

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine on us — so that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.

May the peoples praise You, God; may all the peoples praise You. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise You, God; may all the peoples praise You.

The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear Him.

The psalm’s author knows of God’s blessings, not just for them but for all. Those blessings include thanks for the land’s harvest, for God’s just and equitable rule, and for the guidance He provided the nations. There was no doubt that God’s ways were known and the people were urged by the psalmist to praise the Lord for all He had done for them. All were to be glad and sing for joy.

Friends, when we count our blessings, we too are taken to a place where we are thankful, living our lives with a sense of gladness and joy. We see the full abundance of God’s goodness unto us and find our hearts and minds feeling compelled to respond with the fullest sense of gratitude. Truly count your blessings and see for yourself.

I’ll close this message with words of a treasured part of church worship services since 1674, when the well known “Doxology” was written by Thomas Ken. May we ever keep these words on our lips as we thank the God for all He has been, all He is, and all He is yet to be in our lives:

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to ourchristianwalk@aol.com