Daily Devotional

-November 28, 2020-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

-Giving Thanks And Making God’s Deeds Known To The People-

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!

(1 Chronicles 16:8).

This particular verse is part of David’s Song of Thanksgiving in 1 Chronicles 16:8-36. The occasion of this this song is the placing of the ark in the tabernacle. The chapter is a celebration before the Lord with all the people. They offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord, which was common as part of worship.

David loved God so much as well as the people of God. He was the greatest king of Israel. After the offerings were finished, David blessed the people and distributed food to all of them. According to verse 3, it says, “Then he distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins.” David wanted to include the common people in the celebration not merely the dignitaries of the day.

This celebration in David’s day reminds us of some of the elements of our Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day celebrations all in one. David did not care about the cost, which had to be a lot of money, he wanted to honor and encourage all the people. His minister over treasury probably let the king know how much this celebration would cost. Can you imagine if our president did this today for every American man and woman?

David and all the singers and musicians were filled with great joy and thanksgiving. They say, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name.” We all miss our public meetings with collective singing and worship. We have added music on line with soloists and the Worship Team, which is great and we are so blessed to have it along with Sunday sermons and devotions on Monday and Wednesday evenings. Still as great as in line meetings during this pandemic are, it still cannot compare to being at church with each other, which we have not had since March. We are waiting for the vaccine to be widely distributed before we can safely return to church.

Not only did the Israelites thank the Lord and call upon His name, but they made mention of His deeds among the peoples. The Israelites remembered back to how God delivered them from their bondage in Egypt and brought them into the Promised Land. God was also greatly blessing them in the days of David more than any other time in their history since the days of Moses and Joshua. There was so much joy.

We as believers go through so many trials, but there are also times of victory, success, and plenty. When we do have them we praise the Lord with all our hearts. When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and God conquered Pharaoh and his entire army, Moses led the people in a song of victory and praise, and Miriam led the women in praising God as well.

May the Lord help us to rejoice in this Christmas season that God sent His Son Jesus Christ to be born into this world. In every light, we remember He is the Light of the world; in every gift, we remember that Jesus is the greatest gift. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” Jesus is the reason for the season!

Have a blessed day and Christmas thanking and praising the Lord and proclaiming Him to everyone around us. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean