Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving

A message from Rick Mosher, Senior Minister

The 100th Psalm is short and to the point. Let me share it with you and then share some thoughts at this season of the year when thanks to God is on our minds.

1 Shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth, 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. 3 Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. 5 For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, And His faithfulness to all generations.

We have so many things to be thankful for, even amid a world with so much evil and violence. We have a Creator; we aren’t here merely by chance. God cares for us like a shepherd does his sheep, seeing we are fed and protected, and have a place to rest. We benefit from God’s lovingkindness and faithfulness.

Those things were true even back when this Psalm was written, while the Mosaic Law was in effect. How much more do we have reason for thanks now that Christ has come! God saw our need, our separation from Him due to the guilt on our sin. In response, He sent Jesus, His Son, to earth to live among people but never sin, thus being able to bear the punishment of the cross to pay for OUR sins since He had none of His own. That’s exactly what Jesus did. Then He arose from the dead to break the bonds of sin and death and give us the hope of eternal life.

God puts His Holy Spirit in our lives when we are baptized, immersed, as repentant believers. The Spirit now identifies us as one of God’s own and strengthens us for Christian living. Someday, through Him, God will raise us to enjoy eternity with Him in heaven. This will happen when Jesus comes back.

All these blessings come to us when we are saved by grace through faith, at baptism and are living in Christ Jesus. Because of this we can be ever so thankful. Folks, let’s give God the thanks He deserves.

If you do not already have these blessings of salvation, please click on our Path to Salvation page on this web site. If we can assist you by answering questions or arranging for you to obey the Gospel, please contact us at Licking Chrisitan Church.

CREDITS: Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.