Let us exalt his name together this holiday

Published 12:00 pm Tuesday, November 22, 2016

As we prepare for Thanksgiving, we are grateful for our blessings and aware that God has provided abundant blessings throughout the year. Even though our concept of worship is usually built around the idea of church music, we are discovering that giving thanks and expressing our adoration to God goes far beyond singing songs; it is how we live each moment. When obedience and appreciation becomes a state of mind instead of an annual holiday, we will begin to abandon our thoughts and be more connected with His. Entering into a higher level of personal intimacy with our Creator establishes a beautiful communication exchange which evolves into a demonstration of loving Him with all of our strength and soul. It will take serious dedication to learn how to discipline our minds to concentrate on how worthy He is of our worship and establishing Him as our highest priority is a huge step in the right direction. “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:3).

If our thoughts about Thanksgiving are only based on pilgrims and Indians, we have missed the point entirely. Besides, it seems the stories we learned in school were not exactly accurate when describing the reality of what actually happened, and confirms that praising and thanking God for all that He has given is more of a lifestyle than a celebration. Brother Lawrence, whose seventeenth century work, “The Practice of the Presence of God,” details his determination to re-train his mind in order to become so discerning that he might consider everything as an opportunity to serve Christ. By allowing our thinking to be transformed, we not only have an option but a responsibility to develop a higher level of spiritual maturity. We are learning that the Christian life is about establishing and maintaining a bond of holy devotion with the Lord as we allow our heart to be changed into a reflection of His image. The goal is not about the world watching us worship Jesus, it is about them sensing God’s presence in our daily lives! People are weary of hearing about religion. They long to witness the love of heaven! It is true, the most powerful sermons are not always spoken.

“Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this special day, a time set aside to remember your goodness toward us. We thank you for a roof over our heads, and more than enough food to eat. We appreciate the relationship we have with you and the love we share with our family and friends. We are grateful for your comforting presence that has helped us through the difficult times we’ve had this year. Thank you for all blessings, for always loving us and taking care of us. Thank you Jesus for going to the cross and providing the glorious gift of salvation. We love you, amen.” 

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Dr. Holland lives in Central Kentucky with his wife Cheryl, where he is a Christian author, outreach minister and community chaplain. To learn more visit: billyhollandministries.com