RELIGION: We have every reason to 'enter into His gates with thanksgiving'

"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." Psalm 100

It is sad how few truly know and recognize the truth expressed by this ancient psalm. In spite of what we may think, the LORD (Jehovah) is God. He always has been and always will be.

He made us; we did not make ourselves, nor are we the product of some chance evolutionary process. Not only did the Almighty God create the first man and woman (Genesis 1-2), He caused each of us to be conceived in our mother's womb, and He created and formed us there (cf. Psalm 139:13-16). We are, indeed, "His people and the sheep of His pasture."

We have every reason to "enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise" -- every reason to "be thankful unto Him, and bless His name." Why? Because "The LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations."

Think about it! Are we deserving of His care and blessing? Does He owe it to us to give us our families, our jobs, our food and our health?

When we consider how we have rebelled against Him and so often set aside His commandments, we truly deserve only His wrath and eternal punishment. Yet, He is merciful to us and continues to give us all that we need in life.

In His mercy, God also gave His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to obey His commandments in our place, to suffer and die for our sins and then to rise again from the dead that we might be spared in God's judgment. For Jesus' sake, the LORD God deals with us in mercy, graciously calling us to repent and turn to Him for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting instead of the judgment and eternal punishment we deserve.

And we can be thankful, too, that "His truth endureth to all generations." His Word, the Bible, has not been lost or corrupted through the ages as some assume. He has preserved it as a witness to all people of all time of His goodness and mercy toward us in creating and redeeming us.

His Word continues, even yet today, to teach us to know the LORD God who made us and sent His Son to die for us and redeem us. Through the Bible, we learn who the true God is. We learn His holy will and see our sinfulness. But we also learn of His love and forgiveness toward us for the sake of Jesus Christ and His innocent sufferings and death in our stead (cf. 2 Tim. 3:14-17).

This Thanksgiving and every day, let us do as the psalm enjoins:

"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."

We thank You, dear heavenly Father, for Your goodness and mercy toward us for Jesus' sake. We praise and bless Your holy name. Amen.

[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]