Suggested readings:

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Psalm 100

Philippians 4:4-9

John 6:25-35

 

 

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!

Philippians 4:4 (The MSG italics added)

 

Wow! How different my life would be, if instead of complaining about things I cannot change, and people who annoy me, I chose to celebrate the goodness and presence of God. Celebrating God is not a matter of one day of the year but is a lifestyle of gratitude. If the cross proves nothing else, it clearly shows that you are worth loving, despite failures, sins, weaknesses, and all the frailties that define us as human beings. You are God’s beloved child. Celebrate God!

To celebrate God means a change in attitudes. If we are to revel in God, some thoughts need to be transformed. Paul wrote and The Message paraphrases steps we can take to master our thoughts and reprogram them to focus on the beautiful, not the ugly.

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. (Philippians 4:8 The MSG italics added)

The battles we face every day with sin, despair, frustrations, and loneliness are battles of the mind. Our thoughts control our feelings and actions. Paul is suggesting we can reprogram our thoughts by meditating on things that are true, noble, . . .the best, not the worst. Celebrate God!

The word thanksgiving is made up of two words, thanks and giving. If you want a truly memorable experience of thanksgiving, an honest celebration of God, then give something. In communities across the nation there is an overwhelming need to provide food for hungry people. In our community the number of folks in need of food is higher than it has been for 10 years. There are needs and opportunities to do something beautiful by donating a sack of groceries or writing a check to a food pantry, church, or other organization providing much needed food for the least of these. Celebrate God!

Before you grumble, “I ate too much” do something tangible for the child for whose stomach rumbles from hunger. Reprogram. Refocus. Reprioritize.

Celebrate God!

Think on this. God celebrates you! The LORD, your God, is in your midst, . . .he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17 italics added)

Celebrate God!