Date: 11/28/2022

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to Him be the Glory and to the Holy Ghost. This month’s key word is Thankfulness. To end this month, I want to expound on “The results and the benefits of being Thankful.”

Thankfulness helps us to see God more clearly, who He is and what He is like. Thankfulness is like a telescope or a microscope, for it makes small things bigger. God is very honored when we thank Him. Thanking God for what we have helps us not to covet things and want things which we don’t have. Being a thankful believer, we are filled up with God and with the things of God instead of wanting things in the world. Therefore, we don’t want to sin, we want to love God. “But immorality or any impurity or greed must not be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness… but rather giving of thanks.” But fornication, and all uncleanness and covetousness, let it be once named among you, as becometh saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous. Ma n, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” Ephesians 5:3-5

Being thankful we are spiritually happy, for we realize how rich and blessed we are by God, and we are not wanting things from the world and the flesh. Thankfulness gives us more faith, for thankfulness reminds us of what God has done for us in the past and enables us to trust God for the future. Thankfulness promotes prayer, for when we are thankful and see what God has done in the past, that motivates us to pray for things regarding the future. “Continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 4:2) Thankfulness promotes praise, for when we thank God for what He’s done, then we see God’s character. Thanksgiving and praise often go together. “I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart… I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1-2) Thankfulness helps us to be humble, for being thankful helps us to clearly see how good God is and how great God is, and that we are what we are because of Him, and that is very humbling.

Saints and friends’ thankfulness promotes good relationships, for when we’re thankful, we see that God is sovereignly working in our life; that God is patient and faithful, and we can see things from God’s perspective, and we can love others for who they are. Thankfulness also has a stabilizing, anchoring influence in our life. Focusing on self and others can have a destabilizing effect, for we are seeing others’ imperfections, inabilities and sins. However, when we are thankful, we are not looking at what we and others are doing, but at what God is doing. I cannot say it strongly enough, we need to be thankful every day, until the Lord takes us home or until the rapture, and then we will keep thanking Him forever and ever. The Lord desires our thanks and deserves our thanks. And those who are thankful will be able to, “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love is everlasting… Give thanks to the God of heaven, for His love is everlasting.” Psalm 136:1, 26.

I encourage you today to be thankful. Don’t wait. Bless and honor your Lord by being thankful right now! “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His name.” (Psalm 100:4)  Because “…with God all things are possible”. Matthew 19:26

In His Service,

Bishop Dr. Calvin Worthem

General Chief Overseer/Senior Bishop