I have a bag for everything. Maybe you do as well? If I grab the right bag as I walk out the door, I’m in business. This morning, with “the church bag” in hand, I’m pondering this question:
What do you bring with you when you come to God?
Psalm 95 suggests thanksgiving as cargo:
“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.” (Psalm 95:1, 2 emphasis mine)
I’m thinking about what I will bring with me today as I prepare for worship on this Sunday morning: a sweater, Sunday school notes, my Bible, and a journal.
Will I also be bringing my gratitude and joyful praise?
Worship is not a Sunday-specific activity. Gratitude is not limited to the month of November. We are invited to enter the presence of God on the average Tuesday, any time of day. (This Sunday-school-level data should actually be staggering…)
Worship is not a Sunday-specific activity. Gratitude is not limited to the month of November.
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Today, let’s allow the call to worship of Psalm 95 to motivate us to take inventory of what we’re bringing with us into the presence of God. We can ALWAYS come to God with hearts full of thanksgiving.
Holding You in the Light,

What do you bring with you when you come to God? Psalm 95 suggests thanksgiving as cargo: “Come before His presence with #thanksgiving…”
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It sure isn’t! I try to practice an “attitude of gratitude” every day all year round.
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That’s the way to go!
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This is such a good reminder to bring our whole selves to God with praise and thanksgiving.
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Our WHOLE selves! Yes!
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Amen. Give thanks to God in every moment. 🙂
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Yes, every moment of every day!
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Such a beautiful reminder to praise and magnify the Lord daily. Jesus is enough, always.
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Gratitude carries the heart through the hardest seasons and it’s our right response to the best days.
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Gratitude is not only beneficial to mind and spirit, it’s fun! (I think gratitude and joy just might be cousins–they seem closely related to one another!)
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Oh, I love that! YES to fun gratitude and more joy! They are definitely related!
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What a great psalm! Thanks for sharing. My family and I keep a keep a gratitude journal year round. 🙂
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That’s going to be a treasure for your family to remember and enjoy!
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Our prayers often tend to be filled more with requests than thanks and worship. What a difference it would make if we thought of these verses as we approach our time with the Lord, whether in private or public.
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Every once in a while, I “overhear” myself talking to God as if he needs my advice on how to fix a situation. I need scripture all the time to direct my prayers!
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I’m working on learning to have gratitude every day. Some days, though, I don’t even think about it. You are right – gratitude is not just for Thanksgiving and worship is not just for Sunday. I really want to cultivate a spirit of worship and gratitude in my daily activities, because God is with us all the time. He does tell us to “pray without ceasing.” Blessings to you, Michele!
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It really is WORK, isn’t it? I think we’ve all ingested enough of the culture that our default is entitlement and discontent. We need the Spirit of God to do otherwise.
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Praise God we don’t have a Sunday-go-to-meeting kind of faith. For sure, ‘I need Thee every hour.’
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I’m not sure how anyone sustains the former? It sure must feel empty…
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I have not been wanting to let go of thanksgiving this year 🙂 I feel the same way – we need to be grateful and offering our thanks all year round. I want to be better at it this coming year.
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I was so grateful for this past week before Advent. I wanted to savor the season of Gratitude before diving into the next thing.
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I’m sorry to take so long to respond. This got lost in my email received list. We should ALWAYS take gratitude with us any time we go before the Lord.
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No need to apologize, friend! I’m happy to hear from you ANYTIME!
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