“Lift up a great shout of joy to Yahweh! Go ahead and do it—everyone, everywhere! Worship Yahweh with gladness. Sing your way into his presence with joy! And realize what this really means— we have the privilege of worshiping Yahweh our God. For he is our Creator and we belong to him. We are the people of his pleasure. You can pass through his open gates with the password of praise. Come right into his presence with thanksgiving. Come bring your thank offering to him and affectionately bless his beautiful name! For Yahweh is always good and ready to receive you. He’s so loving that it will amaze you— so kind that it will astound you! And he is famous for his faithfulness toward all. Everyone knows our God can be trusted, for he keeps his promises to every generation!”
Psalm 100 tells us that it is our thanksgiving that opens the gates of the Lord’s Presence for us. It is thanksgiving that puts our hearts in the right posture for worship. It’s thanksgiving that builds our faith -- because it reminds us that the Lord has come through for us and will continue to be faithful to come through for us. He never lies. He never leaves us. He never fails and He never loses. He is the faithful Everlasting God who loves us more than we can even fathom -- so much so that He sent His only Son Jesus to Earth to become an example for us in how to live and to be the perfect sacrifice to put us back in right relationship with the Lord. He endured the pain and torment of the cross and the weight of our sin, so that we could be restored to righteousness. Our right response is to be honest before Him, to thank Him, to turn from our former ways and to invite Him to be the one who leads our life. His love made a way for us before we needed a way, and we have every reason to be continually thankful.
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