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CI 2023 Pasasalamat: Pagtanaw at Pagbabahagi

Christmas Institute 2023 

Pasasalamat: Pagtanaw at Pagbabahagi 

December 27-29, 2023


One of the good things that we can offer to God is to give thanks. Why is it right to give thanks and praise to God? I believe that the answer was already written in the scripture and our experiences.

It is good to give thanks to God because of his steadfast love for all of us at all times. The youngest participants here are maybe 12 years old and the eldest is around 22 or 23 years old. Looking back for all these years 12 years to 23 years living on earth. We have experienced hardships in our families, studies, church, or ministry, in our health, social life, finances, or even our spirituality. Despite these trials, we can still say thanks to God because we are here together, called in his name, to give thanks and praise.

Upon reading Psalm 92, I learned significant things about thanksgiving.


1. Thanksgiving needs no hiding. (Ang pasasalamat hindi itinatago).

    We declare, we say it, and we do something. When we give thanks to God and other people by words or actions, we are being true to ourselves and the people around us. Giving thanks is not a shame so don’t be shy to show it.


2. Thanksgiving invites each one of us to worship. (Ang pasasalamat ay paanyaya para magpuri)

    When we sing praises, dance, or listen to great melodies or music, from the instruments that we can play or cannot but love listening to them. Even though we cannot sing and dance, thanksgiving can make us do it because we are focusing on God’s faithfulness. We are ready to offer our lives as an act of worship to our LORD.


3. Thanksgiving brings joy. (Ang pasasalamat ay nagbibigay ng kagalakan). 

    God and us are both experiencing gladness or joy when we give thanks.

God made us glad because of his love for us and we made him glad by being grateful not only for what he has done for all of us but we are grateful for God being himself (ever faithful, gracious, and loving God.

 

Is it good to give thanks to the Lord? And we can all answer, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord.”

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THE CONFESSION

     While I am reading a book title "Leadership That Builds" by Glenn Johnson, on its chapter title "A leader Must Have Integrity", I remember my life verse in Psalm 111:10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and all who follow His precepts have good understanding, to Him belongs eternal praise." The book explains that fearing God is trusting Him with confidence, but this may fail when you feel guilty at some point in your life.  The hindrance of our confidence in God is the feeling of guilt. In Nehemiah (Book in the Old Testament), which is the scriptural foundation of the said book, confession is Nehemiah's way on gaining confidence in God. He said in Nehemiah 1:6 " let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the Israelites, confessing the sins of the Israelites, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned."  ...