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Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Some of you were not expecting me on Wilderness Wanderings since I\u2019m on vacation. Unfortunately, for me (and maybe you) I neglected to recruit someone to fill in for me. So, last week, I put together several devotions around the theme of Thanksgiving.

Deuteronomy was getting to be rather heavy (as some you have mentioned to us; thanks for the feed back). This seemed like a good opportunity to provide something different.

The Bible is quite insistent that God\u2019s people live a life of thanksgiving. Our text is one of a collection of Psalms scholars have dubbed, \u201cPsalms of Thanksgiving\u201d. Here is a little exercise for you: \u201cidentify three other psalms of thanksgiving\u201d.

The New Testament continues this tradition. Paul instructs us, \u201cAnd whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him\u201d (Col. 3:17) and \u201cSing and make music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ\u201d (Eph. 5:19-20) and again, \u201cBe joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God\u2019s will for you in Christ Jesus\u201d (1 Thess. 5:16-18).

In the gospels, Jesus heals 10 lepers, but only one comes back to thank him. Luke ends his account of the story with, \u201cHe threw himself at Jesus\u2019 feet and thanked him\u2014and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, \u201c\u2019Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?\u2019\u201d (19:16-18).

These passages have sometimes been used to suggest that Christians must always be happy. Thankfully (pun intended) the Bible presents a more realistic portrayal of life in this world. None of the Biblical characters, not even Jesus Himself, are described in this manner. As a preacher, I have been tempted to make God\u2019s people feel guilty for not being thankful enough. But I don\u2019t think that is the thrust of this passages.

Rather, they seem to be stating the obvious: the expectation that Christians will be thankful. But this thanksgiving is rooted in something different than the Thanksgiving celebrations on the second Monday of October. This national holiday was designed to give people time to celebrate the harvest of food, which almost everyone had a deep stake in years ago. If the harvest was thin, food was scarce.

Even though we ought to give God thanks for our daily bread, there is a deeper thanksgiving theme in the Bible. Its what is summarized with these words, \u201cI belong, body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ\u201d (Heidelberg Catechism, A#1). And because we belong to Jesus, we also belong to our heavenly Father. Moreover, we belong because \u201cGod is good, his love endures forever\u201d

In all circumstances, both good and bad, we belong to God; we are in His hands. This is the profound reality in which all Christians live and breathe. This is our permanent thanksgiving. We also recognize that all material things are a gift from our Father and so whether they are many or few, we give thanks for each one.