Activate High School Ministry's Blog

The Word: “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”

The Breakdown: David made a conscious decision to give thanks to God and to recount all of His wonderful deeds. Likewise, as it is written in Eph. 5:20, we are to always give thanks for everything that has been given to us—that means our whole lives should be ones of continual thanksgiving. Stop and think of what it is you should be thankful for. Recount all of God’s wonderful deeds in your life and give thanks with your whole heart.

Activate: Do you thank God for all of His wonderful deeds? Have you recognized that every good gift is from above (Jas. 1:17)? Are you only partially giving thanks to God, or are you giving thanks with your whole heart? Say with David, “I will give thanks!”

A Thought: David said that he would recount all of God’s wonderful deeds. When you remember what the Lord has done you’ll be able to give thanks with your whole heart, for you’ll taste and see that God is good (Psalm 34:8).

The Word: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (v.17).

The Breakdown: In verses 12-16 Paul provides a description of himself before he became Christian. He was a blasphemer, persecutor, and a violent aggressor. Although, once He came into contact with Jesus he received mercy, grace, and love. He considered himself as the foremost of all sinners and therefore was so extremely thankful that he received forgiveness. After he records his testimony he writes a doxology—an ascription of praise to God (literally, “the glory of God”).  Paul’s testimony produced a doxology because he was so thankful that God saved him. Therefore, he says that honor and glory belong to God forever!

Activate: When you reflect on your testimony does it cause you to praise God? Are you thankful that you have received mercy, grace, and love from the Lord? Take some time and thank God that though your sins were red like scarlet, He has made them as white as snow (Isa. 1:18).

A Thought: It doesn’t matter if you grew up in the church or have had a radical transformation like Paul, everyone has the same spiritual testimony whereas we were once dead in our sin but are now alive in Christ (see Eph. 2:1-7). He is worthy to receive praise!

The Word: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

The Breakdown: This verse describes how a key characteristic of non-believers is that they do give thanks to God nor honor Him as God. Part of honoring God is to give thanks to Him, and when this is neglected, it strips Him of His honor. People do not give thanks to God because they do not believe that He is the giver and sustainer of life—they believe that they are in control of their own life; therefore they see no reason to give God thanks.

Activate: Non-believers who are not in the presence of God do not give Him honor or thanks. The book of Revelation describes those who are in the presence of the Lord—the four living creatures and the angels—and they both ascribe honor and thanks to God. (Rev. 4:9; 7:12). As evidenced by these verses, it is obvious that God deserves honor and thanksgiving. Are you honoring God by giving Him thanks? Thanklessness is a trait of non-believers, but 1 Thess. 5:18 describes thanksgiving as a trait of a believer. Which one is evident in your life?

A Thought: “Giving thanks to God for both His temporal and spiritual blessings in our lives is not just a nice thing to do—it’s the moral will of God. Failure to give Him the thanks due Him is sin. It may seem like a benign sin to us because it doesn’t harm anyone else. But it’s an affront and insult to the One who created us and sustains us every second of our lives.” – Jerry Bridges

The Word: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His steadfast love endures forever” (vv.1-3).

The Breakdown: Due to God’s goodness and steadfast love, the psalmist writes “for His steadfast love endures forever” after every stanza in this psalm. This psalm reflects on God’s great work in the past: vv.4-9 can be cross referenced with Genesis 1, vv.10-15 with Exodus 11-14, and vv.16-22 with Numbers 14-36. Seeing God’s redemptive and loving work in the past made the psalmist ascribe thanksgiving to the “God of gods” and the “Lord of lords.” Notice the reasoning as to why thanksgiving should be given to God—for He is good and His steadfast love endures forever. Truly, we need to be thankful for God’s unconditional, steadfast, enduring love.

Activate: Think about your life and reflect on the steadfast love of God. Give thanks and praise to God for His creation (vv.4-9), deliverance (vv.10-15), and care (vv.16-22).

A Thought: Don’t just give thanks with your mouth—give thanks with your entire life!

The Word: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

The Breakdown: In his list of Christian virtues in verses 16-22, Paul writes that Christians should be thankful in all circumstances. In fact, he says that it is God’s will for you to life a life of thanksgiving, no matter what circumstances come your way. Thanklessness is a trait of non-believers (Rom. 1:21; 2 Tim. 3:1-5) and is rooted in arrogant pride. As believers, we must recognize that “every good and perfect gift is from above” (Jas. 1:17), and that even the trials and pains of life can serve for our good and God’s glory because God works them together for good in order to conform us into the image of His Son (Rom. 8:28-29).

Activate: Is your thankfulness due to the goodness of God or due to your circumstances? Are you thankful only when things are going really well? Or do you give thanks in all circumstances? If you have ever wondered what God’s will is for you, think about this: His will for you is to give thanks in all circumstances! During difficult times, though it may be hard, we are to still have a thankful heart; we need to have an attitude of gratitude! Don’t let your thanksgiving be dependent upon whether or not you are in a fortunate circumstance; give thanks because it is God’s will for you as His beloved child.

A Thought: “We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good, if bad, because it works in us patience, humility and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.” – C.S. Lewis

The Word: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (v.3).

The Breakdown: Without doubt, the only type of thanksgiving that is given in our culture pertains to physical and material blessings. As Christians, not only should we give thanks for the good gifts God gives us (Jas. 1:17), but we should be even more thankful for every spiritual blessing that we receive in Christ. “Every spiritual blessing” refers to the work of God in the lives of believers—namely, the work and love of God in salvation.

Activate: From this portion of Scripture, it is clear that Paul focuses on the spiritual blessing of election (being chosen by God for salvation) in the lives of believers. It reveals that election is of individuals, in Christ, from eternity, in love, and is unto holiness; it is founded on the sovereign pleasure of God and its objective is to bring glory to God through the manifestation of His “glorious grace” by enabling sinners to be accepted in Christ, making them “accepted in the Beloved” (vv.4-6). It’s a wondrous, glorious blessing!

A Thought: Don’t limit your thanksgiving to only material blessings; think about all of the spiritual blessings that you have been blessed with in Christ! Material blessings are temporal, but spiritual blessings in Christ are eternal. Blessed be God for His blessings!

The Word: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

The Breakdown; Many view the word repent as being somewhat harsh or negative. Although, the end result of repentance is positive. Repentance should end in rejoicing—being joyous over the fact that your sin is forgiven and that you can experience renewal as God restores you from the affects of sin. True repentance will always lead to true rejoicing, for biblical repentance always leads to believing and clinging to the gospel—the good news for repentant sinners.

Activate: Have you truly repented of your sins, whereby you encounter and experience God’s forgiveness? The realization, remorse, recognition, reproach, resentment, and removal of sin will ultimately lead to rejoicing over sin and thanking God for His delivering of your “body of death.”

A Thought: As Bryan Chapell states, “Repentance that renews precious fellowship with our incomparably wonderful God ultimately furthers our joy.  Just as we cannot enter into true repentance without sorrow for our guilt, we cannot emerge from true repentance without joy for our release from shame.” In your repentance, say, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ!”

The Word: “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil.”

The Breakdown: The resenting of sin prompts a removing of sin. In order to remove sin, you must turn yourself away from it. Sin will not remove itself from you; you must remove yourself from sin. And most importantly, you need to remove the evil of your deeds from before God’s eyes. The removal of sin essential in repentance, for it demonstrates a true turning from sin.

Activate: Removing sin is not enough; you must replace it with something. You must turn from sin and turn to something else. This is described in Paul’s “put off put on” principle (Col. 3:8-14), whereby sin is put off and replaced with godly living. That is why Isaiah does not just say to remove evil, but also to “learn to do good” (v.17). Remove sin and replace it with godliness!

A Thought: Most importantly, when you remove yourself away from sin, make sure that you move yourself to the cross. Turn from sin and turn to the Savior! And when you turn to God, He will turn to you (Zech. 1:3). Finally, the turning of sin must be followed by a trusting in the gospel!

The Word: “O you who love the Lord, hate evil!”

The Breakdown: The reproach of sin creates a resentment of sin, which is a righteous reaction to the wickedness of sin and its negative affects. True hatred for sin in repentance is a sure sign that godly grief has occurred, for the natural person does not hate sin, but loves it. Some may hate certain sins, but those who repent hate their own sin because they see what their sin did to the Savior—it killed Him—and what it does to them—hinders their spiritual growth and gladness. And as the psalmist states, those who love God should hate evil. In order to love the Lord, you must first loathe your sin. As Thomas Watson says, “Christ is never loved till sin be loathed.”

Activate: Like Jesus, you are to love righteousness and hate wickedness (Heb. 1:9). This can only come as a result of conversion, whereas you now hate the sinful things that you used to love. The reason for turning from sin in repentance is due to a hatred of sin and a love for the Savior. The greatest reason why you should hate sin is because the one you love hates it!

A Thought: As Charles Spurgeon says, “Look to the cross, and hate your sin, for sin nailed your Well Beloved to the tree. Look up to the cross, and you will kill sin, for the strength of Jesus’ love will make you strong to put down your tendencies to sin.”

The Word: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.”

The Breakdown: Incorporated with the recognition of sin is the reproach of sin. This is the sorrow and shame that is experienced due to the affect of sin. Ezra experienced this when the people of Israel disobeyed and intermarried with foreign nations. He said that he was ashamed and that his face blushed because of sin, thereby producing guilt. Such an experience arose out of a conviction over sin, not condemnation. He was still a godly man, but he was affected by sin.

Activate: Sorrow, shame, and guilt will always occur in repentance for sin because it was sin that made Christ a “man of sorrows” who carried your sorrow, bore your grief, and was an offering for your guilt (Is. 53:3-4,10). Such things should come as a result from the conviction of sin, not condemnation. Sorrow, shame, and guilt should arise in repentance, but as you receive forgiveness for your sin, such things should diminish in light of Christ’s great work on the cross!

A Thought: The reproach of sin produces a bitter taste of sin, for it causes you to experience its negative affects. But once the negative is experienced, then you may enjoy the positive—the sweetness of the gospel. As Thomas Watson says, “Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.”