GRATITUDE

The Holy Bible says, “Look at the crows: they don’t plant seeds or gather a harvest; they don’t have store- rooms or barns; God feeds them! You are worth so much more than birds! Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?” (Luke 12: 24-25)

A song of joy

Sing a song of joy, sing and shout for joy, people of Israel!

Rejoice with all your heart Jerusalem!

The Lord has ended your punishment,

He has removed all your enemies.

The Lord, the King of Israel is with you,

There is no reason now to be afraid.

The time is coming when they will say to Jerusalem,

“Do not be afraid, city of Zion!

Do not let your hands hang limp!

The Lord your God is with you

His power gives you victory.

The Lord will take delight in you,

And in His love He will give you new life.

He will sing and be joyful over you,

as joyful as people at a festival.”

The Lord says, “I have ended the threat of doom

And taken away your disgrace.

The time is coming! I will punish your oppressors;

I will rescue all the lame

and bring the exiles home.

I will turn their shame to honor

and all the world will praise them.

The time is coming! I will bring your scattered people home;

I will make you famous throughout the world

And make you prosperous once again.”

The Lord has spoken.

(Zephaniah 3: 14 -20)

Thank You Abba Father

For choosing me, Your beloved daughter as a weapon to reveal Your hidden mysteries to the Universe!

Thank you Lord our God

For accepting all our offerings and for being pleased with our sacrifices.

Thank you Lord

For preserving the Holy Words of KLWC in your Holy Hands for the past 100 days.

Thank you Lord

For wrapping it in your feathers and taking to the needy ones

Thank you Lord

For protecting us by appointing guardian angels and not allowing the destructing army which was charging against us to even touch our feet

Thank you Lord

For bestowing the required wisdom at the acceptable time and confer the grace to publish it.

Thank you Lord

For giving the technicalities to circulate worldwide at the appointed time.

Thank you Lord

For the devotees who bear the burden of the service with great endurance.

Thank you Lord

For granting awakeness, strength and inspiration to flow through the opinions and compliments from the unstained hearts.

Thank you Lord

For comforting devotees who invoke us faithfully, blessing them with spiritual and temporal needs.

Here we lay our praise, honor and gratitude to our Heavenly family members especially. Infant Jesus, Mother August Queen of KLWC, St. Jude, personal saint, St.Anthony and St. Joseph.

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in union with our Heavenly family members and the heavenly beings and creation of the universe we worship and adore Thee for empowering us and guiding us till this moment.

Last but not the least we truly thank one and all for their encouraging support extended to us by their prayers.

PSALM 63

LONGING FOR GOD

O God, You are My God, and I long for You.

My whole being desires You;

Like a dry, worn-out, and water less land,

My soul is thirsty for You.

Let me see You in the sanctuary;

Let me see how mighty and glorious You are.

Your constant love is better than life itself,

And so I will praise You.

I will give You thanks as long as I live;

I will raise my hands to You in prayer.

My soul will feast and be satisfied,

And I will sing glad songs of praise to You.

As I lie in bed, I remember You;

All night long I think of You,

Because You have always been my help.

In the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.

I cling to You and Your hands keep me safe.

Those who are trying to kill me

Will go down into the world of the dead.

They will be killed in battle,

And their bodies eaten by wolves.

Because God gives Him victory, the king will rejoice.

Those who make promises in God’s name will praise Him,

But the mouths of liars will be shut.

ARC OF PRAISE

PART III

The Bible says, “Come, let us praise the Lord! Let us sing for joy to God, who protects us! Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and sing joyful songs of praise. For the Lord is a mighty God, a mighty king over all the gods.”     (Psalms 95: 1-3)

When we pray with a gratitude heart, God’s peace which is far beyond human understanding will keep our heart and mind safe in union with Christ Jesus.

When we praise with a gratitude heart we obtain peace.(Phil. 4)

 He forgives and forgets all our sins and He heals our diseases.        (Psalm 103)

“How happy are the people who worship You, with songs, who lives in the light of Your kindness. Because of You, they rejoice all day long and they praise You for Your goodness and You give us great victory." (Psalms 89) God will bless them with His constant love and His Mercy.They will have a cheerful heart and pleasant face.

When Daniel and his friends were accused of disobedience, the king flew into a rage and ordered his servants to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual and commanded the strongest men in his army to tie the three together and throw them into it. As per the order, they were thrown into the blazing furnace. Three of them courageously started singing glorious songs of the Supreme God.

God of the Universe intervened and sent his angel to save them. The angel went into the furnace and formed a cool mist among them and they were not hurt at all. The king saw that they were loosened and rejoicing, dancing and praising their God. Soon he commanded his servants to release them. The king too believed in True God and commanded all to worship the Supreme God.

A praising lip can make God perform powerful miracles because the Living God abides in him. Alleluia!!

“Whenever the evil spirit came on Saul, David would get his harp and play it. The evil spirit would leave, and Saul would feel better and be all right again.” (1Sam. 16:23)

By praising we obtain deliverance. Here again the Bible says that they obtain the grace to overcome the boring attitude towards reading the Word of God. God blesses those who are ceaselessly active in praise with a “Gift of Intercession”  to accept Jesus as the King and center of their life.

“You are enthroned as the Holy One, the one whom Israel praises.”

(Psalms 22:3)

These are few among many of the blessings just waiting to flow on an arc of praise.

I wish to remind you that God is not getting any benefit by you honoring Him because He is the origin of all.

“From one man He created all races of mankind and made them live throughout the whole earth. He Himself fixed beforehand the exact times and the limits of the places where they would live. He did this so that they would look for Him and perhaps find Him as they felt about for Him. Yet God is not far away from any one of us.” (Acts 17:26-28)

The Holy Bible warns us to praise God whenever you face hardship or persecution to overcome it.

Paul and Silas were arrested for injustice and they praised God loudly and they were released.

“May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: Rejoice! Show a gentle attitude towards everyone. The Lord is coming soon. 

Don’t worry about anything but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking Him with a thankful heart.” (Phili.4: 4-6) 

Job even in his deepest despair, proclaimed, “I know that there is someone in heaven who will come at last to my defense. Even after my skin eaten by disease, while still in this body I will see God." (Job 19:25-26)

“It is not appropriate for a sinner to sing hymns of praise, because his worship is insincere. A hymn should be an expression of wisdom, inspired by the Lord Himself.” (Sirach 15:9-10)

Again the Bible says: “They know God, but they do not give Him the honor that belongs to Him, nor do they thank Him. Instead their thoughts have become complete nonsense, and their empty minds are filled with darkness.” (Romans 1:21)

The Holy Bible teaches that a sinner cannot praise God because he is under the power of darkness. He will not get inspiration to honor the Lord.

God our Father always blesses us with the knowledge of good and bad. It is our duty to utilize this freedom in an appropriate way.

The Bible says that we should not be hesitant to praise God.

“Be joyfully grateful for the Lord’s mercy and never be ashamed to praise Him.” (Sirach 51:29)

 “The Lord gave me a gift for words, and I have used it in His praise.” (Sirach 51:22)

So understanding God, our Creator, who says, “Listen to this, you that ignore Me or I will destroy you, and there will be no one to save you. Giving thanks is a sacrifice that honors me, and I will surely save all who obey me.” (Psalms 50:23), let us open our inner eyes and step towards the treasury of praise.

                                                                       (TO BE CONTINUED)

PSALMS 67

A SONG OF THANKSGIVING

God, be merciful to us and bless us;

Look on us with kindness,

So that the whole world may know your will;

So that all nations may know your salvation.

May the peoples praise you, O God;

May all the peoples praise you!

May the nations be glad and sing for joy,

Because you judge the peoples with justice

And guide every nation on earth.

May the peoples praise you, O God;

May all the peoples praise you!

The land has produced its harvest;

God, our God, has blessed us;

May all people everywhere honor Him.