1 Chron. 16:8-10 - Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. 9 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. 10 Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. 
 
As we in the United States get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, I hope we have made giving "Thanks" to God a part of our everyday life because when we "give thanks" to God we please Him. 

• Happiness Comes From Doing What Pleases God

King David had just figured out his mistake of trying to move the Ark of the Covenant on a new cart. David's mistake resulted in Uzzah losing his life. God had informed them the Ark was to be moved on the shoulders of the Levites. This was to be done by inserting poles in the rings on the sides of the Ark and lifting it on their shoulders.
 
God had given this information to Moses 400+ years earlier and He had not changed His mind on how He wanted the Ark to be moved.
 
The Ark of the Covenant was now moved back into Jerusalem and King David is one happy Israelite and so is God.

•  How To Make God Happy 

We can make God happy doing what He says and by Giving Thanks to Him, calling upon His name, making known His deeds among the people and singing praises to His name.
 
There are two different Hebrew words being used for "sing." The first word "sing" means to "extend the hands" as you are praising Him, and the second word "sing" means to "strike with the fingers."
 
This would be done as you touch the strings of a musical instrument. One would celebrate in song with a musical instrument being played. In other words, some will be singing with outstretched arms while others are playing musical instruments.
 
While you are singing to Him you would speak of all His wonders and to "Glory in His Name" means "to boast about God and His accomplishments" and your heart would be glad.
 
I am sure we have all bragged about something our children or grandchildren have done in their life. With smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts we let others know of their accomplishments. This is how Christians are to praise God with smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts. We can't wait to inform others of God's deeds. 

• Giving Thanks On Thanksgiving 

As we enter into our season of Thanksgiving let us Praise God for all of His accomplishments in our lives. Let us be sure to speak of His marvelous deeds. What is it specifically that we can give Thanks for? 

Has God healed you from a disease? Has God blessed your family with the birth of a child? Has God given you a new job? Have you led someone to Christ this year?

• Giving Thanks For The Forgiveness of Your Sins

If you are a Christian, you can now give thanks for the forgiveness of your sins. God's plan to send Jesus into the world to reconcile mankind back to Himself has real meaning for us now.
 
Sins can be forgiven because Jesus lived a perfect life, offered His blood to atone for our sins and was resurrected from the grave.

Hallelujah!
 
We really have something to be Thankful for this year and every year if we have given our lives to Christ.

If you haven't given your life to Christ don't you believe it is about time?

All you have to do is confess Christ to be your Lord and Savior (Rom.10:9) and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).
 
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Be a Blessing in someone's life today.

Think About This:

Hem your blessings with Thankfulness so they don't unravel

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago      
    
Minister of God’s Word

Ephesians 6:10-12 - “And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.”   The Message
 
Ephesians 6:10-12 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. English Standard Version

• What Does The Devil Throw Your Way?

Every one of us must wrestle against some type of temptations the devil has thrown in front of us.

I like how the Message says, “This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.”   

You better have your head on a swivel as they say because the devil is going to come after you with his angels and they are serious. They are focused. They are on a mission, and it is to spiritually humiliate you, and ultimately spiritually kill you before they physically kill you.

They want you to die outside of Christ.
​

• What Are We To Do?

You must believe the LORD has prepared you for this war. He has trained you to use the best weapons. If the devil wants to use a sword to fight you with, no problem. We will use a gun.

The devil may come at you with a sword, but it doesn’t mean we have to fight with one. If you can remember the one Indiana Jones movie. A man made all those moves with a sword and Indy pulled out his gun and shot him.

You have been coached to win this war. When it comes to defeating the devil and his angels we have been properly trained. The Word of God teaches us how to fight and win.   

We have been coached by God. Therefore, we need to listen to our coach. When the conflict begins, we are confident that we have been coached correctly. We know what to do to defeat our enemy. We have been coached with the Word of God to defeat our enemy, and the Holy Spirit dwells in us.

I John 4:4 - Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 
What are we to do? We are to go to war and know full well when it is over, we will be the victors.

Think About This:
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win. – Sun Tzu

 Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago      
    
Minister of God’s Word

Prov.14:34 - Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people.

• Fox News Headlines

As I was reading the headlines here are a few that supports the Proverbs scripture text today.

1. Houston veteran police officer killed, second wounded while serving narcotics warrant. 
2. California mom gets behind wheel drunk, drags 8-year-old daughter who tried to stop her 300 feet. 
3. Chicago weekend violence includes 56 shooting victims, 9 murders and alderman attacked at problem corner. 

We are exactly the opposite of a “righteous” nation when we read headlines like these. Sin is a disgrace to any people. We are growing more and more unrighteous every day as a nation.
 
What will be the outcome of this nation?
 
You and I both know what it is, and it isn’t good if we stay on this ungodly path.
​ 

• What Exalts A Nation?

Righteousness exalts a nation. It isn’t allowing politicians to be bought by lobbyists.

In my opinion the USA has been going downhill ever since they removed prayer from schools in 1962, removed the 10 commandments from the schools and court houses, and gave women the right to abort their babies.

If righteousness exalts a nation, then unrighteousness must dishonor a nation.

In a Fox News Report on January 22, 2021, the article stated that over 62 million abortions have been committed since 1973 in the USA. This is innocent blood that is being shed and someone must be accountable for this child’s life.

In Gen.4:10 it says this: And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.

Abel’s righteous blood cried out to God. I wonder how it affects God that 62 million babies are crying out to Him?

• What Will It Take To Turn This Nation Around?

It will take more than prayer. I know a lot of Christians will say “Pray”. I say to turn this nation around there must be “Repentance”.

What is repentance?

Repentance is when you change your mind which brings about a change in your behavior.

We must stop killing people. Regardless if they are babies in the womb, or police on the streets, or innocent people shot by drive-by shootings. When a person repents, they change their behavior.

What behavior in your life do you need to change?

 The apostle Paul says the fruit of the Holy Spirit is as follows:                                                                    “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
 
Are any of these fruit mentioned by Paul in need of being watered, fertilized, and cultivated in our lives?
 
Think About These:
 
Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.
 
No one is useless who lightens the burden of another person.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago      
    
Minister of God’s Word

Prov.13:20 – “He who walks with wise men will be wise,
                     But the companion of fools will suffer harm.”
​

• A Lesson From The Wisest Man In The World

Solomon has been known as the smartest man in the world. So, for the sake of an argument let’s just agree and say okay that he was the smartest man on the earth when he was alive.
 
Can we learn anything from the smartest man in the world?
 
In this one passage there are two lessons for us, and they are both about with whom we associate. The wisest man in the world says, it is important that we associate with the right people and avoid association with the wrong people. 

• Results Of Associating With Wise People 

First, if you are going to associate with people and we all do. Associate with people who are wise. Second, don’t associate with people who are foolish.
 
Wise people in the Bible were successful people. Wisdom is the art of being successful, of forming the correct plan to gain the desired results (Definition from New Bible Dictionary, InterVarsity Press).
 
They had been blessed by God and used these blessings to help themselves and others. 

• Results of Associating With Foolish People 

We can probably all think of people with whom our parents forbid us association. When we asked, “Why?” It was because we would just get in trouble associating with them. In another way of saying it, “companion of fools will suffer harm”.
 
Our parents were trying to protect us, but we thought they were trying to rob us from having fun. When they were trying to save us from harm’s way or suffering according to Solomon.
 
Can you see the person’s face or remember the name of the one your parents didn’t want you to associate? Are you like me thinking man I wished I had listened to them?
 
I wrote a Pump Up once and it was “Show Me Your Friends and I Will Show You Your Future.”
 
Solomon is saying the same thing only he said it 3,000 years before anyone. 

• Ask Yourself This Question 

Do I want to be successful?
 
If you answer yes to that question then you will want to associate with wise people. You cannot say I want to be successful and associate with fools. God’s word promises that association with the foolish will only bring harm to you.
 
Who are the “foolish” people Solomon is referencing in Proverbs?
 
They are the ones who know what they are doing is wrong and they don’t care. They go right on doing what they know is wrong.
 
Listen to this question, “If a “foolish” person doesn’t care about his life do you think for one minute he will care about yours?”
 
Make Your Life Profitable Associate With The Right People.
 
Think About These:
 
Knowledge knows a fact and wisdom knows what to do with that fact.
 
Advice is that which the wise don’t need and the fools won’t take.
 
Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago      
    
Minister of God’s Word