Thoughts for the Day

Praise the Lord!
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting....
He heals the broken-hearted,
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, from New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Have you sung the words "Praise and thanksgiving, Father we offer", to the tune normally sung to "Morning has broken"? And if you have, what on earth is the difference between praise and thanks. I looked at this earlier in the year, but realised I was struggling to remember the difference, so I thought I would look at it again, because there is a very simple way to remember:

• Thanksgiving is centred on US!
• Praise is centre on GOD!

We thank God for all He does for us, and we praise Him for His goodness - for His attributes and His character. We thank a friend for a present, and we praise them for their kindness.

Having thought of a simple way of remembering this, I hope I don't do what my mother once did. She tried to remember the name of a school headmaster. He was from Scotland and she thought if she could remember his name by another simple word that would help. The conclusion was she couldn't remember if his name was Mr Sporan or Mr Busby!

Today we praise God for His love, His generosity, His kindness, and His ..... (Can you add more?)

Friday 27th November, follow up thoughts

Heavenly Father,
creator of the Universe
and ruler of time and space,
we praise You for
Your creativity,
and we thank you
for Your generosity;
Your patience;
Your persistence,
and Your love for us.
Amen.