From the desk of Steve Shultz:
What a gift from God are Bonnie and Mahesh Chavda. They are awesome examples to the Body of Christ of what it means to "walk with God."
Praise is so VERY IMPORTANT! The Church needs to learn to do so much more praise than we do now! Take this message to heart. For SUCH A TIME AS THIS, was this word from the Lord written and published by Bonnie and Mahesh.
We have included some VERY important resources by Mahesh Chavda and by Heather Clark. I pray you'll get these items below.
Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda:
At the Feasting Table - Give Thanks with Expectancy!
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name!—Psalm 100:4
As the crisp smell of autumn fills the air and the old leaves fall like latter rain from the trees along the roadway, our hearts are drawn to ideals of past family gatherings around the holiday feasting table at Thanksgiving. Americans are especially blessed with a spiritual tradition handed down by forefathers whose faith and covenant with God was the bedrock of their lives. Thanksgiving is more than turkey dinner and a trip to Grandma's house. The attitude of thanksgiving seasons our life with expectancy. It precipitates favor and manifold blessing from God. Thanksgiving fills our prayers with faith.
Thanksgiving is a Part of the Lifeblood of a Healthy Human Heart
The opening in the tent curtain leading into the Tabernacle was called "Gates of Thanksgiving." As a sacrificial show of their gratitude, adoration and need for the Lord God, Israelite families arrived at these gates with tokens of their lives in hand in order to offer thanks. Those offerings were very public. The worshipper and their family could be seen passing through the camp on their way to the Gate of Thanksgiving. There the priests received the family's gift. Often the offering had cost the worshippers a great deal. The purchase price of a ram or a bull, or that same prize animal separated out from their herd, was no small sign of gratitude for their covenant with God.
Having handed over their gifts, the worshippers exchanged words of vows and renewal or confession, unburdening their hearts from sin or failure. They stood in plain sight of the "holocaust" – the slaughter site of the altar – where the offerings were consumed by holy fire. Giving thanks was much more than lip service and songs in those days! The bloody, costly process they both witnessed and participated in was meant to foreshadow the costly gift of the life of God's prized treasure, His only begotten Son. His life was offered up in exchange for the life of all who make covenant with God through the Blood shed on Calvary. So when David sang, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving," he was referring to the first step in the testimony of a life laid down in covenant with God.
Thanksgiving is indeed the gateway into experiencing the benefits of our covenant with God. Luke records an event of thanksgiving he witnessed in the ministry of Jesus:
It happened one day as Jesus made His way toward Jerusalem, He crossed the border into Samaria. Entering a certain village, ten men, every one of them wasting with leprosy, heard He was in the neighborhood. They came out of hiding in hopes He could do something for them. Being unclean and used to the rejection and harsh treatment they received from the community that feared contact with the dread disease, the ten lepers kept their distance. But as Jesus went by they all began to shout and plead with Him.
"Jesus! Master! Won't You have mercy on us?"
Turning, the Lord took a long look at the desperate men, their lives as good as over. From where He was, Jesus simply said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."
They obeyed and went. While they were still on their way, one by one they realized to their great astonishment that their leprosy had completely disappeared! Nine of the men were Jews. Whether they ever showed up at the Gate of Thanksgiving in the Temple to give testimony to God we can never know. But we know this: One of the ten was a Samaritan. Religious Jews normally wouldn't be caught dead with one of them. But when this man saw that Jesus had made him whole he turned right around and came running back to Jesus, shouting and glorifying God all the way.
Finding Jesus in the village square, the former leper threw himself face down on the ground at Jesus' feet, making an unabashed public show of his worship. The man couldn't thank the Lord enough. He kept repeating over and over, "Thank You, Lord! How can I ever thank You for what You have done for me? Thank You, Lord! Thank You, thank You!"
Jesus looked around at the people who witnessed the whole thing. "Didn't I heal ten men?" He asked. "Where are the nine heirs? This man is a Samaritan. Is he, a foreigner to the covenant, the only one who has returned to give glory to God?" Then Jesus took the man by the arms and lifted him up. "Be on your way, friend. Your faith has saved you" (Luke 17:11-19).
A Thankful Heart and the Voice of Giving Thanks Has Extraordinary Effects!
Thanksgiving for even the smallest blessing, provision, or deliverance invites God to surround us. His intervention is often like the opening in the tent curtain where the Shekinah dwelt and God met Moses face to face: the Gates of Thanksgiving. Let us give thanks in extraordinary measures at this time of year. Remember to say thank you to those who wait on you daily, in your family and your workplace. Express your thankfulness to your leaders, prayer partners and friends at church for encouraging you. Remember the widow and the orphan, and be thankful for the relationships and full provision you enjoy. May our acts and songs of giving thanks testify to the covenant we keep with the Source of all joy!
Thank You, Lord, for Your eye upon us. Thank You for Your hand to bless, heal and deliver. Thank You for the loving answers to our prayers. Thank You most of all for Jesus who gave Himself that we might have eternal life!
Do not be anxious about anything, instead pray and ask, and with thanksgiving give God your requests.—Philippians 4:6
Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda
Mahesh Chavda Ministries
Email: info@maheshchavda.com
