Author: Shane Linville

As the scripture says, “All human beings are like grass, and all their glory is like wild flowers. The grass withers, and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” This word is the Good News that was proclaimed to you.

In other words Our lives are like the grass of spring, and any glory we enjoy is like the beauty of a wildflower. The grass dries up and dies, and the flower falls to the ground. But the word of the Lord lasts forever.”And that word is the Good News that was told to you. (1 Peter 1:24-25)

Peter argues the eternality of God’s Word (v.23) with a quote from Isaiah 40:6-8. Isaiah 40 deals with Israel under apostasy. The nation was spiritually dead, the temple ravaged, and the people had adulterated their commitment to God. In the face of all this, the Bible remained true.

All flesh is as grass

“All flesh” is everyone in their naturalstate. Man is finite and temporal and transient – he is “as grass.” “Grass” is temporal and fragile. There is nothing permanent in the grass. Man is not like the Word of God that never perishes. 

Israel did not love God with all of her heart. She lurched after idols and perpetrated apostasy. Man is a fickle being without stability.

And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass

“The glory of man” is man’saccomplishments. All the achievements of man, his records, writings are as fragile as grass. Man’s great structures, his developments in science all will wane like the fragile flower. Man’s toys are temporal. A man from a global picture withers and fades. Job 14:

As the scripture says, “All human beings are like grass, and all their glory is like wild flowers. The grass withers, and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” This word is the Good News that was proclaimed to you.

In other words Our lives are like the grass of spring, and any glory we enjoy is like the beauty of a wildflower. The grass dries up and dies, and the flower falls to the ground. But the word of the Lord lasts forever.”And that word is the Good News that was told to you. (1 Peter 1:24-25)

Peter argues the eternality of God’s Word (v.23) with a quote from Isaiah 40:6-8. Isaiah 40 deals with Israel under apostasy. The nation was spiritually dead, the temple ravaged, and the people had adulterated their commitment to God. In the face of all this, the Bible remained true.

All flesh is as grass

“All flesh” is everyone in their naturalstate. Man is finite and temporal and transient – he is “as grass.” “Grass” is temporal and fragile. There is nothing permanent in the grass. Man is not like the Word of God that never perishes. 

Israel did not love God with all of her heart. She lurched after idols and perpetrated apostasy. Man is a fickle being without stability.

And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass

“The glory of man” is man’saccomplishments. All the achievements of man, his records, writings are as fragile as grass. Man’s great structures, his developments in science all will wane like the fragile flower. Man’s toys are temporal. A man from a global picture withers and fades. Job 14:1-2 compares man to a delicate flower,

“Man who is born of woman

Is of few days and full of trouble.

He comes forth like a flowerand fades away;

He flees like a shadow and does not continue.”

The grass withers

The word “withers” means to dry up as in a drought. The person without God is in a drought. His life is corruptible and subject to eternal death.

Even man in all his glory withers and fades away. A pro football player eventually loses his strength and is cut from the team. He was outstanding for a while, but after a short period, he becomes a “has been.” A celebrity dies like everyone else.

And its flower falls away

Man’s fame fades away, 1 John. 2:17says, “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” We soon forget man’s achievements. Our generation has forgotten the achievements of our parent’s generation. The glories of the past fade away. Man’s beauty, strength, wealth, honor, art, education, learning, virtue, achievement, and greatness blow away like so much withered grass.

All earthly things perish in time. Things of life can be beautiful in their time. Grass is beautiful while it is here, but the winter comes and turns ugly and eventually

disappears.

The glory of man shines for a while, then like grass, it disappears.

Human life is temporary. Man struts around planet earth like a peacock. He puts a satellite into orbit and thinks that the world revolves around him. He swaggers as if he were God. Pompous little man thinks he can solve the mysteries of the universe.

We occupy ourselves with our accomplishments and have no time for God. We try to eliminate God from our thinking. All of this is like grass that grows for a time and then quickly turns brown and disappears. We will eventually die. Our face first shows signs of wear, then all of our pride in face, place, and grace disappear.

We buy a new car. Someone parks next to us and bangs their car door against our pride and joy. The glory of the new car fades. We need to keep eternal values in view, for the glories of this life will fade.

-2 compares man to a delicate flower,

“Man who is born of woman

Is of few days and full of trouble.

He comes forth like a flowerand fades away;

He flees like a shadow and does not continue.”

The grass withers

The word “withers” means to dry up as in a drought. The person without God is in a drought. His life is corruptible and subject to eternal death.

Even man in all his glory withers and fades away. A pro football player eventually loses his strength and is cut from the team. He was outstanding for a while, but after a short period, he becomes a “has been.” A celebrity dies like everyone else.

And its flower falls away

Man’s fame fades away, 1 John. 2:17says, “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” We soon forget man’s achievements. Our generation has forgotten the achievements of our parent’s generation. The glories of the past fade away. Man’s beauty, strength, wealth, honor, art, education, learning, virtue, achievement, and greatness blow away like so much withered grass.

All earthly things perish in time. Things of life can be beautiful in their time. Grass is beautiful while it is here, but the winter comes and turns ugly and eventually

disappears.

The glory of man shines for a while, then like grass, it disappears.

Human life is temporary. Man struts around planet earth like a peacock. He puts a satellite into orbit and thinks that the world revolves around him. He swaggers as if he were God. Pompous little man thinks he can solve the mysteries of the universe.

We occupy ourselves with our accomplishments and have no time for God. We try to eliminate God from our thinking. All of this is like grass that grows for a time and then quickly turns brown and disappears. We will eventually die. Our face first shows signs of wear, then all of our pride in face, place, and grace disappear.

We buy a new car. Someone parks next to us and bangs their car door against our pride and joy. The glory of the new car fades. We need to keep eternal values in view, for the glories of this life will fade.

Sleeping with the Lord

Songs of praise laying me safely in rest

Sleeping in safety amongst the dark

Waking within the light

Peace be still

Within me the Holy Spirit dwells.

Peace be still within the night.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever. (Psalm 107:150)

Verse Thoughts

This lovely Psalm explodes into a song of thanksgiving to God, because His mercy and loves endures forever. But it is a Psalm which verse by verse continues to build up to a crescendo of grateful thanks, as it lists the many things that God has done for His people – Israel, and the many ways that He has responded to their cry for help. Although this is a Psalm that lists the many ways that God responded to their need and sheltered them from their enemies – it also targets-in on the truth of God’s steadfast love-

God redeemed Israel from their enemies; He heard and responded to their cries when they were alone in the wilderness or far away for their home and loved ones. He fed them when hungry, gave them drink when they were thirsty and refreshed their weary souls when their hearts were fainting. He responded to their cries and poured out gracious goodness to them – even when they rebelled against the word of the God or proudly forged-out their own pathway. In this beautiful song of praise Israel recognised that the goodness of God was not dependent on them – but on His everlasting faithfulness – His eternal grace – His loving-kindness which is never-ending. They understood that the Lord hears every cry of their heart and that He alone responds to their pleas and brings them through their troubles and trials.

This is not only a Psalm of the past, that celebrates Israel’s grateful thanks to their faithful God, Whose steadfast love endured forever – but it is a hymn of praise for the present – it is a song of thanksgiving that the church age can chorus with equal gusto and grateful hearts. Not only does this lovely Psalm explodes into a song of thanksgiving but concludes with the pronouncement that all who are wise will see that God’s steadfast love toward Israel’s – is the same faithful love, yesterday, today and forever.

It was Paul who encouraged us to give thanks in everything – so let our hearts and voices explode into a great hymn of praise and thanksgiving to the LORD, for He is good – His steadfast love endures forever for His faithfulness extends throughout time and into the far reaches of eternity.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

Many people would ask what are you thankful for in conversation which is a good conversation we can give thanks for many things and practices of thanks are of good they are a proper way of giving your gratitude

Gratitude for the gift of life is the primary wellspring of all religions, the hallmark of the mystic, the source of all true art. ~ Joanna Macy

Benedictine monk, Br. David Steindl-Rast, suggests that two qualities belong in our basic definition of gratitude. The first is appreciation: You recognize that something is valuable to you, which has nothing to do with its monetary worth. The second quality Br. David mentions is that gratitude is gratis: freely given to you.

Robert Emmons, perhaps the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude, also argues that gratitude has two key components: “First, it’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we’ve received.”

In the second part of gratitude, he explains, “we recognize that the sources of this goodness are outside of ourselves…We acknowledge that other people…gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives.”

In her book, Living in Gratitude: A Journey That Will Change Your Life, Angeles Arrien writes: “Gratitude is essentially the recognition of the unearned increments of value in one’s experience.” She goes on to say: “Gratitude is a feeling that spontaneously emerges from within. However, it is not simply an emotional response; it is also a choice we make. We can choose to be grateful, or we can choose to be ungrateful—to take our gifts and blessings for granted. As a choice, gratitude is an attitude or disposition.”

There is a variety of things that can conjure positive feelings of appreciation or gratitude that may guide people towards meaning and better health.

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson offers a helpful introduction into what practicing gratitude can look like, and this article will begin there and explore the current psychological research behind this value.

Gratitude is an emotion similar to appreciation, and positive psychology research has found neurological reasons why so many people can benefit from this general practice of expressing thanks for our lives, even in times of challenge and change.

To begin though, we need to define what we mean by “gratitude.”

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What is Gratitude? 

Many of us express gratitude by saying “thank you” to someone who has helped us or given us a gift. From a scientific perspective, however, gratitude is not just an action: it is also a positive emotion that serves a biological purpose.

Positive psychology defines gratitude in a way where scientists can measure its effects, and thus argue that gratitude is more than feeling thankful: it is a deeper appreciation for someone (or something) that produces longer lasting positivity.

Before continuing with that definition, we offer 10 definitions to provide a cultural context for how the word has changed over time.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, gratitude is simply “the state of being grateful.”

The Harvard Medical School provides more detail, writing that gratitude is:

“a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives … As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals–whether to other people, nature, or a higher power” 

This provides a more helpful context, leading us into the next definition from psychiatry researchers, who define gratitude as:

“the appreciation of what is valuable and meaningful to oneself and represents a general state of thankfulness and/or appreciation” (Sansone & Sansone, 2010).

Researchers also offer this definition:

“an emotion that is typically evoked when one receives costly, unexpected, and intentionally rendered benefits, and is thought to play a key role in regulating the initiation and maintenance of social relationships” (Forster et al., 2017).

Another simple definition of gratitude that comes from psychology research is:

“a social emotion that signals our recognition of the things others have done for us” (Fox et al., 2015).

This definition is important because it brings a social element into the definition of gratitude.

The social aspect of gratitude from this theologian says:

“if we acquire a good through exchange, effort or achievement, or by right, then we don’t typically feel gratitude. Gratitude is an emotion we feel in response to receiving something good which is undeserved” (Lacewing, 2016).

Another definition emphasizing its social aspect comes from social psychology researchers, who claim that:

“gratitude is a positively valenced emotion that can arise when another person–a benefactor–does something kind for the self (Algoe et al., 2016).

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

Since gratitude is a way of our thanks this is a practice we should practice with God many things we can be thankful for and show our gratitude but the most important thing and for is God and his works showing gratitude and thankfulness to God shows strong morals and respect to the one who deserves it most he is good and wonderful showing mercy to all for the honor and respect he gives us showing us mercy for everything his mercy experiences full gratitude and gratefulness forever for all of us