Our hearts are turned to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in thanksgiving for His sacrificial and redemptive acts of love in our behalf. We receive them and what He has procured through them that we may gratefully bring glory to His Wonderful Name. “And let the peace from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].” (Col.3:15, Amp)
A while back I walked into the kitchen and I said to Kathy, “That smells like Thanksgiving!”. As I walked in, I experienced a wide range of sensory connections with Thanksgiving. The smell of spices and basting meat and the odors of baking coming out of the oven filled my senses. But I also began to hear things. As memories of Thanksgivings-come-and-gone stirred in my mind, I could hear the sounds of those gatherings, those loved ones, those children, those songs, that worship—in my memory. Kathy couldn’t hear any of it but I could hear many things all at once. I had to just stand there for a minute or two, not focusing on anything in the room but looking with my memory into those sights and sounds that had been cherished and stored away in valuable files of my heart. Then, even as I write now, hot tears filled my eyes and my heart raced up at the peace and joy and delight all those sounds and people in my memory brought to me. I didn’t even realize that I had tucked those precious memories away so many years ago. But the loving atmosphere, the loving people, the lovely ambiance and delicious foods all impacted my senses then for a delightful, sensory and welcome release now. No camera could have accomplished what those pleasant experiences wrought, for they were drawn up out of the well of cherished ones and cherished things in my heart. And for a brief time they were all there, all real and all so lovely once again. I am so thankful for a rich heritage, deeply meaningful relationships and for cherished memories that still impact me today. May this Thanksgiving bring to you sights and sounds and smells that pleasantly soothe you and heal you, and may they all bring you to a fresh place of rest in our Lord. (Prov.10:7a, Amp) ”The memory of the righteous [person] is a blessing,”.
And our thankfulness goes on and on…. We are thankful that all things have been given us through our relationship with Jesus for a life of living godly in this present world. 2Pe.1:2 — “Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 according as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who has called us to glory and virtue,”
As the people of God assemble today, may they lift their voices, their hearts and hands and sing thanksgiving unto the Lord God for all His beneficent blessings toward us. For God is good and greatly to be praised. “[ A Song of Praise ] 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. (Ps.95:1-2, GNT)
It is a good thing to be reminded on one spacial day of the year that it is our full time occupation every day (while going out, while being out and while
coming in) to give thanks to the LORD for goodness is not just an attribute,
it is what God is and He can be nothing else. Let there be giving of thanks
(in both speaking and singing) to Yahweh, who is most gracious. “It is a good and delightful thing to give thanks to the Lord, To sing praises to Your name, O Most High” (Ps.92:1, Amp)
As the people of God assemble today may they observe the opportunity to be thankful and give symphonic thanks with others who have also experienced the goodness of Father God. May they also determine to make any and all places with any and all opportunities the “gates” that are regularly entered with thankfulness.“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name! For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5 (Amp)
After a time of wrestling with unanswered prayer that hadn’t seen the slightest possibility of being answered and after asking the Lord for wisdom and counsel before my attitude got way out of line, the Lord spoke to me, “Stay still and stay thankful”. Those are very clear instructions. Immediately I began to think about stillness and thankfulness and Jn.14:1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled”, came to mind. Having studied it I knew it meant “don’t let your heart be agitated or tossed to and fro or perplexed with doubt” and all that is the opposite of being still. Unanswered prayers don’t get to determine the mood for the day. When the man arrived from Jairus’ house and told him not to trouble the Teacher any more because his daughter was dead, Jesus heard the man and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid! Just trust me, and she’ll be all right.” (Lk.8:50, TLB) Trust is the place where you don’t live by what you see or by what you hear; trust is the place where you stand on the Lord’s steady faithfulness, His unshakeable goodness, His undistracted awareness of what you need, of your prayers and when and how it will be best to answer them. —Kathy Gabler
Thank God in the Night. May we awaken in the night to give thanks and to receive insight and be stirred in the truth that our God is available to those who seek Him and may we return expectantly to restful sleep knowing that He is acting in our behalf. “…I get up in the middle of the night to thank you; your decisions are so right, so true—I can’t wait till morning!” (Ps.119:60, Msg)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It is a good thing to be reminded on one special day of the year that it is our full time occupation every day (while going out, while being out and while coming in) to give thanks to the LORD for goodness is not just an attribute, it is what God is and He can be nothing else. Let there be giving of thanks (in both speaking and singing) to Jahveh, who is most gracious.“It is a good and delightful thing to give thanks to the Lord, To sing praises to Your name, O Most High” (Ps.92:1, Amp)
A while back I walked into the kitchen and I said to Kathy, “That smells like Thanksgiving!”. As I walked in, I experienced a wide range of sensory connections with Thanksgiving. The smell of spices and basting meat and the odors of baking coming out of the oven filled my senses. But I also began to hear things. As memories of Thanksgivings-come-and-gone stirred in my mind, I could hear the sounds of those gatherings, those loved ones, those children, those songs, that worship—in my memory. Kathy couldn’t hear any of it but I could hear many things all at once. I had to just stand there for a minute or two, not focusing on anything in the room but looking with my memory into those sights and sounds that had been cherished and stored away in valuable files of my heart. Then, even as I write now, hot tears filled my eyes and my heart raced up at the peace and joy and delight all those sounds and people in my memory brought to me. I didn’t even realize that I had tucked those precious memories away so many years ago. But the loving atmosphere, the loving people, the lovely ambiance and delicious foods all impacted my senses then for a delightful, sensory and welcome release now. No camera could have accomplished what those pleasant experiences wrought, for they were drawn up out of the well of cherished ones and cherished things in my heart. And for a brief time they were all there, all real and all so lovely once again. I am so thankful for a rich heritage, deeply meaningful relationships and for cherished memories that still impact me today. May this Thanksgiving bring to you sights and sounds and smells that pleasantly soothe you and heal you, and may they all bring you to a fresh place of rest in our Lord. (Prov.10:7a, Amp) ”The memory of the righteous [person] is a blessing,”.
May we awaken in the night to give thanks and to receive
insight and be stirred in the truth that our God is available
to those who seek Him and may we return expectantly to
restful sleep knowing that He is acting in our behalf.
“…I get up in the middle of the night to thank you; your
decisions are so right, so true—I can’t wait till morning!” (Ps.119:60, Msg)
“Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; THANK GOD no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.” (1Thess.5:16-18, Msg)
The one who knows Jehovah God knows that, in spite of what circumstances or people have done, God Almighty still has a purpose of His own in that person’s life. This Great God is too wise to act irrationally and too compassionate to be cruel. We are in Christ Jesus and giving thanks from that position from which nothing nor anyone can remove us.
“I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” (Rom.8:38-39, Msg)
full time occupation every day (while going out, while being out and while
thankful and give symphonic thanks with others who have also experienced the goodness of Father God. May they also determine to make any and all places with any and all opportunities the “gates” that are regularly entered with thankfulness. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name! For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5 (Amp)
before my attitude got way out of line, the Lord spoke to me, “Stay still and stay thankful”. Those are very clear instructions. Immediately I began to think about stillness and thankfulness and Jn.14:1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled”, came to mind. Having studied it I knew it meant “don’t let your heart be agitated or tossed to and fro or perplexed with doubt” and all that is the opposite of being still. Unanswered prayers don’t get to determine the mood for the day. When the man arrived from Jairus’ house and told him not to trouble the Teacher any more because his daughter was dead, Jesus heard the man and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid! Just trust me, and she’ll be all right.” (Lk.8:50, TLB) Trust is the place where you don’t live by what you see or by what you hear; trust is the place where you stand on the Lord’s steady faithfulness, His unshakeable goodness, His undistracted awareness of what you need, of your prayers and when and how it will be best to answer them. —Kathy Gabler
Thank God in the Night. May we awaken in the night to give thanks and to receive insight and be stirred in the truth that our God is available to those who seek Him and may we return expectantly to restful sleep knowing that He is acting in our behalf. “…I get up in the middle of the night to thank you; your decisions are so right, so true—I can’t wait till morning!” (Ps.119:60, Msg)
It is a good thing to be reminded on one special day of the year that it is our full time occupation every day (while going out, while being out and while coming in) to give thanks to the LORD for goodness is not just an attribute, it is what God is and He can be nothing else. Let there be giving of thanks (in both speaking and singing) to Jahveh, who is most gracious. “It is a good and delightful thing to give thanks to the Lord, To sing praises to Your name, O Most High” (Ps.92:1, Amp)
ones, those children, those songs, that worship—in my memory. Kathy couldn’t hear any of it but I could hear many things all at once. I had to just stand there for a minute or two, not focusing on anything in the room but looking with my memory into those sights and sounds that had been cherished and stored away in valuable files of my heart. Then, even as I write now, hot tears filled my eyes and my heart raced up at the peace and joy and delight all those sounds and people in my memory brought to me. I didn’t even realize that I had tucked those precious memories away so many years ago. But the loving atmosphere, the loving people, the lovely ambiance and delicious foods all impacted my senses then for a delightful, sensory and welcome release now. No camera could have accomplished what those pleasant experiences wrought, for they were drawn up out of the well of cherished ones and cherished things in my heart. And for a brief time they were all there, all real and all so lovely once again. I am so thankful for a rich heritage, deeply meaningful relationships and for cherished memories that still impact me today. May this Thanksgiving bring to you sights and sounds and smells that pleasantly soothe you and heal you, and may they all bring you to a fresh place of rest in our Lord. (Prov.10:7a, Amp) ”The memory of the righteous [person] is a blessing,”.
“Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; THANK GOD no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.” (1Thess.5:16-18, Msg)
