Psalm 79:13 Giving Thanks Forever

Good morning Abba, Good morning Jesus, Good morning Holy Spirit,

So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture,

will give You thanks forever.

Psalm 79:13

In America, the day of Thanksgiving was set aside as a day for gathering and giving Thanks to God Almighty our creator for all of His blessings.  In 1777, our Congress issued the first Thanksgiving Day Proclamation:

" ...for solemn thanksgiving and praise; 

that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, 

and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor; 

and that together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, 

they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins, 

whereby they had forfeited every favor, 

and their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, 

through the merits of Jesus Christ, 

mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance; 

that it may please him graciously to afford his blessings..."

 Our first President, George Washington, knew the divine providence (the hand of God Almighty) and how His protective covering was in need of our gratitude and thanksgiving, therefore, in 1789, he wrote our nation's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation:

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God,

 to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor;

 and whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me

 "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer,

 to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God,

 especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government

 for their safety and happiness."

 In 1863, President Lincoln declared this Thanksgiving Day Proclamation.  From those founding fathers, we have continued our National day of Thanksgiving. 

King David knew what it was to be humbled before God Almighty with a grateful heart:

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

 And to sing praises to Your name,

 O Most High;

 To declare Your loving kindness in the morning, 

And Your faithfulness every night.

Psalm 92:1-2

His many Psalms have been given unto us for our relationship with Abba our creator, with His only begotten son our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and our comforter and guide the Holy Spirit:

• God's righteousness and holiness - Psalm 7:17, 30:4, 48:10, 71:16, 24, 99:3
  
• All God's marvelous works - Psalm 9:1, 66:3-7, 71:16-17, 72:18, 92:4-6, 105:5, 111:2-4
  
• Your body - Psalm 139:14-16
  
• God's guidance and instruction to you - Psalm 16:7, 48:14, 71:17
  
• The hope God has given you - Psalm 16:9
  
• Salvation - Psalm 16:9-11, 71:23, 92:1, 96:2
  
• The joy God gives you in His presence - Psalm 16:11
  
• God is great and worthy of praise - Psalm 18:3, 48:1, 96:4, 145:3
  
• When you were in trouble, God heard your cries for help - Psalm 18:6, 22:24
  
• Deliverance - Psalm 18:49, 54:7, 68:20
  
• Mercy and kindness - 117:2 , Psalm 18:49, 31:21, 57:10, 86:13, 100:5, 106:1, 108:4, 145:8-9
  
• For not staying angry with us and not giving up on us - Psalm 30:5
  
• God's blessings and benefits - Psalm 68:19
  
• God's laws and commands - Psalm 19:7-8, 48:11, 112:1
  
• God's judgments and the warning they have provided to you - Psalm 19:9-11, 119:7, 119:164
  
• God's power - Psalm 21:13, 29:3-10
  
• Faithfulness - 71:22
  
• For preserving our ancestors - Psalm 22:4-5
  
• For the strength and confidence God gives you - Psalm 27:1-6, 28:7-8, 29:11, 56:4, 11, 138:3
  
• For listening to your prayers - Psalm 28:6, 66:20, 116:1-2
  
• God's Word - Psalm 56:4, 56:10
  
• For being truthful - Psalm 33:2, 57:10, 117:2
  
• For filling the earth with His love and goodness - Psalm 33:5
  
• Creation of the stars? - Psalm 19:1-4
  
• God's thoughts, many and deep - Psalm 139:17-18
  

With love and blessings in all of our travels, in every home, at every table, and  within every heart and soul... may we continue our prayers of Thanksgiving unto our God Almighty.... with love from our family to yours...

"All through this day, O Lord, let me touch as many lives as possible for You...

through the words I speak, the prayers I breathe, the letters I write, and the life I live."

David Roper (Our Daily Bread) 

Hebrews 13:16 Eternally Entwined

Good morning Abba, Good morning Jesus, Good morning Holy Spirit,

Do not forget to do good and to share.

Hebrews 13:16

My Lord, I thank you for always being present and willing to see me as your creation. I trust in your diligent watch and keep over your "roots" within my life. Your word promises that you will "tend" all areas of my mind, heart, and soul.  You, alone, will see me through to completion. You, alone, will provide... nurture... and bless the life I live. Hold me close under the shadow of your wings... I'm trying... Lord I'm trying!

Do you have those moments, days, or weeks in which you feel so separated from the joy of the Lord? What about those times when others are "jerking" your intelligence and/or emotions for their own needs/wants/desires?  Or, what courses through your system and into your mind when someone "assumes" they know your situation and therefore makes up their own version as a means of placing their self in a better light?

So many times my spirit is grieved by someone's choice, action, or gossip. I have gotten so much better in letting the Holy Spirit take my thoughts unto our Lord. And yet, there are those moments when I am bold enough to confront the "evil" and walk away. So why do I walk away with such a sadness that someone felt they could be so oppressive? Why, do I stand in the gap for them? Why must I continue to pray to our Lord for His blessing and "touch" in bringing healing to both of us?

In all of these years, I have always heard that most people say things and never give a second thought as to how someone is dealing with their words/actions. I can no more understand that thinking than I understand the "greatness" of His love for me. It is such a foreign and vast concept. I only know that my short memory about my own actions are always "nagging" me if I have either been the one with the bad attitude or I've been in the presence of someone who is so "out-of-line" that I want to intervene.

In one of my readings this week, I was reminded to "proclaim God's faithfulness to silence discontentment." Knowing that everyone's soul is valued beyond our understanding, I can relate to His continued provision and my continued gratefulness. Complaining to others is poisonous... on my knees before our Lord is where I need to be.

The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word...

Matthew 13:22

Spiritual distractions... begin to fester when my heart has grown dull or my ears are becoming hard of hearing or my eyes are closed. We are entwined with each other, therefore if you are seeing... hearing... or knowing that someone is "out-of-line" with their description of what is "tipping them over"... please stop and listen. Then become their silent prayer warrior... right then! When they are done, please remind them to take everything to our Lord... for he is faithful... 

He is good... All of the time!

John 10:27 Hearing His Call

Good morning Abba, Good morning Jesus, Good morning Holy Spirit,

My sheep hear My voice,

and I know them,

and they follow Me.

John 10:27

Do you know the sounds and the signals of our Shepherd's presence? It is such a comfort knowing the sound, the prompting, and the sweet blessings of our Lord. Whenever the world begins speaking louder than the word of God, I now know that I can always choose to retreat into a place of His presence. Distractions and misleading voices cause such doubt, grief, and chaos. Therefore, I try to stay connected to the Holy Spirit for the discerning signals that will prompt me to stop... to turn my thoughts over to our Lord Jesus... and to claim His protection over my mind, my heart, my spirit, and my soul.

It is in trusting Jesus as our Shepherd that I can shut off anything that is not of Him. I no longer accept any thing that the word of God does not proclaim as good and of His blessing. I choose not to "play tag" with those images or sayings that are so often directed at me. Don't get me wrong, this walk of faith takes energy. It takes a diligent watch over what or who I am listening to. Within my trusting relationship with Abba our faithful Father, with His son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and with the constant guidance of the Holy Spirit... I can stand against any weapon formed against me even when it looks as if I am being attacked, defeated, or oppressed.

In most things that are alarming, I can find His encouragement. In all things that are meant for evil, I can locate a passage to remind the tormentor to "back-off" from me and mine. In those things that cause me frustration, I can humbly cry out to Jesus for His unmeasurable strength and peace. When I feel as if the storm will over take me, I know that the blessed Trinity is overseeing my protection.

Today is always a day of new beginnings, I can be in His joy because I am being led by His calling... guided by His hand... protected by His mercy and grace... and I seek to know His voice.

We are not walking alone, we have His word, songs of praise, fellowship in and with His flock...
Join me in an assured smile and look for His hand at work in your life... listen for His messages of love for you and others around you... read a passage that is given for you at this moment... on this day.

His call can always be heard:

I will whistle for them and gather them,

for I will redeem them.

Zechariah 10:8 

Ecclesiastes 3:7 Time

Good morning Abba, Good morning Jesus, Good morning Holy Spirit,

A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;

 A time to be silent and a time to speak.

Ecclesiastes 3:7

The wisdom to know the difference... What is this connection between listening or speaking? Guarding our tongues is so difficult... unless you have lived with your words and didn't like the outcome. Have you ever been quiet, listened, and waited on just the right words for the pain, anger, or frustration to fall away from the one who was sharing? Did you, in turn, share words that were so perfected that you had no idea where that wisdom came from? Most of the time, I know to be in prayer to our Lord as someone is sharing. At times like that, I need to be quiet... and every time our Lord provides the precise wording for them. Not of my doing but of the Holy Spirit. I get so excited when the Holy Spirit is at work!

In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,

but he who restrains his lips is wise.

Proverbs 10:19 

Guarding our tongues when we are angry makes total sense. We are carefully taught tools that will help us "choke" down the anger within. There was a time before the word of God began working in me, that anger would become rage... rage would begin seeping out in little remarks and then explode during the smallest of situations.

Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

James 1:19  

I have no power of restraint if I am not in His word daily. I now know that I must be on guard over my emotions... guiding my thoughts into His hands. Taking time to walk away and get His timing, with His words, in order to share my emotion of betrayal, resentment, humiliation, or frustration. Almost all of the time, I have to ask our Lord to protect my mind, my heart, and my soul from any of the negative taking root with in me. It is at these times I am weak, literally drained from the energy it takes to keep still. It no longer matters why this is so difficult... what matters is that if I didn't place myself in humility before our Lord... I would miss His merciful grace.

 Thus says the LORD, 

Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, 

and let not the mighty man boast of his might,

 let not a rich man boast of his riches;

  but let him who boasts boast of this,

 that he understands and knows Me,

 that I am the LORD who exercises loving kindness, justice and righteousness on earth;

 for I delight in these things, declares the LORD.… 

Jeremiah 9:23

Now that I am getting closer to retirement, I am struggling with the boldness of aging. Saged wisdom is in listening. Having the "answer" comes from walking out this life, and yet... it doesn't always need to be shared.  Even if someone is asking for your insights... when is the proper time to share it? According to Jeremiah, boasting in our Lord is about the only time we should be giving wisdom away. Helping someone in need is the service of listening with compassion and waiting on the Lord to guide the works of your hands (our words). Teaching should be providing techniques, moments of discovery, and tools for getting knowledge. Being a sage on the side... means watching and listening for the right moments to guide others forward. Although knowing all of this... doesn't always curb my excitement to take over conversations... for that failing I remain humbled and always seeking forgiveness.

My Lord, grant me the wisdom and strength in knowing

when to speak and when to listen....