Blessed Thanksgiving!

Greetings to you and yours this holiday week.   I hope that it is filled with reminders of the reason for our lifestyle of thankfulness.

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!

Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!  (Psalm 105:1-2)

Remember, if we only have Jesus, we are rich beyond human imagination.  If we only are justified, we are totally relieved of all guilt and shame and sin’s dreadful consequences. If we only are saved, we are set for life and for eternity, in joy, with Him!

Our daily devotional quotes the Puritan, William Cooper, who wrote:

Thanksgiving demonstrates a spiritual and noble frame of the soul in the highest pitch of grace. The Lord Jesus taught us thankfulness both by pattern and precept, and he thanked God frequently and fervently... We live precariously, and are always at God’s mercy. God in his sovereignty might have never made us; or, he could have crushed us into nothing as soon as we were made, for, ‘has the potter no right over the clay?’ (Romans 9:21). Every moment we depend upon him, and all we have are gifts from him. His power over us is absolute and infinite. To this Sovereign we owe all, and therefore we owe him our thanks. ‘For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen’ (Romans 11:36).

Here at my house we are delighted to have the family under one roof.  David and Mandi and granddog Brody arrived Sunday afternoon after driving from Fort Hood,Texas.  You parents know there is no earthly treasure more valuable than having your kids all at home.  And it’s a hoot to be together, especially to watch the more puppy-like Brody interact with the slightly grumpier Scooter: last night I walked into the house late to find everyone nearly in tears from laughing so hard. Hearing me arrive, Scooter was waiting anxiously by the door, tail wagging furiously, while Brody stood patiently right behind her, being repeated whacked by that happy tail.

The Army is sending David and three other artillery officers to South Korea on Sunday for a pre-planned trip of three weeks or so, so he takes off on Friday. But our daughter-in-law will be here for that time,  so we are thankful that we get to have her close for so long. We’ll get together on Sunday, and I’m already looking forward to that, echoes of last Sunday’s wonderful service still reverberating in my heart.  As promised, you can find Pastor Brian’s communion meditation here on the blog, and here is Pastor Jim’s prayer, adapted from a prayer in Valley of Vision, The Giver:

Creator, Upholder and Proprietor of all things, we cannot escape from your presence and control, nor do we desire to do so.  Our privilege is to be under the agency of your omnipotence, righteousness, wisdom, patience, mercy and grace; for you love with more than parental affection.  We admire your goodness, stand in awe of your power, fall on our face before your purity. It is the discovery of your goodness alone that can banish our fear, allure us into your presence, help us to regret and confess our sins. We review our past guilt and are conscious of present unworthiness. We bless you that your steadfast love and attributes are essential to our happiness and hope; You have demonstrated your grace and mercy in the bounty of nature, in the fullness of your providence, in the revelations of Scripture, in the gift of Your Son, in the proclamation of the gospel.  Make us willing to be saved in your own way, perceiving nothing in ourselves but all in Jesus. Help us not only to receive Jesus, but to walk in Him… depend on Him… commune with Him… follow Him as dear children, imperfect, but still pressing forward, not complaining of labor, but valuing rest, not murmuring under trials, but thankful for our situation. And by so doing let us silence the ignorance of foolish men. Father, all these words and commitments we commend to you…to establish and accomplish in our lives.

For Jesus’ sake we pray, Amen

-Pastor Dale