Good morning dear “Walking with Jesus” friends.
It’s THANKSGIVING DAY 2019. . .
May I invite you to spend some special time today actually THANKING God for. . .
* WHO GOD is… His wonderful attributes which are unique to Almighty, Holy God
* WHAT GOD has done in Creation and sustaining our world
* WHAT GOD has done in providing a Redemption Plan for our sinful human race
* WHAT God has done in your life, especially in 2019
May I suggest you start a “THANKSGIVING Record” of all that you can remember God has done in your journey this past year, that shows you His direct involvement in your life?
May I urge you to keep that an active and growing list, all the way through this season, so when you come to New Year’s Eve and you prepare to step across into 2020… you can review your list in a long season of prayer & reflection and thanksgiving, as you step into a new year, a new decade with Jesus?
Finally, may I offer you the shortest Psalm in the Bible today (Psalm 117), and the center verse in the Bible (Psalm 118:8), as our Scripture reflection for this day?
Psalm 117 “Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol Him all you peoples.
For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD.”
I’m sure you notice this Psalm, like the “Hallelujah Psalms”, begins and ends with “Praise the LORD”. That is the focus of Thanksgiving Day, right? Because everything… every breath, everything about our lives, everything all around us… is all dependent on God! We owe Him our praise for everything in our lives, don’t we?
You see Psalm 117 calls us to recognize the world God made, is inhabited now by 7.7 billion people, all uniquely different from each other, yet all identical in one way… every human being needs a Savior from their sin, and every person will live forever after they die! I guess that’s two ways in which we are very similar!
The word “extol” means to praise, to honor. So we see that ALL people, in all places, at all times are designed by God to live their lives in a manner which honors God, their creator! Of course that’s impossible in our sinful nature, but when we’re Redeemed (rescued) by Jesus Christ from our sin bondage, and we’re Regenerated (a new spiritual nature birthed in us) by the Holy Spirit, and we’re Adopted into God’s family by God the Father, then we have every reason and potential to live our lives for God’s honor & glory, don’t we? It’s both our daily privilege and challenge, isn’t it?
I hope this Thanksgiving you are able to look back and see the difference your spiritual vitality is making in your life as you are growing in your relationship with Jesus, growing in your understanding of God’s Word, and growing in the vibrancy of the Holy Spirit of God in your life!
You see the second verse of Psalm 117 helps us consider WHY it should be easy for us to “Praise the LORD”!
Have you recognized and experienced the great love of God this year in many different ways?
Have you also found God to be FAITHFUL this year? Faithful to what? How about. . .
* Faithful to His character & His nature? Never acting or speaking in a way that is counter to His Holiness?
* Faithful to His WORD!
* Faithful to His Promises!
And are you confident my friends, that His love and His faithfulness will endure, will be reliable in 2020 and beyond? Remember this promise from God: “I the LORD do not change” (Mal. 3:6) “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
How do you express your thanks to God for His incomparable LOVE, His unconditional, unwavering LOVE? Remember 1 John 4:9 “Now this is LOVE, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and gave His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin.” and“For God SO loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life.” (John 3:16).
So… how do you thank God for His LOVE and how will you thank God this THANKSGIVING for His FAITHFULNESS?
Now finally today, would you take a moment to consider the single verse that is the very middle verse of the Bible, Psalm 118:8… “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.” Short and powerful, right? But have you found it to be true in your life?
We trust many human beings don’t we? We trust our medical doctors, our dentist, our financial planner, our Pastor, our attorney, our close friends. But none of them are infallible are they? They ALL make mistakes. In some cases, their mistakes affect our lives profoundly, don’t they? But we know most of these folks and sometimes our very lives hang in the balance as we trust them.
But our lives are also affected directly by people we don’t know personally and yet are expected to trust, right? Like police, first responders, local and national political leaders who make decisions every day which directly affect us, and so many, many others.
Do you see this center verse in the Bible calls us to make a fundamental decision that we will continue to make everyday of our lives. . .WHO do I trust with my life?
This THANKSGIVING, I am grateful to God for each and all of you, my dear “Walking with Jesus” friends, and I invite you to spend today in a continual state of THANKSGIVING and TRUST! Frequently express yourself to God. Verbally thank Him, for WHO He is, and for ALL HE has done, for who you are becoming in your relationship with Him and for your ability to trust Him.
Oh I hope this day is a glorious day for you, and it propels you into a wonderful Christmas season, and then positions us, all of us, for the long awaited year of 2020! Only God knows what that year will bring for each and all of our lives…but whatever it is, Psalm 118:8 will be a safe harbor! “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.”
Oh Heavenly Father, please draw each of these my dear “Walking with Jesus” friends close to You today, Thanksgiving Day 2019!! Thank You, for Your Love, and Your Faithfulness. We extol You, we honor You, we PRAISE You today!
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785