HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations." (Psalm 100, NIV)

I’ll keep it simple today –

I’m thankful

that my wife is strong and healthy after her long ordeal with cancer.

for the privilege (and it is that!) of serving a local church as pastor.

for the amazingly rich life that God has allowed me to enjoy.

I’m thankful

for the love of friends who are precious treasure in my life.

for great kids (yes, they are adults but they’re my kids) who are blessed with health, strength, and creativity.

for Jesus and His love.

And the word from the Word today - "Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, NIV)

____________________

Come Ye Thankful People Come

Come ye thankful people, come.

Raise the song of harvest home.

All is safely gathered in,

‘Ere the winter storms begin.

God, our maker, doth provide

For our wants to be supplied.

Come to God's own temple, come,

Raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God's own field,

Fruit unto His praise to yield.

Wheat and tares together sown

Unto joy or sorrow grown.

First the blade and then the ear,

Then the full corn shall appear,

Lord of harvest grant that we,

Wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come,

And shall take His harvest home,

From His field shall in that day

All offences purge away.

Give His angels charge at last

In the fire the tares to cast,

But the fruitful ears to store,

In His garner evermore.

Even so, Lord, quickly come,

To Thy final harvest home.

Gather Thou Thy people in,

Free from sorrow, free from sin.

There forever purified,

In Thy presence to abide,

Come with all Thine angels, come.

Raise the glorious harvest home!

George Job Elvey | Henry Alford

© Words: Public Domain

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

"A psalm. For giving thanks.

And when it comes down to this …

Marie’s face brightened when she saw me come into her room. Age has taken her mental abilities. She does not know my name, but she remembers I am ‘the church man.’   A normal conversation is all but impossible.  She does not know the day of the week or what’s going on in the world around her. I opened my Bible and asked if I could read a passage to her.  “Oh, yes,” she said with enthusiasm. As I read the familiar words of the 37^th Psalm, she murmured in agreement, in obvious joy at God’s Word.  This woman who centered her life on the Lord and on serving His people still knows His Spirit and His Name!  When we prayed together, she calmed and it was clear that she continues to commune with the Lord.

This elderly saint has made God her refuge. She lives this:  "You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:24-26, NIV)

Make the Lord your portion. What does that mean?  The Hebrew word in the Psalm means “reward, inheritance, or share of land.”  Another way to say it, “The Lord is my treasure.”  So many other things offer themselves as our portion, don’t they?   Wealth offers to secure us. So do our possessions. We may attempt to anchor our life to our children, our position, our reputation, or even our physical strength/beauty.  And what if they fail us or are taken away?

Jesus counsels us to invest in treasure that cannot lose value.  “Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being." (Matthew 6:19-21, The Message) There is such assurance in those words. Failing economies are of little consequence to those who own Heaven’s treasure.  Age only means we are closer to Home!  We can know a Friend Who will never abandon us, never move away, never forget us.

Marie’s love of the Lord is all she has left. Or, could it be that is the wrong way to see it?  Her true Treasure, Whom she loved for so many years, is now the Love of her life.  Most other things are gone, but He remains.

Is Jesus your Lord?
Is your life built on an eternal hope of knowing Him?

Here’s a word from the Word -  "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”—(Ecclesiastes 12:1, NIV)  "Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. “They will be mine,” says the LORD Almighty, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession." (Malachi 3:16-17, NIV)

_______

Father, You are my portion in this life,

And You are my hope and my delight.

Jesus, You are my treasure in this life,

And You are so pure and so kind.

And I love You, yes, I love You,

Lord, I love You, my delight!

My Delight

Andy Park

© 1987 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Vineyard Music USA)

Vineyard Songs Canada (Admin. by Vineyard Music USA)

CCLI License # 810055

“Light up the darkness!”

It’s a dark world in which we live. Yesterday, a major university suspended all fraternities on campus after a young woman’s horrific account of a 3 hour long sexual assault was published in Rolling Stone magazine. Two years ago, in the first month of her freshman year, this small town honor student was invited to a fraternity party where young men of privilege and standing did unspeakable things to her.  What would cause these boys to think that this was right, even if they thought they would not pay any consequence?  I am not naïve and realize these things happen every day.

So, we must let our Light shine!  

Then, the news this morning is full of stories about the anger that smolders in this country.  When the grand jury in St. Louis found no cause to indict the police officer in the death of a young black man that anger exploded. Christian we can shine the Light.  Before you speak today, pray.  Let your words reveal a heart that seeks peace. Choose to bring light, not to deepen the darkness of hatred.

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." (Matthew 5:14-16, NLT)  

Being the bearers of light is our mission and a great privilege. It’s not our own radiance that we offer. "It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us." (2 Corinthians 4:6-8, The Message)

What can we do to be His lights?

First, we love, boldly, sacrificially. We cannot be content to know Christ and isolate ourselves in little safe groups, a holy huddle. Each one of us will interact with people today who are hurting. In some cases one kind word will be enough. For others love will be patient listening.  Where the Spirit leads, we can point others to Christ, to hope in His power to change.

Then, we live holy lives.  Yes, we show the way to live – with integrity, with excellence. “Good deeds,” Jesus called it. Knowing that we belong to Him, that we are ‘temples of the Holy Spirit,’ we pray for the enablement to live differently.  We go beyond mere pious displays of folded hands and public prayers!  We do right things, adopt right attitudes, and ourselves commit to His plans.  And His light shines.

As you take up the challenge of reflecting His Light into the dark places of this world, don’t think that everyone will admire or thank you! Some love the darkness and when the light threatens to expose their acts, they will try to put it out. But, be fearless.  John wrote of the promise of the Lord’s power and reward. "Then I heard a strong voice out of Heaven saying, Salvation and power are established! Kingdom of our God, authority of his Messiah! The Accuser of our brothers and sisters thrown out, who accused them day and night before God. They defeated him through the blood of the Lamb and the bold word of their witness. They weren’t in love with themselves; they were willing to die for Christ." (Revelation 12:10-11, The Message)

Will you light up your world today?  Here’s the word from the Word - “When God is personally present, a living Spirit … Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of His face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”  2 Corinthians 3:17-18 The Message

______________

In The Light

I wanna be in the light as You are in the light,

I wanna shine like the stars in the heavens!

Lord, be my light and be my salvation.

All I want is to be in the light,

All I want is to be in the light.

I wanna be in the light as You are in the light,

Lead me into the presence of the Father!

I will follow right behind, true love I will find.

All I want is to be in the light,

All I want is to be in the light.

Is there such a thing as a man of peace?

If there is, then a man of peace I want to be.

I will need Your help if I am ever to be that,

If I'm to lay down, lay down, lay down,

Then I'll lay my life for my brothers and sisters.

I will need Your help.

Jesus. I need Your light forever shining bright!

Charlie Peacock

© 1991, 1997 Sparrow Song (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055