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Give Thanks Unto God

Give thanks to God, for He is good. 

His love endures forever.  Psalm 107:1

Its really hard to pick out my favorite verse. This is one of them. In this entire Psalm, the writer is thanking God for all that He has done for Israel.  

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. We have had a year of trials and tribulations, but also some amazing victories and blessings. I remember at the end of 2019 we all said, “GOOD RIDDANCE 2019!” Then came 2020. But, God has been gracious. God has been good. His love endures forever.  Even for those of us who have experienced loss, our loved ones have been rewarded beyond belief. 1 Corinthians 2:9  says. “No eye has seen, nor ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.”  So, though our grief may be deep, our loved ones reward is beyond imagination.

Thanksgiving with large groups of multi aged adults can get a bit dicey. There are lots of conversations that should be avoided to keep peace. 

I have a friend who posted on Facebook,“Ruin Thanksgiving dinner in four words.” The responses were hysterical.  Here are a few of my favorites: We’re back in lockdown, I tested Covid positive, My mom’s cooking is better, who’d you vote for, and Covid is a conspiracy. 

For some families, we need to sound a buzzer, bell, or clicker when something controversial comes up. Then we just sound the clicker to say, “change the subject”. So here are a few good ideas to keep things on a positive note:

Psalm 107:1 is just the first part of a long list of things to praise God for. Go around the table and say, “Give thanks to God, for He is good.” Then say something for which you could praise God. 

Each of the children receives a package with a Thanksgiving craft. Be sure to do the craft and then talk about it at the table. 

Play the game, IN MY GRANDMAS ATTIC. To play, everyone takes a turn thanking God for something. The trick is that the first person has to say something that starts with the letter A. The second person says something what the letter A was and then something that stars with the letter B. The third person says A, B and then something that starts with the letter C. Continue around the table.

Sing a song of thanksgiving. Maybe, COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS, or GOD IS SO GOOD.  Be sure to say why God is so God.  It could things that He has provided or even just why He is good. 

Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hears and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Praying that your Thanksgiving will not be anxious but a time of peace which will surpass all understanding. And remember, Give Thanks unto God, for He is good. His love endures forever. 

Pastor Greg

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FOCUSED

One of the casualties of aging to which I find myself a victim is the dimming of the eyes.  Ecclesiastes 12 counsels the young person to remember God, their Creator, in their youth before the aging process takes over and various faculties, as listed in verses 1-7, are diminished.

Clear eyesight when we are young may be something we take for granted. However, as we age the realization that our vision is not as sharp as it once was takes hold. “Readers” become standard fare for all intricate tasks. Our once keen laser sharp focus is now blurry and in need of help to restore its youthfulness. That restoration is found through glasses or some sort of rejuvenating surgery. Especially in the early stages of this degenerative eye problem we may be able to fake it and get by, but eventually we must relent and do something to correct the problem.

There is a parallel between physical and spiritual vision. “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” was written in the early 20th century. The hymn writer, Helen Lemmel, was strongly influenced by the artist and later little-known missionary, Lilias Trotter. Miss Trotter started off as an aspiring artist but early on felt a call from God to reach the lost. She began her ministry by rescuing prostitutes from the streets of London. Later she went to Africa, without missionary funding, and served for over forty years. While there she penned a poem that would greatly influence the writing of the hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.”  The poem was entitled “Focused: A Story and Song.” 

The poem centers around focusing one’s attentions fully and completely upon God. She writes that Satan knows that if a person uses all their powers of concentration on being led by God’s Spirit, they will have a great intensity and impact upon those to whom they are called to minister. Lilias Trotter, writing in a more formal use of the English language than we are accustomed, shares some timeless insights which could very easily have been written today but with a different accent. She writes: “Never has it been so easy to live in half a dozen good harmless worlds at once—art, music, social science, games, motoring, the following of some profession, and so on. And between them we run the risk of drifting about, the ‘good’ hiding the ‘best’ even more effectually than it could be hidden downright frivolity with its smothered heartache at its own emptiness.”

The “good” hiding the “best” leads us to emptiness.  Could this be true of us today especially as American Christians? Have we sought the “good” while missing the “best”? The chorus of the hymn, which we will be singing in worship this Sunday, says it best.

                Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face,                                                                                                                                        And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Keith Pate

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