Thanksgiving IV ~

5-11 November:  This week I have been thankful for the feature on my phone (alarm clock) and my computer that automatically resets the time for me; thankful for the bowl of popcorn provided by a D.D. last evening; and thankful for the words of 2 Corinthians 7:1 where we read: "Therefore, since these [great] promises are ours, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates and defiles body and spirit, and bring [our] consecration to completeness in the [reverential] fear of God." (AMPC); thankful for each new day and all the blessings that are sure to arrive with the day; thankful for the promise that there will come a day when there will be NO MORE pain nor crying nor death (Revelation 21:4); and thankful for the message for us in Ephesians 1:3-6 where we read: "Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the spiritual blessings that Christ has brought us from heaven! Before the world was created, God had Christ choose us to live with Him and to be His holy and innocent and loving people. God was kind and decided that Christ would choose us to be God’s own adopted children. God was very kind to us because of the Son He dearly loves, and so we should praise God." (CEV); thankful for the increased strength in my legs - twenty reps of the exercises twice daily is no longer out of reach! I'm thankful for a driver who can access the local pharmacy to pick-up med refills; and thankful for these instructions on how to pray found in 1 Timothy 2:1,2: "... I ask you to pray for everyone. Ask God to help and bless them all, and tell God how thankful you are for each of them. Pray for [those] in power, so that we may live quiet and peaceful lives as we worship and honor God." (CEV); thankful for all the promises that can be found in the Word of God (2 Corinthians 1:29); thankful that our Father hears our prayers (Psalm 34:15); thankful, too, to read of God's faithful from times past - of their witness: “... Maybe you don’t want to serve the Lord. You must choose for yourselves today. Today you must decide who you will serve. .... You must choose for yourselves. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15; ERV); thankful for the heart that faithfully circulates life-giving oxygen through the network of blood-vessels from head-to-toes; thankful for lungs still able to breathe freely and deeply; and thankful for the message of two verses from God's Word about forgiveness: "... If you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14,15; AMP);and this: "I, the Lord, invite you to come and talk it over. Your sins are scarlet red, but they will be whiter than snow or wool." (Isaiah 1:18; CEV); thankful for the little oil heater that keeps this whole house warm for us; thankful for the folks who come every two years to make sure it is working as it should; and I am thankful for this description of the Creator's power as found in Job 37:5-6: "God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. For He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth'; likewise He speaks to the showers and to the downpour of His mighty rains." (AMPC); thankful for every Sabbath and for the blessings that come as we choose to observe the day our Creator set aside for His own (Genesis 2:2,3); thankful for all those who place the truths of His Word above the traditions of humankind; and for this counsel from 1 John 2:15,16 where we read: "Don’t love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them. Everything that is in the world—the craving for whatever the body feels, the craving for whatever the eyes see and the arrogant pride in one’s possessions—is not of the Father but is of the world." (CEB).