Thanksgiving V ~

18-24 February:  This week, I have been thankful for the fellowship shared among those who are believers as difficulties arise and solutions are worked on - what a blessing! I was thankful to see the bird-feeders refilled and ready for hungry avian friends (new hangars make them much more difficult for the squirrels to access); thankful to be able to echo Paul's affirmation from Romans 8:38-39 where it is written: "I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!" (CEV); thankful that the pump is still working effectively, that there's no obstruction to the flow of oxygen in, carbon dioxide out via the respiratory system, and the brain is still connecting thought to fingers; thankful to know that God loves and wants to save all who will come to Him (2 Peter 3:9); thankful for this message found in 1 John 4:11-12 where it is written: "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." (NIV); thankful for God's Word, the Holy Bible, with its inspired counsel for all humanity - "Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee." (Job 22:21); thankful for the good news that Jesus IS coming to take His people to live in the home He has prepared for us (John 14:1-3); and thankful for these wise words from Proverbs 17:9 where we read: "Love forgets mistakes; nagging about them parts the best of friends." (TLB); thankful to remember that the little song from childhood - "Jesus loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so." - has a version for those of us who are older as well, (see http://www.bobwilsonmusic.org/text/jeuslovesmeforseniors.htm)  I was thankful for the ease with which I can access info on the World Wide Web; thankful for this promise from Isaiah 49:25 where it is written: "This is what the Lord says: 'Yes, captive will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.'" (NIV);  thankful for the consistent blessings of sight, sound, touch, smelling, and tasting - what would life be without these gifts the Creator has provided? I was thankful for all the ways which can be used to share the good news of a Father who is love, and the Savior who came to live and die that we might have life, but rose again and ascended to heaven and is soon coming to take His people to the place prepared for us (John 14:2-3); thankful to read this message from Isaiah 55:2-3 where it is written: " Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your earnings for what does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness [the profuseness of spiritual joy]. Incline your ear [submit and consent to the divine will] and come to Me; hear, and your soul will revive; and I will make an everlasting covenant or league with you, even the sure mercy (kindness, goodwill, and compassion) promised to David." (AMPC); thankful to see sunlight - always a welcome sight for one from the desert-y Southwest; thankful for the concept of "preparation day" - a time to "ready-up" for the Sabbath; thankful for this message from Proverbs 14:22 where it is written: "Those who plot evil shall wander away and be lost, but those who plan good shall be granted mercy and quietness." (TLB); thankful for another Sabbath, with the opportunity to gather with family and friends for study and worship, for praise and fellowship; thankful that the Word tells me that our God doesn't change (Malachi 3:6); and thankful to read again these words from Jeremiah 29:11-13 where it is written: "... I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you. Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." (AMPC).