Thanksgiving VII ~

12-18 April:  This past week, I have been thankful to hear the words, "He is risen!" and to which I respond, "He is risen indeed!" - words that honor the Savior of all who will come to Him, rather than elements of pagan worship; thankful for the grace in which I stand, because of His sacrifice; thankful, too, for this message from Luke 9:23-24 where it is written: "If any of you want to walk My path, you’re going to have to deny yourself. You’ll have to take up your cross every day and follow Me. If you try to avoid danger and risk, then you’ll lose everything. If you let go of your life and risk all for My sake, then your life will be rescued, healed, made whole and full." (VOICE); thankful for all the beauty our Creator saves through the winter to give reason to rejoice when buds and blooms appear in the springtime; thankful for Jesus, our Day-star, Son of Righteousness - Light of the world; thankful to read these words from Romans 3:23-24: "You see, all have sinned, and all their futile attempts to reach God in His glory fail. Yet they are now saved and set right by His free gift of grace through the redemption available only in Jesus the Anointed." (VOICE); thankful for the privilege of Bible study with other believers and the fresh insights gained as we discuss what we've read; thankful for the assurance that one can experience a new start by being "born again" (I Peter 1:23; II Corinthians 5:17); thankful to be able to repeat the message of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 where he wrote: "... the Anointed One, the Liberating King, died for our sins and was buried and raised from the dead on the third day. All this happened to fulfill the Scriptures; it was the perfect climax to God’s covenant story." (VOICE); thankful for rain, the"female rain", the Dine' people call it, that gently waters a thirsty earth ("male rain" is rain of a different sort!); thankful that the Creator formed both female and male in fauna AND flora species as evidence of a relational nature among the Godhead; thankful for the Scripture's admonition found in Romans 13:4-6 where it is written: "... The ruler is a servant of God called to serve and benefit you. But he is also a servant of God executing wrath upon those who practice evil.... So submission is not optional; it’s required. But don’t just submit for the sake of avoiding punishment; submit and abide by the laws because your conscience leads you to do the right thing. Pay your taxes for the same reason because the authorities are servants of God, giving their full attention to take care of these things." (VOICE) - cf Matthew 22:21; thankful for the warmth of sunshine streaming through my window - and, even more, for the light the Sun of Righteousness puts on my path; thankful that April showers really DO bring the flowers that will bloom through the spring; thankful for this admonition from Romans 13:8 where it is written: "Don’t owe anyone anything, with the exception of love to one another—that is a debt which never ends—because the person who loves others has fulfilled the law." (VOICE); thankful for the rest and sleep provided for me by my Maker; thankful that the tumble I took off the bottom step of a little ladder yesterday did no harm, other than that to my sense of dignity; thankful for this affirmation from 1 Corinthians 1:18 where it is written: "For people who are stumbling toward ruin, the message of the cross is nothing but a tall tale for fools by a fool. But for those of us who are already experiencing the reality of being rescued and made right, it is nothing short of God’s power." (VOICE); thankful to observe another Sabbath, the day our Creator chose on which to commemorate His work (Genesis 2:2-3); thankful to see more and more of the very welcome signs of spring; and I was thankful for this affirmation from Romans 10:9-10 where we read: "... If you believe deep in your heart that God raised Jesus from the pit of death and if you voice your allegiance by confessing the truth that “Jesus is Lord,” then you will be saved! Belief begins in the heart and leads to a life that’s right with God; confession departs from our lips and brings eternal salvation." (VOICE).