Thanksgiving VIII ~

29 November - 5 December:  During the past week, I have been thankful for Jesus' promise of a place prepared for us in His forever kingdom (John 14:1-2); thankful for the assurance He will come again to take us home with Him (verse 3; Revelation 22:12); thankful for the confidence I can have in His promises - as Joshua said, ". . . not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you, not one word of them has failed" (Joshua 23:14; NKJV); thankful that I have been given strength for my days, just as He has promised (Deuteronomy 33:25); thankful for the hard-wired defragging the Creator gives me in the night-time hours; thankful for this warning message from 2 Peter 3:10-11 where it is written: "The day of the Lord will come unexpectedly like a thief in the night; and on that day, the sky will vanish with a roar, the elements will melt with intense heat, and the earth and all the works done on it will be seen as they truly are. Knowing that one day all this will come to pass, think what sort of people you ought to be—how you should be living faithful and godly lives." (VOICE); thankful for Scripture's assurance of completion of the work the Savior has begun in my life (Philippians 1:6); thankful for the concepts of "slow and steady" and "just five minutes"; thankful as I recall these beautiful words from John 1:1-2 where we read: "Before time itself was measured, the Voice was speaking. The Voice was and is God. This celestial Word remained ever present with the Creator." (VOICE); thankful for the steadfast love of our Father in heaven - never ending, in all circumstances; thankful for His assurance, "I am the LORD, I change not."(Malachi 3:6); thankful to know these words are true, words from Hebrews 1:1-2 where we read: "At many times and in many ways, God spoke long ago to the fathers through the prophets. In these last days He has spoken to us through a Son, whom He appointed heir of all things and through whom He created the universe." (TLV); thankful there has been another renewal of resources available to me - always glad to see that "benefit" when I look at the bank website; thankful that I've been given a heart that longs for more, and still more of heaven's grace in my life; thankful to read these words of Jesus from John 6:35 where they are written: "I am the bread that gives life. If you come to My table and eat, you will never go hungry. Believe in Me, and you will never go thirsty." (VOICE);  thankful for the companies that provide power to keep this house running and on-line (at least, MOST of the time!); thankful, above all, to the One who provides power to live a life for His glory - any outages are MY fault, not His: thankful to read this passage from Romans 16:25 where it is written: "Now to Him that is of power to stablish you according to [the] gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began," (KJV);  thankful to wake to another Lord's Day - the day of His choice since the Creation (Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:8-11; Mark 2:28); thankful for dry sidewalks on which to travel with my walker;  thankful for the gift of God to us spoken of by the prophet Isaiah hundreds of years before the Savior's birth: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6; KJV).