Thanksgiving IX ~

16-22 January:  This week, I was thankful for all the evidences of our loving Creator in the natural world around us; thankful for the messages in the Word, its guidelines for a life of blessing; thankful for all the promises therein, especially those where God says, "I will . . . ." an example being this one: "I will sprinkle you with clean water, and you will be clean. I will wash away all of your dirtiness, and you will be clean and pure, .... I will plant a new heart and new spirit inside of you. I will take out your stubborn, stony heart and give you a willing, tender heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit inside of you and inspire you to live by My statutes and follow My laws." (Ezekiel 36:25-27; VOICE); thankful for these words from Psalm 139: "God , investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand. I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too— your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful— I can’t take it all in! Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you’re there! If I go underground, you’re there! If I flew on morning’s wings to the far western horizon, You’d find me in a minute— you’re already there waiting! Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark! At night I’m immersed in the light!” It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you." (Psalm 139:1-6, 10-9; MSG); thankful for Jesus - perfect example, perfect sacrifice; thankful for the anticipation of sitting at His table with the saved from ALL ages; thankful for this promise from 1 Corinthians 10:13 where it is written: "Any temptation you face will be nothing new. But God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can handle. But He always provides a way of escape so that you will be able to endure and keep moving forward." (VOICE); thankful for our heavenly Father's faithfulness - even when we are not being true to Him, He keeps His promises; thankful for all the ways I am blessed each day - the warmth of this shelter from winter weather, the abundant provision for nutritional needs, the awareness of the Creator God who loves each of us and wants us to be with Him forever; and remembering the words of "wise men" who have said, "Don't do to others what you would not want them to do to you", I am thankful for the positive spin of Jesus' words in Matthew 7:12 where He says: “Treat other people exactly as you would like to be treated by them—this is the essence of all true religion" (PHILLIPS); thankful for healing in the toes on which I dumped scalding hot soup almost two weeks ago - not yet healed, but the process is ongoing; thankful for my health care provider's assessment that there is no infection at this point; thankful for this assurance from James 1:2-3 where we read: "Don’t run from tests and hardships, brothers and sisters. As difficult as they are, you will ultimately find joy in them; if you embrace them, your faith will blossom under pressure and teach you true patience as you endure. And true patience brought on by endurance will equip you to complete the long journey and cross the finish line—mature, complete, and wanting nothing." (VOICE); thankful to know God's Sabbath is, like Him, unchanging and eternal (Isaiah 56:2; Malachi 3:6); thankful that no matter how awful our sin, our Father is merciful and longs for us to repent so that our sins can be forgiven; and thankful for the message in Psalm 51:7-10 where this is written: : "Let me hear joy and gladness, let the bones You have broken rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins and wipe out all my guilty deeds. Create in me a clean heart, God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (New American Standard Bible).