Thanksgiving XI ~

18-24 February:  In  the past week, I was thankful for the current contact info for my church family;  thankful for the "When God's People Pray" concept being developed and nurtured in it; thankful for these words from Lamentations 3:24: “The Lord is my portion and my inheritance,” says my soul; “Therefore I have hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.” (Amplified Bible); I was thankful for the privilege of friendship - and the ability to add new ones among the established friends; thankful for a "to do" list to keep me occupied today; thankful for these words about that great and wonderful day when Jesus returns taken from Isaiah 25:9: "... People will say, ‘Look! This is our God! We trusted Him to keep us safe, and He rescued us. Yes, this is the Lord! We trusted Him to keep us safe. We will sing with joy, because He has saved us.’" (Easy Reading Version); 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); thankful for these wise words from Proverbs 17:9 where we read: "Love forgets mistakes; nagging about them parts the best of friends." (The Living Bible); thankful for the "exceeding great and precious promises" (2 Peter 1:4) we have been given in God's Word, promises to encourage, to strengthen our hearts; thankful for all the evidences of the Creator's great love found in the beauty that remains in this old world; thankful for this New Testament confirmation of God's eternal law found in Romans 13:9-10: "The commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,' and any other commandment are summed up in this statement: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor [it never hurts anyone]. Therefore [unselfish] love is the fulfillment of the Law" (Amplified Bible); thankful for another day of life in this beautiful world our Creator has given; thankful for enough of all I need - He provides every day using every means at His disposal; thankful for the promise from Luke 12:29-31: "You must not set your heart on what you eat or drink, nor must you live in a state of anxiety. The whole heathen world is busy about getting food and drink, and your Father knows well enough that you need such things. No, set your heart on His kingdom, and your food and drink will come as a matter of course.” (Philipps); thankful for this thought from the pen of Ellen White: "When it is the heart to obey God, when efforts are put forth to this end, Jesus accepts this disposition and effort as [my] best service, and He makes up for the deficiency with His own divine merit."  I was thankful to feel the warmth of the sun streaming thru' my bedroom window; thankful for counsel like this from God's Word: "Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness." (Proverbs 14:22, New International Version); so thankful for another Sabbath, with the opportunity to gather with others for study and worship, for praise and fellowship thru' streaming from my church home; 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." (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition).