ALL THANKS BE TO GOD

As we enter this Thanksgiving week, I am reminded again of all God’s blessings, to me and to all my brothers and sisters in the Lord out there.  May God encourage your heart this week as you remember how much He has done for you, and His great love.

And if you do not know Jesus as your own personal Savior, may this be the week that you ask Him to come into your life.  It is the most important decision you will ever make, as it counts for eternity and forever.  And when our Blessed Lord comes into your life, you will never be the same, as He brings such joy and peace, no matter what the difficulties you face.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new  creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”  2 Corinthians 5:17.”

I recently came across this old hymn, which speaks of our journey as we walk with the Lord.  It speaks of our great salvation, the struggles we go through, His blessings, and right into eternity with Him.

THANKS BE TO GOD

Thanks be to God for my Redeemer,

Thanks for all Thou dost provide!

Thanks for times now but a mem’ry,

Thanks for Jesus by my side!

Thanks for pleasant, balmy springtime,

Thanks for dark and dreary  fall!

Thanks for tears by now forgotten,

Thanks for peace within my soul!

 Thanks for prayers that Thou hast answered,

Thanks for what thou dost deny!

Thanks for storms that I have weathered,

Thanks for all Thou dost supply!

Thanks for pain, and thanks for pleasure,

Thanks for comfort in despair!

Thanks for grace that none can measure,

Thanks for love beyond compare!

 Thanks for roses by the wayside,

Thanks for the thorns their stems contain!

Thanks for home and thanks for fireside,

Thanks for hope, that sweet refrain!

Thanks for joy and thanks for sorrow,

Thanks for heavenly peace with Thee!

Thanks for hope in the tomorrow,

Thanks thro’ all eternity!

 J.A. Hultman

So as we sit down with our loved ones this week around a loaded table, may it not be just a time of our annual feast, but a time of much reflection.  Let us bow our hearts in grateful thanks first of all for our Blessed Redeemer, and thank our Father for sending us His Son, Jesus, our Lord.  Our Blessed Redeemer has promised to provide, and to always walk with us and never to leave our side.  Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.  For He Himself as said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” Hebrews 13:5.

We thank Him for the prayers He has answered, and the storms we have walked through, and for all the needs He has supplied.  Yes, we all have been through pain, walked in the valleys of despair, but then He leads us upon the mountaintops of comfort and joy.

And we thank Him for the grace without measure, and none of us can comprehend the absolute love that He has for us.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16.  Now that, my friend, is the ultimate love!

As we journey in this life, there will be paths of “roses.”  It is in those times that everything is going well, there is a sweet fragrance to our lives, but the “thorns” come, and prick our hearts.  Those “thorns” could be deep sorrow and pain, grief and despair, sickness and pain.  But He is there, and He is the only one who can bring us hope and comfort in this midst of our darkness.

We thank Him that we have our home and our families around us.  Think of those this day who are alone, poor and needy in this world, and how blessed we are here in this country with our bountiful  tables and the storehouse of wealth that He has provided.  May we never take these blessings for granted.

We thank Him for the peace He gives, and that we have hope in all our tomorrows.  We, as believers have what the Word calls, “Our Blessed Hope.” (Titus 2:13).  We look forward to eternity with our Lord, our Heavenly Home.  We look forward to seeing Him face to face, and no more pain and sorrow, tears or parting.  I pray that this Thanksgiving will be one of blessing and remembrance, and more than that, the salvation of many out there who need to find their way to Jesus, by the way of the cross and hope for eternity forever.

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving,

Pastor Sharon