Psalm 118:24-29: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will be glad and rejoice in it.

Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.

God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.” 

Americans are all gearing up for Thanksgiving tomorrow, myself included, and as we all know this day was set aside for us to gather together and give thanks to God for what we have and most certainly who we have. I personally believe that the Pilgrims were keeping feast days.

But for the present time we can be thankful for the relentless persistence of a lady named Sara Hale who finally convinced President Lincoln to make it a national holiday. The first “recognized” Thanksgiving was November 26, 1863 and everyone eagerly embraced it.

Of course over time it has become more about the turkey and the next day shopping for the secular world and for all, especially in season of difficulty, it can be lonely and painful,and a time of mourning for those we no longer have.

And I understand that completely.

I know many, just in my circle who have lost mothers this past year, myself included again, and one beautiful sister who lost her Mom last December, who will be having her first Thanksgiving without her Mom, and for many of us the wounds are fresh.

I have a niece and nephew who lost BOTH Grandmothers two months apart and another family member who has been hospitalized for over thirty-five days and counting, fighting for her life, and her family fighting alongside her, absolutely exhausted. And I am NOT saying all that to be negative, I am saying that actually to be HOPEFUL.

We are never so reminded of those losses as we are during the holidays and it doesn’t matter if it has been two months or twenty years, the loss of a loved one or friend will ALWAYS hurt. But most still have so much to be thankful for.

God blesses us each and every day we wake up.

If you are healthy and live in safety today you ARE blessed. So many the world over and also here in America do not have food, they do not have a place to live or any where to sleep.

So many who live in fear and have no sense of safety or security for one day to the next and so many suffer with loneliness and abuse, depression and physical illness. But we all have something to be thankful for, even if we are hurt, devastated, lonely, or rejected.

We can be thankful for what we have and especially who we have today. And if not for “today”, we can be thankful for past experiences, memories and happier times and seasons in life.

Thankful for love, and joy that we have known. Thankful for the people and  friends, pets, and all the joys of yesteryear.

We can be thankful for the future, seasons change and rain doesn’t last forever.

Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts OF peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end (a HOPE and a FUTURE).”

And the future in the future of eternity.

Revelation 21:1-4: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away: and there was no more sea.

And I John saw the holy city new Jerusalem COMING DOWN from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice our of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God IS with men, and he WILL dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God HIMSELF shall  be with them, and be their God.

And GOD SHALL WIPE AWAY ALL TEARS FROM THEIR EYES; and there shall be NO more death, NEITHER sorrow, NOR crying, NEITHER shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

If we have even ONE thing to be thankful for and we all do, we can rejoice in even that one thing.

But don’t miss out on the others in your life, the ones who still live, every single day, ever single moment and second of those days are precious and once they are gone, those days will never be ours again.

Don’t miss out on opportunity to take what may feel like broken nothingness today and allow God to teach you how to use the brokenness you have endured yesterday or today to help someone else along the way tomorrow.

Don’t ever give up on the future he has promised you, that future of hope and most of all NEVER lose sight and hope of that eternal future. 

Be thankful for his enduring mercy, mercy he shows before we even know him because he has known us from before the foundations of the earth and it is by that mercy that we have not be destroyed, again yet another reason to be thankful.

Thankful for his never-ending, never expiring offer of salvation.

Thankful that the loss of our lives and those of our loved ones is precious and tender in his sight.

Psalm 116:12-18: “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?

I WILL take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the lord in the presence of all his people.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

O Lord, truly, I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaiden, thou hast loosed my bonds. 

I WILL offer to thee the SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.” 

Sometime we just need to think about thinking thankfully and we will find a thousand reasons to thank him for yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and the tomorrow that will never end. 

Love & peace till next time, and I want you all to know how truly thankful I am for you!

God bless you and I pray that you have a blessed Thanksgiving and if your sick that you will be healed, if you are lonely that God will comfort you, and if that if you are hurting I pray that God brings you into a season of rejoicing and peace.

Psalm 126:5,6: ” They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again rejoicing, bring his sheaves with him.” 

Praying for those who have shed more that their share of tears this year, that your harvest of joy is coming soon.

Φλογιζω NBJ 2018