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&
Brooksyne Weber
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Thursday,
November 24, 2022
"Giving
Thanks To The Lord!"
Message
summary: In
increasingly secular
America there is a vague
focus on being thankful
without specifying to
whom. The Scripture
says, "Be
thankful to Him and
praise His Name"
(Psalm 100). "We give
thanks to you, O
God; we give
thanks, for your name
is near. We recount
your wondrous deeds"
(Psalm 75:1).
Podcast
not prepared today
(Brooksyne stressed at
getting meal ready!)
"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations" (Psalm 100:4,5). "To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise" (Daniel 2:23) "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Colossians 3:17).
This
morning we went to a
Thanksgiving service at
our church. Since early
2017 we have attended a
very large church,
though most of our lives
we attended and pastored
smaller churches. One of
the more personalized
settings we miss in our
services due to the
large size are the
personal testimonies,
prayer requests and
spontaneity. However we
find this need met in
our smaller Sunday
School class of about 40
and through many other
venues within the
church.
"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations" (Psalm 100:4,5). "To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise" (Daniel 2:23) "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Colossians 3:17).
This
morning we went to a
Thanksgiving service at
our church. Since early
2017 we have attended a
very large church,
though most of our lives
we attended and pastored
smaller churches. One of
the more personalized
settings we miss in our
services due to the
large size are the
personal testimonies,
prayer requests and
spontaneity. However we
find this need met in
our smaller Sunday
School class of about 40
and through many other
venues within the
church.In
the Thanksgiving service
there is a smaller crowd
and opportunities are
given for spontaneous
testimonies of
thankfulness from those
in attendance. This
morning we were touched
by each testimony and in
many of them there were
stories of healings,
stories of salvation
some as recent as six
years ago and others as
long as nearly 80 years
ago. Each one so very
special to our hearts.
Thanksgiving
is a great day of the
year to especially be
thankful and count our
blessings. In fact we
sang the classic
Thanksgiving hymn,
"Count Your Blessings"
which really is a song
that could be based on
Psalm 75:1 "...We
recount Your wondrous
deeds". We
should, of course,
always be thankful but
this days set aside
gives opportunity to
do so in a formal and
festive way.
Turkey is the
traditional meat for the
day. Although most will
eat turkey according to
custom I respectfully
remind readers that it’s
not “Turkey Day” as many
have come to call it!
The specific day we call "Thanksgiving" originated here in America at the time of the Pilgrims in 1621, but God’s call for His people to be thankful goes back deep into the Bible period. In the various offerings ordained in the Law of Moses we find “thank offerings” commanded. Throughout Israel’s long history recorded in the Bible we read of special periods of thanksgiving.
When
Daniel was given the
interpretation of
Nebuchadnezzar's dream,
"To you, O God of my
fathers, I give thanks
and praise". Our
God is always worthy of
our thanks and praise!
Our
favorite Scripture verse
on the subject of
thanksgiving is the
majestic call to worship
in Psalm 100. This was
written about three
thousand years ago and
yet absolutely remains
the call for God’s
people today and every
day: “Enter His
gates with
thanksgiving and His
courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and
praise His name.” Notice
the repetition for
emphasis: thanksgiving,
praise, thanks, praise.
(This is known as Hebrew
parallelism.)
Notice
also that the focal
point of thankfulness is
directed to the Lord. In
increasingly secular
America there is a vague
focus on being thankful
without specifying to
whom. The Scripture
says, "Be thankful
to Him and praise His
Name".
The basis for our praise and thanksgiving should bless us as much as it did the initial worshippers. The very next verse states, “For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” Based on a 33 year generation cycle (easy math) that would mean we are 90 generations since the time of David. And there’s no expiration date! And this will be true all through eternity. His goodness, love and faithfulness endures and will do so forever and through all generations.
The basis for our praise and thanksgiving should bless us as much as it did the initial worshippers. The very next verse states, “For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” Based on a 33 year generation cycle (easy math) that would mean we are 90 generations since the time of David. And there’s no expiration date! And this will be true all through eternity. His goodness, love and faithfulness endures and will do so forever and through all generations.
In
the New Testament being
thankful is commanded
again and again such as
this verse, "And
whatever you do,
whether in word or
deed, do it all in the
name of the Lord
Jesus, giving
thanks to God the
Father through Him"
(Colossians 3:17).
And
in a heavenly glimpse
found in Revelation we
find the twenty-four
elders, who are seated
on their thrones before
God, falling on their
faces and worshipping
God, saying: “We
give thanks to You,
Lord God Almighty, the
One who is and who
was, because you have
taken Your great power
and have begun to
reign” (Revelation
11:17).
We rejoice in these
truths today and welcome
you to join us today in
thanks-living!
Be
encouraged today, (Hebrews
3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne
Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, in
thanksgiving
we lift our
voices of
praise from
grateful
hearts, as we
sing songs of
praise and
adoration to
You, our
blessed King.
Whether in
seasons of
prosperity or
in seasons of
want we find
Your grace
sufficient to
meet each one
of our needs.
You guide us,
protect us,
and You
provide for us
as we journey
here below.
Every good and
perfect gift
comes from
Your hand.
Thank You,
faithful
Father! Amen.Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental
Resources
"Psalm
100"
Video
Chris
Tomlin
"Psalm
100"
Video
Joshua
Sherman,
Charity Gayle,
Steven Musso
"Living
In The
Overflow"
Video
Charity Gayle
& Joshua
Sherman
(This song based
on yesterday's
message was
suggested by
one of our
readers)
Reader's
Mail: We
were greatly
encouraged
last night
when an email
came from a
reader with
specificity of
the way our
writings have
been of
blessing to
him. In regard
to yesterday's
message he
wrote:
Your
message today,
as is
regularly the
case, was very
impactful. I,
like so many
others I
suppose, have
allowed the
history of
life’s
challenges to
hold me at
ransom,
particularly
in younger
years, robbing
both God and
myself of the
many blessings
we have in
Him. It is
through the
grace of God
however, that
most of that
for me has
changed over
the last two
decades.
You
should know
that some of
this was
directly
attributable
to your steady
and impactful
diet of Daily
Encouragements.
It was at
least 20 years
ago that I
needed some
vital words of
inspiration to
pull me out of
the mire. That
is when I
found the
Daily
Encouragement
on line. This
occasion in my
life came with
what seemed to
be the
harshest of
pain which
attempted to
purge me of
all of the
significant
pride that had
steadily grown
in my life.
And
as painful as
that period
was with what
seemed to be
no shortage of
treasonous
thoughts, God,
over time,
continued to
do a work in
this son of
his and
restore him
and this
family in a
way I never
imaged
possible. For
that I am so
very grateful.
I have seen
firsthand the
mercy of a God
that wanted so
much more for
me. I am so
grateful that
he did not
give up on me,
that he
insisted on
being with me
even when I
was
intolerable.
God not only
tolerated me,
he redeemed me
over and over
again through
the many ways
that only our
great God can
do.
While I so relate to the inability to stay focused and regularly drift from my praise of God at any given moment (even in church at times), I count it a blessing for these reminders to try and continue, in spite of the frailty that seems to creep in further with time. Psalm 103:2 reminded me of a song I like called “Living in the Overflow” by People & Songs. I hope that if you don’t know it, you give it a listen if you have a moment. In it, I am reminded to “Bless the Lord”, as I am truly living in the overflow. And aren’t we all?
While I so relate to the inability to stay focused and regularly drift from my praise of God at any given moment (even in church at times), I count it a blessing for these reminders to try and continue, in spite of the frailty that seems to creep in further with time. Psalm 103:2 reminded me of a song I like called “Living in the Overflow” by People & Songs. I hope that if you don’t know it, you give it a listen if you have a moment. In it, I am reminded to “Bless the Lord”, as I am truly living in the overflow. And aren’t we all?
"All
People That On
Earth Do
Dwell"
Video
Keith Getty
and the Sing!
Conference
Choir
"Psalm
100"
Video
The Corner
Room
"Shout
For Joy (Psalm
100)"
Video
North Central
University
Personal
note:
Today
it's just the
three of us
home for our
Thanksgiving
meal. We had
an invitation
from my
brother Pat to
join his
family in the
Lehigh Valley
but felt with
our two new
dogs we should
not be gone
long as they
are still
adjusting,
especially in
regard to
"potty
issues"!
Many of us
have a lot of
great
childhood
memories of
Thanksgiving
Day gatherings
with extended
family. Let us
each share
ours as a
prompt for you
to do the
same:
I
(Stephen)
remember
gathering with
our immediate
family,
grandparents,
aunts and
uncles and
many cousins
on a farm in
southwestern
Missouri near
Harwood. There
must have been
around 30-40
people
gathered in
that old
farmhouse
where my Uncle
Gentry and
Aunt Dora
would host the
entire family.
My
grandparents
had a small
house that was
not suitable
for large
gatherings. I
recall the
wonderful
aromas coming
out of that
country
kitchen and
all the ladies
working
together to
prepare our
Thanksgiving
feast. I can
still see in
my mind's eye
the aunts and
my grandma in
aprons! The
men would
often go
across the
road for some
high powered
rifle shooting
practice or
they would
gather around
the tiny (by
today’s
standards)
black and
white TV to
watch a
football game.
Since that was in an age before we had handheld devices to stare at and tinker with most of us kids found plenty to do outside, playing in the barn and fields. Uncle Gentry would often take us on a wagon ride behind his Allis-Chalmers tractor. But the dinner bell signaled us back to the house for a huge meal.
Brooksyne remembers often gathering with her Aunt Ruby and Uncle Billy and their family in Harrison, Arkansas. Not only turkey but ham would be offered since her dad, Brooklyn, refused to eat poultry. Having worked on poultry farms in his younger years he had his fill of cleaning up after the birds and never partook of the delicious meat that others of us enjoy. Not only did Brooklyn refuse to eat the poultry but he didn’t even permit the family to say "chicken" at the dinner table. It’s a good thing for our poultry farmers, including a number of Brooksyne’s relatives, that most people serve chicken and turkey on their dinner table on a regular basis!
Since that was in an age before we had handheld devices to stare at and tinker with most of us kids found plenty to do outside, playing in the barn and fields. Uncle Gentry would often take us on a wagon ride behind his Allis-Chalmers tractor. But the dinner bell signaled us back to the house for a huge meal.
Brooksyne remembers often gathering with her Aunt Ruby and Uncle Billy and their family in Harrison, Arkansas. Not only turkey but ham would be offered since her dad, Brooklyn, refused to eat poultry. Having worked on poultry farms in his younger years he had his fill of cleaning up after the birds and never partook of the delicious meat that others of us enjoy. Not only did Brooklyn refuse to eat the poultry but he didn’t even permit the family to say "chicken" at the dinner table. It’s a good thing for our poultry farmers, including a number of Brooksyne’s relatives, that most people serve chicken and turkey on their dinner table on a regular basis!
Special
Thanksgiving
Resources
As we have for many years we want to offer these resources to families and church leaders to enrich the spiritual impact of the Thanksgiving holiday. We will leave these resources up through Thanksgiving Day.
As we have for many years we want to offer these resources to families and church leaders to enrich the spiritual impact of the Thanksgiving holiday. We will leave these resources up through Thanksgiving Day.
"Thankful
For The
Thorns": A
family reading
and exercise
that is a
wonderful way
to give a
thoughtful
focus around
your
Thanksgiving
Table. The
Thanksgiving
celebration
typically
includes
family coming
together for a
huge meal and
hopefully a
heartfelt
prayer of
thankfulness.
However it can
often be
difficult to
have a
spiritually
oriented
conversation.
Why not add
some
stimulating
discussion
about the ways
God has worked
in your life
over the past
year! Some of
you are not in
charge and are
only visitors
at your
Thanksgiving
gathering, but
if it is
possible share
together
around the
table the
theme of
"Thankful for
the Thorns" (printable
webpage).
"A Thanksgiving family exercise" (pdf). We have used this questionnaire as a stimulus for discussion among family members in the past in our home. We encourage you to share results around the table at Thanksgiving before or after the meal.
A Thanksgiving prayer: Written by Joe Sherer, a pastor friend of ours and shared as the benediction at our community Thanksgiving Eve service several years ago. (printable webpage) For those who enjoy written prayers this would be a beautiful prayer to read together at the Thanksgiving table.
A Thanksgiving Scripture reading: A selection of Old and New Testament readings dealing with thankfulness appropriate for church, family and personal readings. (pdf) (Suitable for printing out and copying.)
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iHeart
radioPermissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. We do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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