Thanksgiving in September

Where has the year gone! It is September already. Life's march is steady but have you ever thought of celebrating Thanksgiving in September, March or June? We have reason to.

In the latter chapters of Jeremiah, when all Israel has been sacked and carried captive, there comes a short sentence. It is a predicted exclamation that the Jews of Jeremiah's experience may never have aspired to sing. The vocalization comes in chapter 33 verse 11. But we need to include a bit of the context for the cry to make sense. So, look too at verses 10 through 12. We read

10 Thus saith the LORD; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast, 11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD. 12 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down .

Did you catch the praise there? Let me put the magnifying glass on it, "Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever." This is God's prediction of future events and it included rich praise by His people. This, mind you, is prophecy unfulfilled to date. One day in the future, sacrificial processions will make their way into the Holy City with praise on their lips. God's praise will be the focus of eternity.

It should be our focus too. Every day should be Thanksgiving. It is a repeated theme in Scripture. Try these references on for size. I cut and pasted them from my e-Sword Bible program: 1Chr 16:8, 1Chr 16:34; 2Chr 5:13, 2Chr 7:3, 2Chr 20:21; Ezr 3:11; Psa 106:1, Psa 107:1; Psa 118:1-4, Psa 136:1-26.

Since most readers will skim over the above references let me highlight one. "Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever." Sound familiar? It is from Jeremiah 33 and it is rich. "Praise" is giving glory to, giving reverent worship to, giving God His just due. Praise must be a part of my daily routine. It should be praise given to the "LORD of hosts". That designation is used 245 times in the Old Testament and 77 times in Jeremiah alone. Strange, because translated it means, "YHWH (Jehovah) of armies" (the armies of Israel).

At this point in Israel's history its armies could have been better depicted by the vision that Ezekiel had in what we know as the valley of dry bones. There were no hosts to command. They had been wiped out because of their persistent disobedience. A General of a wiped out host is a disgraced General and not one to be praised. However, a General who comes back to the rescue IS one to be praised. And as Ezekiel's vision reminds us, God can resurrect sun parched and lifeless bones.

When He does true Thanksgiving day begins! Celebrations will burst from all of creation because the LORD of hosts will assume command of Nature and mankind. I am SO looking forward to that day aren't you? Please pass the dressing!

Tottering!

I was watching my one year old grandson, Brandon, today. He had on some baggy little shorts, weird flip-flops over his socks, and he was tottering. It made me think about how I often feel these days. Funny how that when we are little and "innocent" and tottering in our baggy pants, with our little potbelly sticking out from under our t-shirt we look precious. When we are older and tottering in our low slung trousers and the same potbelly, we looks pathetic! I guess that the two drastically opposite points of view are based on the viewer's chronological perspective. Brandon is growing and I'm dying. He is cute because the little guy has a lot to learn and we love to see him progress. The old guy has already had his chance at learning and what he is progressing toward is not quite so much fun to ponder. When I have these weird thoughts I praise my God because He never lets go of my hand whether a tottering little guy or an old one. And I found this verse to prove my po...

What Are You Worth?

What are you Worth? Have you ever thought about what you are worth? In investing circles there is a term used to gauge this exact question, it's called Net Worth. You take all of your assets, like property owned, funds in your bank account, clothes, jewelry, car, etc.. You total all of these things. You then take everything you owe, like mortgage, car loan, and credit card debt, and you subtract these items from the first total. This gives you your net worth. That number represents where you are financially. Most people never stop to think about this number because they don't understand anything about it. They never have two nickels to rub together. They live from hand to mouth and know (or at least believe) nothing will ever change so, they fall into the "daily grind" mentality. Psalm 49 should be a great encouragement to such as these. The sons of Korah write about them. These sons write about all of us. They call all people everywhere to listen to their wisdom. Bo...

Church Isn't a Place

Many times we say, I'm going to church on Sunday. What some fail to understand is that "church" isn't a building. I remember our pastor saying, "the church is an organism, not an organization." He was teaching us the Bible truth about the church. Jesus Christ is the head of the body, and the church is his body on earth. Another pastor once said, "God's hands have human fingers." This is a difficult concept for some to grasp, pun intended. However, it is important to understand that God accomplishes his work through human beings. He uses us, the church, to do his will and work. It's not that if we don't do his will that he is stymied. But he does use willing servants. To be in the church, one must be a part of the family. You cannot be in the church if you don't have the Savior. The church is not for the lost; it is for the edification of the saved. The lost can come and hear the message of salvation. But the church is made up of t...

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