Thursday, November 24, 2016

Today We Are Thankful

Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 24, 2016
“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession and you have conquered it and settled there, put some of the first produce from each crop you harvest into a basket and bring it to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored.  Go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, ‘With this gift I acknowledge to the Lord your God that I have entered the land he swore to our ancestors he would give us.’  The priest will then take the basket from your hand and set it before the altar of the Lord your God.  “You must then say in the presence of the Lord your God, ‘My ancestor Jacob was a wandering Aramean who went to live as a foreigner in Egypt.  His family arrived few in number, but in Egypt they became a large and mighty nation.  When the Egyptians oppressed and humiliated us by making us their slaves, we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors.  He heard our cries and saw our hardship, toil, and oppression.  So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and powerful arm, with overwhelming terror, and with miraculous signs and wonders.  He brought us to this place and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey!  And now, O Lord, I have brought you the first portion of the harvest you have given me from the ground.’  Then place the produce before the Lord your God, and bow to the ground in worship before him.  Afterward you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.  Remember to include the Levites and the foreigners living among you in the celebration.  Deuteronomy 26:1-11(NLT)
A psalm of thanksgiving.  Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!  Worship the Lord with gladness.  Come before him, singing with joy.  Acknowledge that the Lord is God!  He made us, and we are his.  We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.  Give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good.  His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.                       Psalm 100(NLT)
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!  Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do.  Remember, the Lord is coming soon.  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.  Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing.  Then the God of peace will be with you.  Philippians 4:4-9(NLT)
They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”  Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs.  But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food.  Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you.  For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”  They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”  Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”  They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you.  What can you do?  After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness!  The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”  Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven.  My Father did.  And now he offers you the true bread from heaven.  The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”  “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”  Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.  Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.                                   John 6:25-35(NLT)

For You Today

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!
NOTES


[i] Title image: By U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Cheng S. Yang [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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