Giving thanks

Holy Tuesday – Jesus Sees a Woman’s Heart

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. Luke 21:1-3 ESV

On this, His final day of public ministry, Jesus took the time to praise the offering of a widow. Among the crowds at the temple that day, she was probably considered the least important by most people. Few would have even noticed as she quietly slipped her two coins into the charity box. But everyone saw the rich men as they carried in their gifts with great fanfare. At the sound of their silver and gold coins clanking into the box people were oohing and aahing about how much they gave. But Jesus was not impressed with their money. He did not care about their spectacular performance or false religiosity. But Jesus did take time to see and praise this widow, before He sat down for His last meal. He pointed her out for all of us to see, because she had come humbly and given all she had with all of her heart. Then He broke the bread and gave the cup and gave all He had for you and for me.

One Final Thought

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 
Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise Ye the Lord!
Psalm 150:6

My morning reading ended with the final chapter of Psalms. And as I paused to consider its message, I was struck by how God finishes with a personal call. Yes, we need to praise him with timbrels and dance, yes trumpet players, harpists and drummers should honor God too. Even birds, animals and fish are commanded to worship, when He says, “Everything that hath breath.” In earlier passages even sun, moon and stars, are directed to praise and thank God. But God wants us to know that we have an even more important place. Here, in this final phrase, of the last verse, God closes with the command: “Praise ye the Lord!” It is as if God is shouting, “Hey you! …Yes, I mean you there! …. Don’t just stand around waiting for someone else to do the job. You get busy and start praising God too!

So, let’s remember in the middle of the football, the turkey and family time that our number one job and most important part of our day is to give God praise!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

A Thanksgiving Remembered

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4 NLT

We often think of the first Thanksgiving as when the Pilgrims celebrated God’s provision, after having survived their first terrible Winter. But the fact that it is now a national holiday owes in large part to one very determined woman named, Sarah Hale. Sarah was a renowned editor of a Lady’s periodical and an author. In her novel, “Northwood” which she wrote in 1827, Sarah began the conversation about adding Thanksgiving as an annual observance. Soon she launched a letter writing campaign to governors, congressmen, and presidents. Despite growing popular opinion, the idea of making Thanksgiving an official holiday met varying degrees of opposition from many politicians until October of 1863. There, in the middle of our bloodiest war, Abraham Lincoln recognized that what our nation needed most was not just a military victory, but more importantly, God’s intervention. He understood, as today’s verse makes clear, that the way through the door into God’s presence came by giving thanks. Though Thanksgiving was generally observed after the war, the official designation of it by the law of the land did not come until December of 1941, right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Today, we are blessed to have one day set aside every year: not just for football and turkey, but for remembering that it is God who has given us life and provided our needs. We need not wait for disaster to drive us to our knees. Thanksgiving and praise should be our opening prayer every morning and our closing thought each night. Thank God for His help, both in ages past and for His faithful presence right here and now. God bless you all and Happy Thanksgiving!