Thankfulness

A Thanksgiving Prayer

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments 
One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. Psalm 145:4 KJV

O Father, I seek you this morning with a heart filled with memories of your love and faithfulness to our family through the years. You have blessed us, helped us, forgiven often, given comfort in sorrows, and through everything we have lived through You have given us hope.

So, on this day, which is set aside for giving thanks, we pray that you would show your great love and faithfulness again, especially to the next generation. May they accomplish more for You, trust you more deeply when facing their own challenges, oppositions and trials, and love you more unselfishly than we have, so that they will show your love and grace to a world growing darker and more hopeless every year.

Fill our hearts, not only our tables, teach us to humbly listen to your voice above all voices and look for your face among all the faces, because You are our only hope and the God of our Salvation. Thank you, Father, that You have brought us this far, kept us in spite of how often we have messed up, failed You and forgotten Your goodness. So, now we come to praise, You, and ask for Your strength to show Your wonderful love, power and kindness to the next generation. And we ask this all in the name of our Great Savior Jesus Christ our Lord and give You thanks with all of our heart, our mind and strength!

We Gather Together

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments 
 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name! Psalm 100:4 KJV

Thanksgiving is one of the few days of the year when we in the United States gather with our family members, some of whom we may not have seen since the previous year. In our case we are heading to our son’s place in Texas soon, with another son coming with a grandson down from PA to join in. Our thankfulness may not resemble much the original feast held by the Pilgrims in Massachusetts in 1621, nevertheless we are genuinely grateful to have an opportunity to break from our busy schedules and recall God’s goodness through both our hardships as well as victories. God has been gracious, patient and kind, even when we were not. He has taught us more of forgiveness and continues to work in our hearts as we seek His will. A few weeks ago, during a senior’s luncheon, the pastor asked what everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving hymn was. Many replied, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, while I like some of the more modern songs on Thankfulness, but my wife surprised us all when she brought up, “We Gather Together.” Now, I actually always loved that older hymn, but had nearly forgotten its words as we probably had not sung it in church in nearly forty years. So, I opened up my old hymn book, and began practicing it, and introduced it into our song selection last week at the Life Care Center, Friday service. I do hope you will enjoy our simple rendition. Here on my third attempt, I actually made it all the way through without missing any of the lyrics! Have a blessed week everyone and think of ways you may gather to give thanks to the Lord. He always welcomes those who come into His gates with Thanksgiving!

An Unexpected Gift

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments 
I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. Philippians 4:18 ESV

Last week our small group had a party to signal the beginning of a summer break. Each person brought a dish of some kind, and we even invited some of our neighbors to join us. What a wonderful time it was talking about our summer plans and upcoming travels. Towards the end of our get-together, one woman asked offhandedly if I might be interested in her old guitar which she was thinking of donating to the thrift store. I didn’t hold out much hope about her instrument, but I offered to take a look, expecting a worn-out guitar in a dilapidated case. How surprised I was when Ginger walked with carrying a professional case, which when I opened revealed a very nice Yamaha in near perfect condition. Though the strings were overdue for changing, when I put a new set on I was delighted with the tone. Unknown to our friend Ginger, I had prayed a while back for a new guitar but had forgotten about it. Excitedly I called and thanked her for such a beautiful and unexpected gift! That got me to thinking about other unexpected gifts we read about in the Bible. Of course, we must begin with God’s amazing and unexpected gift of salvation, but in today’s verse, the Apostle Paul also shows his gratitude for a gift from friends. He had neither asked for nor expected them to send him anything, but when they did, he wrote to say thank you. He says that gifts like these are a fragrant offering an acceptable sacrifice and they make the heart of God glad. Let’s be thankful for those rare moments when we receive such gifts, because in them we see a tiny reflection of the heart of Jesus who came as the most unexpected gift of all! I do hope you will enjoy one of the first songs I got to play with my new gift. Have a blessed Sunday everyone!