Give Thanks!

I love the blessed Thanksgiving season!  I am thankful for many material blessings; but this morning I just want to sing -- "Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul.  Thank you, Lord, for making me whole.  Thank you, Lord, for giving to me Thy great salvation so full and free."

As we anticipate the Thanksgiving holiday next week, may we keep our hearts full of praise and thanksgiving as we go about our daily tasks, and remember to --"In everything, give thanks"!
The last five Psalms -- 146-150 -- each begin and end with "Praise ye the Lord"!  So let's keep our hearts filled with praise and thanksgiving as we count our many blessings and name them one by one!

There are several Thanksgiving songs in our hymnal, but one that we don't often sing is entitled, "For the Beauty of the Earth", written in 1864 by Folliott Pierpoint.  I trust the words will be a blessing to you as we meditate on them through the week.

     "For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies --
For the love which from our birth, over and around us lies.
      For the wonder of each hour, of the day and of the night --
Hill and vale, and tree and flower, sun and moon, and stars of light.

      For the joy of human love -- brother, sister, parent, child;
Friends on earth, and friends above -- for all gentle thoughts and mild.
      For Thy Church that evermore lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore, her pure sacrifice of love.

      For Thyself -- best gift divine, to the world so freely given;
For that great, great love of Thine -- peace on earth and joy in heaven.
      Lord of all, to Thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise."
Amen!

Meeting the Master --

I found these words on a piece of paper, now yellowed with age, that my Mother had written down many years ago.  They still speak to my heart today --

     "I had walked life's path with an easy tread,
And had followed where comfort and pleasures led.
      And then, by chance, in a quiet place--
I met the Master, face to face!

      With station, and rank, and wealth for my goal--
Much thought for the body -- but none for the soul.
      I had entered to win in life's mad race--
When I met the Master, face to face!

      I had built my castles and reared them high,
Until the towers had reached the blue of the sky.
      I had sworn to rule with iron mace,
When I met the Master, face to face!

      I met Him, and knew Him, and blushed to see
That His eyes, full of pity, were fixed on me.
      I faltered, and fell at His feet that day --
My castles all melted and vanished away,
      And in their place, I saw nothing else but my Master's face.
I cried aloud --'Oh, make me meet to follow the marks of Thy wounded feet!

      My thought is now for the souls of men --
I had lost my life to find it again,
      Since alone, in that hallowed place,
My Master and I stood face to face!"

And because I met the Master, and belong to Him, I have the blessed hope that one day --

                              "Face to face I shall behold Him,
                                       Far beyond the starry sky.
                               Face to face in all His glory,
                                       I shall see Him by and by!" 

Kindness!

Kindness is a wonderful virtue that, perhaps, we too often take for granted.  In Romans 12:10, we read:  "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another."  In the last chapter of Proverbs where we find a beautiful word picture of a gracious woman, verse 26 says:  "She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness."   I read these words in a little article by Merton Rice:   "One of the surest signs of high character in men will generally be detected in kindness and mercifulness." 

     "If I knew that a word of mine -- a word not kind and true,
Might leave its trace on a loved one's face,
      I'd never speak harshly--would you?

      If I knew the light of a smile might linger the whole day through,
And brighten some heart with a heavier part,
      I wouldn't withhold it -- would you?"

Many in our world today are lonely and long for someone to show them just a simple act of kindness.
Jesus, our wonderful Lord, is the expression of God's infinite kindness and love to our lost and hurting world.  I wonder -- can the world see Jesus in you and me?  

His Mercy Endureth ---

Are you breathing a deep sigh of relief because it is Friday?
Do you feel overwhelmed with the cares of life?
Do you see no answers to the problems and burdens pressing on your mind today?

Well -- I am happy to tell you that I have just the "medicine" you need!  It is sure to calm your spirit, and you will soon find a little river of sweet peace trickling into your soul! 
So, instead of taking a coffee break this morning, get your Bible and take a little break in the Word of God!
Let's take our break in the 136th Psalm.  This is such a blessed and wonderful Psalm, and I especially love it because each verse ends with these sweet words -- "for His mercy endureth for ever."  This Psalm has 26 verses, so by the time I read this promise---"for His mercy endureth for ever" 26 times, I am ready to "Give thanks unto the Lord for He is good -- He doeth great wonders -- He made the sun to rule by day, and the moon and stars to rule by night.  He led His people through the wilderness, and He giveth food to all flesh."

And, to add a little icing on the cake -- we are entering the Thanksgiving season, so let us:
     "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. 
      For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations."

Which Way Are You Leading?

In the 18th chapter of Matthew, we read -- "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.  How think ye?  if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?  And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."
Yesterday, I found this poem by an unknown author and it challenged my heart.  May God help us as sheep to walk humbly with Him -- to follow where He leads and pasture where He feeds -- to grow in grace -- to dig deeper and climb higher -- to trust and obey -- to cherish the "Old Rugged Cross" -- to live a holy life so that the lambs following behind will not be led astray.

     "It was a sheep, not a lamb, that strayed away,
In the parable Jesus told;
      A grown-up sheep, that had gone astray
From ninety and nine in the fold.

     Out on the hillside, out in the cold,
It was a sheep the Good Shepherd sought;
      And back to the flock, safe into the fold,
It was a sheep the Good Shepherd brought.

      And why for the sheep should we earnestly long,
And as earnestly hope and pray?
      Because there is danger!  If they go wrong,
They will lead the lambs astray.

      For the lambs will follow the sheep, you know,
Wherever the sheep may stray;
      When the sheep go wrong, it will not be long
Until the lambs are as wrong as they.

      And so for the sheep we earnestly plead,
For the sake of the lambs today;
      If the lambs are lost, what terrible cost
Some sheep will have to pay."

                            

My Shepherd

The 23rd Psalm is widely known as one of the most familiar and best-loved passages of scripture in all the Word of God.  The first verse says --"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."  What blessed assurance -- what sweetness -- what comfort --  and what wonderful peace is found in those familiar words!  As we begin a new week, I'm so very thankful that I belong to the Good Shepherd who knows His sheep.
I like this beautiful little story --

     "Dr. Forsyth has told how a friend of his was on a sheep farm in Australia and saw the owner take a little lamb and place it in a huge enclosure where there were several thousand sheep whose bleating, together with the shouting of the sheep shearers, was deafening.  Then the lamb uttered its feeble cry, and the mother sheep at the other end of the enclosure heard it and started to find her lamb.  (Praise the Lord)!
      'Do not imagine that you are beyond the reach of the Good Shepherd,' said the preacher.  'He sees you, He hears you -- every good desire of yours is known to Him, and every secret longing for better things.  He sees you as if there were no other child in the whole world'."  Amen!

And as you live this week for Jesus, don't forget the wonderful promise in I Peter 5:4 --
                         "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that    fadeth not away."
 

Keep On Praying!

A couple of days ago, I put a poem, by Harper Welch, on my Blog about our prayer life.  Since today is Friday, and we are looking to the coming Lord's Day, I wanted to continue with some thoughts on prayer.  The songwriter said --
      "Just keep on praying until light breaks through --
The Lord will answer; He'll answer you!
      God keeps His promise -- His Word is true --
Just keep on praying until light breaks through!"

I like this quote that someone has said --
     "You have not really prayed until your heart has talked."
And the Psalmist said --
     "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy."

I found the following quotes a few days ago in a Bible my husband gave me in 1976.  They spoke to my heart, and I trust they will to yours also.

     "The winning quality in prayer is persistence."
     "Men may spurn your appeals, reject your messages, and oppose your arguments, but they are helpless against your prayers."
     "Prayer is our highest privilege, our gravest responsibility, and the greatest power God has put into our hands.  Prayer, real prayer, is the noblest, the sublimest, the most stupendous act that any creature of God can perform."  (May God help us to see it as we should).
      Dwight L. Moody has said --"Behind every great movement of God, there is a kneeling figure."

And the Lord said in Jeremiah 33:3 --
     "Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."  Praise the Lord!!