Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is kind of an odd holiday.  It is a day which we put aside our daily worries and concerns and focus on the Goodness of God and His provision in our lives.  I admit that it is good to memorialize a day of Thanksgiving, but I believe the ultimate Goal God had in mind was that we live lives of Thanksgiving everyday.

Ezra 3:10-11 (NASB)

¹⁰ Now when the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord according to the directions of King David of Israel. ¹¹ They sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, “For He is good, for His loving kindness is upon Israel forever.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

In our case the foundation of the house of God has been laid by God Himself.  What is that foundation?

Isaiah 28:16 (NASB)

¹⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be disturbed.

It is easy to be shaken from trusting fully in the Lord’s goodness by the everyday grind beating down upon us.  That is why we have each other in community, to constantly remind us of the Lord’s goodness and His great love toward us.  Also that we are in this battle together, much like stones which are weathered by storms but are firmly placed together.

Matthew 7:24-27 (NASB)

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

He came and rescued us and He gave us a place, a holy habitation, that WE would become the temple of the Lord.  That WE would be the building that houses the Lord’s presence.

 

Ephesians 2:17-22 (GWT)

¹⁷ He came with the Good News of peace for you who were far away and for those who were near. ¹⁸ So Jewish and non-Jewish people can go to the Father in one Spirit.

¹⁹ That is why you are no longer foreigners and outsiders but citizens together with God’s people and members of God’s family. ²⁰ You are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. ²¹ In him all the parts of the building fit together and grow into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² Through him you, also, are being built in the Spirit together with others into a place where God lives.

So, that is where my heart is this Thanksgiving holiday.  Giving thanks to God for my position in Christ.  Being built into a holy temple for the Lord’s presence.  Jesus being the cornerstone (or foundation stone) on which everything else is built. 

Praise and thanksgiving be to the Lord who has seen our lowly state and has had mercy upon us and raised us up to be seated with Him in heavenly places.  This is the Lord’s doing, it is marvelous in our sight.  As for me, all that I can do is worship Him with a grateful heart, with Joy and Thanksgiving!

Stephen Barnett

Psalm 95 1-7 (GWT)

¹ Come, let’s sing joyfully to the Lord.
    Let’s shout happily to the rock of our salvation.
²     Let’s come into his presence with a song of thanksgiving.
    Let’s shout happily to him with psalms.
³ The Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods.
⁴     In his hand are the deep places of the earth,
        and the mountain peaks are his.
⁵     The sea is his.
        He made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

⁶ Come, let’s worship and bow down.
    Let’s kneel in front of the Lord, our maker,
⁷         because he is our God
            and we are the people in his care,
                the flock that he leads.

↓ Click Here to listen to the song

Come, Worship The Lord

(Psalm 95)

Words and Music by John Michael Talbot

Come, worship the Lord
For we are His people, the flock that He shepherds
Aleluia

Come, let us sing to the Lord
And shout with joy to the Rock who saves us
Let us come with thanksgiving
And sing joyful songs to the Lord

The Lord is God, a mighty God
The great King o'er all the gods
He holds in His hands the depths of the earth
And the highest mountains as well
He made the sea; it belongs now to Him
The dry land, too, was formed by His hand

So...

Come, let us bow down in worship
Bending the knee before the Lord our Maker
For we are His people
We are the flock that He shepherds

So...

Aleluia, Aleluia

©1980 Birdwing Music/Cherry Lane Music Publishing Co. Inc.  All Rights Controlled and Administrated by The Sparrow Corp.
The music above is copyrighted by the respective artists, and is demonstrated here for educational purposes only.