Call to pause, Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays! Besides the yummy food, desserts, beautifully set tables and wild and fun games played at family gatherings, OH and FOOTBALL! I so appreciate the call to pause. Pause and reflect. Reflect on the goodness of God. There is ALWAYS something to be thankful for.
The Psalmist penned so eloquently, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High” Ps 92:1
Paul wrote while under Roman guard, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” – Phil 4:6 (emphasis mine) He continues with his directness about our approach to God and God stuff, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thess 5:16-18
There is yet another portion of scripture that speaks loudly to thanksgiving, but I doubt we will ever see its words printed in gold leaf across a Hallmark card, though worthy of even more.
We turn to Luke chapter 17, verses 11-19. In short, Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, ten men with leprosy call out, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” The narrative says Jesus saw them, healing them, tells them “go show yourselves to the priest.” They all left, never to be seen again.
But ONE. One came back, throwing himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him for his healing. Verses 15,16 “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God . He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him…” He wasnt quiet about it./>
Jesus’ response, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? WOW! OH, that I would be so very careful to pause, come and throw myself at Jesus’ feet … always. I have made so many stupid mistakes, wandered here and there. But Jesus is always there! There for me to throw myself at His feet. THANKSGIVING!
Jesus tells the ‘one’ who thanked Him, ‘arise, go – your faith has made you whole.’ This ‘whole’ is sozo (in the Greek) – meaning not ONLY a physical healing, but conveying protection, to heal both physically and spiritually, to bring safely through, to justify. The opposite of this you ask? To BANISH! In addition, making this SO amazing, this one man was a Samaritan. The Samaritans were treated rather discriminatingly, they were considered ‘half breeds’ and not really worthy of folks’ time. Now a Jew, a Jewish LORD has not banished him, but healed him. He KNEW! He thanked!
Principle we pull forward? Thanksgiving will lead us to wholeness! Jesus wants us to pause, take notice, come back and thank Him. Have some of us ran off with no hesitation, or are we so busy that we fail to take notice of His goodness. Or do some of us need to pause and come back, back to the feet of Jesus. Be the one!
Call to pause, thanksgiving. “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD.”
Reason for Thanksgiving
Turkey, cranberries, dinner rolls, butter, mash potatoes, gravy, green beans, salad. “Breathe.” Dinner plates, napkins, silverware, glasses, name cards AND centerpiece. THANKSGIVING! I love this holiday, FOOD – family – fun. Ok, I will add … football. A set time to pause, consider and ponder that which we are thankful for.
Thanksgiving. There are seasons it may be difficult to pull forward on the shelves of our lives something to be thankful for. We may have lost a job, or a loved one. Or our bank account matches our emotional bucket of strength, ’empty’. Yet and yet there IS something to be thankful for. You have a REASON for thanksgiving. The great Psalm of thanks opens with, “Give thanks to the LORD for He is good.” (Ps. 136) The Hebrew language renders beautiful word pictures, “Give thanks…” offers the idea to confess or acknowledge in reverence and worship with extended hands.
“Give thanks to the LORD for He is good. His love endures forever” The author found it needful to repeat “His love endures forever” 26 times throughout the rest of the Psalm. This Hebrew word love 
is ‘hesed’ (hay-said). It is used 248 times in the Old Testament. Let’s take a look at each one (just kidding). We know it biblically as mercy, goodness, loyalty and steadfast love, even … grace. What a pivotal word. Scholars find it extremely difficult to translate into English, because there really is not an equivalent word(s).’
This merciful (undeserved) love is enveloped in personal involvement and commitment to relationship. Basically it IS relationship. God is pleased when it is reciprocated “For I delight in loyalty (hesed) rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Our Lord desires faithful love and covenantal commitment.
David’s well known and beloved Psalm 23 (verse 6) “Surely goodness and MERCY will follow me all the days of my life” (mercy – hesed) This ‘follow’ is not a mere tag along behind, but … PURSUIT. David knows the concept of pursuit. This Psalm is known to be written at the END of David’s life. He, once the shepherd, has now/is being Shepherded. God’s unending – steadfast love full of mercy pursued David, He pursues …. US! He is unrelenting. In my study, I have come to this conclusion: The divine love of God is steady – sure – persistent and FULL of refusal to let go. Aren’t you GLAD He does not let go! Reason for thanksgiving indeed. “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love endures forever.”
Very interesting note, (Geek alert) have you ever wondered why we call it, ‘saying grace’ when we bow our head and give thanks for our meal? Giving thanks in the Greek is ‘charizomai’ deriving from ‘charis’ meaning GRACE! Our thanksgiving is rooted in GRACE!
This week as we share around the table amongst the laughter and love the blessings of health and family, may we too take a knee, raise a hand 
and “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so…” (Ps. 107:2)
In Him, DeDe (“Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love & good deeds.” ~ Heb. 10:24)
Inspired Fountain Website: https://inspiredfountainpen.wordpress.com/
Reason for Thanksgiving
Turkey, cranberries, dinner rolls, butter, mash potatoes, gravy, green beans, salad. Breathe. Dinner plates, napkins, silverware, glasses, name cards AND centerpiece. THANKSGIVING! I love this holiday, FOOD – family – fun. Ok, I will add … football. A set time to pause, consider and ponder that which we are thankful for.
Thanksgiving. There are seasons it may be difficult to pull forward on the shelves of our lives something to be thankful for. We may have lost a job, or a loved one. Or our bank account matches our emotional bucket of strength, ‘empty’. Yet and yet there IS something to be thankful for. You have a REASON for thanksgiving. The great Psalm of thanks opens with, “Give thanks to the LORD for He is good.” (Ps. 136) The Hebrew language renders beautiful word pictures, “Give thanks…” offers the idea to confess or acknowledge in reverence and worship with extended hands.
“Give thanks to the LORD for He is good. His love endures forever” The author found it needful 
to repeat “His love endures forever” 26 times throughout the rest of the Psalm. This Hebrew word love is ‘hesed’ (hay-said). It is used 248 times in the Old Testament. Let’s take a look at each one (just kidding). We know it biblically as mercy, goodness, loyalty and steadfast love, even … grace. What a pivotal word. Scholars find it extremely difficult to translate into English, because there really is not an equivalent word(s). In 1535 Myles Coverdale published the first complete modern English translation, using many of Tyndale’s work, in it he uses … ‘lovingkindness.’
This merciful (undeserved) love is enveloped in personal involvement and commitment to relationship. Basically it IS relationship. God is pleased when it is reciprocated “For I delight in loyalty (hesed) rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6) Our Lord desires faithful love and covenantal commitment. With this, it is precious (Ps. 36:7) marvelous (Ps. 17:7) undeserving (Ps. 103) abounding (Ps. 86:5) reviving (Ps.119:159) satisfying (Ps. 90:14) and everlasting (Ps. 103:17). God is the God of GREAT attributes and God cannot 
change – He will ALWAYS be a God of love filled mercy.
David’s well known and beloved Psalm 23 (verse 6) “Surely goodness and MERCY will follow me all the days of my life” (mercy – hesed) This ‘follow’ is not a mere tag along behind, but … PURSUIT. David knows the concept of pursuit. This Psalm is known to be written at the END of David’s life. He, once the shepherd, has now/is being Shepherded. God’s unending – steadfast love full of mercy pursued David, He pursues …. US! He is unrelenting. In my study, I have come to this conclusion: The divine love of God is steady – sure – persistent and FULL of refusal to let go. Aren’t you GLAD He does not let go! I know for me, God is so extremely patient with this I.C.G. (Irritating Child of God) I continue to be amazed at His grace … love … mercy, not to mention His awesome sense of humor. “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love endures forever.”
As we prepare to share around the table amongst the laughter and love the blessings of health and family, may we too take a knee, raise a hand and “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so…” (Ps. 107:2)
In Him, DeDe (“Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love & good deeds.” ~ Heb. 10:24)
Inspired Fountain 