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Tag: thanksgiving

A Psalm of Thanksgiving – Psalm 100, Psalm 50

Psalm 100

Who is giving thanks? And to whom? “For what do we give thanks on Thanksgiving?”

The New International Version tells us it is For giving grateful praise. The New King James Version calls it, A Song of Praise for the Lord’s Faithfulness to His People and the English Standard Version, borrowing from its text reminds us, His Steadfast Love Endures Forever.

מִזְמֹור לְתֹודָה

A Psalm of Praise, in Hebrew, תּוֹדָה, towdah, a common theme in the Psalms, means, thanksgiving.

“Thanksgiving, done proper, is worship of the Lord God.”

Psalm 100 for the year of our Lord, 2016

A select version of verses 1-5

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

Acknowledge that the Lord is God!

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.

Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,

And His truth endures to all generations.

תּוֹדָה tôwdâh -a definition:

תּוֹדָה tôwdâh, to-daw’; from H3034; properly, an extension of the hand, i.e. (by implication) avowal, or (usually) adoration; specifically, a choir of worshippers:—confession, (sacrifice of) praise, thanks(-giving, offering).

give praise to God
thanksgiving in songs of liturgical worship, hymn of praise
thanksgiving choir or procession or line or company
thank-offering, sacrifice of thanksgiving
confession

An extension of the hand

Psalm 100, though written for the Hebrew people speaks to all. Make a joyful shout, a joyful noise, a celebration unto the LORD, all you lands, all people, all of His creation, all of the earth. And why not? Has the Lord God not been gracious to many peoples of many lands, most especially US?

This should be a time of joyful songs, not quiet personal celebration of what we have done. We have food, we have shelter, most of us have not been driven from our homes, like those so oppressed in lands of conflict. We are blessed!

“Is it not appropriate for us to extend our hand of thanks to the Lord who has provided for us so abundantly?” Thanksgiving is an extension of praise and worship to our One Provider.”

The long tradition which precedes Thursday’s annual holiday is worship, acknowledging the Lord who provides the fruits of the harvest. At times some have no food, yet even these learn to rely on the graciousness of God – all the more reason to say more than grace over our meal.

What is our problem with God?

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves. Even if sinful man points to a big bang without cause, reason or likelihood, we like to take credit for everything we do – all we accomplish, even the very act of creation, cell from cell or primate from amphibian. Some even would imagine alien intelligence (yet who created them) before humbly considering a God greater than man. We don’t want to be sheep and certainly resist being led by a God or a King or even someone of an opposing political persuasion.

Know that the Lord, he is God! Acknowledge that the Lord is God! We know it in our hearts, but a certain humility must bow down to worship the One we do not understand with all power and mercy we cannot comprehend.

Perhaps you never thought of this as a time of worship or a place to have your hands extended in praise and thanksgiving to your creator who knows each synapse of your thoughts and every pulsing of your heart. Though you resist any as King over you, even a most benevolent Lord over all of our provision, the King of the heavens and earth welcomes you through the gates of the eternal place of worship and into the courts of loving worshipers saved in the blood of His own Sacrifice for our sins.

The LORD יְהֹוָה Yĕhovah

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. Give thanks to him and praise his name. Do you need a reason to make the Lord the center of your celebrations? It’s really quite simple: He is good. The LORD is good.

[ctt title=”What man can claim the righteousness of the LORD our God?” tweet=”Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. – Psalm 100:4b” coverup=”doKDN”]

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever… Not only is the Lord good – the only One – God’s love endures. Whose love in your life has endured more than a season? Who truly loves you until your death… and beyond, can a mortal soul love your flawed flesh forever? The Lord will when you extend your hand in worship.

His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. Praise the Lord with what words the Spirit will share. God is good.

Mark this, then…

Psalm 50:22-23

“Mark this, then, you who forget God,
lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who orders his way rightly
I will show the salvation of God!”

November 24, 2016
Imperfect Family
The Son of Man – an imperfect family man

Have you ever thought of Jesus as an imperfect ‘family man?’

‘What?’ you may react! God Incarnate in the Person of Jesus imperfect as a ‘family man?’ I thought Jesus is supposed to be God the Father’s Perfect Human (Son of Man) example to each of us.

John 2

an imperfect family man, Jesus at a wedding feast in Cana

… there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ²Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.³When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

He was known as a son of the deceased Joseph of Nazareth and his widow Mary, who raised His younger brothers at home. Jesus was not a married man who could invite His friends over to His house. His Disciples met at Peter’s house, feasted in the homes of others or even gathered in fields on hillsides or park-like olive groves. Jesus seemed always to be a guest and never the host.

In many ways Jesus can NOT provide a perfect example for us in every life situation.

As a husband, does any human experience of Jesus show you how you should behave toward your wife? (Of course Jesus was not married to a woman.) Jesus does not model the role or place for a woman. This Son of Man who had no children didn’t write a book of how to deal with your teen’s technology or your terrible two’s tantrums.

In a sense, Jesus was just like us in that He was imperfect as a family man.

Jesus loved celebrating with loved ones. He had to choose which parties He would attend and the company with whom He would spend His measured mortal time. Jesus celebrated as a guest with those He loved.

Luke 5:

Jesus at the home of Matthew

29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Mathew Levi had just left everything to follow Jesus! [v.28] What a wonderful reason to celebrate with a feast.

Who should I spend Thanksgiving with?

Jesus had to make difficult choices in everyday life just like you and me. We cannot be everywhere and with everyone at once. (Neither could the Son of Man, until the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.)

Our difficult relational choices require our time with a certain loved one instead of another beloved.

You and I cannot spend Thanksgiving or Christmas, a certain wedding or obligatory funeral with all at once. My own choices for this upcoming week include situations that never fit into the ‘imperfect family life’ Jesus faced. (You or I need not detail reasons for exclusion of others from our time, but we all must make these relational decisions.) Here are a few questions I must answer now:
- Should I have Thanksgiving dinner with my beloved wife?
- Should I visit my beloved daughter?
- Should I travel to see my aging Dad?
- Should I find a way to visit my widowed Mother-in-Law?
- How can I at least acknowledge my dear step-children in several different states?
- How could I possibly see my brothers, sister and their families in so many different states?
These are the kind of questions which confront each of us at times of celebration set aside for family. Unfortunately, the family of Jesus may not help us to find answers to these heart-felt questions.

Why do I celebrate Thanksgiving?

I could stay home with my wife, who is unable to travel this holiday. I could drive to my dad’s or dine with my daughter. What’s so special about today? After all, can’t we eat turkey anywhere?

Is Thanksgiving just another day off? Or an excuse to overeat and party with friends and family? Is it the day that launches our christmas buying frenzy? Perhaps Thanksgiving is all of that and more.

In one moment of forgotten selfishness, we may give our time or food to others, family or even the hungry. Yet one purpose of Thanksgiving may still be lost on most of us.

If we have not thanked God for our many blessings, no act of charity will outweigh the bounty of our greed.

Only — the righteous give thanks to Thy name,

The upright do dwell with Thy presence!

Psalm 140:13 YLT

It was the Lord who blessed me with a warm place to live and put food on my table when I was homeless and without work. By mercy of what I did not deserve, Christ shared with me from the overflowing bounty of the Table of the King of Kings.

Thanks be to God for all before us on the day of this Thanksgiving feast and every other day.

Psalm 107

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!

Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

Happy Thanksgiving, beloved.

May the LORD of all creation fill your table with His bounty, your soul with His great mercy, and your days with great grace though His only Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Roger Harned
November 25, 2015
Thank Who?

Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name. – 2 Samuel 22:50 KJV

Thanksgiving: celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year… Thanksgiving has its historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, and has long been celebrated in a secular manner as well.

gratitude

The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

[Oxford Dictionary]

Yet why would a ‘heathen’ give thinks ‘in a secular manner,’ as opposed to thanking God?

Who does the heathen, the unbeliever, thank?

Do you thank yourself for what you have given yourself this past year… for your successes in this brief moment of your mortal time in human flesh? Do you thank your boss, your neighbors, the leaders of your country and community, your family, your friends?

Why would you have gratitude to any, if you have not gratitude to God?

Last year at this time I reflected on the well-known Thanksgiving hymn: We Gather Together. Even unbelievers in these places of Thanksgiving tradition may briefly hope for some gathering such as the Rockwellesque images of families (yes families: husband and wife, sons and daughters) gathered together to thank God for one great Turkey dinner (with all the trimmings and treats).

The traditions of thanking God for our blessings acknowledge by our humility, that we remain in debt daily to a Power higher than ourselves for our very life and existence. God IS and God provides.

By the higher Authority of God the King is made King (the President is made President and the Prime Minister made Prime Minister). No man or woman, even those in highest authority on earth, is in charge of the blessings of God – and for this we give thanks.

David, King of Israel, which God would judge and destroy into a remnant for a time, gave thanks to God. (You may be familiar with some of David’s many Psalms of thanksgiving.)

The Book of Samuel records the thanks given by David to God for delivering him out of the hands of his enemies. We should be so thankful for the same so much more often; for God has many enemies among the heathens, as do the faithful of Christ Jesus.

2 Samuel 22

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold and my refuge,
my savior; you save me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.

Is there any question who David is thanking for his life – for his deliverance from Saul? David thanks God. David praises the Lord for saving him. David takes refuge in God. Do you?

8 “Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations of the heavens trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.

14 The Lord thundered from heaven,
and the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them;
lightning, and routed them.

Would you want to anger the Living God?

Would it not behoove us to rather give thanks to the Creator of all the heavens and earth, who is mighty to save the indefensible man of this flesh?

18 He rescued me from my strong enemy,
from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
21 “The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not wickedly departed from my God.

Will the Living God not reward the righteousness of His servants – those who give thanks to Him?

26 “With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
27 with the purified you deal purely,
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
28 You save a humble people,
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.

47 “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,
48 the God who gave me vengeance
and brought down peoples under me,
49 who brought me out from my enemies;
you exalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from men of violence.

50 “For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,

and sing praises to your name.

51 Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever.”

The word, ‘thanks,’ given by David demonstrates an imagery even beyond the scope of our discussion which further explains other verses of this psalm in 2 Samuel. The traditions of giving thanks to God go back as far as Adam and forward beyond the example of Jesus Christ until this day.

Even many Christians giving thanks at Thanksgiving will not know even the meaning of ‘thanks’ as spoken by our Lord and God, Christ Jesus. In this word you will see the deeper significance of Thanksgiving in the community and family of Christ Jesus.

eucharisteō – eucharist or communion

Matthew 26

NKJV

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks,

and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Yes, our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, gave thanks to God the Father for His own sacrifice about to take place for your sins and for mine.

Gratitude – The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Jesus gave thanks to God. Jesus showed His readiness to show appreciation for the kindness of God our Father to save whose God loves from the deserved wrath of sin. This is the new testament, the new covenant of love with God.

It is God’s love and provision for which we give thanks in communion, in the breaking of the bread, in our daily lives (hopefully), and also as celebration of just one Thursday in one month of one year of one mortal live given to us by God.

From Adam to Noah to David to Christ Jesus; to you and me, and until the Kingdom is proclaimed in the highest heavens: we will give thanks to God.

Revelation 11: NKJV

Seventh Trumpet: The Kingdom Proclaimed

15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying:

“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.

18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,

And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,
And those who fear Your name, small and great,
And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

November 26, 2014