Last Sunday I had the honor of doing a funeral for the mother of a friend. This occasion was really a time of giving thanks for a life lived well and for a person that became welcome, blessing and goodness for her whole family. One of the passages I used in the eulogy was from Psalm 23 ... "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil ... my cup runneth over (Ps. 23:5 KJV)." As I was giving thanks for this life well lived, I thought about how God demonstrates His love for us and how He gives us abundance in the midst of all of our struggles in life. And He doesn't just give a little ... "our cup runneth over!"
As we enter the season of Thanksgiving (the community Thanksgiving service is here Sunday evening at 5pm) lets remember that these words are historically and completely connected ... thanks ... giving. Thanks is our response to God and Psalm 23 is David's giving thanks for a God who watches over him. But it is also an expression of God's act of giving to those He cares for. God gives guidance (the Lord is my shepherd). God gives peace (He leads me beside still waters). God gives renewal (He restores my soul). He gives discipline (thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me). He gives assurance in the midst of danger (Yea though I walk through the Valley of Death, I will fear no evil). He gives presence (for Thou art with me). He gives sustenance (Thou preparest a table before me, in the presence of mine enemies). He is our source of goodness and mercy (surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life). And God gives a sure and eternal destination (I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever). God gives ... and God leads us to give as we remember what He has done and who He is!
As we come into the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I hope we enter these times in a spirit of giving. Giving to our church for the things that are before us. Micah 3:10 reminds us that we cannot out give God and, in fact, God will notice and respond to our giving ... "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. "If you do", says the Lord of Heaven's Armies, "I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in!" that is God's promise ... do you believe it?
And I hope we will enter with a spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude. We will sing "Thanksgiving Song", as is our tradition, this week. My favorite line in the song is ... "Grateful for the hands we hold, gathered round the table." The old song "Come Ye Thankful People Come" will be part of our evening Thanksgiving Service. Be grateful for the good things God has provided. Be grateful for hands around the table ... hands that will not always be with us on this side of heaven's doors. And remember the first line of Psalm 23 ... "The Lord is my shepherd ... I shall not want!" Randy
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