Fourth Sunday Meditation: A Heart of Thanksgiving

"Offer to God the sacrifice of

thanksgiving, and pay your vows to

the Most High, And call on Me

in the day of trouble; I will deliver you,

and you shall honor and glorify Me."

Psalm 50:14-15

"For the Lord will comfort Zion;

He will comfort all her waste places,

And He will make her wilderness like Eden,

and her deserts like the gardens of the Lord.

Joy and gladness will be found in her,

thanksgiving and the voice of song,

or instrument of praise.

Listen to Me, the Lord, O My people,

and give ear to Me, O My nation; for a

divine law will go forth from Me,

and I will establish My justice for 

a light to the peoples.

My rightness and justice are near,

My salvation is going forth, and My arms

shall rule the peoples; the islands shall wait for

and expect Me, and on My arm shall they trust

and wait with hope.

Isaiah 51:3-4

"Sky and earth will pass away, 

but My words will not pass away."

Matthew 24:35

"But as to the Son, He says to Him,

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,

to the ages of the ages, and the scepter of

Your kingdom is a specter of absolute righteousness,

of justice and straightforwardness.

You have loved righteousness, 

You have delighted in integrity, virtue, 

and uprightness in purpose, thought and action,

and You have hated lawlessness, injustice and iniquity.

Therefore God, even Your Godhead has anointed You

with the oil of exultant joy and gladness above and

beyond Your companions.

And further, You, Lord, did lay the foundation

of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the

works of Your hands.  They will perish, but You

remain and continue permanently; they will 

grow old and wear out like a garment.

Like a mantle thrown about one's self, You will

roll them up, and they will be changed and replaced

by others. But You remain the same, and Your years

will never come to an end nor come to failure."

Hebrews 1:8-12

"Advocate"

A painting by David Bowman

"Be happy in your faith and rejoice

 and be glad-hearted continually; 

Be unceasing in prayer;

Thank God in everything, 

no matter what the circumstances

may be, be thankful and give thanks,

 for this is the will of God

for you who are in Christ Jesus

 the Revealer and the Mediator

of that will.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Because now we really live, if you

stand firm in the Lord.

And may the Lord make you to increase

and excel and overflow in love for

one another and for all people...

So that He may strengthen

and confirm and establish your hearts

faultlessly pure and unblamable in holiness

in the sight of our God and Father, at the

coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah,

with all His saints, the holy and glorified people of God.

Amen!  So be it!

1 Thessalonians 3:8, 12,13

Jesus on the Mount of Olives

 Oil on canvas by

 Enrique Simonet Lombardo

(1892)