Psalm 136

1Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!

His faithful love endures forever.

2Give thanks to the God of gods.

His faithful love endures forever.

3Give thanks to the Lord of lords.

His faithful love endures forever.

4Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.

His faithful love endures forever.

5Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.

His faithful love endures forever.

6Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters.

His faithful love endures forever.

7Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights—

His faithful love endures forever.

8the sun to rule the day,

His faithful love endures forever.

9and the moon and stars to rule the night.

His faithful love endures forever.

10Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt.

His faithful love endures forever.

11He brought Israel out of Egypt.

His faithful love endures forever.

12He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm.

His faithful love endures forever.

13Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea.^a

His faithful love endures forever.

14He led Israel safely through,

His faithful love endures forever.

15but he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.

His faithful love endures forever.

16Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness.

His faithful love endures forever.

17Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings.

His faithful love endures forever.

18He killed powerful kings—

His faithful love endures forever.

19Sihon king of the Amorites,

His faithful love endures forever.

20and Og king of Bashan.

His faithful love endures forever.

21God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance—

His faithful love endures forever.

22a special possession to his servant Israel.

His faithful love endures forever.

23He remembered us in our weakness.

His faithful love endures forever.

24He saved us from our enemies.

His faithful love endures forever.

25He gives food to every living thing.

His faithful love endures forever.

26Give thanks to the God of heaven.

His faithful love endures forever.

There have been a few years my dad before all of our family has read this proclamation by William Bradford regarding the first Thanksgiving and I wanted to leave you with a quick blog with the history of Israel and America. Be thankful for all God has done for you.

First Proclamation After Plymouth

Governor Bradford of Massachusetts made this first Thanksgiving Proclamation three years after the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth:

"Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.

Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the daytime, on Thursday, November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings."

William Bradford
Ye Governor of Ye Colony

Chris Tomlin - Forever (Lyrics And Chords)

We are Mephibosheth

It's easy at times to read over part of scripture and not always see yourself in it or see the parallels with your life and what God has done for you. If you have been at a church or funeral service for any length of time you are familiar with the song Amazing Grace. "Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me." You might have even watched Star Trek the Wrath of Kahn and know Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy sang the wrong words. There's one other song I want to draw your thoughts too. "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how he could love me a sinner condemned unclean". In Ephesians 2:4-9 it is specific about our part in salvation and God's mercy. "But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by grace you have been saved!). For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it."

See Christians are chosen by God he bestows love on us we don't deserve. Romans 5:8 is an awesome example of this. I read Second Samuel chapter 9 and I'm going to post it for you because David shows kindness to Jonathan's son Mephibosheth and the man is filled with so much humility. It hit me that this is an example of God's love for us. Verse 8 especially when Mephibosheth asked "Who is your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me." He got it he knew he didn't deserve anything. We live in a world where people think they are entitled to something. I used to work for credit card customer service and I had people who actually called when their bank did maintenance and temporarily shut down all cards then they demanded to know if we were going to compensate them monetarily for when their card didn't work. That takes a lot of gall! But I want you to read about this man David showed kindness to because when you realize you can't earn God's love or his salvation you see that you need to be humble and thankful before him.

Post 2 Samuel 9

David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

1One day David asked, “Is anyone in Saul’s family still alive—anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2He summoned a man named Ziba, who had been one of Saul’s servants. “Are you Ziba?” the king asked.

“Yes sir, I am,” Ziba replied.

3The king then asked him, “Is anyone still alive from Saul’s family? If so, I want to show God’s kindness to them.”

Ziba replied, “Yes, one of Jonathan’s sons is still alive. He is crippled in both feet.”

4“Where is he?” the king asked.

“In Lo-debar,” Ziba told him, “at the home of Makir son of Ammiel.”

5So David sent for him and brought him from Makir’s home. 6His name was Mephibosheth^a; he was Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson. When he came to David, he bowed low to the ground in deep respect. David said, “Greetings, Mephibosheth.”

Mephibosheth replied, “I am your servant.”

7“Don’t be afraid!” David said. “I intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the property that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will eat here with me at the king’s table!”

8Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, “Who is your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?”

9Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10You and your sons and servants are to farm the land for him to produce food for your master’s household.^b But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will eat here at my table.” (Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

11Ziba replied, “Yes, my lord the king; I am your servant, and I will do all that you have commanded.” And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly at David’s table,^c like one of the king’s own sons.

12Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. From then on, all the members of Ziba’s household were Mephibosheth’s servants. 13And Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king’s table.

This is us we dine at the King's table and there was nothing now or ever we could have done to deserve it.

The songs chosen have to do with God washing us clean and being our King. You're about to be told something no one has heard yet but this morning at church We were singing Forever by Kari Jobe and when we got to the chorus as the whole church sang the words I started singing the words to Nothing but the blood and it just made sense at that time in my heart.

'Your Grace Still Amazes Me'(Lyrics) Phillips, Craig & Dean