Thanks, Lord!

I am thanking the Lord today!  After 6 months of my daughter and her family living with me, they have now been able to actually move into their new home.  There is still a lot to do yet to make their home totally livable, but the extensive mold in their home has been eradicated (as far as we know), we have re-painted every square inch of paintable area, the kitchen sink is resting on an actual cabinet instead of 2x4’s, and they have at least one completely usable bathroom.

Don’t get me wrong; this precious family of seven is extremely easy to get along with, and God has brought much good and much joy out of living on top of each other for an extended period of time.  But…. it is SO nice to be able to have my living room no longer standing in as a bedroom…. to have my Bible and prayer time anytime and anywhere I want without having to worry about  waking up 3 little sweeties sleeping beside me…..to have QUIET, order, peace…..to be able to do what I want, when I want, and fix my own little home the way I want……

But as I remember November 2, the international day of prayer for our brothers and sisters of the persecuted church, God reminds me that many of His beloved children do not have any of these things, or most of the other things that we count as so necessary.  I look at the Christians in Syria and Iraq, those in North Korea, Nigeria, India, and China – and in so many other countries around the world – and I see a different picture.  Here there are families that are thankful for a small tent to house a family of 10 (or more) in a tiny corner of a noisy refuge camp – because they have given up their home and everything in it rather than deny Christ.  I see fathers – and mothers – dying in a cold prison cell, separated from children, hungry, sick, beaten, alone – because they have refused to bow to any other than the Lord.  I see wives and children watching their husbands and fathers or sons and daughters murdered before their eyes – because they have dared to tell another the Good News of Jesus Christ.  And countless other heartbreaking, appalling stories.  And I weep.

But yet, in all of this, they are still thankful!  And we are thankful, whether part of the persecuted family or not, for we still ALL share great blessings:

1.  Our sins are forgiven, covered by the blood of the Lamb, and we stand before Christ clean.

2.  An awesome day IS coming – soon - when we will stand before the very throne of God, and He will welcome us as His beloved children.  We will suffer no more – ever, in any way.  We will never again have to struggle with temptation.  We will forever be filled with total, complete joy and peace.  We will fellowship with the King of Kings, face to face, and worship Him in the fullness of how we were created to worship!

3.  Meanwhile, we have His Word – some of us in numerous Bibles scattered around our homes, in various translations and forms – others of us in only a page here or there of His Word, or what we have stored in the pages of our minds.  But it is the same Word that has lasted down through the ages, never changing, all absolute truth, ever powerful, comforting, challenging, and teaching us Who God is, how much He loves us, and what He desires of us.

4.  And, regardless of our circumstances, He has promised us His Presence, His grace, His hope, His joy, His strength – every day, all day long, all night long – until He calls us to our REAL HOME.

On this thanksgiving day, thank you, Father, thank you.