Worship the LORD with Gladness

Psalm 100

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Worship the LORD with gladness;                            

come before him with joyful songs. 

3 Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his; 

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Happy Thanksgiving

May you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Here’s Norman Rockwell’s Thanksgiving.

A Thanksgiving Prayer

This Thanksgiving, I wish you a thankful heart. Here’s a Puritan prayer from The Valley of Vision that speaks to our praise of and thankfulness to God.

O My God,

Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects, my heart admires, adores, loves thee, for my little vessel is as full as it can be, and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow.

When I think upon and converse with thee ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up, ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart, crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless thee for the soul thou hast created, for adorning it, for sanctifying it, though it is fixed in barren soil;

I bless thee for body thou hast given me, for preserving its strength and vigour, for providing senses to enjoy delights, for the ease and freedom of my limbs, for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;

I bless thee for thy royal bounty providing my daily support, for a full table and overflowing cup, for appetite, taste, sweetness;

I bless thee for social joys of relatives and friends, for ability to serve others, for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities, for a mind to care for my fellow-men, for opportunities of spreading happiness around, for loved ones in the joys of heaven, for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.

I love thee above the powers of language to express, for what thou art to thy creatures. Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

Healing for the Holidays

Last holiday season, I posted a ten-part blog mini-series called Healing for the Holidays. I’m making it available to you for free as an early Christmas gift.

I’ve collated the entire series into a twenty-page PDF and placed on it my RPM Ministries website under Free Resources. You can find it there, or click this link to download it now: Healing for the Holidays.

For Your Family and Friends

You may be thinking, “I don’t need holiday healing. I love the holidays!”

Awesome. But perhaps not all your friends and family members will experience the next 30 days quite as joyously as you will. Feel free to forward them a copy or to use the principles you learn to minister to them.

Merry Christmas! 

Here’s an early Christmas gift idea. I’ve “bundled” my book, God’s Healing for Life’s Losses so that you can purchase ten copies for just $9.99 each and also save on SH. You can order at the RPM Store. 

Of course, you can still buy one copy at 35% off for just $10.99 as another Christmas special.

Designed in gift-book format and written with the grieving person in mind, God’s Healing for Life’s Losses is a thoughtful gift this Christmas season. Enjoy a free sample chapter and three-dozen quotes of note at the God’s Healing for Life’s Losses Page. 

If you want to learn more about the book, check out the featured article at Everyday Christian: Grieving with Hope. 

Join the Conversation

Why are the holidays sometimes not joyous, but painful reminders?

A Thanksgiving Prayer

This Thanksgiving, I wish you a thankful heart. Here’s a Puritan prayer from The Valley of Vision that speaks to our praise of and thankfulness to God.

O My God,

Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects, my heart admires, adores, loves thee, for my little vessel is as full as it can be, and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow.

When I think upon and converse with thee ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up, ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart, crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless thee for the soul thou hast created, for adorning it, for sanctifying it, though it is fixed in barren soil;

I bless thee for body thou hast given me, for preserving its strength and vigour, for providing senses to enjoy delights, for the ease and freedom of my limbs, for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;

I bless thee for thy royal bounty providing my daily support, for a full table and overflowing cup, for appetite, taste, sweetness;

I bless thee for social joys of relatives and friends, for ability to serve others, for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities, for a mind to care for my fellow-men, for opportunities of spreading happiness around, for loved ones in the joys of heaven, for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.

I love thee above the powers of language to express, for what thou art to thy creatures. Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

A Thanksgiving Reminder from a Hero of Black Church History

Absalom Jones was born in slavery on November 6, 1746, in Sussex, Delaware. At age sixteen he moved to Philadelphia, and by age thirty-eight he was able to purchase his freedom. Along with Richard Allen, he became a lay preacher for the African American members of St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church. By 1794, he was ordained a deacon in the African Episcopal Church, and in 1804 he was ordained a priest.

Everyday Is Thanksgiving Day

The Rev. Jones teaches us that everyday can be Thanksgiving Day.

On January 1, 1808, in Philadelphia’s St. Thomas’s African Episcopal Church, Rev. Jones preached a message entitled “A Thanksgiving Sermon: On Account of the Abolition of the African Slave Trade.” The sermon parallels American slavery, the bondage of the Jews in Egypt, and God’s personal and powerful Exodus rescue of his people.

Rev. Jones begins his message by reading Exodus 3:7-8,

“And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their task-masters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians.”

Commenting on this passage, Rev. Jones first highlights God’s sustaining care for His people. He then relates the historical Exodus narrative to current African American life on the basis of God’s unchanging nature.

“The history of the world shows us, that the deliverance of the children of Israel from their bondage, is not the only instance, in which it has pleased God to appear in behalf of oppressed and distressed nations, as the deliverer of the innocent, and of those who call upon his name. He is as unchangeable in his nature and character, as He is in His wisdom and power. The great and blessed event, which we have this day met to celebrate, is a striking proof, that the God of heaven and earth is the same, yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.”

He Has Seen: Paying Attention to the Earthly Story of Suffering

Rev. Jones next shows that God has been watching every event of their earthly story. “He has seen the affliction of our countrymen, with an eye of pity.”

To emphasize how important it is to pay attention to the earthly story, Rev. Jones presents an outline of African American history: capture, middle passage, auction block sale, enslavement, separation from family, work from sunup to sundown, deprivation of food, clothing, and shelter, torture of the body, and withholding of religion from the soul.

Rev. Jones prefaces each point with the repeated phrase concerning God, “He has seen.” Thirteen times. Can you hear it? Feel it? Imagine it? Place yourself in the congregation.

“He has seen.” “Oh, yeah!” “He has seen.” “Preach it!” “He has seen.” “Come on!” “He has seen.” “Glory!” “He has seen.” “Yes, he has!” “He has seen.” Clapping. “He has seen.” Standing. “He has seen.” Swaying. “He has seen.” Hands raised. “He has seen.” Shouting. “He has seen.” “Amen!” “He has seen.” Tears streaming. “He has seen.” Kneeling.

He Has Heard: Paying Attention to the Heavenly Story

He has not only seen; He has also heard. Rev. Jones preaches:

“Inhuman wretches! though You have been deaf to their cries and shrieks, they have been heard in Heaven. The ears of Jehovah have been constantly open to them. He has heard the prayers that have ascended from the hearts of his people; and he has, as in the case of his ancient and chosen people the Jews, come down to deliver our suffering countrymen from the hands of the oppressors.”

The suffering Israelites and the suffering African Americans are one people of God.

Four times Pastor Jones repeats the phrase, “He came down.” Healing hope. God sustains and he saves. He climbs in the casket and He rolls the stone away leaving an empty tomb. He sees, and He comes down.

Thanksgiving: From Our Lips and In Our Lives

What worship response is appropriate? Celebrate the empty tomb!

“O! let us give thanks unto the Lord: let us call upon his name, and make known his deeds among the people. Let us sing psalms unto him and talk of all his wondrous works.”

What ministry response is appropriate? Work to extend justice and freedom.

“Let us unite, with our thanksgiving, prayer to Almighty God, for the completion of his begun goodness to our brethren in Africa.”

Liberation starts with spiritual freedom from sin through Christ. It continues with personal freedom from slavery. However, it is never finished until there is universal freedom from the slavery of sin and the sin of slavery.

Beyond the Suffering

I excerpted today’s blog post from my book Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction. For a free sample chapter, to learn more about the book, or to order your own copy, please visit here.

The Journey: Forty Days of Hope and Healing

If you find today’s post encouraging, please return to www.rpmministries.org from Martin Luther King Day (January 18, 2010) through the end of Black History Month (February 28). I’ll be posting daily on what all Christians of all races can learn from the remarkable heroes of Black Church history. 

The Rev. Absalom Jones