Good morning,

Thursday is Thanksgiving day. Who and what were  Bible characters thankful? 

Many people in the Bible gave thanks to God, including:

King David: Wrote the Psalms, expressing his gratitude to God in many of them. For example, David danced for joy when the ark of the covenant was brought to Jerusalem.  Psalm 103:1-5

Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.² Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:³ Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;⁴ Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;⁵ Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Hannah: After being barren for many years, Hannah praised God for giving her a son named Samuel. 1 Samuel 2:1-10

And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.² There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.³ Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.⁴ The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.⁵ They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.⁶ The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.⁷ The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.⁸ He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.⁹ He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.¹⁰ The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

The Samaritan Leper: After Jesus healed him of leprosy, one of the ten men returned to thank Jesus. Luke 17:15-16

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,¹⁶ And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

Daniel: Even after being thrown into the lion’s den, Daniel gave thanks to God and worshiped him. Dan 6:22

My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

Job: Job praised God even in the face of death. Job 1:20-21

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshiped_. And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

Mary  Mary, the mother of Jesus, expressed gratitude when she was told she would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit. She said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word”. Luke 1:46-56

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,⁴⁷ And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.⁴⁸ For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.⁴⁹ For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.⁵⁰ And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.⁵¹ He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.⁵² He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.⁵³ He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.⁵⁴ He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;⁵⁵ As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.⁵⁶ And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

Daniel 9 serves as a powerful testament to the potency of prayer, God’s faithfulness, and the unfolding of His divine plans. Despite Israel’s repeated sins, God’s enduring love and willingness to forgive offer hope for restoration. The prophecy of Seventy ‘sevens’ reminds us of God’s sovereignty over time and history, and His ultimate plan for redemption.

Daniel 9

Gabriel’s Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks

Prayer and Repentance (Daniel 9:1-6)

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:4 And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

In the first year of Darius, Daniel understood from the Scriptures that Jerusalem’s desolation, prophesied by Jeremiah, would last seventy years. Daniel then confesses his sins and the sins of his people, acknowledging God’s righteousness in His judgments. (Bible Hub Chapter Summaries-Daniel 9)

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,
This week is the second of a three-week series titled “Lest we forget”.
Deuteronomy chapters 6, 7, and 8, will be our text.

The key verse is Deuteronomy 6:12, which states, “Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.”
The children of Israel are getting ready to go into the promised land. Moses wants them to remember what has taken place in the last 40 years. He does not want them to forget.
This week we will look at Deuteronomy 7. Possessing the land.

Battle is the Lord’s (17-24)

“If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them? 18Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt; 19The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid. 20Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed. 21Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible. 22And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee. 23But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed. 24And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them.”

God tells the children of Israel He will fight for them. He tells them not to be afraid. Why? First, He reminds them what He did to Pharaoh. He delivered them from the Egyptians. Second, He will send hornets to destroy their enemies. Third, He will be among them. Fourth, He would deliver and destroy their enemies. That should make them secure.
However, the caveat to all this is faith in the one making the promises. Did Israel believe God would fight for them? Would they obey God and follow His instructions for success?
We, as believers in Christ, must answer those same questions. Is the God we serve able to fight our battles for us? Will we let Him?

Destroy Graven Images (25-26)

“The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God. 26Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.”

Israel was warned not to have anything to do with the graven images or idols that would take their focus from the Lord God. They were to be burned.
We have our own “graven images”. Anything that is more important to us than God is to be destroyed. It distracts us from wholly worshiping God.

CONCLUSION:

GOD WILL FIGHT OUR BATTLES

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001