Praise and Thanksgiving

Psalm 146(NIV)

Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life;I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.

When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;on that very day their plans come to nothing.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the  Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the Lord, who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the alien

and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.

On this day, Christmas Day, with all my breath I praise all who God is.  I am grateful for all the ways he sustains me each day. I am grateful for his guiding influence and hand over my life.  I am grateful that he loved me so much that he provided Jesus for you and me. 

Jesus, Son of God. Try as I might, I am unable to use enough words to describe him. A few years ago I began a list of attributes of who He is, of the names to which He is called.   Words from the Bible that describe him, words from my direct experiences with his faithfulness in my life, words.  Over 375 at this point. Even then, those words do not adequately describe Him. He cannot be contained in a box, our human minds cannot wrap around all that He is. That’s just the way Jesus wants it, for if we could fully describe him, we would not need him.  

We are created to need him, to praise his holy name and to praise all that he is to us in our lives. To shout his faithfulness from the mountain tops, to share his love with others, to be his hands and feet on this earth,  To do this, we must get to know him better. After Jesus was born, Mary treasured and pondered all the happenings surrounding His birth. (Luke 2:19) Christmas day is a perfect day for pondering Him who came to save. A day to treasure all that He is. A chance for a new beginning, to take the time to get to know him and then to be amazed at the way your life will change.

I am a living example of what can happen when we obediently follow his call on our life.  If you recall, he called me to write for 25 days in preparation for Christmas and share in this blog.  I could never have done this without Jesus at my side. I still hold to the fact that I am not a writer, but through the Holy Spirit, that is what I became. He challenged me, gently pushed me outside my comfort zone, to share Him in a new way. At every corner, every day I had no topic to write about, no words to share, but he as always, is faithful to provide when he calls.  Every day at different times, he would bring me a topic, I call it my daily manna and I could begin to write.  He is faithful, he will provide, he will equip you when he calls. 

I challenge you in 2014 to listen more intently, to learn more about Jesus, to step out when he calls. On the night Christ was born, the shepherds did just that as they stepped out in faith, obediently sharing Christ's birth in their land. (Luke 2:8-20)  Trusting Jesus to provide for you in new and amazing ways takes a step of faith, but you will not be disappointed when you do. He is waiting for you to take his hand.  When you grab hold of his strong and mighty hand, watch and be amazed. I guarantee you life with Christ is an amazing adventure not to be missed.

Merry Christmas!