As I sit here on this Thanksgiving Day, 2015...

... waiting on family and friends to arrive and for the festivities to begin...

I ponder some things for which I am so thankful.

I'm thankful that there is a God. In the beginning God... (Genesis 1:1) He exists. I'm so thankful that the evil and chaos I see in the world around me in increasing measure is not the ultimate reality. God is. I'm thankful.

I'm thankful that God loves me. I have loved you with an everlasting love... (Jeremiah 31:3) Why He would love me, I cannot imagine. But for the unbelievable fact that He does love me, I am so thankful.

I'm thankful that God has only good planned for me. I, like many I know, have been through a few things, and there are times when the world crowds in. There are times when pain is more prevalent than peace. There are times when hurt feels stronger than hope. There are times when tears outweigh smiles. But at those times, I have the promise... the reality, of God's Word. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

I'm thankful that the hope and joy and peace and wonder that I experience everytime I ponder these truths, can be yours, and anybody's who will simply ask for it. Whoever shall call upon the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)

There are just so many things for which I'm thankful on this Thanksgiving Day, 2015. The list could go on and on and on. But let me close with a Scripture I just read a few moments ago, and which the Lord really blessed my heart with. Let me set the stage first. You see, last evening I watched the beautiful full moon rise in the east. As I watched it, my mind went to Genesis 1:16 where God tells us that He created it to rule over the night. I went to bed last evening thinking about that. Then this morning, I arose and did a little searching of my Bible, looking for what it has to say about the moon. I found this wonderful passage:

Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king’s Son. He will judge Your people with righteousness, And Your poor with justice. The mountains will bring peace to the people, And the little hills, by righteousness. He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, And will break in pieces the oppressor. They shall fear You As long as the sun and moon endure, Throughout all generations. He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth. In His days the righteous shall flourish, And abundance of peace, Until the moon is no more. (Psalms 72:1-7)

I'm so tired of bad news. I'm so tired of the hopelessness that seems to pervade our world. I'm so tired of the increase of evil and the desperation that it breeds in our world.

But I'M SO THANKFUL THAT MY KING REIGNS... THAT HE CAME ONCE AND WILL COME AGAIN... AND THAT in His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, UNTIL THE MOON IS NO MORE.

Location:As I sit here on this Thanksgiving Day, 2015...