Markita's Musings.......

Musings with my Jesus glasses on!!

Thanksgiving Four- Songs of Thanksgiving 

      We are admonished to come before God with songs of Thanksgiving, to shout joyfully to Him in song, and to bless and praise His holy name.  He is truly worthy to be praised!!  Ephesians 5:19– 21 tells us to sing and make melody in our hearts to the Lord, while giving thanks to God for all things.  Having a grateful heart towards God consistently will keep us in a happy place.  It keeps God close to you, because He is enthroned in the praises of His people (Psalms 22: 3).  Maintaining this lifestyle leaves no room for unnecessary negativity in our lives.  
     Just this morning I watched a video of a guy singing a worship song.  True worship instantly takes one to a place and space in God that words cannot describe, this is rooted in our daily times of fellowship with God, in remembering his goodness. 

Have you lifted up a song of thanksgiving to the Lord?
     





“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.”
Psalms 100:4-5 NKJV

“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods.”
Psalms 95:1-3 NKJV

“You sit as the Holy One. The praises of Israel are your throne.”
Psalms 22:3 NCV



Thanksgiving Three

Why is giving thanks a sacrifice?

     According to the biblical old covenant expectations I can understand why giving thanks would be a sacrifice, considering it was above and beyond what was normally required. Why would lifting of a voice of thanksgiving be a sacrifice? Saying thank you doesn’t seem to be a hard thing to do especially if it’s deserved.  Then I’m reminded of how life is not always so nice to us.  How do we say thank you in the midst of illness or failure? How do you say thank you when you know certain things should not be, but it’s not in your hands? How do say thanks when you feel God has let you down? This is when you allow faith to arise, not to obtain some material possession, but lay a hold to God and find rest.  Giving thanks allows you to see the positive in a completely negative situation.  It removes you from the “why me’s?” or the “woe is me’s!”   It keeps you humble and releases peace into your situation.

When down and out do you offer God the sacrifice of thanksgiving?   

“Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].”

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7 AMP

Thanksgiving Two

     As I became an adult Thanksgiving replaced Christmas as my favorite holiday.  All the delicious food won me over along with the love that goes into the preparation.  In addition, I was born two days after Thanksgiving, so that also makes it a special time of the year for me. 
     As I am studying thanksgiving from a biblical perspective, I see that giving thanks to God is very special to Him.   It pleases the Lord when we give thanks. (Psalms 69: 31) Under the old covenant God set into place a system of animal sacrifice to forgive sins and show thanksgiving. Yet at the end of the day, the earth belongs to the Lord, everything is His, so those “sacrifices” weren’t really giving Him anything.  Being that He created us with a free will, the voice of our sincere thanksgiving pleases Him because it’s not something He already has, it’s yours to give or reserve.  

Have you sincerely thanked the Lord today? 

“That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving And declare all Your wonders.”
PSALM 26:7 AMP

“I will praise the name of God with song And magnify Him with thanksgiving. And it will please the LORD better than an ox Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.”
PSALM 69:30-31 AMP

“Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High;”

PSALM 50:14 AMP

Thanksgiving One

“If you want to offer some special offering of thanks to the LORD, you must do it in a way that pleases him.”
Leviticus 22:29 NCV

“And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, offer it of your own free will.”
Leviticus 22:29 NKJV

In this Thanksgiving season, I’m going to focus on biblical thanksgiving.   From the above scripture from two different versions, true thanksgiving seems to be above and beyond what was required of God’s people.   It was a special sacrifice specifically to express to gratitude to the Lord.   It speaks of someone truly walking in close relationship with the Lord, that they would put thought and effort into blessing the Lord, expressing gratitude. 


What are you thankful for today? How do you express your gratitude to the Lord?

      ““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV

     As a child did you ever get into trouble away from home, and word got back home? The response of the home camp was "I'm going to beat your @#$% when you get home!" Give or take a couple of words.  😂You're mood was ruined until you faced the prosecutor, judge and executor.  The situation was made worse if the issue wasn't addressed immediately when you got home, you'd kind of hope it was forgotten.  Our loved one chastised us because of love, the wanted us to do the right things, to not leave their homes unprepared for the consequences of the world. Even though they adored you with all their hearts, it didnt excuse you from the pain your backside would receive.
     So it goes with our Heavenly Father, just because you're His child doesn't mean you're daily actions are without consequences.  He plainly says to be holy as he is holy (1 Peter 1:16), which means to live a life dedicated, set aside for Him. Meaning  you can't do what everyone else does, its not just for the sake of suffering but for relationship with Him. He adores you far more than your earthly parents, but he will get with you.  Talk about keeping it 100/real, His real will hurt your feelings (the truth hurts sometimes), to humble you.  He wants to be in relationship with you, he wants you to be saved.  You can fool people but you can't fool God.
     In the scripture above, He is clearly speaking to His people, because unsaved folks don't prophesy, work wonders, or cast out demons in His name. When I read scriptures like this my mind says "Shut the front door, you can do all of that and still miss the mark?"  The message version says "You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important."  He will then say, "I never knew you, depart from me (walk over to the fiery lake and take a dip). He knows of you, but He never knew you intimately as a close friend.  You never really laid everything down and lived for Him, walked in close relationship, you only thought you did.  So to stand before Him, and hear those words it will feel as if you been run through with a sword into your gut. 
     My advise for myself (cause I know y'all got it together), be intentional in my approach to God. Never take Him, Jesus or Holy Spirit for granted. Never think I've arrived and can take my ease. The word says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.  The righteous are scarcely saved.  Those words are not just written to fill up pages.  I even prayed from my heart how can remedy certain behaviors, I felt He laid it on my heart to spend more time with Him (Not ritualistic church attendance) make time for to Him alone to get to know Him. 

     “because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.””
I Peter 1:16 NKJV

“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:”
Hebrews 12:14 NKJV

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:12-13 NKJV

“For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”
I Peter 4:17-19 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/1pe.4.17-19.nkjv


Great Gathering


     It's funny where the mind can wonder, I had the strangest thought, it wasn't really strange just random.  Somehow I got to thinking about my uncle's repass, and how at the moment (18 years old) he was the closet relative I've ever loss.  Death had stung my inner circle.  I remember how strange it felt to be at a family gathering without hearing his signature greeting followed by a round of hugs and kisses. What stuck out about the memory the most was the larger than normal size of the gathering.  There was family from both sides of the family, along  with lots of friends, people from the neighborhood and so on. There were relatives I've never seen outside of Louisiana.  Its funny how losing a loved one can pull us together if only for a short moment in time, with promises we'll never stay apart for so long again, or lets not gather only for such occasions.  Yet before the family reaches the cemetery the scattering has already begun.  

     There was another death that will eventually led to another gathering of loved ones from far and wide, from all walks of life. A gathering of all gatherings. One that I pray you and I are apart of, a gathering to beat all gatherings. 


Some are thinking this is going to occur sooner than later. 


“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

I Thessalonians 4:16-18 NKJV


*for my Christian friends



Testing

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Writing from blogger app. 



Knowing you are loved...

“What ish man that You are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him?”
Psalm 8:4 AMPC

I was listening to Ann Graham Lotz speak about how heaven is our true home, sharing how an Indian prince created the Taj Mahal (a tomb) over 22 years for his wife, just imagine what Jesus is creating for his bride after 2,000 years, knowing our likes, favorite colors, etc.  She even shared how when she would visit her father, Billy Graham, he would leave out her favorite coffee mug (her mom's who passed away) and buy her favorite coffee to welcome her home.  There's no place like home and knowing you are loved, expected and wanted. 

I was reminded of last year as everyone was preparing to go home for summer vacation.  They were all so excited to go, I was happy to go too, but I had to explain that they were literally going home to sleep in their own beds.  I was going for a visit, to be in someone else's space, knowing that when jet lag hit like a ton of bricks I would just want to sleep for a couple of days undisturbed.  If my granny could, I know she would have prepared a place for me.  I ended up with my dad, invading his space as children do.  The prior conversation stayed between my friends, I never shared it with anyone else, but God knew.   After I returned from a vacation down south, the bed was prepared for me, instantly I remembered my complaint, God used my natural father to dress the bed.  It then became one of those "something got in my eye moments".  

I stand in awe of God, this minor little complaint, that I never formed into a prayer, was answered.  How much does He really care for is own?  God of this vast universe, concerned that felt I loved and cared for! 



Grateful

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Day 25

Wednesday 

I was feeling really grateful to have the opportunity to live in this country. As my ma said when I took the job that it would be once in life time opportunity.  Cancelling the white noise of everyone else's opinions, I'm glad I took the opportunity and I'm glad I did it on my terms.  

Day 26
Thursday

I saw an old video of pivotal point in my, I know beyond a shadow of doubt if I never experienced that moment in time I more than likely would not be sitting here (not physical location).  So much of my destiny was revealed and released in the moment.  I took my weekend salary from working at a hotel while in college, bought a $150 airline ticket to Tampa Florida, reserved my employee rate at the Hilton Garden Inn of $40 a night, didn't have enough for transportation,so I figured out the bus routes, plus some ladies at the hotel offered a daily ride to and from the conference.   I stepped out in faith and pursued God, and it was completely worth it.  

I am grateful divine appointments in time.



Day 27
Friday

Writing out the post above, reminded me of the fact that I do lot things on my own terms, so I am grateful God has given me ability to a certain extent to tune out people opinions. I don't know if it's people or Satan speaking through people.  

Day 28
Saturday 

I am grateful for the gospel. ❤️


Day 29
Sunday
I can't believe I made it to day 29. I wrote out a list in the beginning to assist my 30 days of gratitude devotion.  I haven't really followed it, but I did use it as a guide.   Here lately I'm doubling up on days, with 5 in one today.   This has been a very busy week.  Am I complaining less, not really but I'm thanking God more.  

Day 30 Monday (today)

I am grateful for the promises of God.  Here are few from the top of my head. 

“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
Psalms 37:4 KJV

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. ”Psalms 34:19 NKJV

“I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.”
Psalms 37:25 

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
I Thessalonians 4:16-18 NKJV

This completes my 30days of gratitude!


Day 24 

A  Promise is a Promise

When an ambulance pulls from a scene without any flashers or a sense of emergency, one can conclude things probably did not turn out well.  I witnessed a tragic scene from a distance, I could only see the commotion that resulted from the incident.   I did not directly feel the sting of death, the eerie feeling that someone has departed this life.  God's people have a Promise that one day the sting of death will be done with forever.  

I am grateful this promise, that one day death will no longer sting. 

“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?””

I Corinthians 15:54-55 NKJV



 In an effort to not fall too far behind, I'm going to post all the days I missed. We've been really business the last few days.

Day 22 Sunday

We had been at a standstill for about 3 weeks, but God pulled everything we needed done together so quickly. We were in awe!  Even Mr. T was telling everyone we experienced a miracle. 

 I am grateful for answered prayers that leads to miracles. 

  • “.... The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. James 5:16b AMPC. 

Day 23 Monday 

God will stretch you like taffy (stretching makes it soft and pliable), its one way he gives you faith.   I always imagined when the Bible says he gives everyone a measure of faith, he opens the door of your heart and pours it in there, maybe change the filter or something, like a supernatural oil change.🙂 Yet He use circumstances to His advantage, I think he's been waiting on this season in my life.

I am grateful for a new measure of faith. 

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”

 Romans 12:3 NKJV 

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬


Day 21

If you give a mouse a cookie 🍪....
or a moose a muffin.  

     If You Give a Mouse Cookie is a children's story about a series of events that might occur once a mouse is given a cookie, which leads back to its point of origin.  
     Do you remember the Greek dad who found the Greek root in every word?  He also used Windex as a cure all.  As I am expressing my gratitude daily on this blog, I am like that mouse or Greek dad, for me everything goes back to God and He is the solution to every problem. 
     The Bible says we were created for His good pleasure, He is the center of the universe, we're players in His great love story.  I recently read that when we say, "I am happy. I am sad. I am (name). I am going." , when we speak of ourselves we speak of Him.  His name is I AM, your "I am" cannot exist without His I AM.   We are all connected to Him in some way, obviously some more than others, even those that say I am an atheist.   In John 15:5 Jesus says apart from me you can do nothing.  He is not a distant God, He is woven into His very own creation.  We have His breath, when we love it's with His love (We love, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19) This love is almost as if its a gift given to us that we can chose to distribute or dismiss.  He gives us faith to believe.  He is the source of all things.

I am grateful for The Great I AM. 

“And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ””Exodus 3:14 NKJV

“for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:13 NKJV

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”
Romans 12:3 NKJV
https://www.amazon.com/If-You-Give-Mouse-Cookie/dp/0060245867/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501319420&sr=8-1&keywords=if+you+give+a+mouse+a+cookie

 https://www.amazon.com/If-You-Give-Moose-Muffin/dp/0060244054/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1501319553&sr=8-2&keywords=if+you+give+a+mouse+a+cookie

 https://www.amazon.com/Book-Mysteries-Jonathan-Cahn-ebook/dp/B01C27E3ME/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1501319603&sr=1-1&keywords=book+of+mysteries+jonathan+cahn

Day 19 and 20 

Life

I am grateful for my life, I accidentally got an electric shock. I'll spare you the details.  I'm fine. In my Mr. Brown voice "I am yet alive!" 

Love

On our six hour road trip to Oman 🇴🇲, my hubby, Mr T. dusted off some "quiet storm" CDs, which I now refer to as Oman (love) music.  After a few songs, I lean over and say, "Awe, you've been waiting on me a long time, huh?"  Knowing I was teasing him, he's gives that you're a jerk look 👀 😂!  I have to give him credit when I fell sick back in January he nursed me back to health, cleaning my wound, cooking homemade meals from scratch daily(black eyes peas were on point!), driving me to doctor daily.  The look he gave me in the recovery room after surgery, reminded how my granddad would look at my granny when he was worried about her.  I'm grateful for true love!  You're so Good to Me

““I am my beloved’s, And his desire is for me.”
‭‭SONG OF SOLOMON‬ ‭7:10‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Day 18

God is still on the throne.

In a matter of seconds I received this text message from 2 friends, on opposite sides of the world, concerning a situation in my life.  "God is still on the throne."  Out the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses let every word be established.  This word was established into life.

I am grateful that God still sits on His Throne! He's still in control. All things are under His watch. Even when things occur that I do not understand, even when the world seems off it's rocker, even with the deluge of insanity that's revealed daily through various forms of media, even when my life seems to be doing its own thing, GOD REIGNS OVER THE NATIONS, GOD SITS ON HIS HOLY THRONE!   

Let the church say, "Amen!"

“God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.”
PSALM 47:8 AMP


Day 16 and Day 17

Grateful for the little things or things that seem insignificant because we take them for granted.  Things that makes one's day go a little smoother. 

Grateful for the hand of God on my life. His people are as  one preacher always says, "like ducks to water."  Just like ducks will find water, even in an unfamiliar place, so will His people find Him.  I promise you I walked into a church over here and I couldn't tell you what language the worship was in, besides making an ignorant guess.  The room was packed from wall to wall literally, no room to stand, hardly any to sit, but God was there, His presence was so strong I was in awe.  I had to my change paradigm on somethings. 

“We set out from the river Ahava on the twelfth [day] of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and He rescued us from the hand of the enemy and those who lay in ambushes along the way.”

EZRA 8:31

Day 14 and Day 15
Mi Familia

I am grateful for my family.  Husband, mom, dads, grannies, aunts, uncles, literally hundreds of cousins,on both sides of the families, in-laws.  Those that have gone on before us. All the friends of the family that's like family. They're spread out all over the country. I even have one near me, here in the Middle East.  Are they perfect, no far from it, but who is? 

Homeward Bound

Grateful to be going home. Thank you Jesus! God has given me the experience of being a foreigner in a foreign land.  I like when he expands my heart ❤️.   

 “God sets the lonely in families...
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭68:6‬a


Day 13
Barbie's Whip (car)

When I was little I wanted a Barbie car so bad. One of my little kid desires that went unfulfilled, because probably it was deemed too costly, buying the car just could not be justified.  So I had to settle for old shoe boxes to get Barbie and Ken (sometimes Michael Jackson) from point a to point b.  Their crib was a fortress of the large pillows from a big brown couch we used to have.  I still can't believe I never got that car, the injustice! I even found one somewhere and brought it home and played with it for a while.  Although I got the Easy Bake Oven I asked for, it probably cost the same amount as the car. I know my Cabbage Patch Kids cost more and I had 3 of them, we even paid postage to get their official birth certificates. (Hear Don King say "Only in America!") Nevertheless, I forgive all who played a roll in this great injustice in my childhood! 😜😜😂😂😂😭😭

I said all of that to say this, sometimes we don't realize how good we have it, because we're focused on what we don't have. Especially us Americans (those of the Western World), our poorest citizens would be considered upper middle class in most nations. Most people of the world live on less than a dollar a day, charging all our devices would consume that amount. Please do not limit this to material wealth, that would truly be an injustice. We are rich in many things, health, love, etc. One of my favorite blessings is a good conversation with a loved one.

I am grateful for all my possessions (not just material) and I don't apologize for any of them because God gave them to me. 

“The blessing of the LORD brings [true] riches, And He adds no sorrow to it [for it comes as a blessing from God].”
PROVERBS 10:22 AMP


Day 11 and Day 12
I am grateful that God has an open door policy.  Anytime I need Him, he's available.

        •  “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews‬ ‭4:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

 I am grateful for the prayers of the saints.  They carry a lot weight with God.
  • “.... The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. James‬ ‭5:16‬b AMPC‬‬.   Come into my Courts


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