Religion: I Thank Thee O God

“I Thank Thee” is a beautiful Thanksgiving prayer. This Christian poem was originally written by Jane Crewdson (1860) as a prayer of thankfulness to God for all things in life, both the good and the bad, the bitter and the sweet.

I Thank Thee

O Thou whose bounty fills my cup,
With every blessing meet!
I give Thee thanks for every drop—
The bitter and the sweet.

I praise Thee for the desert road,
And for the riverside;
For all Thy goodness hath bestowed,
And all Thy grace denied.

I thank Thee for both smile and frown,
And for the gain and loss;
I praise Thee for the future crown
And for the present cross.

I thank Thee for both wings of love
Which stirred my worldly nest;
And for the stormy clouds which drove
Me, trembling, to Thy breast.

I bless Thee for the glad increase,
And for the waning joy;
And for this strange, this settled peace
Which nothing can destroy.

–Jane Crewdson (1860)

Psalm 95:1-6

1O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

2Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

3For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

4In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

5The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

6O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.

Psalm 100

1Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

2Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

3Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

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Politics: Super Committee Failed To Make Tough Choices

By JOE SCARBOROUGH | 11/21/11 6:12 PM EST
Here’s a message to Washington politicians: duck.

Your failure is now complete. You were faced with a generational challenge to save Americans from the type of collapse European countries are now facing and you blinked. Actually, you did worse.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68876.html#ixzz1eRAFAmaf

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The Super Committee Kicks the can again

The special Congressional committee (Super Committee) charged with the responsiblity of cutting the level of US government debt is on the verge of failure.The committee had been charged with finding $1.2tn in savings by Wednesday. But according to Reuters, that is not happening, and the 12-member committee made up of Republican and Democrat will issue a statement on Monday, saying they have been unable to reach a deal.

How did the US debt get so bad?

 The US had its debt downgraded by the ratings agencyStandard & Poor’s in August after narrowly averting a debt default. The debt problem has not gone away, though, and total US debt is expected to overtake GDP, the total amount of goods and services produced in the country, this year.

On personal debt, many people blame the period of extremely low-interest rates that followed the dotcom bubble bursting and 9/11 for creating the housing market boom, which then led to the sub-prime mortgage crisis. That was followed by the financial crisis that caused the 2008 recession.

The federal government is estimated to have spent about $1.6tn  on its response to the financial crisis, which put a big dent in the public finances. The crisis also meant that the government received less in taxes from companies and people hit by the downturn.

Fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has been another big cost for the public finances in the past 10 years, estimated to have cost about $1.25tn so far. Some people also blamePresident Bush’s tax cuts for the level of debt that the US government now finds itself dealing with.

Among the most serious problems since the financial crisis has been rising unemployment, which increases the amount the government has to pay in benefits as well as reducing the tax take. Most disturbingly, there has been zero net job creation in the US since 2000.

More than half of the annual budget is mandatory spending, which would be difficult to cut. Of the discretionary spending, more than half goes on security, which is also hard to cut. Without tax rises or major economic growth, it would be hard to cut enough to get rid of the deficit.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14760684

Greater love hath no man than the love of Jesus,

Jesus Christ Crucifix

Image via Wikipedia

There is no greater demonstration of devotion, no greater sacrifice of love, than to lay down your life for another. John 15:13 says, “Greater love hath no one than this, that a man Jesus) lay down his life for his friends.” (KJV) The Christian faith is built upon this kind of love. Jesus gave his life for us: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 KJV).

God gave man eternal life but our fore-parents forfeited their responsibilities. Their punishment, separation from God and eternal damnation. We inherited death and  destruction even before we were born, but God, through His loving kindness and His tender mercies gave us another chance, and pulled us back from the brink. John 3:16 says, “For Go so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”

The death of Jesus Christ on Calvary‘s has bridge the gap between us and God. Since there is no more gap between us and God, we have the privilege to renew our relationship with Him, so that we can experience lasting joy and peace. 1 Peter 1:8-9 says, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (NIV)

When we experience God’s love and forgiveness, Christ becomes the center of our joy. It doesn’t seem possible, but even in the midst of great trials, the joy of the Lord bubbles deep within us and his peace settles over us: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7 NIV)

But none of this would have been possible if were not for God’s unfailing love. He sent His only Son to take my place on Calvary. I am fully aware that: “It should have been me who was crucified, It should have been me who bled and died but Jesus took all for me and you.

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Love your neighbor as yourself

Bible Study (12) (1280x850)

Image by D G Butcher via Flickr

Who is my neighbor?

The command: “Love your neighbor as yourself” appeared eight times in the Bible. And according to (Mark 12:28-31 KJV), It is part of an answer to a question that a member of the scribes asked Jesus at one of His Bible studies: The big question however, is– Who is my neighbor? The answer to this question can be found in (Luke 10:29-37), where Jesus used the story of the good Samaritan to answer the question.

“And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him [Jesus], Which is the first commandment of all?

And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:28-31)

Who is this neighbor Jesus is telling me to love as I love myself?

Jesus answer this question in (Luke 10:29-37), where a lawyer tried to show Jesus up. “But he, willing to prove himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise”

It is safe to say that my neighbor is any person I come in contact with on a daily basis, irrespective of place.

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