Thanksgiving is an act of worship. It is found in every part of the Bible. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word for “thanksgiving” is used 32 times. It is in the Law, the Prophets, the historical books, and the Psalms.
“And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.”
— Leviticus 7:11–15
“When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.”
— Jonah 2:7–9
“And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.”
— Nehemiah 12:27
“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know 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.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
— Psalm 100
In the New Testament the verb “to give thanks” is found 39 times, and the noun “thanksgiving” 15 times. It is woven throughout the Gospels and Epistles, and occurs in Acts and the Revelation.
“And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;”
— Matthew 26:27
“…be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
— Ephesians 5:18b–20
“And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.”
— Acts 28:15
“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.”
— Revelation 7:9–12
Finally, Michael Farris posted the following today on his Facebook page:
“Our nation is teetering on the brink.
Our God is steadfast and unmovable.
Our nation is divided.
Our God loves the world so much that He gave us His Son so that we may be united in Him.
Our nation is bound up in fear.
God’s perfect love casts out fear.
Our nation has great natural beauty.
This is the handiwork of God.
Our nation has plentiful resources.
God is Jehovah Jireh, the one who supplies all of our needs.
Our nation has a great heritage.
This is the cumulative blessing of God on those who followed Him.
Our nation weeps.
Our God comforts.
Our nation rejoices.
Our God is joy.
Today is a national holiday. We call it Thanksgiving. We can and should give thanks for our nation, our families, our friends, and our abundance.
But the holiday is aimed at something larger and far more profound. We may give thanks FOR all these things but we give thanks TO God because in good times and in bad, He provides, He protects, and He loves.
Thanks be to God.”
[Note: Michael Farris is CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom, Chancellor Emeritus of Patrick Henry College, and Chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association. He successfully defended my family in a precedent setting home schooling case in Federal District court in 1988.]
We have more to be thankful for than we know.
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”
— Ephesians 3:20–21
To God be the glory!
Thursday, November 26, 2020
Sunday, November 22, 2020
Wayside Gospel Chapel returning to normal worship service schedule
Wayside Gospel Chapel is returning to our normal worship service schedule as of today 22 NOV 2020.
Thursday, November 19, 2020
The will of God who reigns and the mindset of His people
If God is going to continue to give our nation what it deserves in judgment we will “Amen!” His will.
If so, our responsibilities will not change.
If God bares His holy arm in mercy and humbles the proud and foolish among the low and high in our nation unto repentance we will “Amen!” His will.
If so, our responsibilities will not change.
Our mindset cannot be determined by the ebb and flow of an insane culture or the uncertainties in the events around us as if there was no God on a throne high and lifted up.
We must view everything through the “spectacles of Scripture” (see below), and press on to worship and testify about the God who is there, and who is not silent.
Read Psalms 1–4, 93–99, 110; Isaiah 6, 40; Matthew 28:16–20; Romans 8:31–39; 13; Ephesians 1, 3; 1 Timothy 2:1–8; Hebrews 12:1–3.
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.”
— Psalm 2:1–6
“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.”
— Psalm 110
“Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing….All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity….Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
— Isaiah 40:15, 17, 21–31
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”
— Hebrews 12:1–3
Sola Scriptura, Soli Deo Gloria,
John T. “Jack” Jeffery
Pastor, Wayside Gospel Chapel
Greentown, PA
On the “spectacles of Scripture”:
“That brightness which is borne in upon the eyes of all men both in heaven and on earth is more than enough to withdraw all support from men’s ingratitude—just as God, to involve the human race in the same guilt, sets forth to all without exception his presence portrayed in his creatures. Despite this, it is needful that another and better help be added to direct us aright to the very Creator of the universe. It was not in vain, then, that he added the light of his Word by which to become known unto salvation; and he regarded as worthy of this privilege those whom he pleased to gather more closely and intimately to himself. For because he saw the minds of all men tossed and agitated, after he chose the Jews as his very own flock, he fenced them about that they might not sink into oblivion as others had. With good reason he holds us by the same means in the pure knowledge of himself, since otherwise even those who seem to stand firm before all others would soon melt away. Just as old or bleary-eyed men and those with weak vision, if you thrust before them a most beautiful volume, even if they recognize it to be some sort of writing, yet can scarcely construe two words, but with the aid of spectacles will begin to read distinctly; so Scripture, gathering up the otherwise confused knowledge of God in our minds, having dispersed our dullness, clearly shows us the true God. This, therefore, is a special gift, bwhere God, to instruct the church, not merely uses mute teachers but also opens his own most hallowed lips. Not only does he teach the elect to look upon a god, but also shows himself as the God upon whom they are to look. He has from the beginning maintained this plan for his church, so that besides these common proofs he also put forth his Word, which is a more direct and more certain mark whereby he is to be recognized.”
— John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 volumes, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, The Library of Christian Classics, eds. John Baillie, John T. McNeill, and Henry P. Van Dusen, Vols. XX-XXI (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960), I:70 (I:VI:1). “This simile, repeated in I. xiv. 1, in Comm. Gen. “Argument,” and elsewhere, is probably Calvin’s decisive utterance on the role of Scripture as related to the revelation of the Creator in creation.” Calvin, op. cit., footnote 1.
If so, our responsibilities will not change.
If God bares His holy arm in mercy and humbles the proud and foolish among the low and high in our nation unto repentance we will “Amen!” His will.
If so, our responsibilities will not change.
Our mindset cannot be determined by the ebb and flow of an insane culture or the uncertainties in the events around us as if there was no God on a throne high and lifted up.
We must view everything through the “spectacles of Scripture” (see below), and press on to worship and testify about the God who is there, and who is not silent.
Read Psalms 1–4, 93–99, 110; Isaiah 6, 40; Matthew 28:16–20; Romans 8:31–39; 13; Ephesians 1, 3; 1 Timothy 2:1–8; Hebrews 12:1–3.
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.”
— Psalm 2:1–6
“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.”
— Psalm 110
“Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing….All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity….Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
— Isaiah 40:15, 17, 21–31
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”
— Hebrews 12:1–3
Sola Scriptura, Soli Deo Gloria,
John T. “Jack” Jeffery
Pastor, Wayside Gospel Chapel
Greentown, PA
On the “spectacles of Scripture”:
“That brightness which is borne in upon the eyes of all men both in heaven and on earth is more than enough to withdraw all support from men’s ingratitude—just as God, to involve the human race in the same guilt, sets forth to all without exception his presence portrayed in his creatures. Despite this, it is needful that another and better help be added to direct us aright to the very Creator of the universe. It was not in vain, then, that he added the light of his Word by which to become known unto salvation; and he regarded as worthy of this privilege those whom he pleased to gather more closely and intimately to himself. For because he saw the minds of all men tossed and agitated, after he chose the Jews as his very own flock, he fenced them about that they might not sink into oblivion as others had. With good reason he holds us by the same means in the pure knowledge of himself, since otherwise even those who seem to stand firm before all others would soon melt away. Just as old or bleary-eyed men and those with weak vision, if you thrust before them a most beautiful volume, even if they recognize it to be some sort of writing, yet can scarcely construe two words, but with the aid of spectacles will begin to read distinctly; so Scripture, gathering up the otherwise confused knowledge of God in our minds, having dispersed our dullness, clearly shows us the true God. This, therefore, is a special gift, bwhere God, to instruct the church, not merely uses mute teachers but also opens his own most hallowed lips. Not only does he teach the elect to look upon a god, but also shows himself as the God upon whom they are to look. He has from the beginning maintained this plan for his church, so that besides these common proofs he also put forth his Word, which is a more direct and more certain mark whereby he is to be recognized.”
— John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 volumes, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, The Library of Christian Classics, eds. John Baillie, John T. McNeill, and Henry P. Van Dusen, Vols. XX-XXI (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960), I:70 (I:VI:1). “This simile, repeated in I. xiv. 1, in Comm. Gen. “Argument,” and elsewhere, is probably Calvin’s decisive utterance on the role of Scripture as related to the revelation of the Creator in creation.” Calvin, op. cit., footnote 1.
Saturday, November 14, 2020
Worship service cancelled for Sunday 15 NOV 2020
The service at Wayside Gospel Chapel for tomorrow is cancelled. This is due to the possible exposure of three of our families including my wife and I on Tuesday to COVID-19 when with other family members. Since there is a great increase in cases especially in Lackawanna County and elsewhere in NEPA we need to err on the side of caution again until certain that none of us developed symptoms, and the results from tests already done for those involved have been received.
As in the past the live stream from Faith Baptist Fellowship
Church is an option. Their web site is at http://fbf.church/,
their Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/pg/faithbaptistfellowshipchurch/posts/?ref=page_internal,
and their YouTube page is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC549l7ytlW3MSUWIZtzPmCg.
They are “scheduled to broadcast
11/15/20 10:00am - 11/15/20 11:30am.”
John T. “Jack” Jeffery
Pastor, Wayside Gospel Chapel
Greentown, PA
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