As we enter the month of November that has our National Day of Thanksgiving, let us give thanks this whole month long for the things, people, places, hopes and dreams we have within our lives. God is good and worthy of all our praises! Isaiah gives us a song of praise in Isaiah chapter 12. As I look at various verses of thanksgiving this month, this chapter is the key of what our hearts’ attitude must be before Almighty God.
The Lord Is My Strength and My Song
12 You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
2 “Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
I am a sinner and did not deserve God’s mercy but Romans 5:8 reminds us of God’s love “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” With joy in my heart, I can draw on His mercies from the ‘well of salvation’ and know His forgiveness. Because of faith in Christ and His death and resurrection, I can know the salvation of the Lord and praise His great name. Isaiah explains when you know the ‘well of salvation’ you can: 4 And you will say in that day:
“Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”
Are you ready to give thanks, to shout and proclaim His wondrous deeds? Do you want to let all the world know He is holy God, the only true God? All our joy and thanksgiving comes from God because of what He has done for us. Let us give thanks and 
let us utter songs of joy and praise to Him all month long. Let the spirit of thanksgiving towards God permeate your very being, dip into that well of salvation, and live out praise and thanksgiving towards God and all the people you meet.
I am looking forward to blogging each day this month with an eye and heart towards thanksgiving.
Linda
God refers to himself in the Old Testament as Your Savior in Isaiah 49:26 and 60:16. In both cases His name is linked to prophesy in regard to the destruction of Jerusalem when the Babylonians came and destroyed it and took the people off to Babylon. The city was held under siege and the people suffered greatly, at one point even resorting to cannibalism. Isaiah’s words were to be ones of encouragement that God will be evident in the dealings of His people. Isaiah 49:26
The people of Israel were to know that in both hard and good times God will be with them, He will be their Savior, Redeemer and Mighty One. We can be encouraged like they were that God alone is God, He is our Redeemer and has plans for our redemption through Christ His Son, and He alone is the Mighty One from generation to generation. The prophet pointed out specifically that God is your Savior and your Redeemer. He is a personal God who loves each one of us and wants to have a relationship with us. He desires that we accept His Son as Savior and open our hearts to His redemptive plan.
Multiple times in scripture God refers to himself as LORD. When the name Lord is written all in capital letters, it refers to the name ‘Yahweh’, YHWH which was so revered that it did not even say it aloud or write it completely as they left out the vowels. Another translation of this is Jehovah. In Exodus 3:14-15, Moses is called by God to return to Egypt, confront Pharaoh and lead the people. Moses voices several concerns to God and asks, What do I say when the people ask who sent me? “
Today meditate on the completeness of your LORD and how HE reaches down and touches you.
This name of God is referred to in Psalm 3:3. “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” The name O Lord is YHWH and my glory is Jehovah-Kabodhi in Hebrew. David describes God as Lord, the one of glory and the lifter of his head. Have you ever thought about what God’s glory is? The Old Testament describes the glory cloud that led them in the wilderness and the ‘Sheikinah’ glory that filled the tabernacle and later the temple as the presence of God on earth. Moses asked to see God’s glory while on Mt Sinai but God told him he could not see His face and live. But, God said hide in the cleft of the rock and I will pass by. Exodus 33:20-22 
catch a glimpse of His glory. Ezekiel, the prophet, saw a vision of the throne room of God in heaven. Ezekiel 1:28 “
of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” Here is the first part of this verse in the Amplified, “
As I have only a few days left in this month, I wanted to go back and pick up a few names of God I have not written about before. The Lord of hosts is a name of God referred to in the Old Testament and first appears in 1 Samuel 1:3. “Now this man (Elkanah) used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the 
Israel that God commanded many angelic beings and is similar to the reference to God as the God of Heaven’s armies. Jeremiah 15:16 NLT Lord of hosts acknowledges that God is Almighty, powerful and can command and use a host of beings to aid His children. I particularly love the story of Elisha in 2 Kings 6:15-17. The king was after Elisha as he had been giving information to enemy as the Lord had directed him. He and his servant had fled into the countryside to escape the king. “
young man cried to Elisha. 
every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” I can depend upon Him to be with me and carry me in whatever circumstances I find myself. Truly, He is the Lord of hosts the one who commands Heaven’s Armies and the whole earth is filled with His glory!
The names that Jesus calls himself are truly rooted in scripture, prophesies from the Old Testament. Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” Jesus calls himself the root and descendant of David. We can look at Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1 and see that Jesus is descended from David. Luke 3 shows Jesus line going back to David and then onward to Abraham. Isaiah mentions the coming Messiah in Isaiah 11:1-2. “
Spirit of wisdom and understanding, 
Numbers 24:17 was part of a prophesy given by Baalem and refers to the coming of a future ‘star’ in Israel. “
people of the earth. Are you rooted and grounded in Jesus? Is He the stabilizing figure in your life giving you hope and a future? Do you allow Jesus to shine in your life, and be your star? Colossians 2:6-7 reminds us, “
our hearts as we trust in Him. “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 2 Peter 1:19
Jesus used this phrase to identify himself three times in the New Testament book of Revelation. As John opens his revelation about Jesus Christ, Jesus appears returning in the clouds and says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8 Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and would signify the beginning of all things and the end of all things. The designation of ‘who is and who was and who is to come’ tells us Jesus was with God in the beginning of creation and will be with us in the future. He is the Almighty God. He is all knowing (omniscient), ever present (omnipresent) and all powerful (omnipotent). Only God is all these and He began all creation and will be there at the end.
At then end of Revelation, these words appear again in John’s vision. After the description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:6 “He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.” Jesus, himself, will see to the creation of heaven and the new city of Jerusalem. In that city the water of life will be given freely to all who dwell there. What a glorious promise for us about our future home.
Lastly, Jesus reveals to John that He will be returning soon in Revelation 22:12-13 “
Him. I love Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” We can cling to the promises in God’s Word that He is unchanging and faithful. He will see to us in the future just as He has done in the past. Praise God!
Jesus made this I AM statement during His upper room discourse with the disciples. He was giving important teaching to guide and give them hope as He knew the cross was upon Him. He states this message twice in John 15:1 and 5 with a slightly different emphasis each time. “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. ” Knowing that Israel was often referred to in the Old Testament as the vine, Jesus is saying that He is the true vine, the Messiah, and God is the ‘gardener’ in life. As the gardener God has a responsibility to keep us healthy and growing strong and that only happens if you are carefully pruned. The goal of God has for us is to produce fruit in our lives and pruning will enable us to be more fruitful. Remaining with Jesus, walking with Him daily is the way to stay connected to Him. If we lose touch, we will not and cannot be fruitful.
In verse 5, Jesus reconfirms that He is the vine. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” Jesus identifies us as branches off Him. We are connected and grow strong through that connection. He adds that being with Him, walking with Him daily, remaining in Him will cause us to be fruitful. That fruit in our lives is not possible without Him.
This transformation is know as sanctification and is a life long process as we walk with Jesus. Galatians 5:22-23 describes some of this ‘fruit’ that God desires in our life that is made possible only through knowing Jesus. ” But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! These are always good in our life and give glory to God.
shape your character so that you grow more and more like Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus each day and walk with Him. “For nothing will be impossible for God.” Luke 1:3 Watch how He will transform you day by day.
going. How can we know the way?” Jesus’ answer is profound and complete. “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 He went on to tell Thomas and the others how He and the Father were one and if they had seen Him then they also had see God the Father and knew Him to be true.
Alone, Grace Alone and Glory to God Alone. Our faith in Jesus rests on His Word, His person and His Work on the Cross on our behalf. Thank you Jesus.
at the last day.” Jesus’ reply to her is life changing. “
This I AM statement by Jesus gives the believer hope in the future as we know our eternity will be with Jesus. It also gives assurance that belief in Jesus and His resurrection power will one day bring us to Him. Do you believe, like Martha, that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, the Son of God? That belief was life changing for Mary, Martha and Lazarus and is for us too. Today, ponder the hope you have in the resurrected Christ and the assurance you have of eternity with Him. Be encouraged.
Fearless Living 