2nd Samuel 22:50, “Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.” 1st Chronicles 16:8, “Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.” 1st Chronicles 16:34, “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” Psalms140:13. “Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.”
I just want to express my sincere gratitude for all my blog visitors. THANK YOU!!! Thank you to all my dear friends (and if you regularly visit my ministry websites you are dear to this humble Bible preacher), whether it be on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, YouTube, my seven ministry websites, my RSS feed or other social media.
I am so thankful for all my social media friends that I have around the world. THANK YOU!!! The internet is such an amazing technological miracle and gift from God. As human beings we are all creatures of emotion. Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) preached a beautiful sermon titled: "I Am A Moody Person And So Are You." At times throughout the year we've all been "in our mood" so to speak, which sometimes is evident in heated and potentially heated Facebook posts. Yet we all love each other in Christ, and moreover, we share a strong common bond for a "LOVE OF THE TRUTH" (2nd Thessalonians 2:10).
I wrote this blog to sincerely say: "THANK YOU" to all my social media visitors. Here is a beautiful MP3 sermon by Pastor Jack Hyles titled: "Thanksgiving For Those Things I Am Not Thankful For." (What an awesome and needful sermon!) Today is Thursday (November 25, 2021), Thanksgiving Day. I went to McDonald's earlier today and ordered just one McRib Sandwich! I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!! I was so thankful for it. Lord willing, I think I'm going back again tomorrow for another one too...lol. McDonald's McRib sandwiches are manna from Heaven, let me tell you! That's the food of angels.
I had been infected with the COVID-19 virus in early September. It hit me hard all at once. I couldn't taste or smell food anymore. If I smelled Vicks chest rub, I might as well have been smelling water! All sense of taste and smell were completely gone for one month! Even worse, I suffered from what doctor's call "ice pick headaches." You can read about all this online. But you only lose your smell and teste in mild cases of COVID-19, not acute cases. I am very THANKFUL to God that I only caught a mild form of the potentially deadly virus. The virus is long gone and I am now naturally immune for the next year.
My new doctor reduced my pain medications by 50%, leaving me in a world of hurt. I have compensated by taking a lot more Tylenol from CVS and Walgreens, but it doesn't compare to opiate prescription drugs. I'm just taking life one day at a time. Due to my neck pain and radiating sharp pain in both legs and arms, I've had increased difficulty walking lately. The pain in my legs is so bad sometimes, which all extends from my neck. I have no complaints to God. It is not His fault. Accidents happen! God is more than amazing and good, and I love Him dearly. If my constant chronic neck pain and afflictions can make a difference for eternity, so that God will make me a helpful vessel for His purpose and glory through my labors for Christ, then I welcome it. Here is one of my favorite blogs that I have written, which features some beautiful words by Pastor M.R. DeHaan about suffering saints.
I Love Jesus Better Every D-A-Y!
I am so thankful this Thanksgiving Day in 2021. I am thankful for my constant throbbing neck pain, which I have suffered with since 2004 (17 long and miserable years of affliction), which keeps me humble and reminds me of God's promise in Philippians 3:21 of the immortal body waiting for me in eternity, fashioned like unto the Lord's resurrected body Amen and amen!
I am thankful to finally be out of a hotel, after five months (since I arrived in Pensacola on July 2nd from Guam). I am no longer living out of a suitcase. Amen and amen! I now have my own place to rent. It is rundown, but I love it! I have plenty of space, freedom to barbeque, freedom to listen to preaching all hours of the day, and no one comes into my residence when I am not home (like they continually did at the hotel). I praise the Savior with gratitude for His blessings on me!!!
I was praising God while sleeping in my car in Wal-Mart's parking lot when I got to Pensacola, because the rotten Woodspring Suites Hotel were dishonest and maliciously cancelled my one-month reservation without warning. Then I was praising God at the cheaper shady hotel I had found, where the owners and staff were abusive toward their guests. And now I am praising God while living in my own private residence, for which I am very thankful. The Bible says to rejoice that our names are written in Heaven (Luke 10:20). This fact never changes. So no matter what our circumstances may be, we always have a very good reason to rejoice in the Lord. I am not thankful FOR my neck pain, but I am thankful IN EVERY THING. 1st Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
God bless all of you, sincerely, and THANK YOU for blessing me with the privilege to share my soul's thoughts and ministry with you. I fully understand that everybody who reads my posts does so as an INDIVIDUAL. So to each of you individually I humble say: "I love you with God's conditional love, and am VERY THANKFUL for you."
It is hard to believe that I will legally be a "senior citizen" in March of 2022. It seems like just yesterday that I was a naïve pimple-faced kid in my first year of Bible college in 1985. Wow! Where did the time go? God bless you all and thank you for your patience with me. My neck hurts inexplicably 24/7 (every moment of the past 17 years) since 2004. The agonizing pain throbs in the bony area of back of my neck, radiating into my face, sinuses and head. These afflictions cause me annoying discomfort, which drains my physical energy continually. I often miss messages on Facebook, forget to upload articles on time, make a gazillion typos and other innocent mistakes due to my constant neck pain, arms feeling inflated with air, radiating pain down my arms and legs, the entire right side of my body feeling half asleep all the time, et cetera, et cetera. God is good. I am not in a wheelchair, so I have much to praise God for.
Dear friend, you and I have so much to be thankful for. Even the poor homeless man on the street is so blessed by God. If you have eyes to see, money cannot purchase eyesight. As I ate my McDonald's McRib sandwich, I thanked God for the healthy taste buds I have (and that my taste and smell returned after being infected with COVID-19). I just read a few days ago in the news that one million Americans may lose permanent use of their taste and smell because of the COVID-19 infection. I was fortunate that my taste and smell returned. The most delicious food in the world is useless if you cannot taste or smell food anymore!!! Think about that friend.
What good is a printed book if you are blind? What good is a pull-type lid on a can if you don't have any fingers or arms? What good are shoes without legs or feet? As sure as I say that, I met a homeless man in Honolulu, Hawaii who had feet but no legs! I handed him a $20 bill to be nice and he had a wonderful smile on his face (even before I handed him the money). Yet the world is filled with millionaires and billionaires who walk around looking miserable (and most of them truly are miserable). Having wealth never made anyone happy! True happiness only comes from fearing God and keeping His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
Happiness comes from knowing that you are right with God [having both God's imputed righteousness (salvation), and personal righteousness (living uprightly)]. Personal righteousness is obeying God as His child because we love Jesus (John 14:15; 15:14). Imputed righteousness is the righteousness of God, which He counts (imputes) to us through faith alone in the death of His only begotten Son on the cross. God is more than good!!! God's imputed righteousness is the ungodly sinner's JUSTIFICATION (Romans 4:4-7). Personal righteousness is the believer's SANCTIFICATION (John 17:17; James 2:18-21).
As you can imagine, having horrible pain in my neck, being so close to my head, affects me (e.g., impatience, irritability, frustration). Yet God has used my afflictions to keep me humble and dependent upon Him in prayer (James 5:14). Pain is a very effective teacher, if not the best! I am thankful to God that He has used my horrible "thorn in the flesh" to keep me humble all these many years, so that He can bless my ministry (as God did the Apostle Paul). I know I am not an apostle, but my labors for Christ are just as important to me and God, just as effective through the power of the Holy Spirit, and just as rewardable by God. ...
As you can imagine, having horrible pain in my neck, being so close to my head, affects me (e.g., impatience, irritability, frustration). Yet God has used my afflictions to keep me humble and dependent upon Him in prayer (James 5:14). Pain is a very effective teacher, if not the best! I am thankful to God that He has used my horrible "thorn in the flesh" to keep me humble all these many years, so that He can bless my ministry (as God did the Apostle Paul). I know I am not an apostle, but my labors for Christ are just as important to me and God, just as effective through the power of the Holy Spirit, and just as rewardable by God. ...
2nd Corinthians 12:7, "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure."
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