Healing Rays of Righteousness

The Lord is … Rich in Love

On the tombstone of her husband’s grave, a southern mountain woman had chiseled in rough and uneven letters this epitaph, “He always appreciated.” I hope the same tribute can be said about us after our deaths. We can begin by praying Psalm 145 together as a family gathered around the table on Thanksgiving Day.

I edited the NIV version of Psalm 145 so that it can be read as a family prayer with a leader praying the words in italic print and the family responding with praying the words in bold print. May it bless your mealtime and fellowship with sincere gratitude toward the Lord God who is “rich in love.”

PRAYER FOR THANKSGIVING DAY

I exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.

O Lord, you are great and most worthy of praise; your greatness no one can fathom.
One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.

They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I meditate on your wonderful works.
They tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.
They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

You, O Lord, are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
O Lord, you are good to all; you have compassion on all you have made.

All your works praise you, Lord; your faithful people extol you.
They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,
so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.

You, O Lord, are trustworthy in all your promises and faithful in all you do.
O Lord, you uphold all who fall and lift up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

You, O Lord, are righteous in all your ways and faithful in all you do.
O Lord, you are near to all who call on you, to all who call on you in truth.
You fulfill the desires of those who fear you; you hear their cry and save them.

O Lord, you watch over all who love you, but all the wicked you will destroy.
My mouth speaks in praise of you, O Lord.
Let every creature praise your holy name forever and ever.

Amen. Amen.

Hymn

“For the Beauty of the Earth”

For the beau-ty of the earth, for the glo-ry of the skies,
For the love which from our birth O-ver and a-round us lies,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our hymn of grate-ful praise.

For the won-der of each hour Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flow’r, Sun and moon, stars of light,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our hymn of grate-ful praise.

For the joy of hu-man love, Broth-er, sis-ter, par-ent, child;
Friends on earth, and friends a-bove; For all gen-tle tho’ts and mild;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our hymn of grate-ful praise.

For Thy Church that ev-er-more Lift-eth ho-ly hands above,
Of-fering up on ev-ery shore Her pure sac-ri-fice of love,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our hymn of grate-ful praise.

For Thy-self, best gift div-ine, To the world so free-ly giv-en;
For that great, great love of Thine, Peace on earth and joy in heav-en;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our hymn of grate-ful praise.

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – November 25, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

Count Your Blessings

Once again we enter into the busy time of Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations and special religious services.  For many of us, it is a colorful and happy time of gratefulness and gift giving, as it should be.  A time of focused reflection on God’s goodness to us.

However, I fear that too often Thanksgiving Day is simply a brief pause in the anxious rush to prepare for the various activities and celebrations of Christmas.  And as such, Thanksgiving Day is not experienced as a joyous time of remembering our blessings and expressing our thanks to God for all His goodness to us.  I think our gracious Father God must be deeply hurt and grieved with our failure to honor Him on this special day with our expressions of thankful gratitude as we remember and count his blessings to us.

King David praised God with these words, “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.  Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:1-5).

And in another psalm, “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.  One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. … They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.”  (Psalm 145:3,4,7).

For many of us the past year did not go as we had hoped.  Most of us experienced a difficult year because of responding to a deadly coronavirus and divisive politics.  Some of us may have experienced the devastating loss of job or health or death of loved ones.  Even so, I believe, there is always much for which we can be and should be thankful.

The Thanksgiving-Christmas season offers us an annual opportunity to count our blessings, large and small, and to give thanks to God who is the source of every good and gracious gift.  We need to often remind ourselves that we do not deserve anything we enjoy, not one thing, including our caring family and friends, a good meal, or a warm bed.  In fact, we don’t even deserve the fresh air we just inhaled or the steady beat of our heart giving us moment by moment life.

The most important attitude that we will ever cultivate is the attitude of gratitude, of being thankful.  A grateful attitude causes our life to open up like a flower, full of beauty and sweet fragrance. It causes our life to be filled with joy and pleasant surprises because we see God blessing us in so many ways.

Every situation, whether of pain or loss, has the potential for gratitude or resentment.  Every problem provides opportunity for a stronger faith and new relationships with God and others.  A thankful heart discovers blessings even in the worse of situations and circumstances.

Health research shows that people who count their blessings sleep better, are more active, and care more about others.  People who gratefully count their blessings every day, show significant improvements in mental, physical, and spiritual health.  And these results are proven true regardless of your age or life situation.

How will you celebrate this Thanksgiving Day?  Will it just be another day of taking your many blessings for granted, or will it be a day of counting your blessings and joyfully thanking God with a grateful heart?

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Hymn:                              Count Your Blessings

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings – name them one by one –

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count you many blessings; every doubt will fly,

And you will be singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,

Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold.

Count your many blessings; money cannot buy

Your reward in heaven nor your home on high.

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,

Do not be discouraged; God is over all.

Count your many blessings; angels will attend,

Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Chorus

Count your blessings; name them one by one.

Count your blessings; see what God hath done.

Count your blessings; name them one by one.

Count your many blessings; see what God hath done.

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – November 18, 2020

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

Look at Your Hands

With the soon arrival of Thanksgiving Day, I remembered a story titled “Grandpa’s Hands” that I had filed away some years ago.  I share it with you with the hope and prayer that it causes you to reflect on your own hands, and in turn give praise and thanksgiving toward God.

GRANDPA’S HANDS        (Author Unknown)

Grandpa, some ninety plus years old, sat feebly on the patio bench with his head down staring at his hands.  When I sat down beside him, he didn’t acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if he was OK.

Finally, I asked him if he was OK.  He raised his head and looked at me and smiled.  “Yes, I’m fine, thank you for asking,” he said in a clear strong voice.

”I didn’t mean to disturb you, grandpa, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,” I explained to him.

”Have you ever looked at your hands?” he asked.  “I mean really looked at your hands?”  I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them.  I turned them over, palms up and then palms down.  “No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands,” I said as I tried to figure out the point he was making. 

Grandpa smiled and related this story to me:

“Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years.  These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled, and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life.

They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor.  They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back.  As a child my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots.

They dried the tears of my children and caressed the love of my life.  They have been dirty, scraped, and raw, swollen and bent.  They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son.

Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special.  They wrote the letters home and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and my wife, and walked my daughter down the aisle on her wedding day.

They have held children, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn’t understand.  They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body.  They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw.

And to this day when not much of anything else of me works really well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.  These hands are the mark of where I’ve been and the ruggedness of my life.

But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home.  And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ.”

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This story causes deep emotions of both thankfulness and regret to stir up within me each time I read it.  This story reminds me to look at my hands and think of them as gifts from our God; gifts that can be used either as tools or as weapons. 

Yes, with these two hands I can bless people or bruise them; I can gently heal the person next to me or I can brutally hurt them.  With these two hands I can generously share what I have with others or I can greedily steal from them; and I can open them in caring compassion for others or clench them in protecting my stuff.

I pray the story also reminds you to look at your hands and think about how you have used them.  It is the decision we make many times every day.  It is the decision that begins in the heart and informs the mind to how we will use our hands.  It is the decision I suggest we ponder each morning as we begin the new day.  How will I use my hands today?

Listen to these words from Alexander Irvine’s novel, My Lady of the Chimney Corner.

God takes a hand whenever he can find it,

and just does what he likes with it.

Sometimes he takes a bishop’s hand

and lays it on a child’s head in benediction.

And then he takes the hand of a doctor to relieve the pain,

the hand of a mother to guide a child.

And sometimes he takes the hand of a poor old creature like me

to give comfort to a neighbor.

But they’re all hands touched by his spirit,

and his spirit’s everywhere lookin’ for hands to use.

Will you join me in thanking God for our hands and in deciding each morning to use our hands in being God’s helpers and healers toward making our neighborhoods a better place of love, joy, peace, and happiness for ALL.

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – November 11, 2020

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

Remembering Relationships

It was about one year after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, that I had some blood work done at the hospital. The memories of that awful day were still vivid for most of us and made us more aware and appreciative of our relationships with family and friends.

And so, it was no surprise to find lying on the counter, copies of some thought-provoking sentiments written by an unknown author. I am sharing them with you as we enter into our annual Thanksgiving month, hoping to remind us again to think about how much we value our relationships. We dare not take them for granted.

“If Tomorrow Never Comes…”
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If I knew it would be the last time that I’d see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in tighter and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time that I’d see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss, and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time I’d hear your voice lifted up in play,
I would videotape each action and word, so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time, I would spare an extra minute or two
to stop and say, “I love you”, instead of assuming you would KNOW that I do.

If I knew it would be the last time, I would be there to share your day,
instead of assuming you’ll have many more so I can let this one slip away.

For surely there’s always tomorrow to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance to make everything right.

There will always be another day to say, “I love you”,
and certainly there’s another chance to ask, “Anything I can do?”.

But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get,
I’d like to say how much I love you and I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike,
and today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.

So, if you’re waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?

For if tomorrow never comes, you’ll regret the day that you didn’t take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss, and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.

So always hold them dear.
Take time to say, “I’m sorry,” “Please forgive me,” “Thank you,” or “It’s okay.”
And if tomorrow never comes, you’ll have no regrets about today.

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Prayer
Almighty, ever-loving God; hear our prayers on behalf of our families, relatives, and friends. May your mighty hand shield and protect them from all evil; may your Holy Spirit guide and bless them; and grant that we all may be drawn closer to one another in the love of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hymn “God Be with You till We Meet Again”

God be with you till we meet again; By His counsels guide, uphold you,
With His sheep securely fold you: God be with you till we meet again.

God be with you till we meet again; “Neath His wings protecting hide you,
Daily manna still provide you: God be with you till we meet again.

God be with you till we meet again; When life’s perils thick confound you,
Put His arms unfailing round you: God be with you till we meet again.

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – 11/4/2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley