KINDLE THE SABBATH LIGHTS
As sundown is once again upon our earth,
signalling the beginning of Your 7th Day,
our anticipated Day of Rest, our Shabbat —-
As earthly time continues to march on,
moving from season to season,
according to Your natural design
in forecast-able weather patterns
and predictable climate changes–
We reflect on You “WHO CHANGEST NOT”
and thankfully depend
on Your UNCHANGING NATURE:
not wondering and guessing
according to limitations of our imagination
which brings You down to our level of understanding.
Forgive us LORD YHWH,
for recreating YOU in our image,
for truly, how could we even begin to fathom
what You the One True God is like? . . .
when all we could go by is our experiential knowledge
and limited understanding of
how man could possibly be created in Your ‘image’?
Forgive us for failing to understand
that none of your omni-attributes
are shared with humankind,
and yet You chose to take the risk
to grant us
what You in Your Divine Wisdom
determined as an attribute
that best reflects You as GOD —
that precious gift of CHOICE,
indeed, of FREE WILL!
Could humanity responsibly wield this gift,
within our human limitations,
with no foreknowledge such as Yours,
but with full control only
over our very use of this Divine gift;
Truly a Godly prerogative,
which no other created living breathing being
has been endowed with,
certainly none of the beasts
and down to the tiniest life-form
have any more than instinct and natural inclination,
by Divine Design.
How privileged is humankind,
to be created in Your Image!
Indeed, You are GOD, there is no other —
GOD Who has declared Yourself in no uncertain terms,
so that no one need remain in ignorance,
except by choice,
in this day and age
when knowledge is so readily available,
if any earnest seeker of You wishes to know and learn
and be certain beyond this world full of man-sourced belief systems,
imagining and inventing gods made in the image of man . . .
Living in an age of information technology
when no one can claim any more excuse
not to know of You,
not to know You,
not to know Your Name,
O YHWH!
Your Sinai Revelation enshrined in the TORAH,
has long been recorded
and made known to the nations,
beyond the nation-custodian Israel,
thanks to the recognition given to its Divine Source
by three major world religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Thank You, Lord YHWH,
for being patient with any and every individual,
born in ignorance of You,
yet aware and acknowledging that a Creator God exists,
and chooses to start a search for the One True God,
though diverted by man-made religions,
but eventually, according to Your promise,
finds You,
because he/she seeks You with all heart and soul:
“I will be found by you.”
WORDS OF THANKSGIVING
FROM THE PSALMS
[Take turns reciting the following excerpts.]
Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
Psalm 118:19
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
Psalm 95:1-2
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
Psalm 107:8-9
I will give thanks to the Lord
because of his righteousness;
I will sing the name of the Lord Most High.
Psalm 7:17
I thank you, Lord, with all my heart;
I sing praise to you before the gods.
I face your holy Temple, bow down, and praise your name
because of your constant love and faithfulness,
because you have shown that your name
and your commands are supreme.
Psalm 138: 1-2
I will extol the Lord at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.
I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
Psalm 34:1-3
Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord
rejoice!
Psalm 105:1-3
Here are the top 10 Biblical verses about Thanksgiving:
“When you have eaten your fill,
give thanks to Hashem your God
for the good land which He has given you.”
“In that day, you shall say:
‘I give thanks to You, Hashem!’”
“The living, only the living
can give thanks to You.
Fathers relate to children
Your acts of grace.”
“Gladness and joy shall abide there,
Thanksgiving and the sound of music.”
“From them shall issue thanksgiving
and the sound of dancers.”
“Give thanks to God of Hosts,
for Hashem is good,
for His kindness is everlasting!”
“I wash my hands in innocence,
and walk around Your mizbayach,
Hashem,
raising my voice in thanksgiving,
and telling all Your wonders.”
“I, with loud thanksgiving,
Will sacrifice to You.”
“I acknowledge and praise You,
O God of my fathers,
You who have given me wisdom and power.”
“Praise Hashem for He is good;
His steadfast love is eternal.”
O nations of the world,
recognize the Lord,
recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.
Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!
Bring your offering and come into his presence.
Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.
Let all the earth tremble before him.
The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
– 1 Chronicles 16:28-30,34.
Yours, O LORD,
is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty
and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
– Chronicles 29:11-13.
Shabbat Shalom to all Sinaites
and our Messianic/Christian/Unaffiliated friends,
worshippers of the One True God,
YHWH is His Name!
In behalf of Sinai 6000 Core Community,
NSB@S6K
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