Psalms 103:1-5 
During this thanksgiving week we focus on God more than anything in life for HE deserves our attention and our gratitude.
Because the very breath we breathe is God’s gift, and by HIS mercy we are alive.
Never for a second forget that because of God’s grace we are what we are today.
In these five verses, God is reminding us today that we have a need to acknowledge HIS grace in every facet of our earthly existence.
That is an attitude of gratitude for HIS abundant grace bestowed on each and every life.
HIS grace could be one main reason for us to thank the Lord during this thanks giving week.
I. WE THANK GOD FOR WHO HE IS
1. Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 
Praise requires our attention and attitude of our heart.
From the core of our heart we praise God for who HE is.
The psalmist knew HIM intimately – we know HIM intimately
The reason to praise HIM and worship HIM is because our God is Holy
II. WE THANK GOD FOR HIS BENEFITS
2. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— 
We are all recipients of God’s abundant grace every day of life.
Everything is a benefit from God.
So we have every reason to appreciate those benefits and praise HIM from the core of our heart.
III. WE THANK GOD FOR HIS MERCY AND SALVATION
3. who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 
4. who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 
The DNA of sin in every human being separates them from a holy God.
Sin is a spiritual disease that ultimately results in eternal separation from God. 
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, God heals this disease and redeems us from eternal hell.
Seeking forgiveness begins the healing process not only for our soul but also for our bodies.
God is healing our spiritual being when we confess and repent for our sins.
God crowns us not just with kindness and mercy but also with love and compassion.
IV. WE THANK GOD FOR HIS ENDURING GRACE
5. Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle? 
“The secret of a happy life is not to get what you want but to live with what you’ve got. Most of us spend our lives concentrating on what we don’t have instead of thanking God for what we do have. Then we wake up, our life is over, and we missed the beauty of the present. You think about that.” 
Our problem is we are focusing on what we want rather than rejoicing in what we have.
The eagle goes through a painful process of restoration to rejuvenate it’s strength and extending it’s life.
This painful process of restoration helps us to get rid of old memories, habits and other unwanted things in life. 
The present can be enjoyable when are freed from such burdensome things which constantly drag us down and deprive us the joy of the moment.
We have a tendency to forget the good things and remember the bad always
During this thanksgiving week let us remember what the Lord has done in our lives during this year and approach Him with grateful hearts to thank and praise His holy Name.

Psalm 130
This is one of the psalms called songs of ascent.
The pilgrims, Jewish men, would sing while ascending the hill of the Lord as they came to worship at the temple at Jerusalem during the three festival seasons.
I. ACKNOWLEDGING THE GUILT (Verses 1-3)
A. A Deep cry from the depths of the heart
C. S. Lewis once said that “When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less.” 
These pilgrims were going to the holy temple – all gripped with fear and guilt to go before a holy God.
B. A deep cry for MERCY
No one can stand in God's presence because of the magnitude of one’s own sins.
There is no real consciousness of sin today because many eliminate God from their thinking and lost the consciousness of sin in their hearts. 
God is omniscient and He knows every thought before a person thinks or speaks or does.
Unless the person is forgiven and redeem by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ he/she is doomed forever because God keep all the records of the sinner whose sins were never forgiven.
The salvation is one time experience of the forgiveness of sin by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The forgiveness the pilgrim is talking about is different from salvation experience.
Every time a forgiven sinner approaches a Holy God he/she needs forgiveness 
II. AWARENESS OF FORGIVENESS (Verses 4-8)
A. Forgiveness leads to fear of the Lord
Once tasted the forgiveness, the forgiven sinner fears the Lord most and worships HIM.
The more we are aware of a holy God the more we are constrained by our sinful nature.
So we go before HIM with trembling and fear and worship HIM.
B. Wait and Hope in the Lord
The word of God declares there is a way out, a way of salvation, and that there is hope for every sinner. 
Creation does not declare this fact that God forgives our sins. 
Initially God revealed it through HIS prophets and finally through HIS Son, Jesus Christ.
God planned this salvation before anything HE created in the world.
So this forgiveness (gift of salvation) is limitless, ageless, immediate, eternal and irreversible for all who accept the gift of salvation through Lord Jesus Christ.
C. An anticipation of brand new morning
The main idea is as the night watchmen look forward to another day the repenting sinner can hope expectantly and with certainty. 
D. Redemption for all
When we are in the depths of guilt and despair we have experienced God’s forgiveness.
We want others to experience the same forgiveness of sins.
The basis for our hope is God's unfailing love and kindness.
The pilgrim says that no matter how great our sin is God’s redemption is so vast and huge.
The journey to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem points one’s own sinful and miserable condition.
It was the time for them to reflect upon it once again and seek God’s forgiveness.
It was the time for them to draw close to a Holy God in preparation for a corporate worship.
It was like stepping into a bright new morning after a dark night of burdensome sin.
The pilgrim prepared his soul during the journey to the temple in Jerusalem.
So also every Christian has to prepare for the corporate worship even before coming to Church.
The pilgrim is telling us never to lose the sight of a Holy God.

Acts 13:1-12
In these few verses we learn some important lessons in Evangelism.
It all started with fasting and praying and worshiping the Lord.
First three verses speak of Holy Spirit’s involvement and instruction.
Holy Spirit set Barnabas and Paul apart for the ministry in Cyprus and the church obediently ordained them to go.
Thus it became Paul’s first missionary journey.
Barnabas and Paul began proclaiming the word of God in Jewish synagogues in Cyprus.
At Paphos they were introduced to Bar-Jesus or Elymas and Sergius Paulus.
Elymas was a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet – had an attendant job with Proconsul.
Proconsul Sergius Paulus had a desire to hear the word of God and sent for Paul and Barnabas.
Verse 8: But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 
This Elymas guy had some influence over Paphos for he was close to the Proconsul.
Satan always attempts to discourage the saints by putting hurdles in the way of Gospel message.
Today many act that way creating roadblocks for people to hear the gospel of Lord Jesus.
Some use intelligent arguments, some use political power and influence to put hurdles in evangelism.
In the name of inclusiveness and progressive thinking some churches dilute the message of the cross.
Satan used Elymas, the false prophet during Paul’s days and he can also use nominal Christians to do his dirty work.
In Verses 9-11, Paul confronts Elymas directly and rebukes the evil in him.
God had given him two gifts: Gift of preaching, and gift of discernment.
Not only Paul was able to proclaim the Gospel in simple words but also able to discern the works of Satan through people.
In Verse 10 we get the glimpse of some characteristics of devil working through a person.
Paul says “you belong to the devil – devil is always enemy of what is right.”
Today we see how the right is twisted as wrong every day – what we think right is no more right in the eyes of this world because of the greatest deception of the devil – many are falling prey to such lies every day.
Satan perverts the right ways of the Lord as a twister of the truth.
In Verse 11 Paul pronounces God’s judgment upon such Elymas with temporary blindness.
Verse 12 captures my attention for its unusual response from the proconsul.
He saw what happened to Elymas – Being a Roman and a gentile he believed in the Lord.
Also he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
Four things we learn from this episode:
1. In our present world Satan uses people to block the Gospel message.
2. Some people have the gift of discernment- perception through the power of Holy Spirit.
3. Many people are hungry for the word of God.
4. Can I be the instrument of the Holy Spirit to share the Gospel?
Always depend upon the Holy Spirit to anoint and stand side by side in Evangelism.
Always there will be confrontation with the devil who opposes evangelism.
Always teach and preach clearly the simple Gospel message.
Always face the challenges through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Always expect positive response and results trusting God to do HIS part.

Jeremiah 2:1-13     
God sends Prophet Jeremiah around 588 BC to preach 13 sermons of judgment.
God was showing them the reasons for His divine judgment. 
Today’s passage contains the 1st sermon Prophet Jeremiah preached. 
I. JEREMIAH REMINDS THEIR FORMER COVENANT RELATIONSHIP (1-3)
Jeremiah time travels to Exodus days and recalls how God brought them out of bondage.
He takes two examples of young married couple and first fruits of a tree –both are precious.
Israel showed love and devotion to God during their Exodus journey and Promised Land.
In response God treasured them as holy.
Any nation that tried to take them over incurred God’s anger and punishment.
SIMILARITIES TODAY
Everyone who accepted the Lord Jesus is so precious and dear to God.
In the initial days the new believer is full of joy, zeal for the Lord, devotion and desire.
Church attendance was important, giving time and treasure was natural.
Every believer felt special as forgiven, cleansed, saved and had joy in the heart.
II. ISRAEL BROKE THEIR COVENANT RELATIONSHIP (4-8)
A. They worshiped things
As the time passed people of Israel lost their devotion and desire for the Lord.
It was like a slow drift – losing interest and excitement – procrastinating things of the Lord.
“They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.”
Dangerously they started worshiping other idols or things than the Holy God.
In the process they became worthless and useless for the Lord God.
SIMILARITIES TODAY
We see many such similarities in the present day believer’s life.
They lose focus on God and begin to desire other things more than God.
Giving priority to things over God can lead them to worthless condition and no use for God.
B. They took God for granted (6-7)
God led them through the barren wilderness, deserts and rifts, through the land of drought and darkness where no one traveled that route before. 
God did not abandon them in the wilderness but brought them into land of plenty.
But the people of Israel defiled the Promise Land with detestable deeds.
Instead of being grateful to God they defiled the land and took God for granted.
SIMILARITIES TODAY
We have experienced God’s love and grace through many difficult times, discouragements, disappointments, hopeless situations.
What we are today is just by the grace of God.
But the question is: Are we taking God for granted? 
For every social appointment we will be 10-15 minutes earlier but worship service at church always 15-20 late because we take God for granted.
Our hearts are God’s temple and we continue to defile HIS treasure by our deeds and desires.
III. GOD’S CHARGE AGAINST HIS COVENANT PEOPLE
A. They rejected their glorious God (9-12)
People of Israel are God’s covenant people.
They became worse than the non-Israelites who were faithful to their gods.
The BIBLE says that their gods are not God at all..
The prophet delivers the charge that God’s covenant people gave up their holy God for worthless pagan gods, culture and its practices.
SIMILARITIES TODAY
The Lord is bringing the charge against so called believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God is charging the believers that they are worse than the non-believers.
In spite of the fact that they worship a Holy and Living God, they often drifted away from HIM. 
They assimilate and followed worldly ways and its values.
Many are exchanging the holy God to perishable things of the world.
Most of non-Christian religious groups are more faithful in their beliefs and in their practices than the vast majority of Christian believers who profess faith in the true Living God but their deeds say otherwise.
B. Two specific sins (13)
1. They have left springs of living water, 
Fresh water sustained the Israelites throughout their desert journey.
God provided that fresh water to the body and living water for the soul.
God is disappointed in us for the way we run after other things to please our souls.
HE is simply reminding us that HE is the source of all that our soul needs.
2. They had dug for themselves cisterns and broken cannot hold water.
Cistern captures the rain water and has no outlet.
Water is fresh momentarily and flat and tasteless as the time goes by.
Broken cistern cannot hold water like a broken vessel.
What are the broken cisterns that we can identify with?
Without Christ in our heart all routine religious activities look like broken cisterns.
The world offers nothing but broken cisterns.
They look very impressive, alluring, and desirable but nothing satisfies the soul.
At the end they will leave us dry and empty – many suicides are the best examples
These world attractions are like stagnated water in the broken cisterns.
Our heart is like a broken cistern because of sin but Christ’s precious blood cleanses and refreshes our souls and fills us with the living water.
God desires that we revere HIM, depend upon HIM and trust Him all the time. 
Word of Caution: Never take God for granted because our Glorious God is Holy.