Praise the Lord for
this super Saturday - the last before Thanksgiving. We are excited about
gathering for worship and celebration tomorrow morning at 10:30, following 9:30
AM Sunday school. I will be preaching from Psalm 103, which is one
of my favorite Psalms. Thank you, each and every one, for your words of
grace and kindness over these past few weeks. I cherish each kind word,
and I rejoice in the Lord for His magnanimity and generosity.
We
praise the Lord for this Thanksgiving season here in America the
beautiful. Praise the Lord for all of the abundant harvest, which
includes grains, vegetables, and fruits. As the Psalmist wrote, "The
hills are laughing". Indeed, the valleys are dancing and the meadows
are rejoicing. Praise the Lord for the way the Thanksgiving season ushers
into the seasons of Advent and Christmas. "There's a Song in the
Air". Alice and I have been walking around the streets of our town
in the evenings, and Main Street has been hung with its festive and
beautiful Christmas lights. In the village green the Christmas tree and
lights already adorn the gazebo, and more decor was set in place
yesterday. Praise the Lord for the way the He brings out in all of us the
spirit of generosity and good will during this season.
On Thursday night the Senior Class of Marathon High School
served a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for the Senior Citizen of our
town. Every year the class cheerfully performs this rite, recognizing the
importance of sharing, caring, and serving. Some other families held a
big fund-raising event yesterday in support of a young man who is greatly in
need of advanced medical care.
Praise the Lord for a great nation, for a great heritage, and
for the way our nation has been a beacon of freedom and an instrument of hope
to the millions "crying for release". Praise the Lord for
the Church. The Lord has promised, "Upon this Rock I will build my
Church, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it." The Church
has been an integral part of our lives since the earliest days of our
childhood, and it is our desire and prayer that the Lord would use us
continually in the world today.
The Thanksgiving celebration is uniquely American in its
origins. Other lands have harvest festivals but, as a nation, we give
thanks to the Lord, maker of heaven and earth and Lord of the harvest.
Thanksgiving is, in a deeper sense, therapeutic.
I
read a story about a couple who had been living on welfare and food stamps from
1983 to 1991. They had drawn a great deal of money from the welfare
system, before it was discovered through a welfare fraud investigator, that the
couple had stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, money market accounts,
savings and checking accounts amounting to a half-million dollars. They
were required to pay back the entire amount that they had obtained by
defrauding the government, including a fine, and were able to write a
check for the entire amount. They were then required to serve time in
jail and make restitution to the Department of Human Services.
Fortunately, that case is the exception rather than the rule, and there is a
system in place to find those who try to misuse what was intended to benefit
people who are truly in need. For some people, "enough is never
enough". No matter how much some people have they will always want
more.
In stark contrast to the couple, let us consider the words of Paul as he described what his life was like: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10). Paul’s life was filled with many difficulties which he could complain about. How many of us would put up with constant stress, confusion, persecution, and beatings that left deep scars and permanent injuries, and still maintain a positive attitude? Paul had learned an important secret to life, which he expressed when he said, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13).
Paul
had learned the secret of not living life based on the conditions around him.
He could be content in prison as well as at home. His happiness was not
based on situations, it was based on his relationship with Christ. He
knew he had all he needed in him, The Bible says, “Every good and perfect gift
is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights” (James 1:7). That is
why we can say, “This is the day the LORD has made; [we will] rejoice and be
glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). We are
content, we are happy because we are a people of hope. We are a people of
hope because we have a God who cares. He has made us, and he has made our
world. He has made our today and all our tomorrows, and out of the
gratitude we feel toward Him for all his faithful goodness, we want to share
the blessings.
In Christ,
Brown
