Praise the Lord for this Friday before Thanksgiving. One of my friends wrote
to me stating, "I am Thankful for the Grace of Jesus Christ". Praise the Lord
for His unfailing and redeeming love and amazing grace. It appears that the
world, particularly the middle East, is an inferno. We see chaos and massive
confusion all around. In the face of it all, in the midst of it all, we turn our
eyes and hearts to Jesus Christ, the Risen One who is upon the Throne. "The
Kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our God and His Christ, and He
shall reign for ever. Plan to gather in the House of the Lord this coming Lord's
Day praising and worshipping Him and giving thanks to Him.
Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and
everything in it.” When we give thanks to Him for all that He bestows, it
reminds us that it is a privilege that God has loaned us everything we have. 1
Corinthians 4:7 says, “What do you have that you did not receive from God? And
if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”
The
story is told of a poor man who was given a loaf of bread. He thanked the baker,
but the baker said, “Don’t thank me. Thank the miller who made the flour.” So he
thanked the miller, but the miller said, “Don’t thank me. Thank the farmer who
planted the wheat.” So he thanked the farmer, but the farmer said, “Don’t thank
me. Thank the Lord. He gave the sunshine and rain and fertility to the soil, and
that’s why you have bread to eat.”
Everything we own we ultimately
received from God and we owe Him thanks. James 1:17, “Every good and perfect
gift is from above coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not
change like the shifting sand.”
Dr. Dale Robbins wrote, “I used to think people
complained because they had a lot of problems. But I have come to realize that
they have problems because they complain. Complaining doesn’t change anything or
make situations better. It amplifies frustration, spreads discontent and
discord, and can invoke an invitation for the devil to cause havoc with our
lives.” Complaining makes us miserable. Psalm 77:3 says, “I complained and my
spirit was overwhelmed.”
Philippians 2:13 says, “Do everything
without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure,
children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you
shine like stars in the universe.”
Ephesians 5:19 says, “Sing and
make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for
everything.” Always is the key word, not just on Thanksgiving but every day. In
Daniel 6 we read that Daniel got down on his knees three times everyday and
prayed and gave thanks to his God.
I read recently that if you own one Bible, you
are abundantly blessed, because a third of the people in the world do not have
access to a Bible. If you awoke this morning with more health than illness you
are more blessed than 1 million people who will not survive the week. If you
have never experienced the danger of war, the loneliness of imprisonment, the
agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation you are more fortunate than 500
million people on earth. If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your
back, a roof over your head, twenty dollars in your pocket and a place to sleep
you are richer than 75 percent of the world. O, God forgive me when I
whine.
I love the story of Lois Stahling, who is one of the most
thankful persons. Lois loves the Lord and loves to be in His House every Lord's
Day. When Lois was in the prime of her life she had a stroke and was confined to
a wheel chair. She is still mentally alert but she cannot walk and do a lot of
other normal activities. She lives in a convalescent home and the only time she
really gets out is once a week to go to church. The highlight of her week is
Sunday morning when someone comes from her church to pick her up. Lois is a
person who has all the reason to be angry and bitter about her circumstances,
all the reason to shake her fist at God. Instead, she is thankful for whatever
little blessing she has.
In Christ,
Brown
A special Community-wide Thanksgiving
service be held on Saturday November 17, 2012 at the historic First United
Methodist Church in Endicott, located at 53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott, New York.
The evening will begin with coffee Fellowship at 6 PM followed by a service of
worship and thanksgiving, which will start at 6:30 PM. The worship band from the
Davis College will be leading in worship; Dr. Dino Pedrone, the president of
Davis College, will be preaching. Aric Phinney will be at the piano with Yancey
Moore at the Organ. This special Thanksgiving service is sponsored by the Union
Center United Methodist Church, 128 Maple Drive, Endicott.
All are welcome. For
Information call, 607-748-1358 or 607-748-6329
