King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. As we celebrate Thanksgiving Sunday, it’s time for us to remember God’s faithfulness in our lives and express our gratitude to Him. We have so many reasons to thank God because we enjoy God’s abundant blessings that many around the world are not able to benefit from. Last week we watched a video of a brother in Laos who went through 10 years of persecution because of his faith. How can we not thank God that we don’t have to worry about anyone or anything coming after us when we gather together to worship God?
There is an old hymn written by Johnson Oatman, Jr. The refrain goes like this
“Count your blessings, name them one by one
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”
It’s a simple hymn that reminds us how important it is to count the blessings God has bestowed upon us. Just like the Israelites in the wilderness, our lives are filled with discontentment. We easily forget what God has done in our lives as if we are suffering from a spiritual Alzheimer’s disease. We grumble about what we don’t have and even our prayer lists are full of things that we want. Let’s count our blessings as we go through the Thanksgiving week. Share with your families and friends of amazing things God has done in your life.
What are you looking forward to this year’s Thanksgiving week? I’ve been getting countless emails of black Friday sale ads at various shopping centers and websites. And I have to admit I’ve been looking at every single website and ads to see if there are good deals out there. They were just too hard to resist. Lord, help us! Are you looking forward to watching and playing football? I know that some of our young adult members will be playing in a flag football tournament this weekend and many people will be watching football games on TV.
My family will have a Thanksgiving luncheon with a small group of people. I miss having large gatherings on Thanksgiving Day with my extended family. This year will be the second year of not having a pot luck luncheon with my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. Ever since my grandmother passed away we stopped meeting as a big group and I have to admit that I miss it very much. I will also miss my brother as well because this will be our first Thanksgiving without him. He was usually the one who initiated family gatherings and our family surely will miss him very much.
There is a new tradition that started with Reina being born on Thanksgiving Day four years ago. We will be celebrating Reina’s birthday when we have our family gather on Thanksgiving Day. God has been so faithful to Reina over the last 4 years. She’s has grown up to a beautiful young girl and my wife and I know that it was because of our awesome parenting skills. Ryan is so strong and healthy as well. As many of you know, Ryan loves eating and we love feeding and watching him eat especially when he puts on a cheesy smile after being satisfied over food. And the list goes on and on. Thank you Lord!
From Pastor Brian’s Heart
November 18, 2012