Give Thanks in All Things

We ought to give thanks for all fortune: it is is good, because it is good, if bad, because it works in us patience, humility and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country”  C.S. Lewis

 

Ephesians 5:17-21
     So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. (NASB95)

Thanksgiving is not just a “holiday,” nor is it just about cooking turkeys or getting the best sales on “Black Friday.” It is a time when we stop and consider what is important, and it is not the physical temporal things that we hold on to so tightly, it is about considering the value of others.

We should take this time to be thankful for our physical family as well as our “eternal” spiritual family, and forget and lay aside all of our personal needs and wants and concentrate on the value of those around us. No one exists as an island, but we sure try to do that in todays world.

We are all gears in a time piece ticking for eternity, and we are all needed to work properly in God’s timing. We may not understand what God is doing all the time in us and others, but it is important for us to realize how much we need God, and each other to make it to an eternity where time shall be no more…God’s Blessings

Pastor William

Expectations

“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn.”

David Henry Thoreau

Acts 3:3-5 (NASB95)

         When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.   But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!”   And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

In this passage is a great secret that many Christians need to grasp and hold on to today. Here we see the man lame from birth, 40 years old who sat at the gate begging for his livelihood. We do need to see the attitude that he had as he sat at the feet of those that walked by.

His attitude when he saw Peter and John was one of expectation. He believed that he was going to receive something from them, he had a spirit of expectation. He was at a place of prayer and worship, was there a better place to seek mercy than at the meeting place of God’s people?

So I ask the question of us all today. What do you expect to happen in your place of worship this Sunday? Do you expect a wonderful life changing experience, or are you just going to meet your friends again and sing a few songs? God Bless

Pastor William

Devotion

To be Devoted implies solemn and exclusive devotion to a sacred or serious use or purpose.

Webster’s Dictionary

Acts 2:42 
     They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (NASB95)

What do you think of when you think of the word fellowship? As a Christian does it bring to mind the times we get together as the Church to worship? I think for many this is what comes to mind. But this is not all that fellowship entails.

What we miss is the fellowship after the service, that is the times when we get to know one another outside the framework of gathered church meetings. I do think that we could enhance these meetings with more dedication to fellowship on other days of the week than Sunday's.

We see in Acts that the church was “Devoted” to fellowship. They were in fellowship with one another constantly and I believe that is what is missing in the church today. We love our locked up solitude, but the reality is we need to be more aware of each other and be united together as a family.

That can only happen when we spend time getting to know one another and to be more personally united in the bond of Christ. Didn't  Christ eat from house to house? Did He ever setup home somewhere to feed His earthly comforts? I think not, and it would be the best thing for the church today to come out of our homes and into the hearts of others.

God Bless! Pastor William