Giving Thanks

“Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song“

(Psalm 95:2, NIV).

HOW MANY REASONS CAN YOU COME UP WITH TO BE THANKFUL??

MY Top 10 Reasons To Be Thankful:

1) Jesus, God’s Only Son; My Savior! -- We are saved by His blood, healed by His stripes, & delivered by His sacrifice…There is none like Him!

2) Our Heavenly Father! -- “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father’” (Galatians 4:6).

3) The Holy Spirit, Our Comforter! -- We have a comforter who fully understands our deepest longings and pains!

4) God’s Grace! -- “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them -- yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (I Cor. 15:10).

5) The Word Of God! -- “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

6) MY WIFE! -- “An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life” (Proverbs 31:10-12).


7) MY FAMILY! -- Our children & grandchildren are wonderful gifts from God and our parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, & cousins are all packages to be unwrapped & treasured; be thankful for each one!

8) My Local Church! -- It is wonderful to be adopted in the Body of Christ! When you find a place that fits - a place where your gifts & talents can be utilized & you are being spiritually fed - you can flourish!

9) The Privilege To Be Used As A Servant Of God! -- “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18). God has empowered us all to proclaim the Good News! I am so grateful the Lord can use what I have been through - good or bad - to touch others & to bring glory & honor & praise to Him ultimately!

10) God’s Strength & Power When I Am Weak! -- “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). God can prove His strength & power best when we’re at our weakest. Let God be God in your life!

My list of reasons to be thankful are limited only by time and space……I could go on and on and on, because God has blessed me beyond measure and comprehension.

Thank You Lord for everything, but especially for Your mercy, grace & love that has been bestowed upon me, a sinner! Amen.

P - R - A - I - S - E

“Now I want you to know, brethern, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel” (Philippians 1:12 NASB).

The easier our lives are, the weaker our spiritual fiber becomes…..For strength of any kind grows only through exertion! The easier our lives are, the less we will depend upon God and the more we start to think we can do it all ourselves. The more we do, the less glory and praise that our Heavenly Father receives. The less God receives praise, the less the Gospel of Jesus Christ is shared.

How can we better further the Gospel of Jesus Christ and PRAISE God Almighty through our circumstances and daily situations??

P --- “Put God First”…..We should follow the example of Paul; regardless of his situation or circumstance, his concern was how could what he was currently going through be used to spread the Gospel - not how it would affect him.
R --- “Reduce Self”…..Get past the “self-centeredness” and reduce self so that God might be exalted and glorified! “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
A --- “Adjust Your Attitude”…..We tend to divide problems into 2 categories; those we KNOW will require God’s help and the ones we think we can handle ourselves. Adjust that attitude and put them all in God’s category!
I --- “Ignore The Negative”…..Get away from those that will espouse negative thoughts and ideas concerning your present circumstance and crisis situation. They are bringing a word from Satan and you do not need to hear it!
S --- “Stand Tall In The Spirit”…..The world is watching us to see how we will respond to adversity; show them the JOY of the Spirit which cannot be affected by outside forces. Circumstances cannot affect the joy of our salvation!
E --- “Encourage Others”…..By the way we react to our crisis situation, others can be encouraged. If we allow God to handle our problems, others will be encouraged by our faith and God will receive all glory, honor, and praise!

P - R - A - I - S - E

If we are willing to allow God to work through us and our daily circumstances; if we are willing to allow God to be in complete and total control of every one of our crisis situations, then HE will receive ALL the GLORY, HONOR, and PRAISE!!!

GOD'S PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE

“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11 NKJV).

Are you confused and uncertain? Are you experiencing difficult times and asking yourself, “What does God want me to do next?”........Maybe you are uncertain of your future plans and not sure what your next step should be……Even if you don’t have a clear picture of the plan for the next step, don’t worry; GOD DOES!!!

God has a plan for the birds that fly, the fish that swim, the animals that roam; He has a plan for the universe, surely He has a plan for you!!! God understands the plan that He has for you as thoroughly and completely as He knows you……If you will earnestly and prayerfully seek God’s will, He will reveal His plans to you in His perfect way and in His perfect time!!!

Now, the question is; “Do you sincerely desire to know God’s purpose for your life?”
If you do, you first have to be willing to live according to His commandments……Secondly, read and study God’s Word and seek answers and signs from Him……Third, be willing to open yourself up to God everyday through repentance and prayer……Finally, you must have faith that God will soon reveal His wonderful plan to you.

Possibly, God has not revealed His plan for you yet because you have been expecting Him to fulfill YOUR plan by hoping He would create a world that unfolds according to YOUR wishes……If this is true, then you are experiencing a lot of frustration and disappointment……You will be better off if you would stop trying to conform His will to yours, and instead start conforming your will to HIS!!!!!

Sometimes it may be unmistakably clear to you what God intends for you to do next, as He reveals portions of His plan and purpose; when this happens, then go forward and obey! But there will be other times that He will lead you through tough times to get you where He wants you to be……

Therefore, be patient -- wait upon HIM……Keep seeking HIS will, direction, and plan for your life.

When you seek His face, obey His commandments, study God’s Holy Word, watch for signs from God, pray consistently, have faith that God will reveal His plan for you, be patient and walk by faith and not by sight, and obey and follow, you will be amazed at the marvelous and powerful things that our Heavenly Father can do!!!!!

JUST LET GO AND LET GOD!!!!!

"SECRECY IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY"

“For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17).

SECRECY IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY!!!!!!

One of Satan's clever deceptions is to convince us that we can do things in secret that will never be revealed to anyone.....Therefore we attempt to hide things we do or say that we know we shouldn't be doing or saying.

There are three people from whom we try to hide things: (a) Ourselves – We shut our eyes to the consequences of our actions and we convince ourselves that we are not doing anything wrong. (b) Others – We try to hide what we do or say from other people, but everything has a way of coming out eventually. The person that is always trying to hide something from others is an unhappy person. (c) GOD – No man ever attempted a more impossible task! The Bible stresses to us that everything that is done in darkness will one day be brought to light!!
When we “...walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light,...”, as I John 1:7 tells us, all of our sins that need cleansing will be brought to the Light..... There is a contrast between the Light of Jesus Christ and the darkness of our sins. God is Light; He is holy and pure and “in Him there is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5).

So before you decide (make a choice) to do anything questionable, you need to seriously ask yourself, “Am I willing to have others have knowledge of what I am getting ready to do?” and “Am I willing to proceed in this activity knowing that God is watching and seeing everything that I do?”

The knowledge that God sees and hears everything that we do or say, and being aware that we will be accountable for everything that we do and say, should be enough to keep us from sinning.....”For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). Sometimes we may become so alienated from God that even this Biblical knowledge does not deter us.....Our sins will one day be exposed publicly and we will have to give an account.....Ultimately, everything we do, good or bad, will be exposed on judgment day!!!

As Christians, we are to be the LIGHT to the sin - darkened world. Sin cannot continue in a Christian's life – light cannot dwell with darkness! The only way to not have a sin exposed is to not commit that sin in the first place.

Don't be fooled by Satan into thinking you can go ahead and do “it” and you will be the only one to know "it".....

SECRECY IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY!!!!!!

Have You Seen Jesus Lately?

John 12:20-21; “Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and {began to} ask him, saying, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’”

When someone does something fantastic, spectacular, amazing, wonderful, life-changing, eye-catching, or just a little unusual, people will usually flock from near and far to see them and witness what they do……

When Lindbergh years ago got into a small plane and flew across the Atlantic Ocean in 33 ½ hours, huge crowds greeted him wherever he went…..When Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s major league home run record, a lot of people were there and many more were watching on TV……When Cal Ripken, Jr. broke Lou Gerick’s major league baseball record for consecutive games played several years back, the stadium was packed and overflowing and they broke records for the amount of people watching a sporting event on TV at that time…..When President Nixon stepped down from the office of the Presidency in disgrace, gangs of people watched all around the world.....When the Queen of England visits the U.S., she draws huge crowds wherever she goes.....When David Copperfield comes to town, every show is sold out.

Now just think about it; if throngs of people are willing to come out to see these celebrities, and many others currently and down through history, then can you imagine how it would have been as Jesus moved from town to town and area to area --- everyone wanted to get close enough to just get a glimpse of THE MIRACLE MAN !!!!! THIS MAN, JESUS, HAD BEEN DOING SOME UNHEARD-OF THINGS: HE MADE THE BLIND TO SEE….HE HAD MADE THE LAME TO WALK.…HE HAD BROUGHT HEARING TO THE DEAF….HE CLEANSED THE LEPERS….HE CHANGED WATER INTO WINE….HE HEALED THE SICK….HE BROKE UP SEVERAL FUNERALS BY BRINGING THE DEAD BACK TO LIFE AGAIN.…ONE TIME HE EVEN WAITED TILL AFTER THE FUNERAL AND THEN RAISED LAZARUS FROM THE GRAVE…………

As HIS fame spread, larger and larger crowds flocked to see and hear HIM…..Thousands followed HIM and waited on HIM as they heard HE was coming their way.

At the feast in Jerusalem, some Greeks wanted to get up close and personal with HIM….They had heard of HIS mighty works and they wanted to try to get to know HIM better….So they came to the disciples and said, “We want to see Jesus.”….They saw HIM and they talked with HIM and I am sure that they were blessed by being in HIS presence.

You and I have never seen JESUS with the “eye of flesh”, but we have seen HIM with the “eye of faith”……We have seen HIM walking the Judean hills…..We have seen HIM sitting on the mountains preaching the greatest sermons ever heard….. We have seen HIM praying in Gethsemane…….We have seen HIM beaten and bloody in Pilate’s court……..We have seen HIM hanging upon Calvary’s Cross……..We have seen HIM leaving the tomb and ascending into Glory……………
BUT HAVE YOU SEEN HIM LATELY ????????

CAN YOU -- OR MORE IMPORTANTLY, DO YOU WANT TO -- CATCH A FRESH GLIMPSE OF JESUS TODAY ?

DON’T LOOK AT THE CHURCH…..DON’T LOOK AT THE LEADERS IN THE CHURCH……DON’T LOOK AT THE WORLD…..DON’T LOOK AT FRIENDS……DON’T LOOK AT FAMILY…….DON’T LOOK AT THE PASTOR OR PREACHER……
BUT INSTEAD LOOK PAST EVERYTHING AND JUST LOOK TO THE MASTER - - OUR SAVIOR AND LORD….…..

COME AND SAY WITH THE GREEKS OF OLD, “WE WANT TO SEE JESUS” !!!!!!!!!!!

We should want to see HIM because of HIS greatness.....

We should want to see HIM because HE is the Son of God…..

We should want to see HIM because of what HE did for us…..

We should want to see Him because He is our Mediator…...

We can see Him by looking into the Bible…...

We can see Him in prayer…...

We can see Jesus in nature…...

We can see Jesus in the lives of Christians…...

We can see Jesus in Divine, God-filled worship services…...

We ought to see Him as our Saviour…....

We ought to see Him as our Lord and Master…....

We ought to see Him as our Comforter…....

We ought to see Him as our daily Helper…....

We ought to see Him as our Coming King…....

Finally, we ought to see Him as our Final Judge.

Do you really want to have a personal encounter with Jesus today???

Receive HIM as your personal Savior today.......

Turn everything over to HIM today and allow HIM to be the Lord of your life.....

Read and study the Word of God and you will find HIM from beginning to end.....

Get on your knees and look to the Cross and you will see HIM as you call out HIS name.....

Look up and look around and you cannot help but see HIM everywhere you look....

Spend time with fellow Christ Followers and HE will reveal HIMSELF to you.....

Get up and get going to church; corporate worship will allow you to experience HIM in so many different ways.

HE wants to see you and HE wants you to see HIM........

HE wants to have a special and spiritual encounter with you of the

personal kind.

HE is waiting........

Statistics Show: Only One Safe Place To Be

“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. I have sworn and I will confirm it, That I will keep Your righteous ordinances”
(Psalm 119:105-106, NASB).

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"and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another;..." (Hebrews 10:24-25).

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JUST HOW SAFE ARE YOU IN TODAY’S WORLD ACCORDING TO TODAY’S STATISTICS??

Some of you are bored to death with statistics, but, on the other hand, many of you are interested in percentages and numbers......I would even venture to guess that many of the decisions you make each day are based upon those numbers that come out of government and private surveys.

Well, may it never be said that this Pastor is not sensitive to your concerns and needs!

I would like to assist you and help direct you by giving you some important and pertinent information and statistics that will help you with your daily personal safety!

HOW AND WHERE TO STAY SAFE IN THE WORLD TODAY:
1. Avoid riding in automobiles because they are responsible for 20% of all fatal accidents.
2. Do not stay at home because 17% of all accidents occur in the home.
3. Avoid walking on streets or sidewalks because 14% of all accidents occur to pedestrians.
4. Avoid traveling by air, rail, or water because 16% of all accidents

involve these forms of transportation.
5. Of the remaining 33%, 32% of all deaths occur in hospitals......So, above all else, be sure to avoid hospitals!!!!

BUT,…………..
You will be very pleased to learn that only .001% of all deaths occur in church worship services, and these are usually attributed to previous physical disorders.

Therefore, logic will tell us that the SAFEST PLACE for you and I to be at ANY GIVEN TIME is IN CHURCH!!!!!

AND,………….
The percentage of deaths during Bible Study is even less THAN .001%, therefore Bible Study is safe also!!!!!

So, in conclusion;

THE MORAL OF THE STORY???

ATTEND CHURCH AND READ YOUR BIBLE ON A REGULAR BASIS…………

IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am just trying to be a helpful pastor and friend - please be safe out there!
I Hope To See YOU In Church Very Soon -- With Your Bible In Hand.

May God Bless You Indeed and May You Have A Wonderfully Safe Day!

PAUL SAYS TO LET GO AND LET GOD!!!

“Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethern, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,”

(Philippians 3:12-13, NASB).

The world and Satan will tell you that what influences your future and present life is your past……If you came from a difficult home environment, that is going to determine the direction of your life; If you were abused as a child, that history will strangle you and cause you to struggle with your past for the rest of your life; If you experience racism or discrimination, that will dictate the condition of your life today…It does not have to be this way!!!

What Paul is trying to say here in the book of Philippians is that as a Christian he is to strive to be like Christ and that he has not obtained that fully yet, but the one thing he is doing right is that he has learned to forget his past and look to the wonderful future God has in store for him! Christians are to live in freedom because Christ has overcome our past!……“the old things passed away; behold new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17b).

GOD HAS TOTALLY FORGIVEN THE CHRISTIAN’S SIN AND HE CHOOSES NOT TO REMEMBER IT! (Isa. 43:25)……

We as Christians do not forget the past, but we are not to be controlled or motivated by it……God gives us HOPE to look to the future with; hope through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ!……We have the Holy Spirit helping us to conform into the image of Christ……While the world is concerned with what they are overcoming, the Christian is dealing with the process of what they are becoming……Christians need not be concerned with their past or their future, because once we have accepted Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord, our past is forgiven and forgotten by God and our future is anchored in the blood of Jesus and full of wonderful, exciting, and glorious things that we cannot imagine!!!!

I want to state this as clear as I possibly can and encourage you to let go of your past…Number One; if you are a Christian and you are continuing to be preoccupied with your past, pray and ask God to help you do what Paul did - put Satan behind you, open your eyes to the incredible future that is awaiting you, and press on to what lies ahead…Number Two; if you have never asked and accepted Jesus into your heart as your personal Savior and Lord, pray to receive Him and allow Him to erase your past sins and give you a new present and future to live for Him and Him alone!!!!

As Christ Followers we are to strive to be perfect as Jesus was and is, but we need to remember that it is a slow process and we will never reach perfection in this earthly life; that will be a part of the wonderful and incredible future God has in store for each one of us…

Instead of holding onto your past and letting Satan hold onto your future, just

“Let Go and Let God”!!!!!