Unusual Thanks

Happy Sunday!

Pastor Carlos T. Brown, pastor of Word of Life Ministries in Collinsville, Illinois preached a message entitled, "Giving Thanks".  Before you tune me out, it was a refreshing message that actually put a twist on what we should be thankful for!   Thanksgiving ushers us into the Holiday season.  We rush past it on our merry way to Christmas.  Many times we are consumed with "me".  What will I get?  What will I buy?  What will I cook?  What ugly sweater will I wear to the company Christmas Party?  It can all produce quite a bit of anxiety.  Philippians 4:4-7 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.  Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."(KJV),

The Message Translation of this passage says, "Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!  Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life".  Don't miss this!   "It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life".    The Lord Jesus Christ can displace worry, anxiety, and fear.  Pastor Brown said, "Hope pulls us in one direction, and fear pulls us in another direction".  It's possible to be pulled apart by life, and in this life!  But God wants us to be changed from within.

Thankfulness is being "courteously respectful" to God!  When we respect God and come to him in modesty and gratefulness he can change us, and change our circumstances.  The Word says, "in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established."(Matthew 18:16b, KJV).  On our way home, we heard another pastor on the radio using the same scriptures and saying almost exactly what the Holy Spirit had given Pastor Brown.  He also spoke about being thankful for the unusual.  Do you have a sink full of dirty dishes?  Be thankful that you have food to eat.  Are there beds to be made, and clothes to be washed?  Be thankful that you have a place to live and comfortable bed.  Be thankful that you have numerous choices and are not limited to the clothes on your back.  Does your child run out of the house leaving the door wide open?  Be thankful your child can run, play, and is growing!  Do your parents need extra help, and care in their homes?  Be thankful that they are still with you, and that you have the opportunity to bless them!  Do you have to leave early in the morning to fill up the gas tank?  Be thankful that you have a car, and that you have the funds to fill the tank.  Be thankful that you have a job to go to!

I could go on and on...but I think you get the point.  1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."(KJV).  The Living Bible says, "No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus".

No matter what happens, I'm giving thanks!

Love and prayers, Cynthia