Thankfulness

Great is Thy Faithfulness

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV

I love singing “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, when I sense the peace and contentment of God’s care at Thanksgiving, Yet, both the writer of Lamentations as well as Thomas Chisolm, the hymn writer, were going through difficulties and trials when they wrote these words. They remind us that if rejoicing in God’s faithfulness, has to wait for everything be going right, then we would be an ungrateful people much of the time. But today’s verse and the hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, draw their power from the triumph of God’s grace when everything is going wrong. While composing these lyrics, Thomas Chisolm suffered from such ill health that he was forced to leave the pastoral ministry, and he wrote the lyrics as a poem, reflecting his trust in God in spite of his problems. Later, he sent his friend William Runyan, the poem and Runyan when on to write the melody we sing today. In the Bible, the prophet Jeremiah tells us of God’s great faithfulness and love after his nation had been conquered, Jerusalem lay in ruins, and Solomon’s temple had been robbed of its treasures. With nothing left to show for the centuries of Israel’s glory, power and success, Jeremiah finds the steadfast love and mercy of God are an unshakeable hope that is new every morning. So, whatever you are facing this Thanksgiving, allow God to gently remind you that His mercies never fail, they are new every morning, because His faithfulness and love will never come to an end!

Thankfulness for the Body of Christ

/ pastorpete51 / 9 Comments 
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12 ESV

My wife and I enjoy doing puzzles together, so I was delighted to find an almost new 1,000-piece puzzle with a Thomas Kincade painting on the box for a dollar at a yard sale. As soon as I got home, I dumped the puzzle out and eagerly began working to piece it together. Because of the complexity of the design, I didn’t at first realize, but eventually it became clear that, though my puzzle was almost new, it had been put into the wrong box! That puzzle reminds me of how in spite of God’s design, we sometimes struggle to find where we fit. In today’s verse the Apostle Paul tells us that together we are the Body of Christ and each of us is a part. Fortunately for us, God puts the correct picture on the box, (the Bible) and second, we are each intricately designed to be put into exact the position for which God designed. Paul gets very detailed about those parts, calling some of us eyes, some ears and others, hands and feet. Some of us who suffer from low self-esteem are encouraged by realizing that we too are a valuable part. However, we also need to remember that discovering our usefulness also means finding how our being connected to others gives us the opportunity to serve them. Trying to find how we fit in the church, without being thankful for people around us, is like our putting our puzzle together with the wrong picture on the box!

Though, people will usually take time to thank God for their blessings, why not go beyond just being thankful for how we have been blessed and take the time to give thanks for how God has blessed others, who He has connected to us. We just might be amazed at how being thankful, will clear our vision and help us to see them as part of the beautiful puzzle that God has designed called the Body of Christ!

"The beginning of men's rebellion against God was, and is, the lack of a thankful heart." 
Francis Shaeffer
Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.com

Thankful for Volunteers

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 1 Thessalonians 1:2 ESV

This week I was especially thankful for the small but faithful group of volunteers who work with me in our nursing home ministry. What happens every so often is that there ends up being four straight days of meetings at the different facilities that we serve. Though I do dearly love my friends in long term care, these weeks would be almost an unbearable burden were it not for people who come alongside to serve. Those meetings began on Thursday morning in a memory care unit, where I am usually full of energy and joy. But by Friday, I was delighted that our good friends, the Hysons, not only came to help serve communion, and then Sue shared a wonderful message with the group. On Saturday at Sunshine Village, another volunteer named Donna, shared her testimony, while another made coffee and brought in cookies for our fellowship after the meeting. Finally at the Sunday afternoon meeting, a couple comes faithfully every two weeks to serve communion, hand out song sheets before the meeting and distribute our newsletters afterward. As I look back over this past year, I am both thankful and amazed to see how God has been building us together as a team, so that together we can better share the love of Jesus and offer people an extension of the ministry of our local church.

Do you have a nursing home outreach at the church you attend? Volunteering might feel intimidating, but there are many different ways to serve. One man has been doing the graphic art for our newsletter and others help us by writing. Some serve communion and others give a brief devotional talk. This week I am posting Donna’s testimony about the way God worked miracles in her family, after her great grandson was diagnosed with leukemia. Donna is not a professional speaker, but her heartfelt story points to our God who does amazing things through the lives of ordinary people like you and me. I pray that you will be encouraged and open for how God wants to work through your life. Stay tuned for tips on organizing a holiday program, in my next post. Have a great week everybody!