Thanksgiving outreach

We serve a mighty God and he allows us to be his hands, his mouth, his feet here on earth. I am so thankful for all the people that I see around me that are using the gifts that God gave them in service to others. I am humbled by their energy and dedication. I am grateful for the time and the love that they pour into their ministry. May God bless all the work that is being done these next few days in preparation for Thanksgiving outreach.

Give Thanks

Last night I was at the UH game (Go Bows!)when the person sitting in front of me pointed up to the sky. Of course those of us who saw her, looked up. And there sitting in the sky right in front of us was a full moon; it had just risen enough above the other side of the stadium to be seen. And I watched it rise, just enjoying it's beauty, until I could no longer see it above our seats.

There is something about the moon and the stars that grab our attention. Something that is in the realm of awe. The sky is so expansive, the stars and moon are so beautiful, and it is all so predictive. God created the sky and everything in it to be just perfect and he made it beautiful and awesome so we would notice. When we notice his creation, we notice him. When we see the beauty of the sky, we see his beauty. When we understand the expansiveness of the sky, we can begin to understand the greatness of God. When we see the full moon appear each month like clockwork, we see God's faithfulness. God wants us to know him and to know his attributes, so he places signs of who he is all around us for us to see every day. As we begin this week of Thanksgiving, I encourage you to read all of Psalm 136.
"Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever." Psalm 136:26

God is with us!

God is so good! These past few weeks have been very busy, but I see God working in my life and in the lives of those around me. No matter what comes up - God is there with us, no matter the hardships - God is there with us, no matter how tired or overwhelmed we are - God is there with us. He tells us "I will never leave you nor forsake you". (Joshua 1: 5b) I am so grateful that God is always with me! Remember, no matter what you are going through, God knows about it and he is with you. He is there to strengthen or comfort or encourage. He is there for exactly what you need.

Obedience

I have an 8 month old puppy, who is not yet always obedient. Recently, he has begun to run out the front door when I open it to come in or go out. At first, he would just take off - away he would go down the street to see what excitement he may be missing. He would get scolded, which of course he hated. He started to do better; he would run out the door and stop when called, but then off he would go. I guess he decided that the fun of exploration was greater than the disapproval from Mom. Today he ran out, stopped and then ran back in when I called his name. I still saw that moment of hesitation; he almost ran but made the decision to be obedient. He was rewarded with my approval, which he loves.

We are the same way with God sometimes. We know that we are doing something that displeases God, but we do it anyway. We want to be obedient, we may even hesitate, but in the end we allow our sinful nature take control. Obedience is not always easy to do and some times we need many scoldings from God before we learn, but how sweet it is when we respond correctly to God in obedience and know that he is pleased.

Focus on the good

We are bombarded with bad news and inappropriate thoughts, language, and images all day long. It's in the news, on television, in movies, in the paper and perhaps even in our workplace or neighborhood. This is the world in which we live. This is a world that is filled with sin. So what are we to do? Do we give up and accept that this is just the way things are? Do we pretend that it doesn't exist?

We are given the answer to this by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:8-9. "And now dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all that you learned and received from me - everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you."