Giving Thanks 2014

Thanksgiving Greetings!

          We enjoyed a cozy Thanksgiving meal last Saturday with the Frank Family in Fergus Falls.  Today we are with our immediate family at home.  The turkey is in the oven, the kids are working on an iMovie project, and the sun is shining.  Today is the coldest Thanksgiving in Minnesota in 26 years!  It is 5 degrees Fahrenheit at this moment (-15 degrees Celcius for our European friends).

         "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thes. 5:18

Thankfulness is the mark of a true believer in Christ.  Yet, in all that God has done for us and all His great and precious promises expressed in His word, we must be reminded over and over to give THANKS.  Praise God for His faithfulness and goodness. When I am reminded to give thanks my troubles seem less because of God's gracious hand holding me up.  I know I have a heavenly Father who knows my needs, and I love Him.

Today I am thankful:

My oldest daughter is recovering from pneumonia. I am thankful for good health care and for God's healing hand.

God has supplied all our needs today.

God has given me eternal life and I have the hope of heaven.  Some day I will see Jesus face to face.

Ethan is a good husband who loves God and His word.

My children are an inheritance from the Lord.

We have been given the privilege to serve God.

America's forefathers sacrificed much for our freedom and were upheld by God's righteous right hand.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL!

An Uncommon Sheep

An Uncommon Sheep

A Glimpse into the Future, A Poem Written by Elysia Larson, November 2014

When the Son of Man comes in His glory,

Separate He the goats to His fury,

The believing sheep set on His right hand,

Blessed of His father, Inherit the land.

To the uncommon sheep whose name means Grace,

Who suffered childlessness, looked on His face,

He lifted her head and told this story,

Of the uncommon ways displayed His glory.

A neighbor boy, rejected, suffered F.A.S.,

Visted, befriended, not judged but blessed.

Tyler defended from bullies within,

Christ said, "I was the One. You took Me in."

Dying man lay, St. Al's Hospital in,

Sick in body, his soul dead in his sin,

You gave him the Savior, the Gospel proclaimed,

Washed him, baptized him, a son he is named.

Lonely wife, pregnant body wracked in pain,

Though depressed drew joy, Sister knew her name,

Eyes brightened, Auntie brought giggles of glee,

Hear! "I was sick and you visited Me."

Do not weep, my child. Deeds done for the least

Were done to Me, come and join in the feast.

Beloved wife, sister, daughter, and friend,

Mothered the motherless, loved to the end.

Living and Dying

A thick fog rolled into this monastery in Romania freezing solid the flowers.

For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:19-21

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,But the Lord delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:19

Every believer in Jesus will attest to the fact that they suffer afflictions.  If our Lord did not escape suffering in this world, then we will experience it as well. Our Lord has compassion.  His loving, sovereign hand directs our lives, and Christ is magnified in His chosen ones. That means He radiates His image through my life and death.  He is lifted up, He is exalted.  He shines through my life and death.  You wonder, how can Christ be magnified when I am severely depressed or so afflicted with suffering in my body or my children suffer so much or my empty womb cries out for children or I am humiliated by unemployment or I am dying?  

Christ will deliver you through the hope that is an anchor for your soul.  "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entered the Presence behind the veil" Heb.6:19 
Christ will deliver you when He speaks truth to your broken heart through His word.  "You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word." Ps.119:114 
Christ will deliver you when His power goes out of Him to heal you for His glory. "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." John 11:4
Christ will deliver you when He brings you home to be with Him where He is seated in Heaven.  "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God….When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory." Col.3:1,4
Christ will deliver you in Glory when your suffering will produce an eternal weight of glory. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Cor.4:17-18
Christ will deliver you in your suffering while He is furthering His glorious Gospel. "But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ." Phil.1:12-13
Come to Jesus. He will give you rest in your afflictions. Christ will be magnified in you. For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

1. I heard the voice of Jesus say,
   “Come unto Me and rest;
   Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
   Thy head upon My breast.”
   I came to Jesus as I was,
   Weary and worn and sad;
   I found in Him a resting place,
   And He has made me glad.
2. I heard the voice of Jesus say,
   “Behold, I freely give
   The living water; thirsty one,
   Stoop down, and drink, and live.”
   I came to Jesus, and I drank
   Of that life-giving stream;
   My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
   And now I live in Him.
3. I heard the voice of Jesus say,
   “I am this dark world’s Light;
   Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise,
   And all thy day be bright.”
   I looked to Jesus, and I found
   In Him my Star, my Sun;
   And in that light of life I’ll walk,
   Till trav’ling days are done.
4. -Horatius Bonar, 1846
5.