Pastor's DeskFall 2019Pastor Marlene Ciranowicz
►more info |
|
From the Pastor’s Desk
Being Thankful!
It is hard to believe we are going into November. Where did the year go? And, of course, November is usually the calm before the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season. I always like to think of November as a time of thanksgiving as our national holiday of such falls in November.
So how thankful are we, really? Are we so caught up in life that we fail to see the beauty around us? Do we dread the coming of the Christmas season because it means so much work with shopping, baking, wrapping presents, going to special Christmas events, etc.? Do we take for granted the ability to get out of bed in the morning, have a nice hot cup of coffee before we climb into our cars that come equipped with heat and maybe even heated seats?
I preached recently about the sharp disagreement that occurred between Paul and Barnabas. In that sermon I spoke of the need for healing, if possible, when these things occur. Why? God wants us to have peace. That’s one of His gifts to us. But, to have peace we must let go of our anger and bitterness because it not only robs us of our peace but hinders us from being thankful for what we do have.
Adolf Coors IVs’ father was a very wealthy man and chairman of the Coors Brewing Company in Colorado. Little Adolf idolized his father but when he was 14 his father disappeared. Seven long months went by before his father’s body was found. It was a kidnapping gone horribly wrong. Adolf IV was sickened by the news and bitterness grew in him against the man that had done such a thing to his father. In fact, for seventeen years he hated that man. By then he was grown, married, and worked in the company. He too became a very wealthy man but his wealth, the pleasures of life he could well afford, and his work did not make him thankful nor did these things give him peace. Finally, through a series of circumstances he met the only one who could, Jesus! With the work of the Holy Spirit Adolf IV was finally able to forgive his father’s murderer. In fact, he went to the prison to visit the man but the murderer refused to see him. So, Adolf IV wrote a note that simply said that he forgave him and asked for his forgiveness for hating him for 17 years.
When Adolf IV forgave this man, he had peace for the first time and could look around him with thankfulness for what Jesus had done for him. He realized that it was not things that made him thankful but Jesus!
May I challenge you today as we enter November to make it a habit to be thankful when you wake up in the morning because there is always something to be thankful for no matter what the day brings because we have Jesus! And then at night, lets all go to bed counting our blessings. By the time December rolls around and all the busyness of the holiday season is upon us, maybe we will be able to claim some of the spirit of the REAL Christmas season by being not just thankful but very thankful for the gift God gave us through His son and our Savior, Jesus Christ!
Happy Thanksgiving! By the time it arrives, may you all be feeling so thankful and blessed you are ready to enter the Christmas season with the true joy of the season.
Love and blessings,
Pastor Marlene
Being Thankful!
It is hard to believe we are going into November. Where did the year go? And, of course, November is usually the calm before the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season. I always like to think of November as a time of thanksgiving as our national holiday of such falls in November.
So how thankful are we, really? Are we so caught up in life that we fail to see the beauty around us? Do we dread the coming of the Christmas season because it means so much work with shopping, baking, wrapping presents, going to special Christmas events, etc.? Do we take for granted the ability to get out of bed in the morning, have a nice hot cup of coffee before we climb into our cars that come equipped with heat and maybe even heated seats?
I preached recently about the sharp disagreement that occurred between Paul and Barnabas. In that sermon I spoke of the need for healing, if possible, when these things occur. Why? God wants us to have peace. That’s one of His gifts to us. But, to have peace we must let go of our anger and bitterness because it not only robs us of our peace but hinders us from being thankful for what we do have.
Adolf Coors IVs’ father was a very wealthy man and chairman of the Coors Brewing Company in Colorado. Little Adolf idolized his father but when he was 14 his father disappeared. Seven long months went by before his father’s body was found. It was a kidnapping gone horribly wrong. Adolf IV was sickened by the news and bitterness grew in him against the man that had done such a thing to his father. In fact, for seventeen years he hated that man. By then he was grown, married, and worked in the company. He too became a very wealthy man but his wealth, the pleasures of life he could well afford, and his work did not make him thankful nor did these things give him peace. Finally, through a series of circumstances he met the only one who could, Jesus! With the work of the Holy Spirit Adolf IV was finally able to forgive his father’s murderer. In fact, he went to the prison to visit the man but the murderer refused to see him. So, Adolf IV wrote a note that simply said that he forgave him and asked for his forgiveness for hating him for 17 years.
When Adolf IV forgave this man, he had peace for the first time and could look around him with thankfulness for what Jesus had done for him. He realized that it was not things that made him thankful but Jesus!
May I challenge you today as we enter November to make it a habit to be thankful when you wake up in the morning because there is always something to be thankful for no matter what the day brings because we have Jesus! And then at night, lets all go to bed counting our blessings. By the time December rolls around and all the busyness of the holiday season is upon us, maybe we will be able to claim some of the spirit of the REAL Christmas season by being not just thankful but very thankful for the gift God gave us through His son and our Savior, Jesus Christ!
Happy Thanksgiving! By the time it arrives, may you all be feeling so thankful and blessed you are ready to enter the Christmas season with the true joy of the season.
Love and blessings,
Pastor Marlene