Well, it is that time of the year again. Time to give thanks, right. Yes and no. Unfortunately, our nation today has made our Thanksgiving holiday into something it was not intended to be. So often the focus of Thanksgiving is on the four "F's" - Food, Family, Football, and Fun. Now, I don't mean to say that any of these are wrong in and of themselves, but so many times we are so focused on all of these that we forget to give thanks. Thanksgiving began as a way to give thanks to the Lord (yes, that's right, to God, imagine that) because the early pilgrims to America had a new freedom. They realized it was a blessing from the Lord that they made it safely to America and that they could now worship and live as they thought the Lord would have them to. And guess what...there was no football. As we celebrate Thanksgiving later this week, let us not forget how Thanksgiving began and what the focus was. Let's not be so selfish to forget the One who deserves all of our thanksgiving.
On the flip side of the coin, however, is another aspect of Thanksgiving. For some, this is the only time that they give thanks. They say thanks for this and thanks for that but they do not realize that everyday (not just Thanksgiving) is a day to be thankful to the Lord. You see, for the believer, our attitude before the Lord should be "Thank You". We should have this attitude because who we are as believers and what is available to us as believers (and that is all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places [Eph. 1:3]) is not from us but from what Christ has provided for us. Yet so often as believers, we forget to say "Thank You" to the Lord. We think in someway we have what we have in Christ because of something we have done. Yet Christ has done it all.
We should also have this attitude of "Thank You" throughout our lives because we know that whatever comes our way (good or bad), God can use that to grow us as believers. An attitude of "Thank You" can literally change your life because your viewpoint will be changed to see all things through your relationship with the Lord rather than ignore your relationship with Him as you deal with everyday life. I don't think it is by chance that the apostle Paul and other writers of Scripture stress the importance of giving thanks, being thankful, and having an attitude of thanksgiving. "In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
So this Thanksgiving don't forget to be thankful, and don't forget to be thankful everyday of your life. As a believer, you always have a reason to be thankful, and you never have a reason not to have an attitude of "Thank You" as you live each day.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Full of Emotions...
As most everyone knows by now, Pastor Ken is now home with the Lord; he went home Friday morning. I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am to have had the past few months to get to know him and to learn from him and to minister with him. I have been blessed throughout my life to have pastors who truly teach the Word of God and who have made a huge impact on my life. Although I only knew Pastor Ken for a few months, I can say that he too had a great impact on my life. These months that I knew him were probably some of the hardest months of his life. However, I never saw him waiver. He was able to stand fast in the Lord because of the relationship that he had with His Savior. I had the privilege to see a believer finish the race well.
One of the things that impressed me about Pastor Ken from the very beginning was his love, care, and concern for all people. He showed forth the love of the Lord Jesus to everyone. And I was so impressed by his love for children and the children's ministries of our church. Pastor Ken never wanted praise, he wanted the praise to go to God. He had much in his life that he could have boasted about, but he never did. I had no idea that Pastor Ken had received his doctorate until about a month after we began ministering here. But he would have never wanted to be called Dr. Weddle, just Pastor Ken. I am so thankful to the Lord that I had the privilege of knowing His servant, Pastor Ken, before he went home to be with his Savior. I am so thankful that Pastor Ken was simply available to the Lord to be used in marvelous ways here upon this earth.
As we go through a time like this, we are flooded with so many emotions. We are so thankful and full of joy that our dear Pastor is now home in the presence of God. We are so thankful that we do not grieve as those who have no hope. But we do grieve and we are saddened. We do not grieve for Pastor Ken because he is now in the presence of God. We grieve for ourselves and for his family who we care about so much. We are saddened because there is earthly separation from Pastor Ken. However, we stand upon the Word of God in times like these. Nothing else but the Word of God can give us the true peace and comfort that we need as we go through these times of sorrow. Pastor Ken desired for us to be steadfast in God's Word because he knew how important it was to our everyday life.
We serve a faithful God. We serve a God who does not change, who is in control of all things. We serve a God who cares for each of us individually. And we serve a God who answers prayers. Let us not forget that God has answered our prayers now. We prayed over the past few months that God's will would be accomplished in Pastor Ken's life as he dealt with the cancer. And God answered our prayer, and He showed us what His will was for Pastor Ken. One of the hardest things to do now is to say 'Thank You Lord'. Thank you for answering our prayer, and thank you that you accomplished your perfect will in this situation. God has already received and will continue to receive the glory for all that has taken place in these past few months. We will not truly understand how much glory God will receive through this situation until we stand in eternity one day. And we will stand in eternity one day, as Pastor Ken does now, based solely on our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. As great a man as Pastor Ken was, it was nothing that he did to allow him to spend eternity in heaven. Pastor Ken is in the presence of God, because he simply believed in Jesus Christ to pay for his sin. And knowing Pastor Ken only the few months that I did, I know that he would also direct us to the fact that it was not him, it was Christ in him to produce the man that we loved so much.
Yes we will miss our dear Pastor Ken and will always remember the times that we had with him here upon this earth. But never forget that as believers in Christ we will one day be reunited with Pastor Ken as we each will be in glory praising and serving our Savior for eternity. We have hope, it is in Christ.
One of the things that impressed me about Pastor Ken from the very beginning was his love, care, and concern for all people. He showed forth the love of the Lord Jesus to everyone. And I was so impressed by his love for children and the children's ministries of our church. Pastor Ken never wanted praise, he wanted the praise to go to God. He had much in his life that he could have boasted about, but he never did. I had no idea that Pastor Ken had received his doctorate until about a month after we began ministering here. But he would have never wanted to be called Dr. Weddle, just Pastor Ken. I am so thankful to the Lord that I had the privilege of knowing His servant, Pastor Ken, before he went home to be with his Savior. I am so thankful that Pastor Ken was simply available to the Lord to be used in marvelous ways here upon this earth.
As we go through a time like this, we are flooded with so many emotions. We are so thankful and full of joy that our dear Pastor is now home in the presence of God. We are so thankful that we do not grieve as those who have no hope. But we do grieve and we are saddened. We do not grieve for Pastor Ken because he is now in the presence of God. We grieve for ourselves and for his family who we care about so much. We are saddened because there is earthly separation from Pastor Ken. However, we stand upon the Word of God in times like these. Nothing else but the Word of God can give us the true peace and comfort that we need as we go through these times of sorrow. Pastor Ken desired for us to be steadfast in God's Word because he knew how important it was to our everyday life.
We serve a faithful God. We serve a God who does not change, who is in control of all things. We serve a God who cares for each of us individually. And we serve a God who answers prayers. Let us not forget that God has answered our prayers now. We prayed over the past few months that God's will would be accomplished in Pastor Ken's life as he dealt with the cancer. And God answered our prayer, and He showed us what His will was for Pastor Ken. One of the hardest things to do now is to say 'Thank You Lord'. Thank you for answering our prayer, and thank you that you accomplished your perfect will in this situation. God has already received and will continue to receive the glory for all that has taken place in these past few months. We will not truly understand how much glory God will receive through this situation until we stand in eternity one day. And we will stand in eternity one day, as Pastor Ken does now, based solely on our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. As great a man as Pastor Ken was, it was nothing that he did to allow him to spend eternity in heaven. Pastor Ken is in the presence of God, because he simply believed in Jesus Christ to pay for his sin. And knowing Pastor Ken only the few months that I did, I know that he would also direct us to the fact that it was not him, it was Christ in him to produce the man that we loved so much.
Yes we will miss our dear Pastor Ken and will always remember the times that we had with him here upon this earth. But never forget that as believers in Christ we will one day be reunited with Pastor Ken as we each will be in glory praising and serving our Savior for eternity. We have hope, it is in Christ.
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