Weekend Review

We trust that each one of you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with your family and friends. We were blessed to be able to spend time with our children and grandchildren. My wife prepared a wonderful meal and the fellowship was very rewarding. I listened to our grandchildren express their gratitude for the things that were important to them; it is always enjoyable to listen to the sincere words of a child. Being thankful for family topped the list of their expressions but they also talked about being thankful for food, toys, church, animals, and even one of them said that he was thankful for not having the swine flu as of of yet. It is amazing to follow the thought process of a child. I hope that you took some time and expressed thanks to God for all that He has revealed in your life. True thanksgiving must go deeper than just things or benefits; true thanksgiving is a sincere recognition of the presence of God on a daily basis in our lives. Each of us need to seriously reflect on the daily presence of God in our lives. He is truly aware of us and is mindful of the circumstances that we are facing. Sunday morning found us in Columbia, TN. I was invited to speak at a Youth Emphasis Sunday. I was blessed by the worship team and the drama team as they led the congregation into the presence of the Lord. It is always a great source of encouragement to see young people who are willing to make a public expression of their faith. Their passion and enthusiasm for Christ reminds me that God will always have someone who is willing to pick up the torch of the Gospel message and share it with the world. I desire to do my best in carrying the torch and letting this world know that I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. Several years ago we were able to serve the Columbia church as Pastor for a short period of time. It was truly a blessing to be able to reconnect with some old friends and to make some new friends. The altar service was wonderful as people chose to accept the awesome love of God in their lives. Truly the presence of the love of God was revealed in the service; all of us need to remember that God does love us and that He interested in our lives. I know that I make that statement very often in my writings but I am convinced that the enemy does all in his power to make us doubt that revelation from God. The enemy does not want you or me believing that God truly loves us but on the basis of John 3:16 I declare that word to be true. Let us walk in the strength of His love the remainder of our days and realize that He is working for us and not against us.