Monday, December 2, 2013

Weekend Reflections

I trust that each of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving weekend celebration. I was reminded during prayer that even as some people are celebrating there are other people who are facing tragedies, difficulties and other major challenges. I personally know of individuals who are facing health issues, employment issues, martial issues as well as a host of other concerns. We prayed with several individuals at church yesterday who are dealing with their own set of circumstances. Yet in the midst of all these situations we can find comfort and strength in the power, authority, and soverngity of God. I was reminded of those promises as we sang "How great is our God, sing with me, how great is our God" in our worship service on Sunday. I want to encourage someone today to focus on the "greatness of God" as you look into the face of your circumstances. 

I read an interesting question that Rick Warren posed in one of his devotions. He talked about the time of fellowship, food, family, friends, football, and etc. that we participated in over this past few days. Now, we all understand that there is nothing wrong with those activities per se; yet as believers we need to look beyond the surface and recognize the goodness of God. Pastor Warren challenged me to think about my activities over the past few days. I spent a lot of time on the previous activities that were mentioned but this question was posed by Pastor Warren, "How much time did I spend offering thanksgiving to God?" We probably should eliminate the brief prayer that was offered prior to the meal (s) that we shared with our family and friends. Did I (we) take the time to offer a time of sincere praise and thanksgiving to God separate  from all of the hustle and bustle of the "holiday" events? I am not sharing these thoughts to be critical of anyone of us but I do think that these thoughts are worthy to be considered. There is a song that we sing from time to time in church and one of the lines of that song says, "When I think of His Goodness and what He has done for me, when I think of His Goodness and how He set me free, it makes me want to shout..." 

I encourage each of us to take some time and "think, meditate, review, reflect, and remember" the Goodness of God that has been revealed in our lives. Your response to God may depend on the depth of your recognition and appreciation of the involvement of God in your life!!!

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