Rejoice... Pray... Give Thanks!

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.   1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice…. Pray… give thanks….  While this verse often is thought of as we approach our celebrations of the Thanksgiving holiday, God intends it for us always… as a way of life. Each day is a gift, given in the spirit of unconditional love by our Father in heaven. 

As I look back over the years and think of my Thanksgiving celebrations I realize that I have always been blessed to have been placed into a family that places their faith in God. When I was growing up…. I thought all families were like mine… I had no idea that there were people in our world who didn’t even know God. Families that didn’t understand the meaning of forgiveness… Families that didn’t have the money for a turkey and dressing feast…. Families that didn’t even try to come together to celebrate their love for one another. Families that held grudges… spoke seldom… and lived in a pool of self-righteousness. 

My family isn’t perfect…. And I fit right into that…. We don’t see each other every day…. But we do see each other often…. We get mad…. But we get over it…. My family lives… loves… forgives… and most importantly… my family loves God… His only Son, Jesus… and our gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit… My family realizes that differences are what make us unique… not enemies. 

As I reflect, I clearly see that I have many families… not just my God given family…. I have a church family… and a work family…. I have some family members that are a part of the family of long-time friends… a family of neighbors… past and present…. And for each and ever one… I give thanks… they are all blessing heaped upon blessing in my life…

Life knocks us back a few steps sometimes, we even tumble without direction, but we must all strive to remember moment to moment, that God our Father, Jesus His only Son and our Lord and Savior along with our indwelling Holy Spirit are always with us… leading, guiding, whispering, helping, encouraging and correcting each and every single step… as He tells us, His people, in Deuteronomy 31:8   “8 It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you of forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."

So this is a verse we should live every day…. 

Today Rejoice! … 
         Today pray without ceasing!... 
                    Today give thanks!

Author:  Joan Paschal
Member:  Bethel UMC

Meditations in Troubled Times

We all have a mantra in life at one time or another.  It’s that saying or Bible verse that is your go-to when times are tough… or in times of joy.  It always speaks to us in some sort of special way.  Mine is a Bible verse from Psalm 46.  “Be still and know that I am God.”

Life is full of anxieties and worries of one sort or another.  Sometimes it seems that just when we get things all figured out, something else happens to make us believe that we didn’t have anything figured out at all.  We try, and we fail, and we get up and try again.  The unending spiral of it all can really get to a person sometimes.  

It’s at those times that I find a quiet place and think on that one single verse.  It’s actually only part of verse 10, but it’s an anchor in life’s storms to me.  Let me show you what I do……  I take the verse apart… word by word… phrase by phrase… and meditate on each part.  In the end, I always come out feeling calmer and more assured that “God’s got this!!”

“BE” – this tells me to let everything go and simply BE for just this short moment in time.  Let the sorrow go… let the worry go… let the pain go… let the frustration go… let the anger go…  Just BE!  Take a deep breath and slowly exhale as you feel all those troubles leaving for just this moment in time.  Say a small prayer of thanks to God for helping you let those things go, even for just a moment.

“BE STILL” – Shhhhhh… be quiet.  Turn off the TV, mute your phone, no music, no sounds… Be very still.  It is often in the stillness of Life that we hear and feel the most!  

“AND” – Anticipation… something is about to happen… You’ve let your troubles go for the moment, so this can only be a good thing.  Anticipate the joy!  Anticipate the peace and comfort!  

“KNOW” – No question… No doubt!  It is a certainty.  Positively true for all time!  Focus on the surety of this… the unmovable, unchangeable!  

“THAT I AM GOD” – Supreme… Unchanging… All-Loving… All-caring… Shepherd, Priest and Friend!  God is every WHERE, every WHEN, every TIME…… all at once!  From THE beginning, until THE end… there is (was and will be) God.  And He love me… and He loves you… and He always will!  Love is a powerful thing… it can conquer evil, it can heal hurts and pains, it can comfort the weary and forlorn!  

My mind begins to wander at this point.  It’s as if God is quietly whispering to me, guiding my thoughts toward those things He would have me focus on instead of all the worry and troubles of the day.

My thoughts today were these:
Matthew 22: 37-39 relates a time when Jesus told us just how important Love is.  “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

By mentioning both in one answer to a question, Jesus was telling us that we need to do both.  We can’t truly love God without loving others.  Love is an action verb, not passive.  In order to truly love someone, you have to SHOW IT!  You do things for that person.  It doesn’t have to be big things… sometimes something as simple as a hug and a sincere “How are ya?” is all that’s needed.  Listening to someone doesn’t cost a dime but it’s often one of the greatest needs that people have.  In our modern world we are bombarded with information, entertainment, and constant “eye candy”.  We are constantly distracted one way or the other.  God wants us to take time for each other.  Through our loving care for each other, we show God that we care for Him!  Through serving others, we serve God.  Through loving others, we love God!  

BE STILL

                AND

                           KNOW

                                       THAT I AM GOD!

~ Thank you God for silence! Amen! ~

Author:  Jackie Garrison
Member - Bethel UMC