Thought for the Week

Sharon and I have spent a couple of evenings looking at photo albums. She has made a lot of them and we decided it would be a great way to spend our “winding down time”. Some of them feature a member of our family and begin with baby pictures of that person. Some have a lot of empty pages at the back because they are still pretty young. Unfortunately, there are also some that have concluded for we will not see that person again until Heaven. This morning, in our devotional time, I thanked God for His gift of memory. I have no idea what sort of ability to remember He has given to other created beings but I am glad for that gift. Scripture speaks of individuals and the Nation of Israel, setting up monuments/memorials to help them remember things. I guess we could count our photo albums the same way. God wanted Israel to remember the things He had done for them. He did remind them from time to time through prophets and leaders but they still frequently forgot. Of course God did not simply want them to remember, He wanted the memories to lead them to worship. Forgetting Israel for a moment, consider what Americans should remember. Our memories could include the reason many came to America in the first place. They sought ‘religious freedom’. That is not freedom from religion but freedom to worship God in the way they chose. The Pilgrims celebrated a “Thanksgiving Day” when they worshiped and gave thanks for God’s deliverance and blessing. Throughout our history, there have been a multitude of reasons to worship and give thanks. We sing a hymn sometimes, “Count Your Many Blessings”. If we truly did that, one of the lines of the hymn would come true: “and it will surprise what the Lord has done”. I remind us of a couple: We came through a terrible and tragic Civil War. Yet, we are still “One Nation, Under God…” God taught us to forgive. We may not have learned that lesson well but it has gotten us over some serious problems. He has gotten us through two World Wars and countless other hostilities. We experienced a “Great Depression” and countless other financial upheavals. We have poor, but God has still blessed us. There have been ‘Natural Disasters’; floods, fires, earthquakes and even volcanic eruptions. God has helped us pull together and provide aid to victims. Our news media daily reminds us of both national and world problems. They don’t give us many solutions. Hopefully the Church and parachurch organizations do. The solution was provided to King Solomon, recorded in Scripture’s II Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, who are called by my Name, will humble themselves, pray, seek My Face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I (God) will hear from Heaven, I will forgive their sin and heal their land (This healing could be in multiple forms and fashions) but it can only come from God. It is just another good reason to worship and thank God. We can safely proclaim: “God is good, all the time”; “Nothing is too hard for God”; “Jesus never fails”; “He will never leave us nor forsake us”; “God is our refuge and strength, our ever present Help in time of trouble”; and I expect you can provide multiple other words of praise for Him. I hope you will do so. Give God worship and thanksgiving.

Scriptures to Read

Psalm 100:1-5

St. John 4:23-24

Acts 2:42-46

Ephesians 5:20 & Philippians 4:6

Revelation 7:12

Psalm 107:1 & 92:1

Ephesians 2:10 & Colossians 10