  Greetings, dear friends! As I wrote in the last newsletter, November hosts one of my favorite holidays in America, Thanksgiving Day. This celebration of God's bounty was first celebrated in 1621 and was sporadically observed for the next 200+ years until President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it to be an official annual national holiday. Many years later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established Thanksgiving Day to be observed every year on the fourth Thursday of November.  But you don't have to be an American or live in the United States to celebrate the holiday — and you don't have to relegate giving thanks to Almighty God to only one day a year. Whether much or little, whatever Yahweh bestows on us is still much more than we deserve or could ever earn!If you're having trouble coming up with a list of your blessings, perhaps my list will help you get started. This year, I am thankful that God... ....• reunited my family after 17 years of detachment; ....• has counted me worthy to continue serving Him here in India; ....• has graciously provided a 'family' here so I'm not alone for the holidays; ....• gives me the physical and mental strength to do that to which He has called me; ....• has provided my computer and the Internet for me to stay in touch with loved ones; ....• remains ever-faithful to provide every one of my needs according to His riches in glory ......by Christ Jesus! (Philippians 4:19) But my list doesn't stop there — that's only the beginning. I also thank Him for safe drinking water, adequate meals and occasional snacks, faithful prayer partners, my own indoor bathroom, kitty cats to cuddle with, a soft bed to sleep on and chairs to sit on, electric fans and lights, large batteries to keep fans and lights on during power outages, and on, and on, and on.... What about you? Take time to think about all the ways in which God has blessed you this past year, and thank Him who is the giver of every good and perfect gift. (James 1:17) May you be blessed exceedingly abundantly above all you could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20) as you read and reflect on the following true stories and tributes to El 'Elyon, the Most High God!  Happy Thanksgiving!
Your sister and servant in Christ,  My Redeemer Lives Christian Ministry  Dr. Alexander Whyte, a Scottish Presbyterian preacher of Edinburgh, was well-known for always beginning his pulpit prayers with an expression of gratitude to God. One stormy, very cold and miserable morning, many people gathered to find out what Whyte would say. Several of them wondered how he would possibly find words to thank God for such a wretched morning like this! Dr. Whyte began his prayer, "We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this!" When the winds of trouble blow, When you see no silver lining On the clouds that hang so low. A group of visitors at a summer resort had watched the sunset from the gallery of the hotel. A fat, unromantic-looking man had lingered until the last glow faded, and he had seemed thrilled through-and-through by the beauty of it all. One guest, more observant than the rest, wondered about this, and so at supper she said to this man, who sat next to her, "You certainly did enjoy that sunset, Mr. B. Are you an artist?" "No, Madam, I'm a plumber," he responded with a soft grin. "But I was blind for five years, and now I make it a point to thoroughly enjoy the beauty of God's great creation." With every blessing meet! I give Thee thanks for every drop — The bitter and the sweet. I praise Thee for the desert road, And for the riverside; For all Thy goodness hath bestowed, And all Thy grace denied. I thank Thee for both smile and frown, And for the gain and loss; I praise Thee for the future crown And for the present cross. I thank Thee for both wings of love Which stirred my worldly nest; And for the stormy clouds which drove Me, trembling, to Thy breast. I bless Thee for the glad increase, And for the waning joy; And for this strange, this settled peace Which nothing can destroy. At the morning meal, the head of a household had asked the blessing as usual, thanking God for a bountiful provision. Immediately afterward, he began to grumble about the hard times, the poor quality of food he was forced to eat, and the way it was cooked. His little daughter interrupted him. "Daddy," she began, "do you suppose God heard what you said a little while ago?" "Certainly," he replied confidently. "And did He hear what you said about the bacon and the coffee?" "Of course...," not quite so confidently. "Then, Daddy, which did God believe?" would not be happy with what he wishes he had. A Christian General and an Indian Judge were on a military expedition. When they came to a Mohammendan area, they were met by several ladies of a Christian mission. The Indian Judge was impressed with these cultured women missionaries, and said, "I cannot understand why these ladies give up their time and risk infection working in this filthy part of town." "It is rather amazing," replied the General, "unless you realise their motive." "Ah, that's just my difficulty," said the Judge. "Their motive is gratitude." "Gratitude? What have our poor people ever done for them that these ladies should feel gratitude? I wish you would explain it for me." The General replied, "To explain would involve the essential differences between our religions." "I'll listen to you," said the Judge. The General told him a story of a friend in greatest difficulties over money matters and his debt was paid by a kind stranger. Then he explained, "Though our debts have been paid and we are free, we owe the deepest gratitude to Jesus Christ our Saviour, who paid them for us, and that explains these missionary ladies. They have only one motive: To prove their gratitude to Him Who paid their debts." And believe His Holy Word; And He knoweth them that trust Him, For they always praise the Lord. by Ida A. Guirey Forget the slander you have heard, Forget the hasty, unkind word, Forget the quarrel and the cause, Forget the whole affair, because, Forgetting is the only way. Forget the storm of yesterday, Forget the chapter whose sour face Forgets to smile in any place. Forget that you're not a millionaire, Forget the grey streaks in your hair, Forget the coffee when it's cold, Forget to kick, forget to scold. Forget the plumber's awful charge, Forget the doctor's bill is large; Forget the repair man and his ways, Forget the winter's blustery days. Forget the neighbour's wagging tongue. But don't forget to thank the Lord when the day is done. can never be on speaking terms with happiness. Matthew Henry, the famous scholar, was once accosted by thieves and robbed of his purse. He wrote these words in his diary: "Let me be thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, because, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because, although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed." it is the Christian life. There was once a good king in Spain called Alfonso XII. Now it came to the ears of this king that the pages at his court forgot to ask God's blessing on their daily meals, and he determined to rebuke them. He invited them to a banquet which they all attended. The table was spread with every kind of good thing, and the boys ate with evident relish; but none of them remembered to ask God's blessing on the food. During the feast, a beggar entered, dirty and ill-clad. He seated himself at the royal table, and ate and drank to his heart's content. At first the pages were amazed, and they expected the king to order him away. But King Alfonso said never a word. When the beggar had finished eating, he rose and left without a word of thanks. Then the boys could keep silence no longer. "What a despicable mean fellow!" they cried. But the king silenced them, and in clear, calm tones he said, "Boys, bolder and more audacious than this beggar have you all been. Every day you sit down to a table supplied by the bounty of your Heavenly Father, yet you ask not His blessing nor express to Him your gratitude!" A doctor visiting a leper colony heard an aged sufferer singing cheerily; yet he knew that her condition was serious. "Well, Mother," he remarked to her, "you must be feeling pretty well today — you're singing so happily." She turned a face full of suffering toward him and answered, "Oh Doctor, my sores hurt so badly that I must sing!" Give one thing more — a grateful heart; Not thankful when it pleaseth me, As if Thy blessings had spare days, But such a heart, whose pulse may be Thy praise! George Herbert After one of the terrible battles of the Civil War, a dying Confederate soldier asked to see the Chaplain. When the Chaplain arrived, he supposed the young man would wish him to beseech God for his recovery; but it was very different. First, the soldier asked him to cut off a lock of his hair for his mother, and then he asked him to kneel down and thank God. "What for?" asked the surprised Chaplain. "For giving me such a mother. Thank God that I am a Christian. And thank God for giving me grace to die with. And thank God for the Home He has promised me Over There." And so the Chaplain knelt down by the dying man, and in his prayer he had not a single petition to offer, but only praise and gratitude. Be grateful for the skies of blue that smile from day to day; Be grateful for the health you own, the work you find to do, For round about you there are less fortunate than you. Be grateful for the growing trees, the roses soon to bloom, The tenderness of kindly hearts that shared your days of gloom; Be grateful for the morning dew, the grass beneath your feet, The soft caresses of your babes and all their laughter sweet. Acquire the grateful habit, learn to see how blest you are, How much there is to gladden life, how little life to mar! And what if rain shall fall today and you with grief are sad; Be grateful that you can recall the joys that you have had. Turns the gray skies into gold Giving promise of a morrow Bright with blessings manifold. Haydn, the great composer and musician, was once asked why his church music was so cheerful. He replied, "When I think upon God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance and leap, as it were, from my pen. And since God has given me a cheerful heart, it will be pardoned me that I serve Him with a cheerful spirit." to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." Colossians 3:15 George Matheson, the well-known blind preacher of Scotland, now with the Lord, said: "My God, I have never thanked Thee for my 'thorn'! I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my 'thorn'; I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross as itself a present glory. Teach me the glory of my cross; teach me the value of my 'thorn'. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow." you'll have reason to pause to thank! has a vision for a great Christ awakening and revival around the world, and a passion to help bring this about, directly or indirectly, irrespective of national boundaries, languages, denominations, or ethnic, racial or social/economic castes or classes. We are a non-denominational, Christ-centered Free Ministry and Missions Society. In accordance with IRS Code § 508(c)(1)(A), all donations are tax-deductible. National Association of Evangelicals United Christian Ministries International Scripture taken from: World English Bible (WEB), 2001 MT-based public domain update of 1901 American Standard Version (ASV) Copyright © 2006. My Redeemer Lives Christian Ministry™. All rights reserved. |