Dear Fellow Children of God,
November is not only the month of our national
Thanksgiving observance, but during November worship services this year at St.
John we are also taking personal account of God’s blessings in our lives. Our goal is that we don’t miss God’s love,
but rather to grow in wonder as we see the cup of God’s blessings overflow in
our lives.
Yet, how easy it is to be ungrateful, even for seemingly
understandable reasons?
Maybe you’ve seen the old (1965) Jimmy Stewart movie,
Shenandoah. A pivotal scene at the
beginning of this movie is a prayer of thanks as the family gathers to
eat. It looks like a prayer of thanks,
sort of, but you judge for yourself. Stewart
prayed, “Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it, sowed it, and harvested it. We cooked the harvest. It wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t be eating it
if we hadn’t done it all ourselves. We
worked dog – boned hard for every crumb and morsel. But we thank you just the same anyway, Lord.
For this food we’re about to eat. Amen.”
This prayer shows a lack of real thanks. But, after this prayer the family in the
movie is hit by tragedy after tragedy as the Civil War ravages the United
States. Sincere thanks ultimately is found
through the family tragedies.
But how often do we take God’s blessings for granted
today, or forget He is the Giver of all good things?
On a personal level, I continue to be excited about my
recent bison hunt. You may have been
“assaulted” by my stories of the stalk and hunt. Yet, if I stop my stories by telling you that
I am the one who shot the bison, then I forget or ignore all the help that made
this hunt possible. St. John member
Harvey Kolberg took me under his wing to teach me about this once in a lifetime
hunt. The local farmers were gracious in
their permission to hunt on their property.
Help above and beyond any expectation was given to us by Scott
Hollembaek and family. And, I received daily
help and encouragement through my illness and in the hunt from friend Gerry
Zellar. If I focused on my part of the
hunt and forgot all that help, I would be ungrateful.
Unfortunately, thankfulness should be natural, but
ungratefulness is only too common, even in the lives and hearts of people who
follow Jesus. That is why Psalm 103
warns in verses 1 and 2, “1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being,
praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his
benefits”
Even when we make a list of list our personal blessings
we can forget the undeserved grace we receive through Jesus. Our sin and rebellion deserve God’s punishment
and our death. But instead God showers
love, forgiveness, and eternal life freely through faith. We receive life instead of death. Our hearts should be overflowing in heartfelt
thanks.
My prayer is that my heart does not take God’s blessings
for granted, nor accept ungratefulness. I pray instead to sincerely rejoice in
the love of God which He showers on us in Jesus.
A Child of
God, Praying to remain thankful,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Here is an internet copy of the movie clip of
Jimmy Stewart’s prayer from Shenandoah, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzzyZ1M-kVU
P.P.S. Do you know that Dave Sutton’s dad appeared in Shenandoah?
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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ - I am
sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and
friends whose e-mails I have. (I am always adding new names of friends
and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first
time.) However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me
know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if
you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me
their e-mail address.
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