Dear Members and Friends of St. John,
The leaders of our nation have set aside a day for
national Thanksgiving since the beginning of our country. Yet, often when we think of our country we
see the problems, the evil, the situations that need to change. We can wonder why God allows such troubles to
exist and even doubt His goodness.
But, if you travel to a foreign land, which many in my
family have done, we can then compare our homeland with other places. In 1993 our son, Joshua, traveled to Far East
Russia on a mission trip. He came home
thankful for his own bedroom, and thankful for a hot shower. As we see the problems others face, we learn
thankfulness for our own land, even with all it’s problems.
If you ask people to list blessings for which they are
thankful, if you ask me, usually at the top of the list is family. This past year I have been amazed at how my
adult children have reached out and supported one another. This past year I have watched my siblings and
extended family work together at the death of my father, and watched as we grew
in thanks for the life, faith, and heritage of my dad. But, still, sometimes we take the blessings
of our family for granted.
I read many devotions throughout the week, in addition to
my daily reading of Scripture. One of
the devotions I read in the past week makes me realize even more the blessings
God has given me in my family, the blessings God has given me in my friends, in
His Church. The devotion below comes
from Rev. Dr. Jerry Kieschnick, former president of the Lutheran Church
Missouri Synod. Maybe these words can
help you in your thankfulness to God.
Usually at this time of year our thoughts
are focused on people or things for whom or which we are thankful. Today I’m
sharing with you what a foster child in Oklahoma listed when asked what she
wanted in a family. Here are her answers:
Things I want in
my family:
·
A clean safe house with running water and lights.
·
Mom and Dad who don’t fight or hit on me.
·
I want no drugs.
·
Don’t kill my pets.
·
Nice clean clothes and a coat.
·
No lice or bugs in the house.
·
A bed with covers.
·
Don’t sell my toys.
·
Treat me fair.
·
Don’t get drunk.
·
My own comb and soap and toothbrush.
·
I want love.
This little girl’s list touches my heart
with the reminder that not everyone in our country and world experiences the
blessings of God in the same measure with which my family, and most likely
yours as well, have been blessed.
The mental picture
of this little girl also moves me to reach out in love, care, and concern to
folks who can only dream of having the necessities of life, not to mention the
luxuries many of us often take for granted.
As you prepare
to observe Thanksgiving Day, remember what I strive to recall every day: We
have been abundantly blessed by our gracious God … for a reason … to be a
blessing! That’s why when someone asks me how I’m doing, my reply is almost
always: “Super blessed!”
Thank you, Jerry.
I am not sure of the source of this girl’s list. However, our church tries to help people in
need. I have seen homes where all of
these trials exist. It’s sort of like
visiting a foreign country. When we see
the problems in other places, we can be even more thankful
In the face of the selfishness, the violence, the
downright evil we can see in the world around us, we can be thankful that God’s
children have love that is not taken away in Jesus.
“38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor
demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height
nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from
the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
I agree with Jerry.
Because we have been blessed, we have the opportunity, and we have the
responsibility, to share with others the love God gives us in Jesus. May your home be full of the love of Jesus,
not just on Thanksgiving Day, but throughout the year. May your “cup overflow” with the love of
Jesus and touch others who may be going through a rough time, or may not be as
fortunate as you are. We ARE blessed to
be blessings!
A Child of God, THANKFUL for the Blessings of God’s Love,
Praying to be a Blessing,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. THE FIRST
THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION
"Whereas it is the duty
of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will,
to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection, aid and
favors. . .Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of
November next, to be devoted by the people of these states to the service of
that great and glorious Being, who is the Beneficent Author of all the good
that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering
unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the
people of this country, and for all the great and various favors which H has
been pleased to confer upon us." - George Washington, 1789
P.P.S. Here is a
picture of how St. John members reached out to help others. Just looking at this picture, I think I count
more than 1000 cans of food. Thank YOU
for your thankfulness, and for helping others!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/7Rx7HKrhKGTDiMV98
P.P.P.S. THANK YOU
to St. John members who recognized our workers and our staff this past Sunday,
November 18. Words of thanks were
spoken, and gifts were given for
·
Administrative Assistant, Judy Stahancy
·
Assistant to the Pastor, Hunter Richards
·
Custodians, John and Cathy Glaser
·
Director of Christian Education Intern, Ethan
Mirly
·
Music Coordinator, Marilee Nufer
·
Pianist, Organist, co-Music Coordinator, Sara
Guhl
·
Nursery Attendant, Kristine Neslund
·
Senior Pastor, Jonathan Rockey, and
·
WIFE of Senior Pastor, Kathy Rockey.
The gifts are appreciated. Even more, the words of thanks are priceless. Here are some pictures put into a collage: https://photos.app.goo.gl/AneEQr7ceKuiLigR8
P.P.P.P.S. GROWING IN FAITH SO WE CAN BEAR FRUIT -
As pastor I am serious about helping our folks grow in their faith in God’s
love for them in Jesus. I strongly
believe that personal devotions make a difference. Here
are some devotional resources you may want to use in your home.
·
Little Visits with God is the book we used most
often. Here are copies of that book, and
OTHER home devotional materials for families.
(There are also some copies in the church library. - https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=little+visits+with+god&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Alittle+visits+with+god
·
Advent devotions – I recently bought 4 copies of
these Advent devotions, 1 for each home where I have grandchildren, one for my
own home, and one for the church. You
may want to purchase one of these Advent devotions for your family. https://www.cph.org/c-2703-children-and-youth-books.aspx?pagenum=1&sortby=Rank%20Desc&rename=Sales%20%26%20Seasonal&Lk=0&rlk=0&plk=2700
·
PERSONAL DEVOTIONS FOR 2019-2020? Will
you to join me in studying God’s Word together? I plan to use the “Today’s
Light Devotional Bible” from Concordia Publishing House in 2019 and 2020. . If
you want to buy one of these Bibles and study with me starting in January here
are links for the Bible.
o From
CPH (Our Church’s publishing house) for $26.39 + $7.00 shipping - https://www.cph.org/p-22950-todays-light-devotional-bible.aspx
o
From Amazon for $32.99 + free shipping - https://www.amazon.com/Todays-Light-Devotional-Bible-Fryar/dp/0758643519/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540403689&sr=8-1&keywords=Today%27s+Light+Devotional+Bible
******
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 regularly adding new names of friends
and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first
time.) However, if you do not want to receive this e-mail, please let me
know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message.
******
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