Spiritual Life

Thanksgiving is for Everyone

Thursday, November 28, is American Thanksgiving. As we near the end of 2002 we have much to be thankful for. We encourage you to take some special time in the next week to thank God for all He has done this last year. . .

for His direction, guidance and wisdom in so many situations we faced.
for our necessary provision and those unexpected blessings throughout the year.
for His grace and mercy when we failed to act according to His will.
for His love reflected in the faces of our loved ones. for the quiet reassurance He planted in our hearts when we needed it most.
for the comfort He gave when we lost a loved one. for peace that passes all understanding.
for abilities we didn’t even know we had that began to grow this year.

These are just to get you started with your own list. Take some time with each member of your family to let them know how much they mean to you. When we live and work closely together all the time we can forget the benefits of a sincere thank you. Be sure to let those you work with and those who work for you know you thank God for them. A word of thanks can be the encouragement they need to carry on in the face of difficulties.

Ordinary Bread

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Since thanksgiving should be a part of our lives all the time and not just on Thanksgiving Day, we wanted to share about our ordinary bread.

As the Children of Israel followed the Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire around a desert, they began to worry about what they would eat. You cannot grow rice in a desert and wheat doesn’t ripen overnight. What were they going to do?

God had the perfect answer. He would send them “heavenly bread” as long as they remained in the wilderness. Now God knew their hearts and also knew what He intended to accomplish in them while they were in the wilderness. That’s why He told Moses in Ex. 16:4 that he would “. . . rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.”

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How’s Your Faith?

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“How’s your faith?” It was a question someone asked a friend of mine recently. I found myself with a cliche answer, but later I really did think about it. I do have an on-going relationship with Jesus, but the needs of those I’m caring for sometimes seem almost overwhelming. It did cause me to think about how to keep my faith fresh and alive.

We can get caught up in the activities of daily living and the urgent demands of those around us and can let our devotional life take a backseat. It takes time and effort to stay connected to our Lord and Friend.

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The Gift Exchange

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by Mike Constantine

Christmas season is a time we set aside for giving and receiving gifts in celebration of the greatest gift ever given, the Lord Jesus. But it would be a sad thing to give a costly gift and then find out that it was never used or enjoyed.

Imagine your own personal gift exchange with Jesus. Think about Jesus sitting down with you to exchange gifts. Think what it would be like for Him to give you precious things and how you would feel after you had received them. Since we can’t receive anything from Him until we first give Him something, let’s begin our imaginary scene with you giving a gift to Jesus.

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Spiritual Life

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Keeping up your spiritual life while living in another culture can be most challenging. Our days are often filled with so many demands on our time and strength that personal quiet time will get pushed aside if we don’t make a concerted effort to make it first in our lives.

The beginning of the day
Not being a morning person, devotions first thing in the morning has always been a hard discipline for me. I’ve cried to God, ” How can I come away with You, Lord, when my feet can’t even find the floor before 7 A.M.? Lord, You know I truly want to be with You, show me the way.”

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