THANKSGIVING

Today is Thanksgiving or more affectionately known as "Turkey-Day." I feel so sorry for the turkeys this time of year that I have decided to have beef for the Thanksgiving meal - NOT!
Actually, as I survey my life on this day I am very grateful. I turned on the TV this morning to news of terrorism in foreign countries, bad economic times, and the local misfortune of the homeless and jobless. I turned the TV off!

Thankfulness is really an attitude of the heart - a choice. So, today I choose to be thankful for so many things. In fact, the more I think about it the more I realize that I have no reason at all to be ungrateful for anything. I woke up today in a warm and cozy bed in a beautiful home in a gated community. I have one car in the garage but it is paid-for and I could get in it today and drive to California if I needed to. I have a house full of loving family of all ages. My refrigerator and shelves are full of delicious food. I got paid yesterday, which means that I have a job. And best of all, there is a beautiful lady sleeping beside me in the bed who wants to be my wife. Imagine that! I do not fear terrorists or antagonists when I go shopping tomorrow. I have some money in my bank account, and I live in the greatest country in the world!

Come to think about it - I AM RICH!

THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CHURCH GROWTH

Fifty-one (51) New Members! That's how many members we took into Union Road on Sunday morning. This sets the record for the number of members taken into the church at one time at URC. This is also a new record for me personally (my previous was 28). It brought many to tears to see all those people lined up across the front of the church. This was an emotional event not only because of the progress of the church, but because of Pastor Frazier. Most of these new members started coming to church before Pastor Frazier died. It was encouraging for the congregation to see with their own eyes that Pastor Frazier's ministry continues to bear fruit. And it was encouraging to see that even through great difficulties the church is moving forward to fulfill her destiny!

Personally, I was overwhelmed with emotions of gratitude on Sunday. I had a difficult time holding back my tears. This is a great church and God has extended extraordinary grace to me by bringing me here as the pastor.

Fifty-one members may seem like a lot (and it is), but I believe that we will double that number in the next year. God has placed a huge vision in my heart for this ministry. Please join with me in payer and join with me in faith as we "press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

REBUKING JESUS

Matthew 16:21-23

Sometimes God wants to share bad news with us. At least, it seems bad initially. The bad news tat Jesus presented in this text is that life is not always a bed of roses. Jesus was very specific about this fact in his teaching. Life on earth WILL be filled with trouble for the believer. We are "aliens" and "strangers" here. We are fish swimming against the current. We are light penetrating darkness. These stark contrasts demand some friction.

This text does, however, offer good news to the believer as well. The good news is that God will prepare us or difficulty, and the good news is also that God knows the future. In fact, He is already in the future. There are no "surprises" with God. I find great comfort personally in this truth.

Most of us are like Peter - we do things that are way out of God's plan while believing all along that we are doing the right thing. You may say, "Yes, but I could never rebuke Jesus like Peter did." The truth is, however, that we rebuke Jesus all the time. We rebuke Jesus each time we express to God that our way is better than His way. We rebuke Jesus when we rebel against what God tells us to do because we "feel" or "think" that our plan is a better plan. In these cases WE are the ones in need of rebuke. In fact, as revealed in this text, a lot of us need rebuked for our selfish world view.

Many Christians want to adopt a "prosperity gospel" that decrees "the closer one gets to God the more prosperous his life will become." This is certainly true spiritually but not necessarily physically. In fact, if we are seeking this physical prosperity as our goal then we will never receive true spiritual prosperity because we haven't been willing to "deny ourselves." This text teaches us that the call of Christ is to self-denial not self-indulgence. Jesus taught that true living comes from dying, and prosperity comes from giving. Jesus taught us these lessons with His words and with His very life. This is the Gospel of Christ.