Thanksgiving this year might be tough for some during 2020.   It will certainly be a little different this year. Many of us will experience the holidays with family, friends, plenty of food, memories, and traditions but some will decide to stay home.  Keeping a spirit of gratitude should be our motivation for everyday life. We are such a blessed people in so many ways. God gives so many wonderful gifts (especially His Son, the GREATEST GIFT) to experience and enjoy while on this side of eternity.  (James 1:17)

It’s easy to notice that there are a lot of people around us who do not have the same experiences spiritually and relationally that we are blessed to enjoy. Because of this we will have the opportunity to share our faith, invite others to church, and help them to experience the love of Jesus. 

Paul encourages us to help bear the burdens of those who need help (Galatians 6:2) and also to do good to all men (Galatians 6:10). In other words, we should strive to make this a season of GIVING (action) and allowing others to offer THANKS (gratitude) to God (Matthew 5:16)!

God will present us with plenty of opportunities to help make a difference in the lives of others during this Thanksgiving Season...my prayer is that we will seize the moment and honor the experience by giving thanks to God. Even in difficult times. 

[16] Rejoice always, [17] pray without ceasing, [18] in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  —   1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

Do you ever look back and wonder how you got to the place where you are now?  You ponder all the roads you traveled, the many places you stopped, and the adventures along the way and you feel unbelievably blessed.  

God gives so many wonderful blessings in this life. One of the best blessings He gives are friends. Companions to share adventures and struggles with. God puts these beautiful people in our lives to help build, strengthen, and share our faith. 

The only catch to this blessing is that in order to have friends we must be friendly (Proverbs 18:24)!  We must be willing to invest in people and unselfishly seek their best interests.  When we are friendly, we experience the best from people. If we are willing to give of ourselves, we gain encouragement to succeed, support during difficult times, and a motivation to keep us from quitting. 

One of the best reasons for God giving us friends is to remind us that He is our friend.  Jesus, the Son of God, chose to be our FRIEND.  He emptied Himself, to provide for His friends.  This love should motivate us to be His friend and be a friend to all mankind.

Jesus our Friend is the reason we are blessed to be together and in this place!  

“[13] Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. [14] You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. [15] No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. [16] You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. [17] These things I command you, that you love one another.”  —  John 15:13-17

Colossians 1:9-14 “that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him”

 Are you living a life that is pleasing to God?  If you were pressed to give an answer how would you respond?  We tend to define “PLEASING GOD” by our own experiences & beliefs, our likes and dislikes, and our positions about life and liberty. Maybe we think pleasing God means, having been baptized for the remission of sins which is extremely important for salvation! Or, it's the absence of certain vices  … not coveting, murdering, stealing, committing adultery, and other BIG sins. This too is extremely important.  

Is this ALL that is required?  What is The litmus test for fully pleasing God?  Is it the one who believes just like me? They must love the people that I love, show disdain for the people I don’t like, and can’t be pleasing to God unless they do.  We want to live lives that please God so we want everyone to think, act, and feel the way we do about all of the issues. The Bible does communicate the idea about “Pleasing God” so consider these verses … Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, 2 Corinthians 5:9-11, and 1 John 3:16-24.  Pleasing God is absolutely essential to our relationship with Him.  This cannot be overstated!

Here are some thoughts about what “PLEASING TO GOD” looks like from a Biblical perspective.

1. WE MUST BEAR FRUIT (John 15:1-8, Galatians 5:19-25)  It is not a matter of trying harder, it is a matter of drawing closer.  We don’t go out to bear more fruit ... we seek to draw closer to Him and the fruit will come naturally. How do we know if we are doing a good job? It’s whether or not we are different in the day to day world. The life that pleases God is the one that glorifies God in daily living.  It is seen in how we do our job; how we treat our co-workers; the tactics we use and won’t use to make a profit; the way we handle our mistakes; the way we treat our family, friends, and neighbors.   

2. WE MUST CONTINUE TO GROW CLOSER TO GOD (James 4:8) There is a difference in knowing God and knowing about God.  It’s not only about information but also about transformation.  Both are equally important!  When you read the Bible, do you read it to discern God’s will or do you read it to prove a point?  Now there’s nothing wrong with defending the faith (Jude 3) but our reason for reading and studying the word of God should be to draw closer to God in our relationship. In Philippians 3:10, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” and  in 2 Peter 3:18, “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Bible study must be all about God and our relationship with Him.  An added benefit is that we know, understand, and are able to defend the truth of our Great God. 

3. WE MUST ENDURE TROUBLED TIMES WITH FAITH & PATIENCE (Romans 8:18-39)  God is in control! Neither circumstance nor people can overthrow His plan. There is a purpose in the things that happen. God only does Good (James 1:17)!  God never makes a mistake...NEVER!  This world is not our home so don’t let the happenings of this world get you down. Therefore, in hard times…we don’t complain...we trust. We don’t walk away...we listen and try to learn. We don’t despair...we hang on tighter.  And, we trust God because He is in control!

4. WE MUST BE GIVING THANKS (1 Thessalonians 5:18)  How much do we complain?  We must learn to open our eyes to REALITY and the reality is that we take too many BLESSINGS for granted!!! We may never fully understand in this life how much God has truly blessed us.  However, counting our blessings will be a good start. We must realize that In Christ we have indescribable blessings. We must live in a way that expresses gratitude for the amazing gifts that God has given!  We might not fully understand them but we can certainly live and express our thanks to God for all He has given.  

Notice in Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Again, Are you living a life that is pleasing to God?  I have no doubt that you talk about faith but the question to ask is: do they see faith in your living?  Look at your life . . . What do YOU see? Hopefully a life that is pleasing to God!

John 4:35  “Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”

I recently read an article describing the effect of looking down at a 4.7-6.5 inch cell phone screen. The result of constantly looking down at a cell phone screen results in a condition called “text neck” which can be quite painful.

The article states, “Text neck is a modern age term coined by US chiropractor Dr. DL Fishman to describe repeated stress injury and pain in the neck resulting from excessive watching or texting on handheld devices over a sustained period of time. It is also known as Turtle Neck posture or anterior head syndrome.”  

Looking down at our phones keep us from looking out and being aware of our surroundings and the people that fill our world. It also affects the psychological development of children, important relationships, and our driving. The message is clear, WE NEED TO LOOK UP because lives could be won or lost as a result!!

Well, Jesus wasn’t talking about cell phone use in our text but make no mistake about it, He was definitely telling His disciples to LOOK UP. They weren’t aware of the people who were all around them that needed salvation. So, the instructions to His disciples were LOOK UP and LOOK OUT because it’s harvest time now and not later. 

Jesus would give the same message to us today because it is harvest time. So church, LOOK UP!!!  “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.” - Proverbs 11:30 

The apostle Paul communicates in several passages the important truth that Christ only has ONE BODY (4 times in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 2 times in Romans 12:4-5, Ephesians 1:23, 4:4).  His message is so radically different than what we see in Christianity today.

It was important for Paul to write this wonderful truth because he received it directly from God.  Christ said He would build His church (Matthew 16:18) and that He will be the head of it (Ephesians 1:22-23 according to Paul) because God has given Him all authority (Matthew 28:18-20).  

Jesus gave His blood for the church (Acts 20:28)!  He willingly sacrificed Himself for His precious body.  It is His blood that runs through the Fulshear church of Christ. As blood bought members of His body we must be active in doing His will and live in harmony with His word and people.  Reaching out in love with HIs hands and walking courageously with His feet are essential to being the body of Christ.  The body considers others first by living selfless and giving much.  We must be active participants working and functioning as a healthy body. 

There is only ONE BODY and there are many members that form is body.  If you are not a part of His body then you can become a part by….BELIEVING IN HIM (John 8:24), REPENTING OF YOUR SINS (Luke 13:3&5), CONFESSING HIM AS LORD (Matthew 10:32-33), and by being BAPTIZED IN CHRIST  FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS (Mark 16:16).  

Everyone is welcome to be a part of the ONE BODY of Christ which is His church.  Every part of His body is encouraged to be an active participant for the overall health and growth of the body. Everyone is also needed to help build a great church in Fulshear ....so let’s get busy working together!!

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.  For in fact the body is not one member but many.”  “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.“ --  1 Corinthians 12:12-13 & Ephesians 1:22-23