Are you Grumbly Hateful or Humbly Grateful?

(That is the question I will ask you next week in my message.)

Psalm 107:8-9 "Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."

Does it ever seem a little much to you that God made the Israelites wander in the wilderness for 40 years because they grumbled? My kids maybe spent 30 minutes in their rooms for griping, but 40 years?  Now, that's pretty severe discipline!   God is not happy about our grumbling.  It certainly doesn’t make Him happy to hear us complaining so much!  Does this sound like anyone you know?  Both grumbling and being grateful are a choice!  The Pilgrims were certainly a thankful lot. They believed in Divine ”Providence."  They responded to the tough year they had with gratitude and believed that God had allowed this for their good.

John Piper wrote in his book, A Godward Life: "Remembering our dependence on past mercies kindles gratitude. Gratitude is past-oriented dependence; faith is future-oriented dependence. Both forms of dependence are humble, self-forgetting and God-exalting. If we do not believe that we are deeply dependent on God for all we have or hope to have, then the very spring of gratitude and faith runs dry. Gratitude is what we express when we take time every Thanksgiving Day to remember God’s past mercies and provisions and then pause to thank Him for them. The stories of those who have gone before us inspire our faith. When we consider those great saints listed in the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrew 11 or our Pilgrim forefathers."   The example of great saints --from Hebrews 11 and throughout history-- who placed all their hope in Jesus Christ encourages us to do the same.  Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Many who sailed on the Mayflower were great Bible students.  They were convinced that God could only be pleased through faith (Hebrews 11:6). Someone has said, “Faith is a firm conviction, a personal surrender, and a conduct inspired by your surrender.” The Pilgrims were truly surrendered to God, and they believed that He was leading them to the New World.  They sailed in confidence that He would guide and provide.  One of the themes of the Bible is giving thanks to God. Our problem today is that we choose to complain instead of being thankful. The Psalms tell us that thanksgiving is a sacrifice.  Why is it a sacrifice to give thanks to the Lord? Because being thankful forces us away from a self-focus and to a God-focus!  This should be a continual sacrifice of our self to God.

Our heritage has given us so much to be thankful for here in America.  We have freedom of worship and a heritage of giving thanks to God for His mercies as a nation.   Today, we need to recapture the spirit of those who established Thanksgiving as a holiday.  We must continually remember that all we have comes from God, and that, by faith, He will provide for every need today and tomorrow.

Why was God so upset with Israel's grumbling in the wilderness?  It is because they had lost their close relationship with Him. They had lost their first love.  People who love are grateful people. My goal this Thanksgiving is to be fully connected to the Giver of every good and perfect gift.  I also want to grow in love for the world around me and be grateful for everyone around.  Lastly, I want to let you know that I do not write these notes every week for self-aggrandizement.  My heart's desire is to be a genuine blessing to someone who reads these Friday epistles.   I'm thankful that every week for nine years someone has written back and told me that they appreciated what I have written, or, was blessed or challenged in some way.  That means that I'm truly thankful for YOU!  

Lord, we worship you with hearts full of thanksgiving.  Make this season a turning point in our lives and may we find true fulfillment in giving you our hearts and our praise.  Amen!

Humbly grateful,

Pastor Ken

This week: 

Wed. Prayer Meeting at 7 PM, Fri. Prayer for the Nation at 7 PM.

Sat. Men's Breakfast and Bible at 7 AM.

Sun. Sunday School at 9 AM, Worship at 10 AM (Thanksgiving Sunday is 11/23)

Nov. 30- Potluck and special 5th Sunday offering for Food Shelf.

FAITH FELLOWSHIP, OUR FOREVER FAMILY, Luck, WI

Ken Mettler, Pastor (715) 475-7666