- I Thessalonians 5:18
It is easy to be thankful when we and our family members are healthy, when we have enough financial resources, when we have stable jobs, when we are in good relationship with loved ones, friends & coworkers. When things are going well in our lives, we find it easy to give thanks to God for these blessings.
How do we feel thankful when we are faced with difficulties? Do we still feel thankful to God for these blessings? Are we still thankful if our loved ones pass away, if our marriage is shaky, if someone in our family has serious health problems, if our children are rebellious, or if we lose our job? I think most of us find it hard to be grateful when we are faced with problems. And yet, as we see in the Scripture above, Paul encourages us to "give thanks in all circumstances" because this is what God wants us to do. Paul emphasizes here that real thanksgiving is not based on our circumstances. Whether things are going well or not, God calls us to be grateful.
When I take time to stop and reflect on who God is and what God has done for me in Christ, and when I remember how God has guided me this far, I find myself feel very grateful for Jesus Christ regardless of my current circumstances. My love for Jesus grows and my desire to follow him increases as I reflect and remember God with thankfulness.
- God is good (I Chronicles 16:34, Psalms 100:5);
- God is faithful to all generations (Psalms 100:5);
- God's steadfast love endures forever (Psalms 100:5, Psalms 107:1)
- God is with us always (Matthew 28:20);
- God gave his only Son so that we may have eternal life (John 3:16)
- God will never let us be tested beyond our strength & will also provide the way out
- (1 Corinthians 10:13).
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Omanju Sale Report:
Thanksgiving
"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
But how? How can we feel thankful when things are not going well in our lives? Ultimately it is our relationship with God that makes us thankful regardless of our circumstances. We can place ourselves in God's hands and allow God to transform us through the good and challenging experiences. Different people may have different thoughts on this. For me, it is reflection & remembrance.
I'd like to share with you some of the Scripture passages that helped me to better understand who God is and what God does for us in Christ:
Reading the Scripture and talking to God everyday, even if it is a short period of time, helps me to reflect on what God has done for me. And the more I reflect on God, the more I feel grateful.
In our daily prayers, it is easy to ask God to help those who are sick, in bereavement, and in need of guidance or comfort. Do we also include thanksgiving in our prayers each day? In this season of thanksgiving, I invite you to find ways to cultivate habits of thankfulness. You might try the "30 days of Thanksgiving" or dedicate each day until Christmas to reflect and remember all of God's blessings to you. Whatever habit you cultivate, remember Paul's words to the church in Thessalonians, "In all circumstances, give thanks to God."
In Christ,
Hiroko Suzuki, Commissioned Lay Pastor
At it's October meeting, the session approved to insert a business-card size ad in the New Year's edition of the Nichi Bei Weekly publication.
Everyone is invited to attend our regular session meetings. If you are interested in how the session, our governing body, discusses ministry at CUPC, please come and join us! You are also welcome to read the minutes, which are public documents. The minutes are available in the church office.
COFFEE FELLOWSHIP:
The Deacons would like to thank everyone who contributed to the coffee
fellowship during the month of October. The Deacons are aware there are others
who do not sign up on the list, but contribute. We would like to thank you all!
The Japanese-speaking Ministries (JSM) held an omanju sale on November 4, 2012. All proceeds will go to JSM's KOINONIA (Intergenerational/multi-lingual fellowship). Thank you to all the church members and friends who helped to make our omanju sale a success!
