THANK YOU 365....24/7!

 

     It's only 2 words but yet so meaningful! Thank you! In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to become a National holiday. It would be on the final Thursday in November and it would be a day where families would give thanks to God. The tradition has always continued and I always look forward to it. Yes, I do love my Turkey leg and yes, I do love good food. But I do love to give thanks! There is one thing that does bother me. What about the other 365 days of the year? Do we give thanks on January 23rd? Or March 4th? How about June 30th? How about September 1st? It has been my conviction that every single day we should say "Thank you" to God. God, thank you for the clothes I wear, the food I eat, for my job, for the roof over my head, for the car that gets me around and for good health."  

     When I was a kid, I always received a check in the mail for my birthday from my Dad's Aunt and Uncle. Aunt Gladys and Uncle Frank. Uncle Frank was my Grandfather's brother. They were like third Grandparents to my sister and brother and I. They never forgot our birthdays. My Mom would always say, "Make sure you write a Thank you card to Aunt Gladys and Uncle Frank!" Of course being a kid I always griped about it, procrastinated and complained but I did write a Thank you card with my terrible penmanship. I never really put much thought into what Aunt Gladys & Uncle Franks reaction was when they received the Thank you card in the mail. I'm sure it made them very happy. I do believe God feels the same way about us when he hears us say "Thank you." I'm sure it makes him very happy! 

     It reminds me of the story in the bible in Luke 17:11-19 when Jesus healed 10 lepers. Leprosy is a very contagious skin disease. It was so bad that if you had leprosy in bible times you were sent to a "Leper Camp" with other lepers so you could not spread the disease. As Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem, he was approached by 10 lepers. They stood at a distance and asked Jesus to have mercy on them. Jesus told them to go see the priests. As they went there they were cleansed. One of them after being healed returned to Jesus, threw himself at his feet and thanked him. Jesus then asked"Were not all 10 cleansed? Where are the other 9?" Jesus then said to the one "Rise and go! Your faith has made you well." Imagine being healed by Jesus but never saying thank you to him. I often wonder what happened to the other nine who did not say "Thank you?" Do you think they felt any sense of guilt or shame after realizing they never thanked Jesus? That is why we need to take the time every day to say to God, "Thank you!" 2 simple words but very powerful and very much needed in our society today!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!! 

 

 

LAYING A FLEECE BEFORE THE LORD

 

     I don't believe in the Horoscope at all. I personally think it should be renamed "The Horrorscope!" I don't believe you can actually travel back in time and I certainly don't believe in gazing at a crystal ball to find out what the future holds.That is straight from the pit of Hell! This past week I have been praying a lot about decisions I need to make. As many of you know I have had reoccurring back issues for many years. I had to reduce my number of hours I work at Chick Fil-A because of these back issues and terrible back spasms I get. This means I will need to find either another line of work or another part time job. I will confess that I have stressed over this a lot. I mean I realize I am an ordained pastor but I am a human being as well! Last night during the night I experienced the feeling of anxiety where I had trouble sleeping. I have spent a lot of time praying about my future, In fact, after attending a Men's Breakfast on Saturday morning with the men from my church, I went to Cedar Beach in Mt. Sinai, NY and walked along the beach praying, listening to worship music and asking the Lord what His plans are for my life. I also thought a lot about what it means to be "Laying a fleece before the Lord." In the bible, laying a fleece was something Gideon did in order to make sure he was hearing from God.

     In Judges chapter 6, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and were in bondage to the Midianites. An angel of the Lord appears to Gideon, a prophet, and calls him to deliver Israel. In a nutshell, Gideon overthrows the altar of Baal, a false God, we see the Spirit of the Lord rest on him, and the Lord gives him a sign to show him he is called to deliver Israel. That sign is called "a fleece." What they did in Bible times to "Lay a fleece" meant to take a fleece of wool and lay it down overnight on the threshing floor. If the fleece was wet from the dew and the ground was dry, it was a sign from God. In the story of Gideon, he wanted to be sure so he laid the fleece a second time on the threshing floor. This time he asked if the fleece was dry and the ground was wet. It would be a sign from God and God would speak to his people. In today's day and age I don't believe we as Christians need to be doing this. I do believe God does speak to us and He shows us what His will is for us. I also believe that after we pray for something and ask God for direction, He will either give us a peace about it or no peace at all. His answers are always yes, no or wait. I'm from New York and I can tell you New Yorkers don't like to wait. However, as a Christian it is important that we wait on God and not try to rush Him! After all, He is God and we are not!! 

     Writing this blog was a challenge! I wish I had answers to all of my life's questions but I don't. In the meantime,I just learn to trust in the Lord more and more and fully rely on Him!

HAVE A BLESSED WEEK MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!!

WHAT DOES YOUR LIFE SCREAM?

     What does your life scream? I don't mean like the picture above where this guy is screaming on the top of his lungs, I mean when people see you and talk with you, what is extremely important to you. What is the one thing that oozes out of you wherever you go? What does your life scream?

     Many of you who know me well know I am a sports fan. Unfortunately I have not been to any professional sports games in over 4 years. Just to buy food you need to take out a loan. And the parking? Is there a Night Watchman hired to watch my vehicle when I go into the stadium? $25? Whatever happened to Upper Deck seats being $4? Oh right! That was 1975!! Anyway, whenever I attend a game you always know who the crazy fans are. They are the guys who wear face paint or scream the loudest. I will never forget in 2004 someone from my church gave me tickets to a Jets game. It was about 25 degrees outside. During the game a bunch of fights broke out right in front of my seats. The Jets played the Patriots and Jets fans didn't like being harassed by Patriot fans. There was obviously a lot of alcohol involved and a lot of security guards working bard to break up the fights. I left that game in the 3rd quarter fearing for my life. Watching the many Jets fans walk into the Meadowlands that Sunday I could see their lives all screamed out "We love the New York Jets!" 

     I was recently watching a YouTube video of a guy who is totally obsessed with the movie "Back to the Future." He knew every line from the movie and he had almost every autograph imaginable, even the Principal in the movie. He had his picture taken with many DeLorean's that looked like the time machine and he even paid a substantial amount of money to have Christopher Lloyd (Who played Doc Brown) sign his "Back to the Future" Poster. This guys life screamed out "I love the movie 'Back to the Future'"

     I often wonder what people will say about me when I die? I know that sounds morbid! But seriously, what will people say my life screamed out? Will they say "He was a nice guy" or maybe "He was a great Pastor!" Maybe they will say "Grandpa Lou is now gone also. Oh no!" What has my life screamed out during my 59 years on this planet.I certainly hope it will and always will scream out "I love Jesus!" and "I am proud to be a Christian." In my humble opinion, that is and always has been my goal and THE most important thing in my life. How about you? What does your life scream out. Take some time to think about it!