November 28, 2019
Hello John Wesley members and friends,
It seems appropriate that my thoughts on Thanksgiving Day would be on a scripture focused on our need to give thanks to God. That scripture is Psalm 50:14, "offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High." The society we live in is anything but harmonious and the world we live is anything but serene, however, God is Lord of all people and all situations. If you know this in your heart, then you will be able to offer God sacrifices of thanksgiving and you may even be able to add some praise to those words of thanksgiving. Be mindful that your sacrifices of thanksgiving should include your thoughts and your deeds, and not just the words that you say. When we became Christians, we pledged or vowed to the Most High God that we would give God honor and be thankful for God’s blessings. We didn’t say we would give honor and be thankful only if we liked how God blessed us. Our assessment of our blessings are irrelevant, we pledged that we would give God honor and be thankful, and that is what we should do. Some of us are seriously behind in our payment of our vow but all of us could stand to make more regular installments on our pledge to honor and be thankful to the Most High God; on this Thanksgiving Day, I pray that you commitment yourself anew to doing so.
Blessings,
Pastor Woods-Barrant