Thanksgiving Thoughts

Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the peoples!

Psalms 105:1 (NKJV)

 

This Thanksgiving I’m thankful that I have a relationship with my Creator, and because of that I have a joy that is indescribable! The eternal life He has given to me is full and free.  I believe when my life on earth is done, I will spend eternity with Jesus in heaven.

 

I am also thankful for my friends and family. In fact as I think about family, I get so excited because, God willing, I will be seeing my family next week. I leave Oklahoma City for Kenya on Tuesday, November 27th.

 

Josh & Deb Osmon will be joining me for eleven days of ministry in Kenya beginning December 19^th. We are so grateful that our airplane tickets have been provided for through some generous gifts. We have also been able to procure 20 study Bibles to bring to Kenyan pastors and lay leaders. This would not have been possible without the prayer and financial support of our ministry partners. Thank You!  We have a prayer guide available for anyone who would like to specifically pray for us during the mission trip.

 

Here are some thanksgiving verses for you to share with your loved ones:

1. Psalm 100:4.
2. Psalm 119:62
3. 2 Corinthians 9:15
4. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

As you read the Word and express your gratitude to God and to those who have meant a lot to you, why not take time to practice what Dr. Charles Stanley encourages us to do:

“…take the opportunity to reflect humbly on God’s countless blessings–of forgiveness, salvation, and life itself. Let the day be a time when you truly commit to placing Him first in your lives.” (Taken from In Touch Daily Devotional, Nov. 22, 2007 )

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU AND YOURS!!

 

Giving Thanks to the Holy One,

Sam

RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus gives a charge to His disciples (and to us as well), saying,

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” 

This charge has two implications for us as His light bearers in this world today, namely: responsibility and accountability.  

Thursday morning in a weekly Bible study that I lead, we had a great discussion on what it means to be responsible members of the Body of Christ.  Our discussion stressed the importance of being accountable to each other. Of course, we are ultimately accountable to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Remember, He sees, hears, and perceives all we think, do, and say both in private and in public. 

What a responsibility we have as members of the Body of Christ in our dark world! We must do all we can to make a make a difference through our day-to-day lifestyle  for example, as we interact with our FRANS (Friends, Relatives, And Neighbors). The main goal is that we have to live responsibly and not recklessly. We must stand up for Jesus, and stand in His strength alone. 

One of the great hymns of old, A Charge To Keep I Have, was written by Charles Wesley. It sums up what our responsibility as citizens of the Kingdom of God should look like: 

A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify,
A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.

To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfill:
O may it all my powers engage
To do my Master’s will!

Arm me with jealous care,
As in Thy sight to live;
And O Thy servant, Lord, prepare
A strict account to give!

 In our study, we also examined how the importance of accountability helps us to become strong and effective witnesses for Jesus. Dr. Howard Hendricks of Dallas Theological Seminary underscores the importance of having a Paul, a Barnabas and a Timothy in our lives. Timothy D. Lee has a great post in his blog on this matter. Click here: 

>http://iampersuaded.wordpress.com/2007/07/24/are-you-paul-barnabas-and-timothy/ > 

to read the full rendering of Dr. Hendrick’s thought.  You can also read Lee’s thoughts on what that entails from a practical standpoint. 

Next Thursday (November 15, 2007), we will wind up our weekly study reviewing our memory verses  and plan to decide on the next topic of study for Spring, 2008. It’s been exciting doing a study on witnessing. In the first five weeks, we drew some principles of evangelism from Philip the Evangelist’s dynamic witness to the Ethiopian Eunuch (cf. Acts 8:26-40). During the last four weeks, we have sought to discover what it means to be salt and light in our society (see Matthew 5:13-16). 

If you have any questions and/or comments on our responsibility and accountability as God’s sons and daughters, please feel free to share them with us. If you would like to receive the Bible study questions we used in our 10-week study, please contact me and I will email them to you. We also have a list of 12 memory verses to send to you if you request for them.  

Thank you and May God bless you.  Sam Kirui