Thanksgiving 2018

DECISIONS: November 18, 2018 marks the 90th birthday for Mickey Mouse. Plenty of extravaganzas are taking place to mark this milestone for the enormously popular mouse.

TODAY IS MICKEY MOUSE’S 90th BIRTHDAY!!!

Walt Disney planned to name his creation Mortimer, but his wife, Lillian, felt that was too pompous and advised against it. On November 18, 1918, Steamboat Willie debuted in New York as the first animated film synchronized to music and Mickey (not Mortimer) Mouse was launched to stardom. Small decisions can be big. Parade, 11/4/18, p.2

Small Decisions can be BIG - Like the Choice to Put aside Bitterness, Complaining, Hatred and Anger and replace it with Gratitude - Thanksgiving...

2 Corinthians 4:8–18 NLT

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. 11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. 13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Our own SUFFERING Can Be used by God to SAVE Others - Unless we allow bitterness to replace humility (vv. 8-12)

If Anyone had a Reason to Be UPSET WITH GOD over how they were treated… Paul might be your man...

Faith - True Faith is a SAY SO Faith - Belief Leads to Expression (v. 13)

The GOODNESS of God - Proclaimed by the Faithful, Leading the Unconverted into the Family of God GROWS into a THRONG OF THANKSGIVING (vv. 14-15)

The Greek word for thanksgiving is Eucharistia and has a wonderful relationship to so many New Testament words:

charis - gift

chairo - rejoice

chara - joy

charizomai - forgive / give freely

charisma - gift

synchairo - rejoice with

charitoo - bestow favor upon

Consider how the humility bestowed by suffering linked with the Compelling Word of God (Paul quotes the Psalmist in verse) Grows into This THRONG of Converts THANKING GOD TOGETHER!!!

The Book of Revelation Gives us Heaven’s View of this result:

Revelation 7:12 NLT

12 They sang, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

This Week, Let God

Turn Disappointment, Bitterness, Anger or Anxiety into a Trust Opportunity

a Trust Opportunity into a SAY SO Moment

a SAY SO Moment into a REFLECTION on the GREAT GOODNESS OF GOD

a REFLECTION on the GREAT GOODNESS OF GOD into a Heart and Mouth that Expresses THANKSGIVING to God

This Week, Join the Revelation THRONG OF THE THANKFUL…

Small Decisions can be BIG