HAPPY THANKSGIVING

HAPPY THANKSGIVING The Curse of Prosperity In recent years, people have begun to call Thanksgiving by another name, Turkey Day. I have always found this name a bit peculiar. On other holidays like Columbus Day, George Washington's Birthday, and Memorial Day, we pay our respects to those we are remembering, but on Turkey Day we kill and eat them, rather like cannibals in the South Pacific having a People Day would take credit for what God had given them. There's a reason—a disturbing reason—for the name change. When people sit down before the great feast on Thanksgiving Day, they still sense that they ought to bow their heads and give thanks. Yet people today would rather forget God. They would like to suppress the feeling on Thanksgiving that God deserves their gratitude. So, they are trying to discontinue the name Thanksgiving and to forsake the traditions on this holiday which kept God at the center. Why are so many ungrateful to God for His blessings? The fundamental reason is that we are too prosperous. After the exodus from Egypt, God told the nation of Israel that He was leading them to a desirable land already prepared for their habitation. It would be a land overflowing with milk and honey, a land filled with strong cities that others had built and with vineyards and with olive groves that others had planted. So, after occupying the land, they could expect a life of prosperity. But God warned them that with prosperity 1 would come the danger of forgetting God. They would be tempted to look around at their wealth and say to themselves, "By our hands, by our labor, we have achieved this; we have built a good life for ourselves." The would take credit for what God had given them. Building comparing itself with the Sears Tower. In relation to all the people living in past generations, in relation to the vast majority of people around the world today, modern middle-class Americans are fabulously wealthy. Think of it. What are you lacking that you could reasonably want? There is probably a restaurant in your city to satisfy any craving your appetite is capable of. You have more clothing in your closet than many of your ancestors possessed in a whole lifetime. Your houses and gardens would, in past generations, have set you just below the highest nobility. Kings of old would have gone to war to acquire your telephone, your air conditioner, your car, your television. Although prosperity is a blessing from God, it is, as we have said, a danger also. It can have a chilling effect on our love for God and on our gratitude for His blessings. What is the remedy? Should we give away our goods and take a vow of poverty? That might work. But it might not. With poverty might come bitterness rather than gratitude. I think God prefers that we take the following, more practical, measures to guard our spiritual health in the midst of material wealth. The same mentality exists in America today. We enjoy unprecedented prosperity, and yet we fail to recognize that its source is God. Why? We take our wealth for granted. We feel we deserve it. We imagine that we created it. It is a funny thing about human beings that they are more thankful when they are suffering poverty than when they are enjoying plenty. In Little House in the Big Woods, the author describes how new pioneers living on the edge of subsistence celebrated Christmas. Each of the older children received exactly two presents (a pair of knitted mittens and a piece of candy), and in addition one of the younger children received a home-made rag doll. Were the children unhappy and ungrateful because their gifts were so meager? On the contrary, the author concludes her reminiscences by saying, "What a happy Christmas it had been!" Perhaps you say, "Others may have the problem of being too rich, but not me. I'm not rich." Because we know people who have bigger houses and cars than we have, most of us feel that we are just average folks. But comparing ourselves with wealthier acquaintances is like the Empire State Let Us Stop Putting Ourselves in the Place of God Many self-made men have no time for God because they think that they have no one to thank for their success but themselves. They view life as a brutal competition in which the fittest survive, and they count themselves among the fittest. None of us would be so crass, but still we are all prone to thank ourselves for our achievements. When we finally move into a dream home after years of working and saving, do we say, "This is the result of what we have done," or do we say, "This is the result of what God has enabled us 2 to do"? For indeed, everything we have comes from God and belongs to Him. Remember Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4). God warned him through a dream interpreted by his chief counselor, Daniel, that because he failed to acknowledge his dependence on God, God would bring him low, making him like a beast in the field. A year passed and nothing happened. The king probably had forgotten the dream, or had decided that he was in no danger of divine judgment. Then one day he went up to the heights of his palace and surveyed his capital city, Babylon. On his north he saw the Hanging Gardens, which were one of the seven wonders of the world. There, a visitor could see exotic flowers and trees and beasts and birds collected from every corner of the known world on his east the king saw the beautiful Ishtar Gate, which still exists in ruins Beyond that, he saw the wall of Babylon stretching into the distance. The wall was actually two walls. Each section was twenty-five feet thick, and between them was a space forty feet wide filled with rubble that supported a military road running along the top. So, the overall width of the wall was close to one hundred feet. No one knows how high the wall was, because in the course of centuries people have carted the bricks away and put them to other uses. One Greek writer said that the wall was eighty-six feet high. Outside these walls was a moat three hundred feet wide, and beyond the moat the land was wet and marshy. No wonder that the world in Nebuchadnezzar's day regarded the defenses of Babylon as impregnable. And indeed, no attack force ever took Babylon by going over the walls. To the south of the palace Nebuchadnezzar saw the great ziggurat of Babylon. This ziggurat, called Etemenanki, was a step pyramid within a perfectly cubic space, over 300 feet in each dimension. It is likely that Etemenanki was patterned after the original Tower of Babel, or Babylon. Beyond the ziggurat lay Esagila, the great temple of Marduk, god of Babylon and within his temple there was a golden statue of the god. When the king looked to his west, he saw the great river itself, the Euphrates, dividing the city into two sectors, and in the western sector he saw great temples and homes and broad avenues. Humanly speaking, Nebuchadnezzar had every reason to be proud. He said to himself, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built?" (Dan. 4:30). But what happened when Nebuchadnezzar boasted in himself and failed to thank God for his achievements? The judgment that God had foretold a year before immediately fell upon him. His mind was filled with the mad delusion that he was a beast, and for seven years he went about on all fours, seeking to feed himself by grazing grass, and he allowed his beard and nails to grow as if they were fur and claws. It is possible that America will come to a similar fate. As a nation we neglect to give thanks to God and instead we boast in ourselves. God has patiently withheld judgment, giving us a chance to repent. But his patience will not restrain judgment forever. Let Us Stop Putting Human Science and Human Ingenuity in the Place of God How do you react when you hear that another life has been saved by some marvel of modern medicine? Do you praise man's ingenuity, or do you praise God? You should praise God, of course, because medicine advances only when God allows man to understand something new about the world He created. Who shows a doctor how the body works, who teaches him 3 how to treat its diseases, who guides his hand in surgery? It is God. Yet, few who thank the doctor who is God's instrument remember to thank God Himself. Why? One reason is that we do not realize just how puny man's achievements are. When we enter a shopping mall for the first time, or when we spot the latest model of a luxury c ar coming down the street, or when we watch the blastoff of a manned rocket, we feel a momentary thrill of admiration. But when we come across a divinely crafted object that we have never seen before—an unfamiliar flower or bug or tree or mountain perhaps—we may hardly glance at it. Any backyard is full of wonderful living things designed by God, yet we take them for granted. Have you watched the metamorphosis of the ugly caterpillar? Do you know how the lowly squirrel manages to run at full speed along a pathway no more than an inch wide? Do you know how the firefly produces light? We are hardly aware of how fearfully and wonderfully we ourselves are made. Did you know that the complexity of the human body in relation to one of man's greatest achievements—the Space Shuttle, for example—is like the difference between the Encyclopedia Britannica and a postcard? By the way, modern science has figured out how the firefly produces light. The mechanism is very complex. Why has God allowed man to solve this particular puzzle of His creation? Because God leaves man no excuse for denying the Creator's existence. The lightproducing mechanism in a firefly is in itself sufficient proof that the firefly did not evolve. There is no way the mechanism could work unless it was complete. Therefore, it could not have evolved by degrees. The same is true of thousands upon thousands of other mechanisms in nature. No wonder the Bible says, "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God" (Psa. 14:1). Let Us Remember Past Blessings One reason we fail to thank God for blessings is that we forget them. What did God do for you yesterday, last week, a year ago? Do you remember? If you do not, how can you be properly thankful? Most of us give God a laundry list of requests in the morning. Then, as we go through the day, we more or less forget God and fail to notice how His answers are working themselves out in events. So, when we return to Him the next morning, we just give Him another laundry list of the same kind, consisting of requests without thanksgiving. What is the remedy for this problem? 1. When you pray, emphasize spiritual requests. Pray for souls, for their salvation if they do not know God, for their growth to spiritual maturity if they do know God. Ninety percent of your requests should not be for healing of sickness, or for rescue from trouble. You will discover that God frequently does not grant a request of this kind, because to grant it would be to negate His higher purpose in the trouble or sickness. God did not take away Paul's thorn in the flesh. Why? He wanted to keep Paul humble (2 Cor. 12: 7-9). He let Fanny Crosby lose her sight when she was a little girl and He never restored it. Why? He wanted her to develop the sensitivity to sound that would make her the finest religious poet of her generation. John Bunyan was an outstanding preacher, yet God allowed his opponents to silence him by putting him in prison for several years. Why? He wanted Bunyan to write Pilgrim's Progress, that great work of Christian literature which has been a source of instruction and blessing to millions. 4 Therefore, if you pray only for the relief of misfortune, you will often approach God with a disappointed heart. But if you see every misfortune in a spiritual light, revealing that God uses trouble to accomplish good purposes, you will be able to thank Him for whatever happens. • 2. Keep a record of God's blessings. When He does something extraordinary or miraculous, do not pass over it quickly, keeping only a dim memory somewhere in the recesses of your brain. Write it down somewhere, in a notebook perhaps. After you have compiled several stories of His working, these will be very helpful and encouraging to read at difficult moments in your life. In the past I have recommended that a believer keep a prayer diary. But I have found that answers too many requests do not become evident until years later. So, a prayer diary will not help you much if you lose patience and set it aside after a few months. However, if you keep it faithfully for five or ten years, it will do much to support your prayer life. It will encourage you to pray, and to pray in faith, and to keep on thank God for His benefits if I customarily show gratitude to the people around me. A sincere "Thank you" should always be on my lips. I should say it to a brother, a sister, a spouse, a parent, a child, a neighbor, a clerk at the store, a person on the street. Then, because I have set gratitude at the core of my character, I will remember to give a heartfelt "Thank you" to God. The adage, “Charity begins at home," implies that the home is the best place to start showing more thankfulness. Let us begin by showing more of it in our marriages. Let us express more appreciation for what our spouses do for us. Some time ago, during a year when my wife was extremely busy with work, I had to do many household chores that formerly had been her responsibility, chores like doing the dishes and doing the laundry, even preparing meals. Now, doing the dishes is not a bad job. It is just that you are never through. You no sooner walk out of the kitchen than dirty dishes begin piling up again. They multiply like rabbits. As for making beds, I fail to see the point. You pull up the covers in the morning, only to push them down again at night. It would make more sense to leave them in one place. You can see that my competence at housework is border line. Nevertheless, doing it has given me a new gratitude for my wife's unselfish labor in the past. It has brought me under conviction that I have not told her "Thank you" as often as I should. As we learn the habit of thanking people and acknowledging our dependence on them, we will develop a keener sense of our dependence on God. He is our creator, the giver of life both in this world and in the world to come. Through Him life has meaning and purpose. The past holds no enduring shadows. The future shines with hope. It is He who covers our sins with a robe of righteousness, who makes our failures a training ground for spiritual success, who equips and improves us Let Us Stop Being Self-centered and Cultivate the Habit of Thankfulness Thanking God is one way we show that we love Him. But 1 John 4:20 says, "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" We might also say, "If a man say, I am grateful to God, and is ungrateful to his brother, he is a liar: for he that gives not thanks to his brother whom he hath seen, how can he give thanks to God whom he hath not seen?" In other words, I will more readily 5 until we can serve night and day in His temple forever. He is the One who will erase all our pain and dry all our tears and give us a new body to serve as a tabernacle for the soul; a body that the Bible describes as spiritual, powerful, and immortal; a body so wonderful that we cannot now imagine what it will be like. There is nothing good that does not come from God. There is nothing bad in anything He does or in anything He designs. So, as we come to Thanksgiving, let us indeed give thanks—let us give thanks to the great Benefactor whose goodness many people on that day will ignore and resent. Let us not be among them. Let us prove ourselves to be God's children by giving Him the praise He is due. an enormous and beautiful concert hall. The MTC has performed for 10 U.S. presidents and entertained Kings, Queens, Prime Ministers and millions of people in 28 countries and 71 foreign cities. The MTC has received numerous awards and recognition. The MTC has made numerous records that were gold and many records that were platinum and this choir has received a Grammy. Some of the recognition the MTC has received has been very mind boggling. Former President Ronald Reagan labeled them as “AMERICA’S CHOIR.” Former President George W. Bush proclaimed them to be a “NATIONAL TREASURE.” Eugene Ormandy, the renowned conductor of the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra called them “THE WORLD’S GREATEST CHOIR.” The Bible does say in Psalms, that singing is a religious duty and that we are to sing aloud unto God for our strength makes a joyful noise unto the Lord of Jacob. Psa.81:1 The Bible says we are to sing unto the Lord and we are to make joyful noise unto the Rock of our Salvation, Psa.95:1. The Bible also tells in several verses of Scripture that instruments are O.K., as long as you use them in the proper manner. Does it mean that if we use guitars and trumpets and organs and drums and tambourines, that we are no longer a church, but we are now a dance hall? Just because these type instruments are used in the wrong places doesn’t mean that we can’t use them to enhance our music ministries as long as we do it to honor and glorify God. The Bible also speaks of different types of Music: I. Psalm 60:12, talks about the idle songs. This describes music of praise, how through God we can do all things and all our enemies will be slain. In Psalm 42:8, it covers music of the night. What this verse describes is how God is our strength through loving O TO BE LIKE THEE? Steve Nichols The MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR has been well known across the world for over 150 yrs. The MTC (MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR) began performing in the dusty deserts of Northern Utah in 1847. They were originally housed in an adobe building and were accompanied by an organ that was shipped from Australia to San Bernardino, California. From there, it was pulled by 12 mules over mountains and rough deserts through the Rocky Mountains to its final destination in Salt City, Utah. The members of the MTC are every day people just like us. They get up in the morning like us and go to work, pick up their children from school. However, when they go out of town, they have to take vacation time from work. The MTC has left its roots and grown to a choir of over 360 singers and an orchestra of 110 musicians. They no longer sing in an adobe building, but they now perform in II. 6 III. kindness in the day time and He shall be with me with a loving gentle song in the night. Then in Exodus, 15:1, it tells of songs of victory. This is about when Moses and the children of Israel began singing praises to the Lord for protecting them and winning babble over Pharaoh and his men. stand in that huge choir to sing His praises JUST FOR HIM – IT WILL BE WORTH IT ALL!! MINISTRY FINANCES God has been so good to us this year, with a revival almost every week. Who could ask for any thing more f a Revivalist? We have or traveled many miles. The van now has over 222,000 miles on it. This year has been the most expensive of any year. We have had to spend several thousand dollars on it just to keep it going. We realize something must be done soon about another way of traveling. We are praying for a Motor Home, but we want it to be the will of God. We want to thank all of you that have been faithful in your monthly support to our ministry. With out you help we could not make it. This next year is going to be a trying year financially. We are in many small churches that just can’t give much to help us come to their church. I just went to a church and told the pastor before we went that I would not take anything from him to come. We don’t know which church God may start Revival in. We are asking that our prayer partners help us not only in prayer but maybe you could help us financially by sending the ministry. We have some that send us $25.00 each month. Some send more, but any amount $5.00 or $10.00 each month could help us reach a church that can’t have us. I don’t believe that we have many days left before Jesus comes back. It will be too late then to give. You can make you check out to the following: Magnolia Ministries 5251-C Hwy. 153 PMB 249 Therefore, from these verses of Scripture, I feel we should learn various things about music. First, it should be uplifting to the one who gave us life by giving His life for us and giving us confidence that we have a Savior that can do anything. Second, it should give us the comfort a security that Jesus is with us day and night and He is even willing to sing us to sleep. Thirdly, we know we can always have victory in Jesus, not because we are Christians fighting against evil that Satan puts before us, but that Jesus Christ is the commander and He will not loose. See, I always thought it was always interesting how the individual that creates something knows everything there is to know about His creation from beginning to end and that He is always in total control of it. O TO BE LIKE THEE? So which music would you rather have? Travel all over the world and perform and entertain by singing to Presidents, Kings, Queens, Duchesses and dukes, have gold and platinum records and sing in big, hugh opera houses? and never really know the One you are singing about and what He’s done for you so you may live for an eternity? OR? O TO BE LIKE THEE!!!!! Sing praises to the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the ALMIGHTY GOD, have music with meaning and a message to touch souls that can win lost people to Chris. I know you will not sing in the nicest, fanciest places in town, but one when we walk through those g ates and we look in His face and 7 Hixson TN. 37343 Your gift is tax deductible. Pray about this and give if you can. God bless you Bro. Nichols Pray for the crusade in Bogotá Colombia. We need $12,000. Be Thankful Be Thankful Ephesians 3:17-19 We should always be thankful every day of the year, but we seem to wait until this season of the year to express ourselves. We need help with our physical and spiritual stamina all the time. Jeanette Nichols I had to go to my doctor recently and he was giving me some options about my physical needs. One of the things he said I needed to do and it didn’t cost anything was to have a regular exercise plan. This is good for my health. What about our spiritual stamina? Do you feel your strength is gone? Do you just want to quit working at being the best wife, mother or daughter? Many strong Christians are falling. We need to keep going on. This is a big responsibility because others are following in our steps. There is only one way to do that and it is to take one day at a time. What can we do to keep others from stumbling and falling? Paul tells us in Philippians 3:13-14. 1. Set a definite goal. We need to press on to win the prize. He said, “forgetting the 8 past.” We need to press forward in God’s work. If we are not going forward, then we are going backward. You do not stand still. We need courage to find strength to go on just 5 minutes more. What do we need to forget? Past? (a) Self. Romans 7 – “When I want to do good,” I don’t. Be careful or you will be discouraged. Remember Paul’s past life. He could have looked back at his past life and quit. Someone says that you don’t always treat people as you ought to. Sometimes we are just plain hypocrites. Don’t look pious! Who is the accuser? Satan! Does God ever accuse us of our past sin? He says they are gone! Why remind God? He doesn’t even remember. You think “I have failed.” We all do at one time or another. We are all made out of dust. Psalm 103: 13, 14. Failing does not make one a failure. You have had or are having a rough time in your life. This does not mean you are a failure. Dust yourself off and get up! Go to God and confess your sin. God shows us weaknesses of people in the Bible. God will still use us as He did them. Moses. God said to tell them “I AM sent you. Who am I? Why use me? God says, I am your strength, I’ll be your tongue, and I’ll be your power. I AM what you need (b) Position. We take pride in our position. We think we can do a better job than others. Maybe you feel you’ve been overlooked as a pianonist, singer, Sunday school teacher, etc. Put these thoughts Behind you, forget it! Psalm 75:6, 7. God puts down one and lifts up another. Stay busy in the little task. God will promote you. Are you doing the unseen well? God knows. Galatians 6:7. Don’t faint when God is ready to use you. 2. Forget what others have done to hinder you. It hurts worse when friends hurt you. People will let you down. You will let others down. The flesh – mine, yours, everybody, is a sinner. We all still in the flesh. Have you been disappointed, hurt or felt failed? Someone passed you in the hall and did not speak. All will fail us except God. Who has failed you? Who have you failed? Let’s get the “mote” out of our eye. Many spread things by a prayer request. Who would God use if we never failed? “Let people be people and God be God.” Keep your eyes on God! Put trails or testing in right perspective. 2 Cor. 11:24-28. Have you suffered when doing right? James 1:2-4. Has a testing turned you aside? Is your strength gone? Success can be a test. We always think testing is bad things. Nothing that comes to a Christian is bad. Every trial will pass. Don’t quit! Endure it! Press forward! Don’t stop! We are still under construction. Isaiah 48:10. There are some areas we need to guard. 1. When spiritual resources are depleted. You have been busy and not had time with the Lord by yourself. Have a time 2. 3. 4. 5. to get alone. “Tend the inner fire.” You can easily quit when not spiritually fed. When emotions are weary. We need to rest, play, and have leisure. Get yourself emotionally lifted. Visit someone you can laugh with or one who can lift you up. When physiological ego has been tried? This can be of unresolved guilt. Confess the sin held back and get rid of the guilt. 1 John 1:9. When physical body down from illness. Don’t quit! Just wait! If suffering great loss, pain, illness, disappointment, trial, you say, “I’ve done my best. Is this all I get?” Do you need to forget self, pride, something someone has done? Do you need to trust the Lord? Just keep pressing on! Let’s renew our determination to freshen up our spiritual stamina. Take time during this season of the year to be thankful for everyone and everything. We only have a short time before we stand before our Lord and King. Look up! The Team of Magnolia Ministries Wish All Of You A Very Happy And 9 Wonderful Holiday Season God Bless You All ***** Bro Nichols---Jeanette And Steve Nichols 10