When I was going to purchase something for our daughter’s birthday at the Canadian Tire in Woodstock, I saw a young woman sleeping on the sidewalk in front of the CIBC bank. She had a sign that indicated that she was homeless and that any help given would be appreciated. The other thing written on her cardboard sign was, “God Bless.” I stopped to talk with her on my way back to the car and to offer some small assistance. She told me her name and as I turned to go, she also told me that it was her 21st birthday. I thought to myself afterwards that her birthday will be very different than our daughter’s. Our family members can look forward to special family celebrations and feeling the love of family and friends. This young woman was all alone and doesn’t even have a place to call home. When we are thinking about Thanksgiving this year and feeling thankful for the ways that God has blessed us, will we also think of those who are struggling for their day to day needs? We know that there are an increasing number of homeless people in our communities. Their stories vary, but without exception they, like us, need to receive love and care. I am reminded of Jesus saying as recorded in Matthew 25:34-40, 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Remember I indicated that this young woman in Woodstock had, “God Bless” written on her sign. We have been blessed and we can be thankful for all the ways that God has blessed us. We can also look for the ways that we can bless others and give them reason to believe that God is real and wants to bless and take care of them. We can thank God that He can use us to bless and care for others. This will be the focus of our prayers when we pause for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow October 4th at 1 pm. Please take time to pray with us.
Thanking God for all the ways that He has blessed us and thanking Him that He can also use us to show His blessing to others, Pastor Lola
Our loving and generous God there are many ways that You bless us every day and we thank You. Beyond this Thanksgiving time, we want to be aware and thanking You every day for Your loving care for us. We do pray for eyes to see each person around us. Sometimes it is troubling to recognize the extent of the needs in our communities. We know that the number of those requiring assistance keeps increasing. Please show us practical ways that we can help and express Your blessing for them. Guard us against being grateful for our own blessings and not taking notice of how others also crave blessing. We pray that we will not enter into a place of blaming people for their circumstances. We know that there are various reasons behind where people find themselves when they are sleeping on the sidewalk and posting a sign asking for help. We pray today for those facing issues of substance abuse. We pray for those being affected by mental illness. Today we think of those who have become so discouraged by the adversity that they have faced that they see little hope for the future. Please use us to bless those who struggle just to get by day to day. Jesus we pray that our compassion will mirror yours. Thank You that You always regard us with love when we come to You with our pressing needs. Thank You that we do have more than we need and can share with others. Please do guide us in this whole matter of sharing. Even when we can only give a little, thank You that this makes a positive difference. This thought of extending ourselves for others as if we were doing it for You is transformative. You Jesus have known what it was to be despised and rejected. You have known what it was to be misunderstood. You have known what it was like to suffer because people were not willing to see You for Who You are. As You urge us to do for others as if we are doing for You, we do pray that we will see You in the homeless person. We pray that we will see You in the person in mental distress walking along repeating the same phrase over and over. We pray that in our preparations for and gatherings around our tables this Thanksgiving that we will consider how You invite us and urge us to give those who are hungry something to eat; to give those who are thirsty something to drink; to welcome the stranger; to clothe those who need clothes; to look after those who are sick; and to visit those in prison. Our God expand our vision to recognize all the ways that people are imprisoned, held captive by the injustices of our society and the harsh judgments of others. How will You God use us to see people set free? Yes, we are deeply thankful for our many blessings. We know that You want others to be blessed too and so we pray that our lives will help this expanded blessing to occur. Thank You that You are a God Who longs to bless and care for our troubled world where there are those who have no home. May we all discover our home with You! In the Name of Jesus Who calls us to love as if loving Him, AMEN