[:en]THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

God does not make junks but He does have a junkyard—a large one, I should say. We are God’s creation and we are no junks; we were, after all, created in His image. We can think and we can create; we can know and we can distinguish good from bad, right from wrong. We are no junks; we are God’s esteemed work-piece.

But, God has a junkyard; it is the place where He throws away all the junks—or the messes—we have created as a result of many bad decisions we have made. God never rejects the junks we bring to Him. He never says these junks are way too ugly to be in His junkyard. And, He never says that the lot is full. There is always room for the junks we bring to Him.

There are countless things I can thank God for but there is nothing that touches my heart like His forgiveness. I know I am a sinner and I have committed sins—bad and shameful acts. To know that I am forgiven gives me joy and peace. And, to know that I am forgiven has motivated me to be a better person—to be more like Him. The wonderful thing about wanting to be a better person is the moment we say it, He, then, gives us power and lends His hands to help. The fact that we are as we are today—a little better than yesterday—is a result of God’s work in us. For this, we give thanks to God.

In his book, Sources of Strength, former president Jimmy Carter writes, “. . . we can’t be truly thankful unless we are willing to acknowledge our need for God. After all, if the good things we enjoy are our own doing . . . then we really don’t owe God anything.” The good, the love, the patience, etc are God’s doing in us. The home, the friends, the job, etc are God’s gifts to us. We are merely the recipients of them all. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Pastor Paul[:id]THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

God does not make junks but He does have a junkyard—a large one, I should say. We are God’s creation and we are no junks; we were, after all, created in His image. We can think and we can create; we can know and we can distinguish good from bad, right from wrong. We are no junks; we are God’s esteemed work-piece.

But, God has a junkyard; it is the place where He throws away all the junks—or the messes—we have created as a result of many bad decisions we have made. God never rejects the junks we bring to Him. He never says these junks are way too ugly to be in His junkyard. And, He never says that the lot is full. There is always room for the junks we bring to Him.

There are countless things I can thank God for but there is nothing that touches my heart like His forgiveness. I know I am a sinner and I have committed sins—bad and shameful acts. To know that I am forgiven gives me joy and peace. And, to know that I am forgiven has motivated me to be a better person—to be more like Him. The wonderful thing about wanting to be a better person is the moment we say it, He, then, gives us power and lends His hands to help. The fact that we are as we are today—a little better than yesterday—is a result of God’s work in us. For this, we give thanks to God.

In his book, Sources of Strength, former president Jimmy Carter writes, “. . . we can’t be truly thankful unless we are willing to acknowledge our need for God. After all, if the good things we enjoy are our own doing . . . then we really don’t owe God anything.” The good, the love, the patience, etc are God’s doing in us. The home, the friends, the job, etc are God’s gifts to us. We are merely the recipients of them all. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Pastor Paul[:]