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    “Thank You, God!”

We have been getting together to pray for several months now and I pray that we will continue to do that.  I am interrupting the series that I have been doing on the changes needed in the church to write about prayer and thanksgiving hoping that it will help you in your prayers and our everyday life together.

“Be at peace among yourselves.  And we urge you beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them.  See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.  Rejoice always, pray without ceasing give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  1 Thess. 5: 13b-18

The psalmist tells you to enter the gates of our Lord’s throne room with thanksgiving and to enter His courts with praise (Ps 100: 4).  To continually dwell in the presence of the Lord, then, is to continually be thanking and praising Him.

Joy   One of the principal roles for a Christian is to be a wellspring of joy.  Thanksgiving and praise are the manifestations of joy.

Have you thanked God today for His blessings to you--- appreciating what you have without resenting what you don’t have?

Do you acknowledge all of His good gifts to you with praise and adoration?

Do you worship Him freely?

As good things happen to you, give thanks to God.  Simply say, “Thank you God!”

When someone compliments you on something you know was God’s gerace working in or through you, receive the compliment by saying sincerely, “Thank God!”

In  continually thanking and praising God for the good things in your life, you can do three things:

Call attention to the fact that God is a loving heavenly Father who desires the eternal best for all those who love Him and obey His commandments.  Thank God for your physical health and your material blessings, even as you thank Him continually for being your Savior and Lord.

Focus your attention on the good things of life rather than on evil.  Always recognize that a temptation to evil is deceiving—it is often disguised as attractive and beneficial.  It takes a consistent effort to shun evil and concentrate on God.

Create a positive atmosphere around you in which conversations about the Lord Jesus are more likely to take place.

Praise   You may be fearful about what others will think or say and, therefore, remain silent—even when your heart is thankful or you feel like praising the Lord.  If you are going to err, err on the side of being bold in your praise!

            Let praise be your first, almost instinctive response to blessings as they come your way.  Openly acknowledge the One who is the Source of everything you need, the Source of all inspiration and creativity, the Source of all energy and power.  The Bible promises that if you will openly acknowledge Him before others now, He will openly acknowledge you before God.  Above all, pray without ceasing.

This advent season finds us at the end of another year and the beginning of the year of Saint Mark and Saint John.  I pray that you will continue to worship regularly this coming year as you have in the past and invite friends and family to come and praise God, give thanks to Him and pray, pray, pray.

CHINESE NEW YEAR IS SUNDAY, JANUARY 25!  ALL ARE INVITED!

Blessings and Peace,
Pastor Mary

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However Will We Care for the Whole of Mesoamerica
Pastor Mary Todd Pendergast
May 30, 2007

I have been ordained for 20 years and I have made it a policy not to involve those that I serve in strictly political matters, but I can no longer keep quiet because I fear for our country. So, here goes.

I have still not recovered from hearing the total cost of the new Immigration bill that is now being considered in Congress.  It is 2.25 trillion dollars and perhaps more.  I am writing this for our website because I have done what little I can by writing to politicians and don’t know what else to do.

First, you will not find any place in the Bible that does not  say that aliens in the land should be welcomed and taken care of.  The Bible reminds us that we were once aliens in a foreign land and should be welcoming to those who are among us.  The ELCA along with the Catholic Church have spoken in favor of letting all stay and use the Bible to justify it.  I, like you, have met many who have come here for a better life and I would not deny it to any.  I just can’t figure out how the Republic can continue to care for an estimated 20-40 million people who have come here in need of being cared for in our schools, hospitals, and are in need of daily support including food clothing, and health care.

Secondly, what I hear the proponents of this bill say over and over is that we were all once immigrants and that is true.  The difference is that there were no social welfare programs for those 19th and early 20th century immigrants that included the Irish, Italians and many from Scandinavia.  Those who could make it by helping one another and could care for themselves stayed here and those who couldn’t find a way to care for themselves returned to their country of origin.

Thirdly, An independent foundation, I believe the Heritage Foundation, has found that in the next decade we will need many more educated  health care workers, engineers et.al., in order for California to continue to grow and prosper.  The countries that these people are coming from, in order of numbers, are India, South Korea, China, Vietnam, and at a distant fifth are those from south of the border.

Lastly, no matter how you feel let your government representatives know byletter, by phone, or E-mail.  That means you will be participating in our system of government.  Remember, the politicians work for us. Some websites that will give you all the information that you need are;

www.alipac.us
www.grassfire.com
www.anncoulter.com

WE MUST PRAY FOR OUR COUNTRY!
Pastor Mary

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