Greetings y'all,
In our last week's Update, Mr. Bryce briefly commented about the Council of Elders meetings that were in progress. They were followed the next day, Friday, by a whole-day meeting with the Regional Pastors who were still in Charlotte. Undoubtedly, Mr. Meredith himself will soon be writing about the discussions during these successful and fruitful meetings. On the Sabbath, with all of our visiting ministers and guests in Charlotte, our weekly attendance jumped to 143, but with their departure we will shrink back this week to our normal number. Here are brief comments by three members of the Council of Elders:
"As a rookie, I have been very blessed to attend the Council of Elders Conference. I have learnt a great deal and have been blessed by getting closer to the experienced members of the Council. I realize now, as never before, how the Council of Elders is concerned about serving God's Church. Thank you Mr. Meredith." Syd Hull
"Fifteen men came together to discuss a wide variety of topics at this recent series of meetings. It is a beautiful thing when no one has his own private agenda and all are sincerely seeking to do what is right. Yes, we have leadership, but we also have an atmosphere of total openness, genuine respect, and sincere love for one another and for the goals we all share." Gerald Weston
"As one of the newer members on the Council of Elders, I appreciated being with fellow servants from around the world. I was moved to see dedicated men yielding to God and to each other, with Dr. Meredith taking the lead. The purposes were clear: to more effectively serve God and His people, to do His work and to grow in understanding God's word more perfectly." Rand Millich
French Web site
"We received this morning 96 e-mails, mostly from new people who have visited the Web site and have requested booklets or the Bible Study Course. Next week will be a busier one. We are really happy to witness the level at which the Gospel is being preached through the Internet. The statistics are becoming increasingly encouraging. It looks like November will be even bigger than October, if the number of visits continues at the rate of the previous days. Mr. Apartian's five sermons which are online have been downloaded 650 times and the month hasn't even ended yet. The number of literature downloads is also great. Details will follow." (The Lardé family)
COMMENTS
This week's Update is sent out one day earlier because of the THANKSGIVING holiday—a day most Americans celebrate with fancy turkey dinners and usually by watching a football game. But that wasn't in Abraham Lincoln's mind, for sure, when he proclaimed on October 3, 1863, that the last Thursday of November, each year, be "a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."
Actually, most people recognize the United States' first Thanksgiving as taking place in December 1621, when the Pilgrims held a three-day feast to celebrate the bountiful harvest they reaped following their first winter in North America. But there is no real evidence that turkey was served at this Pilgrim's first Thanksgiving, even though through the ages it became an indispensable part of Thanksgiving tradition.
However, for God's people, whether living in the United States or elsewhere, Thanksgiving should not only be on one Thursday in November each year. Every day throughout the year should be "a day of Thanksgiving and Praise" to our beneficent God. The Apostle Paul emphasized this when he wrote, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
But how can we give thanks in everything? We can by following Paul's own example when facing adversity. He wrote, "I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need" (Philippians 4:12).
Thanksgiving spells GRATITUDE—and there is no place for grudge or complaint in GRATITUDE.
Please drive safely and have a wonderful Sabbath.
Dibar Apartian