Thanksgiving Eye Trouble
by Pastor Gene
‘No, seriously, weren’t there ten?’
The story’s pretty well known. Jesus is traveling and preaching and healing. And in Luke 17:11-19 we find this thought-provoking incident.
On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
Astonishing, right? It was a Samaritan who thought to thank Jesus for healing him OF LEPROSY! Samaritans were out-casts, other-thans, mix-raced people who were despised by the Jews.
The other lepers who were healed we apparently Jews – those to whom the oracles of God and the prophets belonged! They should have known better. They would have known about the God of Israel and the Messiah He promised to send!
But, no. All of the other nine took God’s blessing for granted. They didn’t even bother to thank Him, never mind follow Him.
Don’t we do the same? If we are born-again and saved, we’ve been given SO MUCH from the Giver of every good gift” (James 1:17).
Truth is, we all have an EYE problem. Sorry, scratch that, I mean we all have an “I” problem. When we spend too much time focusing upon ourselves, the “I,” we get tunnel vision. We begin to dwell on our troubles, our trials and tribulations, and only see the things we lack.
But if we’ll pull back just a bit, and see ourselves in the context of those who are suffering the lack of food, shelter and safety around the world, we’ll come to see our troubles in perspective.
Don’t get me wrong! I’m not saying that our troubles aren’t difficult or that they don’t exist. I’m simply saying that when I look beyond myself and to the needs of others, I begin to see things more clearly. I find myself counting my blessings rather than cursing the things I lack.
This week is Thanksgiving week. So, we’re opening this blog as an opportunity for the Body to say, “Thank You” to the Lord for whatever you like.
Thanks-givers are certainly in the minority – they always have been. In the Luke 17 story they were 1-to-9! But, whichever side of the ratio you’re usually on, feel free to join the thanks-givers this week. I know your comments will bless the heart of our Heavenly Father, and encourage your brothers and sisters.
Happy Thanksgiving, thanks-givers!
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How thankful we are to have a nice church to go to. How blessed we are to have Pastor Gene to deliver such inspiratioal messages. The other pastors, music team, prayer team, sound booth,
Gina, and church goers all have a special place in our hearts.
Thank you and
God
Bless…Karen and Lou
I give thanks for a high and reverent view of God and a Christ-centered proclamation of Truth, For a safe place to gather, study and grow with so many like-minded, Jesus-seeking souls…
So true. We are so blessed with a awesome church family.
I am so very thankful to God for the opportunity to spend this Thanksgiving with family. While we are out of our comfort zone, it has been opportunity after opportunity to serve Our Lord & Savior & to grow closer to Him. While we miss our church family we are grateful for this opportunity. We are so very thankful for our Pastor & his wife Mary for the example they are of Christ,s love in action. We are so blessed to call you ALL our family. HUGS TO ALL Ted& Kathy
HUGS BACK!!!!! Happy Thanksgiving to you as well!!!😍
I am thankful for Harvest Community Church’s pastors willingness to preach uncompromised sermons even at the expense of filling up the pews.
I am thankful that because of Jesus Christ we are never alone or without purpose
This afternoon I am thankful for a God who is so personal in his response to us! He knows exactly what we need and when. If we stop to listen and watch for him, he is always affirming his care and concern for us.
I’m thankful for a God that loves me enough to go searching for me to remind that I’m not alone and He is there to share this journey called life.
I am thankful for the group if ladies that I get to spend my Thursday mornings with. I am grateful that they are all so encouraging and have embraced me as one of their own. I am not an extremely social person but the greetings on a sunday morning make me feel a little better even if I am having a bad morning. Thank you ladies!
We’re glad to get to know you; you have a sweet spirit! 😊
I am thankful for my new church family at Harvest. Before attending Harvest in the summertime I was feeling somewhat disconnected to God, I was attending a church but losing interest … now I am excited about going to church and falling in Love with the Lord all over again. I am growing more in the past few months than the previous 25 years of being a Christian. Special thank you to Pastor Gene and my very dear friend Bob Coderre for introducing Matt and I to Harvest community church..
Welcome Barbara, we are glad to include you in our family @ Harvest! 😊🙏🏻
Thanks Barbara, I am so thankful to God for bringing you and Matt to our church. It is so awesome to have someone you work with to share the Lord and worship together. I am grateful that you are both growing and hearing from God’s Spirit. It is truly awesome to know that we serve a God who knows exactly what we need and is so timely in how He gives us just what we need when we need it! I am also thankful to God that my kids know the Lord and love Him!
One of the gifts that God has blessed me with, that I am ever so thankful for, is my husband. I was introduced to Christ through a church service that he brought me to when we were dating. I have no earthly words to express the joy in the journey that we have been on together (even when we go through hard times) over the almost 40 years we’ve been married. I’ve been blessed to know his mom, Emma, whom I loved dearly. She raised an unbelievable FIVE boys who all love the Lord. She was, and is, an inspiration to me and demonstrated Christ’s love to all she came in contact with. We have a fabulous daughter and grandson… All because two people fell in love. I truly must be one of His favorite kids!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!!! It has snuck up on us quickly – they say as you get older time flies the years and I believe that is true. There is so very much to be thankful for way too many to list here – but the one that comes to mind is I am thankful to a God who uses broken things- so very true. I am thankful that He doesn’t see my wretched deplorable sins but He sees His son Jesus covering my “stuff”. And only because one day I trusted and believed that He died FOR ME! Unimaginable isn’t it? In my head is playing the new Matthew West song called “Broken Things”
If grace was a kingdom I stopped at the gate
Thinking I don’t deserve to pass through after all the mistakes that I’ve made
Oh but I heard a whisper as Heaven bent down
Said child don’t you know that the first will be last and the last get a crown
Now I’m just a beggar in the presence of a king
I wish I could bring so much more
But if it’s true that you use broken things
Then here I am Lord I’m all Yours
The pages of history they tell me it’s true
It’s never the perfect it’s always the ones with the scars that you use
It’s the rebels and the prodigals, it’s the humble and the weak
All the misfit heroes You chose tell me there’s hope for sinners like me
If grace is a kingdom with gates open wide
There’s a seat at the table for you so come on inside
HTTPS:YouTu.be/WdUu6ZsdVfm
May you know this love and find your seat at HIS TABLE
Thank you, Joy,for sharing the words to that song. I hear it all the time and Caleb and I do relate. I’m so thankful that a sinner like me is welcome at the table of King Jesus!
What am I thankful for.l? It would take pages and pages to tell you. I will make it brief. The Lord has seen fit to give me another 17 years on this earth (post cancer) to make a difference for his kingdom! I most thankful for my Savior and next, for my family and then my family at Harvest. Dan and I have grown so much in this body of believers. We are so thankful to be sitting under the teachings of Gene Giguere. An uncompromising pastor so thank you PG !!!these life-giving Messages have made all the difference in my life!!amen!
Wow Joy, that is beautiful. Thank you for sharing… your voice, your tender spirit, your openness and your life with us!
SO thankful to wake up in a warm bed this morning, with indoor plumbing, and a husband waiting for me with a cup of hot coffee and ready to read the Word together! The Lord has brought us a long way on our journey together…Praise Jesus!!
I second that Anne, thank God for my servant leader husband!
I am thankful for the comfort God gives when we need it, that He is my refuge in times of trouble, that He answers prayers before I have spoken them and that He says He will never leave us or forsake us. I may not always take the time to sit and talk with my Lord, yet He is there, waiting for me.
I’m thankful for my son, Tyler, who is at such impressionable age. No matter what any of his friends and classmates say, he stands firmly by what he believes about the Lord. I can see God continually working in him and it makes me so happy to see my little boy turning into a Godly little man.
Tyler is such an amazing little guy and you are an absolutely amazing Mom! We are so lucky to have you!
So thankful that the Lord has been so gracious to surround me with good Godly women,encouraging Bible studies,and a church that preaches Gods word! How amazing is that. I take joy in the fact that I have been able to serve the toddlers and children of our church. God has me serving in a different capacity now and it’s a challenge but it’s in the challenge we become more Christ like.
I feel very blessed to be be able to spend Thanksgiving with my entire family and extended family. Again Gods grace.
A job to go to, abed to sleep in, food to eat,people to love, aGod who loves me ,a Bible to read, a body that aches a heart that’s been broken, children, a grandchild, a car to drive, a faithful God, hot tea in the morning, friends who love JESUS, a mind that knows it needs Jesus. A JESUS that loves me, forgives me and makes a way where there seems to be no way. I’m blessed beyond measure
Thankful for God’s grace & mercy that are new every morning. Thankful for His promise to never leave me or forsake me, that no weapon formed against me will prosper, that I am His and He is mine. I was telling one of deacons Sunday before service, how in this week going into Thanksgiving how it seemed like the enemy was reminding me of my failures, my hurts & my losses. So he says to me not in these exact words but to the effect that He who lives in us is greater than he who is in the world. So very thankful for Sunday’s morning worship (welcoming & gloryfing the Lord) and the confirmation sermon from Pastor Gene. Thankful for all the pastors, deacons & all my brothers & sisters at Harvest Community Church. Have a Blessed Thanksgiving one & all. Love you church!
I am thankful that God’s mercies are new every morning…That the power that raised Jesus from the dead is alive within me…That I serve a living God who works out His plan in the details of my life. I am especially thankful to get to know the amazing believers in my group—Peg and Walter and Linda, who I was delighted to meet for the very first time in this context—all quiet spirits with waters that run deep. Anne and Steve are amazing, supportive, precious believers and I am priveledged to serve along side of them. Kathryn is like a Jesus dynamo—she is positively glowing—like Moses when he came down from the mountain. I am thankful for : Teri and Jeff for their committed service in the face of trials, Joy for her transparency and humble spirit, Dan for his wise commentary—short and absolutely on point, Alan, for his mature biblical perspective—and my husband, Bob, who stepped out of his comfort zone—I realize that I enjoy listening to him speak more than I enjoy speaking myself—now there’s a miracle 30 years in the making! (Because I do love to talk!!)
Wow thanksgiving already I have so much to be thankful for I could write a book. But the most thankful thing I have is God coming into my life and saving a wretch like me that’s amazing I’m thankful for our church family. And my beautiful wife that is so awesome I can’t believe God gave me her ever the trials we go through if I didn’t have God in my life I would have fell apart. So thank you Jesus.
I’m so blessed reading and re-reading these comments this morning. Although God has me in a very challenging and difficult situation, I’m encouraged by everyone’s insight. I’m beginning to realize that for whatever reason God has carefully chosen this path for me, and He can and will use it for His glory. Going back to last week, I need to DIE DIE DIE and let Him do His work. I am so thankful for all the luxuries we take for granted every day. I am so thankful for the health and wellness of my children even if I can’t have them all near me. I have been so blessed in our focus group by the simple act of sitting around a table and sharing a meal together. I am truly thankful for people I have met and grown closer to.
I am thankful for my God who redeems and restores! I thank Him for the trails and the brokenness that He has allowed me to walk. There is where He has shown me time and time again His faithfulness, grace and measureless love! For celebrating 7 years of being cancer free…praise Him!! Most of all I am thankful for my husband who has been a Godly example to our two boys, who has loved me in times when I haven’t been so lovable! He is my biggest cheerleader and best friend! It is a privilege and blessing to co-labor with him daily! Thankful for our family, friends & church family. What a blessing the Thursday morning women’s group has been!! Seeing you all rally along side a sister who needs a word of encouragement, coming together to lift a need/struggle of another in prayer, or offering your availability to fill a need…being Jesus with skin on! You truly are an encouragement and a blessing to me! Happy Thanksgiving!
I am thankful that God gave me a wonderful family (and one that is easy to love). Although I wasn’t born in a family with material wealth, I always had a place to call home. In my childhood home God was a part of our daily life, saying prayers every night and attending church regularly. I am thankful that He was acknowledged. Although it would take me several years and some trials in order to have a personal relationship with him; I am thankful that I had a head start in getting to know him by my parent’s example.
If my parents were alive today they would both be 96 years old. They lived thru the great depression and WWII and knew the real value of what is important. They taught me how to appreciate the things I had, to work hard, and never forget where I came from.
As my family gathers around the table this Thursday we will probably share some of the same stories that have been told over and over again (but somehow retelling the stories keeps those family members who have gone before me alive).
As my dear father –in- law would say – “In this family there is always room for one more, but not one less “. So I guess I am especially grateful that this year my family has not had to say good bye to anyone but had to move over and add one more little plate at our table.
I love that!!!
I feel so blessed and gratefull that we have loving God who gave us his Son. I thanks Jesus every day for what he has given me. Family friends, and a awesome church. Especially our pastors, and my sisters in Christ. There’s so much too say but in short thank you God. I give u thanks and praise in this journey we call life.
As I read this K am so thankful for my Harvest church famkly. I am blessed beyond measure for what God has given me – visiting Kristin this week, getting to know & share with our Christian brothers & sister’s the past 2 weeks in Togo. We felt your prayers in some difficult times. As I am still learning to surrender my life to God’s will He continues to remind me – I am His, He is mine throughout eternity. Thank you Father God for Jesus gift of salvation!
Reflecting on the thanks of last nights offering, I looked around the sanctuary and thought of the many little communities — places where we gather to teach, serve, love together — within the greater church community that God has grown here…and my heart was thankful. It’s in these smaller places where our “cord of three” is strengthened and our vision enlarged. Thank you, Father, for the privilege of sharing life with these Brothers and Sisters as You transform us to be more like Your Son, our Savior, Jesus.
I was mentioning to Charlie in our morning talk today that it seems to me that this “discipleship thing” is working. We had at least 60-70 people attend, I know it was the pie. But I can really sense our body growing closer together and getting to know each other in a deeper way. I am thankful for this because God is using others to show me things in my own life. The sharing has a powerful effect of bringing to mind things that God is doing and has done in my life.
I’m so thankful for my God my family. Thankful for the bad and ugly in my life that has brought me on my knees to the GOOD that my God has given me I am blessed Happy Thanksgiving to my church family
Little Thanksgiving God sighting…at Walmart on the day before Thanksgiving I had to go to Walmart….for some reason taling all the kids…forgetting how it would be the day before Thanksgiving. Couldn’t find pie crust. Got to the checkout and saw a lady in the next aisle with pie crust. “Oh! They have pie crust! Where was it?…All the way in the back? Ok, kids…lets go!!!” “Wait!” Says the lady. “How many did you need?…one?…Here, take one of mine!” Thanksgiving in action.
I am thankful to God for his love and mercy. This has been a difficult year for me physically. All through this time I was able fell his love and mercy. He has done some amazing healing in my body and has kept me in the spirit. I thank the Lord for the peace and joy which I experienced during this trial. I am so thankful that I have a friend, councilor and healer in the Lord.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, and thank you for praying for me.
On this, the night before official Thanksgiving day, I just want to let you all know that I’m thankful for each of you. How God has blessed us! Have a Happy & blessed Thanksgiving everyone!
As I’ve read over these comments I’m ever so thankful for what the Lord has called me to do each day. I am blessed to serve the body of faithful Christ followers at HCC and as an added bonus I get to do that with my wife Gina. I’m also thankful for the leadership team we have and the dedication Pastor Gene has to teaching the Word of God with passion and integrity. May we together continue to do what God will bless.
As I look at this time of year, I think of what I am thankful of. Words can not express how thankful and blessed I have been having such a God filled family and feeling loved every day of my life. I have always known God and his love, thank you Mom and Dad, God blessed me with a wonderful, crazy husband who is my best friend. God gave me 1 healthy son who is the apple of my eye and now is engaged to a wonderful young woman who I pray will someday know the Lord. God has blessed me with a wonderful career in nursing which I love, taking care of the elderly and everyday feel blessed to make a different in that season of their life. God has also brought speed bumps in our lives but when you look at he BIG picture, oh how blessed am I. God also blessed me with 2 amazing cats.Thank you Lord for all the amazing people you have given me even though I am not deserving.
Reading all these beautiful comments, I can’t help but feel the love from this church!
I’m thankful for this blog, this website, our amazing church, my salvation, my husband, and my family; for my home, job, pup, friends, good health; for the mercies and forgiveness my Lord bestows on me daily. I’m thankful for my children-my son who loves and pursues our Lord, and for my daughter who is a blessing to me in so many ways. I’m thankful for my step-children and our grandchildren; for knowing I can look ahead and not behind. Thank you, Jesus, my precious King.