Good Morning Everyone,

Greetings on Monday morning. It's a cold wintry day here in Burton. Honestly, I love Michigan and our 4 seasons. I guess the older I get, the longer it takes to get acclimated to the cold. I believe I might be giving my age away talking like that. What a great day in the Lord we had yesterday. It was the first Sunday of Advent and Christmas is coming. Thanks, Pastor Sarah, for preaching a great message on "What a passionate Christian looks like" on Sunday night. Tonight, all of your staff will be in Frankenmuth for our District Christmas Party. We are really looking forward to it.

For a thought this morning, let me share from a devotional I read last week. I take you to the writings of the Apostle Paul who said, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize." (Philippians 3:13-14) I have always liked that verse and held on to it. I say that because one of Satan's strongest weapons against the Christian is to bring up our past failures and discourage us. He wants us to believe we can't go forward for Christ and live in victory. The devil loves to bring up our failure stuff, pile it in front of us, and block our progress with Christ.

I remember when Nehemiah and his fellow Jews went back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city's walls. They encountered mounds of rubble and other debris from the city's destruction. The fourth chapter of Nehemiah describes the physical rubbish the workers faced, but the principle remains the same in the spiritual world.

The debris they were working around was a reminder of past failures and defeats for Jerusalem. But Nehemiah was there to claim victory, not moan over the past. And many times we must do as Nehemiah did -- stand in the area of previous defeat and claim victory for Christ! If you get caught up in all of the junk of the past, you'll get weighed down and not move forward. Don't let the evil one remind you of your failures and fail to focus on the blessings of God in your life. I encourage each of you to follow Paul's advice to forget about yesterday and strain forward to what lies ahead! Don't let the piles of rubble from your past keep you from pressing on for Christ! Let's move to higher ground this week.

Till next time, Pastor Don

P.S. Tuesday Night is Christmas Choir practice starting at 7pm and Saturday is the District Quiz Meet at South Flint. Quizzing will run from 9am-12pm. Come out and cheer our teens on. They took first place last month.

P.S.S. Joke of the Week

YOU MAY HAVE OVER DONE THANKSGIVING IF - - - - - -

You spill more food on you than the local soup kitchen dispenses

Paramedics bring in the Jaws of Life to pry you out of the Lazy-Boy recliner

Your after-dinner moans are loud enough to signal Dr. Kevorkian

The "Gravy Boat" your wife set out was a real 12' boat!

The potatoes you used set off another famine in Ireland

You receive a Sumo Wrestler application in your e-mail

You set off 3 earthquake seismographs on your morning jog Friday

That rash on your stomach turns out to be steering wheel burn

Representatives from the Butterball Hall of Fame call twice

You consider gluttony as your patriotic duty.

And the final way you know that you have overdone Thanksgiving -- it looks like the left-overs are gonna last until Christmas.
 

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