2022.10.08/09
From the Pastor’s Desk:Rev.Collins Kung
Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,
Recently, I saw on TV news that the storm battered the Atlantic Province, houses and roads were severely damaged and devastated, there are still power outages in many parts of the region. It was really appalling. Another storm hit Florida in the US which also caused severe damage.
When a reporter interviewed an owner of a tourist camp in Prince Edward Island, he said most of the holiday homes had been destroyed and all travelers who had booked the camp had to cancel. The reporter also visited the owner of an oyster farm, he told him that most of oysters in the bay were damaged and he suffered heavy losses!
Thanksgiving reminds me that God is the source of all His grace
When I see this news, I pray for them. At the same time, I am thinking what would I do if it happened to me? I am so thankful in my heart that God keeps me peace and calm every day.
These kinds of things remind me that things happen as planned should not be taken it for granted. You can come and go safely, you go to work and come home safely. It is God’s protection! We should be thankful for what God has done to us every day. When we are thankful, we acknowledge that God is the source of all grace. HE is the One controls everything in the universe, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.
We often think that everything is under our control. In fact, it is the grace of God that everything can be done according to our plan. I personally believe that God has done miracles on me. For example, if I want to travel abroad, there are actually many uncertainties. I may be infected with Covid-19 and cannot make the trip. May be the plane is delayed and is too late to make connection flight to the destination. May be the airport security check takes too long and I missed the flight. Maybe upon my arrival to the destination, my luggage is missing. To be able to go and return safely is actually God’s gracious hand upon me! James 4:13-15 gave me a great reminder: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
Thanksgiving reminds us of God’s countless grace
Psalm 103:2 ” Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,!”
When we give thanks to God, we remember God has a lot of grace in us, we will not forget it so easily. When I started ministering at the beginning, an old pastor taught me to include thanksgivings in my prayer items, I am doing it until to date. In the Old Testament, when God gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, Exodus 20:2 God said: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” God told the Israelites to follow the feasts to remember the grace of God so that they can pass on their faith from generation to generation. When the Israelites forsook God, and didn’t even keep the Passover. They became ungrateful. Only when we always be thankful, we will remember that God has countless graces.
Thanksgiving keeps us connected to God and grace upon grace
When we have a thankful heart to God, we always look upon God, just like the relationship of the vine and the branches, be connected with God. John 15:5 The Lord Jesus said, “…whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit…”. When you experience the grace of God, you will trust Him more. The more you trust HIM, the more grace you will receive from God. John 1:16 “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”
May all brothers and sisters be a person who always be thankful to God!
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Collins Kung