GOD IS WITH US

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me…”
Psalm 23: 4 (KJV)

“Behold, a virgin…shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us.”
St Matthew 1: 23 (KJV)

JESUS!
“She shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS! He shall save His people from their sins.”

EMMANUEL!
“They shall call His name Emmanuel, which is being interpreted, God with us.”
God with us!
God is with us!
God is with us in Jesus to save us from our sin.
In fact, God is always with us, with you and with me.
Say it, “God is always with me!”
“God sees all we do! He overheard what you were whispering! He saw what you did when you thought all heads were bowed and every eye was closed. He saw! And where men and women are impressed by ‘what we do,’ God looks into our minds and into our hearts to determine ‘why we do.’

God is always with us.

God’s abiding presence, His constancy of oversight and companionship are not for the sake of JUDGEMENT, but for LOVE’S SAKE!
It is motivated by love for us, love toward us.
“He never sleeps, He never slumbers, He watches over us by night and by day.”

God is always with us!

John 16: 13 tells us that it is the Spirit of God that gives us the ability to discern between truth and the lesser realities to which we give ourselves that carry with them major consequences.

Some of those lesser realities are:

• WEALTH! “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and to lose his own soul?” (St Matthew 16: 26)
• BEAUTY! “All flesh is grass and the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass witherth, the flower fadeth:” (Isaiah 40: 6)
• SECURITY! “The earth is the Lord’s, the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein; for He hath founded it…He hast established it.” (Psalm 24: 1, 2)

We lose ourselves in empty pursuits, oblivious to the presence of God, blind to the truths of God. Yet, God does not abandon us. In Jesus, those who are the people of God are assured of the comfort and the protection and the advocacy of God Himself.

“God was in Christ Jesus, reconciling the world unto Himself!”
Imagine that! Behind the person of Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, is the face of God, the welcome embrace of the arms of God, extending tender mercies, loving kindness and great compassion!

“O come, let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord.”

AMEN!

Clement W. Fugh
Candidate for Episcopal Service – 2012

A HEART OF THANKSGIVING!

“With my hands lifted up
And my mouth filled with praise
With a heart of thanksgiving
I will bless Thee, O Lord.”

(Words by Teresa Muller)

This is my refrain to THE SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING AND CELEBRATION presented Sunday, November 20, 2011, by the Middle Tennessee Area Ministerial Fellowships, the South Nashville and the North Nashville Districts, and the Tennessee Conference AME-Women In Ministry to benefit The Recovery Movement and my Candidacy for Episcopal Service – 2012.  Special thanks go out to Pastor Broadnax and Greater Bethel AME Church, Nashville, TN, for hosting the Service; to Rev. Darrell Drumwright and The Temple Church for the anointed Word and Song; to Mr. Sam Robinson and the Tennessee Conference Choir, our featured musical ensemble; to the Program Committee and Participants; and to each of you who supported the Event with your presence, your gifts and your prayers.

I thank God for each of you.

Clement W. Fugh

A THANKSGIVING MESSAGE!

“No Hands But Our Hands”

“Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today
He has no feet but our feet to lead men in the way
He has no tongue but our tongue to tell men how He died
He has no help but our help to bring them to His side.

“We are the only Bible the careless world will read,
We are the sinner’s Gospel; we are the scoffer’s creed;
We are the Lord’s last message, given in word and deed…”
(Annie Johnson Flint)

The First Thanksgiving observed by the Pilgrims was during their SECOND winter in the New World. It was only by the grace of God and the help of a friendly tribe of local Indians that they survived their first winter. The Indians taught them how to preserve and to store what was in abundance in the summer for times of scarcity in the winter. So, when the second winter (November) came around, they were so well prepared with rations that the whole colony came together for a “thanksgiving feast.” They invited the local Indians, to whom they owed so much, to share in the festivities.

As was the case with the Pilgrims of early America, survival requires more than a one time gift of turkey and trimmings. It requires the sharing of skills and insights that can sustain in tough times.

Thanksgiving!

What better time than the “Season of Thanksgiving” to reflect upon the hard times, the rough places, and the storms the Lord has brought us through? What better time than Thanksgiving to celebrate the persons whom He sent in to our midst to be His hands, His feet, His eyes, His mouth, and His help to us? Even though we may not be able to share a common meal (feast!), we can at least pick up the phone (Yes! Phone! Voice/Words/Audible!) to inquire about the well-being of those who “walk with feet of clay” who were our deliverers.

The best expression of having received a blessing is to be a blessing!

“Pay it forward!”

Happy Thanksgiving!