MIND OF CHRIST MINISTRIES, INC.
PASTOR THOMAS E. OGLESBY
P.O. BOX 85
NUTLEY, NEW JERSEY 07110
E-Mail: MOC@MindOfChristMinistries.net
Phone Number 973-661-9415
November 2018
“How Did Thanksgiving Day Come About?”
Dear Believer(s):
I thank all of you who joined me in prayer the last four days of October. I believe our prayers cancelled the evil plans of satan against our lives. As we celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday, let’s do so by continuing to pray daily. I want all of you who are on the mailing list to know that you and your loved ones are being prayed for daily. Please join with me in allowing our holidays to be blessed by seeking God in all that we do.
There are many uncertainties in the world but God does not change. God does not want us to be over burdened with the problems of the world. He tells us in His Word, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19)
Oh! But there is much more to a Christian’s life than the natural circumstances, and the events of the world. I pray that you are a Christian. Jesus said, “And lo, I am with you always even to the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20) Our Jesus is with us all the time. It does not matter what we face. Jesus can solve our problems and provide for our needs. The Bible says, “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17) We must put our total faith in God and trust Him. He will bring us through. God cannot lie. (Titus 1:2)
Let us remember that we are in the world, but we do not belong to it. Nor are we run by it! The God we serve controls everything. When we give and are obedient to Him, He will take care of you and me. We serve a higher power. The God who is love and The God who loves to bless His people.
As I review this year and what God has done through this ministry, it was “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6) It was only by the Spirit of God that we continued spreading the Message of the Gospel and sharing His love in ways we had never done before. I thank all for their sacrificial giving and their prayer support.
I want you to be thankful! God is moving now and performing miracles for His people. I want you to be blessed. Please send in your prayer request so that we can join our faith together in petitioning God for His almighty help. Do not forget to send in your prayer request by mail or e-mail it. I know that we will shout the victory together because God will answer our prayers.
Many times we become very apprehensive about things we are faced with, and we do not want to move out of our comfort zone. Be bold and be obedient to God. There are times we become weary, tired, and doubtful. God’s Spirit can lift us up, show us the way, and the impossible becomes possible with Him. Praise God! I want to help you by praying with you. Matthew 18:19 says, “And I tell you more: whenever two of you on earth agree about anything you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” As you and I agree in prayer, God will answer our prayer. The key is not to give up! “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Galatians 6:9)
On Thanksgiving Day I will spend four hours in prayer. I will pray for all the individuals who send in their special prayer requests. I will be praying for all types of needs, and for God to move in a Miraculous way answering the petitions of His people. I will especially pray for those who have loved ones who are lost. Don’t forget to send me the names of those that you know who need Salvation.
This is very important. I am asking those who receive this letter to put aside some time on Thanksgiving Day and join me in prayer. Pray and ask God about the amount of time you should spend with Him. I believe that if you do this, we can expect great blessings from God.
How did Thanksgiving Day come about? Thanksgiving is a day that many spend with family and friends. We eat traditional meals and watch parades and football games. But what was the original meaning of Thanksgiving? It was a Day that was dedicated to giving thanks to the Lord!
President Abraham Lincoln was the one who made the official proclamation, which dedicated the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day. But there is a very important story behind Thanksgiving Day.
The story begins when the Pilgrims landed in America. Pilgrims were Christians who left their homeland in search of religious freedom. They were men and women who believed in thanking God in every situation. For example, one group landed on the East Coast, where they discovered an iron pot containing thirty six ears of corn which had mysteriously been left there. At first, they did not know what to do with the corn, they finally decided to take it on board the ship, and they gave thanks and praise to God for it. Next, they landed in the area where Massachusetts is today; Indians immediately attacked them. Once the fighting ended, miraculously, no one was hurt! What did they do? They got down on their knees and gave thanks and praise to God!
Then they sailed off again, hoping to establish a settlement before winter, but ran into a terrible storm which completely destroyed the rudder of the ship. Finally, they drifted safely into a bay. They were so grateful to God for delivering them from the storm that they stayed on board the ship to pray and give thanks to God! The next day they went ashore and found a twenty-acre plot of land which had been cleared by the same Indians that had attacked them before! The whole tribe had died from disease, so the Pilgrims decided to stay there.
The Pilgrims first winter in this new land was so hard that many of them died. The next winter was not much better. They began with plenty of food from a bumper corn crop that first spring, but half way through the second winter they had to go on daily rations. Fearing for their survival they turned to the Lord for a time of fasting and prayer! Then something happened which just did not happen in those days, a ship landed in the bay, and they met with the Captain of the ship, who traded corn for their beaver pelts, and they were able to survive the winter!
Notice that during those first years of hardship, the Pilgrims were on their knees praying that they could sustain life in this new land. Why was that so important to them? Because they did not want to go back to England where they could not express their religion freely! And each fall they set aside a day of Thanksgiving to God for all the good things He had done for them throughout the year!
I am encouraging all of my friend’s and your friends, let’s go back to our Christian roots this Thanksgiving Day and give thanks and Praise to God, Our Heavenly Father, just like the Pilgrims did.
Let’s all get on our knees and Pray. Join me now: “Lord, we lift up our hearts to you and say, we thank you for our lives, we thank you for our families, we thank you for America, and we thank you for your goodness, mercy and love. We truly give you thanks, and praise for all things and all situations. Amen!”
Thanksgiving is a day that’s dedicated to giving thanks to the Lord. Let me share what it says in this scripture. “O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” (Psalm 107:1) Are we giving thanks to God because He is good? Many are complaining because of what they do not have. Let’s turn the situation around and thank God for what we do have. Let’s lift our voices to the Lord and give Him a Praise Offering. Lord, we thank you; we praise you, for being the Almighty God.
Each situation that the Pilgrims experienced, they thanked God. Many today are not thanking God. We must give the Maker of all things thanks.
Many times we take the smallest blessings for granted. We should remember to be thankful for small, as well as, great blessings, for all blessings come from God. Let us reach out with God’s Spirit of love to those in our immediate families, as well as, others to proclaim the Good News that Jesus is alive and is still performing great
Miracles. If we do not talk of our great King of Kings and Lord of Lords to those who do not know Him, we are not giving them the opportunity to say yes, to Christ.
Let’s look at “A Song of Thanksgiving” written by David found in Psalm 67; “God be merciful to us and bless us; look on us with kindness, so that the whole world may know your will; so that all nations may know your salvation. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you! May the nations be glad and sing for joy, because you judge the peoples with justice and guide every nation on earth. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you! The land has produced its harvest; God, our God, has blessed us. God has blessed us; may all the people everywhere honor him.”
As it points out in this Psalm, God our God has blessed us. God has surely blessed us and is continuing to do so. On Thanksgiving Day set aside time to praise God for what He has done for you. Let us not forget to thank our God. Even if you feel that circumstances are not good, you need to praise God. Our praising God should not depend on our conditions or situations. Many times, I have praised God when I did not feel like it or the situation did not seem to warrant it. That’s when the battle was won. We’ve got to be in an attitude of praise all the time.
Thanksgiving is not only a time of praise but it is also a time of prayer. I cannot emphasize this enough. We must spend time in communication with God, for He is the One who has given us all things.
As we enter into this Season, let us remember why we celebrate Thanksgiving. Let us keep in mind that it is time for truly being thankful, it is time for sharing not only good food, but for sharing the love of Christ with those who do not know Him. There are many in our own families that still do not know Christ. Let’s take time to give them the Bread of Life, let us not only share a natural meal but let us share spiritual food with our loved ones. Let us proclaim “Christ as, the way, the truth, and the life”. (John 14:6) Let us give praise by demonstrating love to others, by telling them of the great blessings God has given us, and by letting others know the great miracles God has performed in our lives.
This ministry needs your financial support. I appreciate your giving. It makes it possible for me to continue to spread the Good News of the Gospel. Please pray and ask God how much you should give. I know that you will be blessed for sowing into good ground. Your continued giving is really needed this time of the year.
With Love, Praise and Thankfulness,
Thomas Oglesby
Pastor Thomas Oglesby
We Invite You To Come To The Services Listed Expecting To Be Blessed And Experience The Power of God.
Services Are Held:
Sundays at 12:30 P.M., at Saint Paul’s Congregational Church
10 Saint Paul’s Place,
Nutley, New Jersey 07110
Mind of Christ Ministries Worship Service Schedule
Services begin at 12:30 p.m.
Sunday November 4, Sunday November 11& Sunday November 18, 2018
Mind of Christ Ministries Services are usually held every month as follows:
1st Sunday (Bible Teaching and Principles)
2nd Sunday (Video Taping for Television)
3rd Sunday (Miracle and Healing Service)
Weekly Cable Television Service Schedule
Thursday: 7:00 p.m. Cable Television Channel TV21, Charlotte. NC
Sunday 10:30 a.m. Comcast Cable, Channel 96
Sunday: 7:00 p.m. Cablevision of Newark, NJ Channel 19
Sunday: 7:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. Paterson, NJ Channel 75
Sunday: 7:00 p.m. Cablevision Oakland, NJ (Nutley area) Channel 76
Sunday: 7:00 p.m. Cablevision Bergen, NJ Channel 77
Sunday: 7:00 p.m. Cablevision Morris, NJ Channel 21
Please send your e-mails for prayer and additional information requests to:
mindofchrist@verizon.net or call (973-661-9415)
Mind of Christ Ministries Prayer Request:
PLEASE PRINT: DATE______________
PASTOR OGLESBY, PLEASE PRAY FOR THE FOLLOWING PRAYER NEEDS: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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City: _______________State: _______ Zip: _______Telephone#____________________
