November 2003 November is the month  for Thanksgiving November is the month for Thanksgiving. That thought conjures up scenes of family gathered around the table filled with all sorts of wonderful cooking. The smells, the excellent food prepared, mmmm it just about makes me want to go get a turkey! There is another reason why I am so grateful this year - I'm glad I am a Lutheran Christian. In our church, the most important thing is the fact that we are justified by faith in Jesus. Sure you could say that's just a bunch of churchy talk; so what? Let's just imagine what it could be like in our religion. Let's say we could be like all other religions outside of Christianity. One report speaks of a West German businessman who converted to Hinduism. He completed his conversion by "piercing himself through the cheeks with a 1/4 inch thick 4 foot long steel rod and pulling a chariot for 2 miles by ropes attached to his back and chest by steel hooks." Seem a bit gruesome? Check out any other religion and you will find that the most important thing in these other religions is what you do to please the god or gods. Only in Christianity will you find that the most important thing is what God has done to save us. I hear of people in some other Christian churches or denominations talking about how much they have to pay to get things done at their congregation. I hear of people who die without any hope of an afterlife with anything good to come. I have heard people tell me that "when you die, you're dead, that's the end of it." If that is true, does it really matter how you live your life? If the whole situation just winds up with us in a hole in the ground, why live by any standard other than your own selfish wants? This whole subject begins to go in a selfish, dark direction. I am very happy that I don't have to live in this dark direction. I am extremely glad that I am justified by faith in Jesus Christ! I am glad there is a God who cares about me! I am glad that my religion is not all about how much I have to do or pay! I am glad that the God I worship forgives sin, that He takes sin seriously enough to do something about it besides becoming angry. Yup, there's a lot to be thankful for this year, this month. I can begin by thanking God for His Son, Jesus. That's just the beginning - and that's why I try to live a good life. It's a matter of gratitude, not "got-to-do-it." How thankful are you? In Christ,     Pastor Hansen

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