Thanksgiving Message 2008

 

 

My Dearest Friends:

   Words can never express how much all of you mean to me and my family.  At this time of year when the Holiday Season is beginning, as Americans and Christians as we all give thanks to God for the birth of this great nation, we should also give thanks for those great brave men and women who serve in the military all over the world to keep us save, especially those serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.  We need to fast and pray for them and their families here at home.  I believe God will give us a victory over there and bring them home safely.  As I said in ‘Don’t Panic,’ God is calling the church (us as individuals) to pray (face time) and seek Him with all our hearts and through this I believe He will grant us victory.  Thank you Jesus!  The Word of God in Psalm 106:1 says:  “Praise ye the Lord.  O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good:  for His mercy endureth forever.”  Boy that says a lot doesn’t it?  God has been so good to me and I am sure He has also been good to all of you.  He has also been merciful to me.  I did not deserve even one of His blessings or benefits, but He has given me the best wife a man could have and two great children and He has allowed me to serve all of you and He has allowed me to see all the might works I have seen Him do in your lives and mine through the years.  He has given me more than I ever could have dreamed of – salvation, happiness, a home, cars and health.  I could go on and on.  Everything I have, He has given me.  God is so good, thank you Jesus.  However, one of the most precious gifts God has given me is allowing me to know all of you and to be loved by people like you because you have made me the most blessed man in the world.  You have caused me to love my job.  To be able to serve the Master and to get to do something you love is something that cannot be put into words. 

   Over the years so many of you have done so many great things for me, I do not know where to begin.  Marketa and Buddy have made this website possible as well as other countless acts of service and love.  Thank you guys; you know what you mean to me.  I love you guys. And all of you, the countless hours of prayer you have prayed for me and this ministry has caused me to achieve far more than my ability would have allowed.  The times that you have hugged me when I was hurting, the kind words when I was struggling; and all the love you have expressed over the years.  It is humbling to have been allowed to serve people like you as well as an honor.  There have been times when you have sent an offering through the mail and you never knew how often the offering was right on time; you have sacrificed and given generously over the years (28 of them now).  You have won thousands into the Kingdom; brought the Word of deliverance to kids from drugs, put homes back together.  Every where I’ve gone, you have sent me.  You have also put a roof over my family’s head, food in my family’s belly and clothes on their backs.  How can I say it?  What words will express it?  I will just say it this way, this Thanksgiving I will give thanks to God for all of you, my friends and family, when I bless that Thanksgiving turkey.  At that moment I will whisper a prayer for all of you that God will bless you and yours now and always with health, love, joy, peace, prosperity, a long life, success and most importantly more of Him.

   Thank you for allowing Roxie and me to serve you for 28 years.  Truly, you have been a greater blessing to us than we could ever express so may God give you the best Holiday Season that you and your family has ever enjoyed.

 

May God Bless You All!

Love,

Bishop John D. Ritcheson

 

P.S. Oh yes, most of all thank you for sharing your lives with me and allowing me to be a part of yours.  Knowing all of you have fulfilled my life in ways that you will never fully know but the time spent with you has made my life a treasure of wonderful memories.  “Thanks for the memories.”

 

Love,

Bro. John