December 14, 2023

 

To all our dear friends,

   

       We send our greetings to you for Christmas and the coming New Year!

2023 has been a full year for us; how about you?  We are still looking for some quiet time to reflect on the last six months; it went by so quickly.  Thank you to everyone who has sent us updates and news of your lives and family.  Your pictures, texts, and cards are treasured.  We appreciate you and love to hear from you! 

   

      This year Dan and I are celebrating the 15th anniversary of Ceaseless Love Ministries!  It is amazing to remember the first weeks and months, the first meetings in a cozy donut shop.  Now and then, we wander back to that donut shop and spend a few moments thinking on all God has done since the beginning days when we were hammering out the vision and mission statements that would be our guiding line.  In a shortened form:

          

      

          “Experiencing the renewal of our faith through the Word of God’s power.”

                                                         

   And

      

          “Experiencing victory in every crisis through Christ!”

     

    

     We are so happy to report that God has shown Himself faithful in fulfilling the vision and mission He gave us and the marvelous blessings He has worked in the lives of many people.  Perhaps you can tell others how God has led you through a crisis by faith and by the power of His Word.  He has given us promises that are ours to claim and His to demonstrate His love to us in a personal way!  

    

      This time of year, we rejoice that God did keep His many promises of sending His Son to redeem us from sin.  We remember God’s Word to Joseph, “…And Mary shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”  This was the confirming Word of God’s earlier promise through His prophet Isaiah “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.  (Matthew 1:21-22).

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

      Earlier this year I was reflecting on the success of a creative writing curriculum I used when I was teaching.  The premise of the approach was to teach the students how to write by “meeting them half-way.”  This was accomplished by teaching them how to summarize well written passages of prose in their own words.  I continue to be amazed at how well this approach works.  But when it comes to our sinful hearts and our need for a Savior, a “half-way approach” would not have been a sufficient answer or effective.  Isn’t it wonderful that our loving God came “all the way” to us in Jesus!

 

     Jesus was born and identified with us as human beings, while being fully God.  The Incarnate Son!  Immanuel – God with us!  He grew up to become a Man and deal with our sin “all the way.”  On the cross He cried out, “It is finished.”  What was He saying was finished?  The work of our salvation was finished.  Sin and death hold no power to destroy the lives of those who believe on the Son of God!  A relationship with God is now possible because the debt of sin is paid, and Heaven awaits us when our lives on earth are complete.

 

     When we face difficulties in our lives it is such an assurance to know that God keeps His Word.  His promises are a solid foundation for us to stand on when uncertainty is all around us.  It is also important that we understand that God has never done anything half-way.  Think on the Creation, yourself, salvation – God works in completeness.  Jesus came all the way to us because He loves us.  Love works to completion.  Are there worries in our hearts, a crisis in the family, problems that don’t seem to have an answer, uncertainties ahead?  Remember, God is with us and if we invite Him into our situation – He will bring a complete deliverance, a complete answer, a complete and satisfying comfort, a complete peace.  That is Who He is.  He is the “all the way” God!

 

 

 

“He [God] Who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him [Jesus] also freely give us all things?”

Romans 8:32

 

 

 

 

 

 

         This year Dan and I have traveled to Idaho, Arizona, Texas, and Manhattan for ministry.  We were deeply blessed and touched by the love of those of you we visited, and we thank you from the depths of our hearts.  Some of you we saw for the first time even though we have known each other over the phone for years!  Wow! 

        We were very privileged to travel to New York with dear Sarah and to HSS, Hospital of Special Surgery.  We praise God that after six years of terrible nerve pain, Sarah has been healed and is now making a successful recovery at home.  Dan and I want to thank Dr. Stephen K. Lee and the other attending physicians for their expert care of Sarah as well as their staff and the nurses.  Please remember HSS if you are suffering with a difficult condition, cannot obtain an accurate diagnosis, etc.  They are tremendously capable physicians.  Dan would be very happy to tell you all about HSS if you are interested!

 

    

 

       There never will be enough time to tell you all God has done and how thankful we are for your friendship and encouragement, but we pray that in the year to come the Lord will bless us all with continued fellowship, opportunities to pray together, and many visits in person!

 

May you know the richness of the love of God’s heart in Jesus,

 

 

 

 

Dan & Marie Thomson

Ceaseless Love Ministries

 

 

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!