Think about it: We are blessed beyond measure!

Just how thankful are we? No. I really mean it. Just how thankful are we on this Thursday, February 9, 2012? What prompted that question? I read a Church newsletter from a pastor friend up in West Virginia. His music pastor, Brother Greg, had an opening challenge and I thought I would get us going today by using it. Here's how he put it: "Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!! Did you wake up this morning? ( I guess you did if you are reading this.) Some people didn't wake up today. Did you get out of bed? Some people were not able to get out of bed. Did you have breakfast? Some people had nothing to eat. Did you make it to work? Some people have been laid off from their jobs, some have been unemployed so long their unemployment benefits have run out. Did you drive to work? Some people do not have a car. Did you accomplish something worthwhile at work? Some people are severely handicapped or have been severely injured and can't do any physical work at all. Did you make it home safely after work? Some people didn't. Did you have a home to go to? Some people have no place to live. Did you have someone at home to share your day with? Some people are all alone. Praise God for the blessings you have received. Thank Him most of all for the salvation of your soul." That was a little bit of conviction served up when I read it but I think it is something we all need to meditate upon. Thanksgiving is not always something that comes naturally to us. Amen? Yes. I hear those affirmations: Me too! Amen!

I more or less stumbled onto that one and since it spoke to me, I figured there might be someone else it could encourage. At the same time, I'm not one of those who thinks our thankfulness should be based solely on the woeful conditions of others. Our grateful response to all that God has done for us should prompt us to be proactive in having a thankful heart and a thankful lifestyle. We all know that typically there are others who are worse off than ourselves and the theme of that reprinted message more or less reminded folks of that. But we are actually instructed to give thanks in all things because us doing so is the express will of God for us. This is a specific admonition/instruction given by God through His Apostle Paul as recorded in the First Letter to the Thessalonians, Chapter 5, Verse 18. We recently witnessed the baptism of a teenager who had an incredible testimony to share. She is a leukemia patient currently in remission but she expressed how that her diagnosis played a role in her coming to know the Living Lord of the universe as her Savior. My baby sister, Kayla, had a similar testimony. As she came to the end of her journey with her life cut short by cancer at age 27, she said that she was so blessed to have had 18 months after her diagnosis to speak to the people she wanted to reach, and to share her story, and in becoming so close to her Lord. She felt so blessed to have had it work out this way. No. Leaving here was incredibly difficult because of family and friends but she embraced her promotion with a spirit of grace, humility, and thankfulness. Not because she had to conjure up an image of someone worse off than her, but only because of the nearness she experienced of God and His grace during the final days of her sojourn here. The Apostle Paul said that we should: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” Quoted from his letter written to the Philippians, Chapter 4, Verse 4. Amen.

I'm so glad that we who know the Lord can share with others our testimony of His working in the lives of His own. I was visiting with a dear brother at our inner city Bible club last Tuesday and he was telling me about a victory won in the life of an individual they had been praying for over a long period of time. I had also been praying about this matter and I can tell you that he and I shared a moment of joy as he rehearsed this moving of God to change the heart and direction of someone near and dear to him. Isn't it wonderful to have stories that are about real people where God has worked to accomplish great things? It's not just the folks in our Bible. They are great illustrations and many are great role models. But we have the promise of God's Spirit abiding in us and at work in and around us to accomplish His purpose in the lives of men, women, boys, and girls. As I read about it in The Scriptures, I can see myself in so many of the individuals there along with their challenges and situations. I've also lived it growing up where folks cried out to God in times of great need and He responded, not always by removing an obstacle, but by making Himself known resulting in our seeing faith and perseverance being worked out before our very eyes.  That's why when I read about those folks who are both mentioned by name, and some unnamed in the Heroes of Faith as found in Hebrews Chapter 11, I am aware other names have been added, and are still being added as God works in and through His very own. The world conditions us to seek all this life has to offer us with a focus on personal gratification. But, we are witness to those who chose a different route, to believe in God, to stay faithful to Him, even during trying times, and today we seek to be one that will be remembered  for the very same reasons. May God help us to live in such a way that we too will leave behind a legacy that bears testimony to the God we knew and served. Amen.     ....More later.