Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Come into His presence with Thanksgiving…

Psalm 95:1-2 says “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.” The psalmist is right target with his call to all of us to thank the Lord for the many blessings God has so graciously given to us.
I hate to admit it but it seems the older I get the faster holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas sneak up on me. I’m kind of in shock that Thanksgiving is next week and Christmas is right on its heels a few weeks later. The retail world and the advertisers want you to focus on Christmas and forget all about Thanksgiving; but I think the admonition of the psalmist is of critical importance for all of us. I hope that at this season of Thanksgiving, you will pause, reflect and truly give thanks to Almighty God for His incredible blessings to you and your family.
I’m thankful for many things this year, not just every year, but every day of the year. When I wake up I thank the Lord for the night’s rest He gave me. I thank him for the blessing of my family, especially my amazing wife Cheryl. If it is blistering cold outside like it was this morning when I awakened from my slumber; I’m thankful for the home He provided me with heat and indoor plumbing! The point is we don’t need to step too far away from where we lay our head at night in the morning to give thanks. When I lay down to sleep, I thank the Lord for guiding me through the day and allowing me to labor for Him. Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Christians in 1st Thessalonians 4:18 “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Oh dear friends, would you be vigilant to give God thanks?
I’m thankful for this church family and your outpouring of love, concern and prayers for my family with the promotion of my father to Heaven. I’m thankful for our many friends across the country that have cared for us and prayed for us in these days of sorrow. I’m grateful to God for giving me the opportunity spend a lot of time with Dad over the last year of his life here on earth. As the Psalmist said earlier, the Lord is the Rock of our Salvation. For believers, oh how we can thank God for the assurance of salvation so when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we can rejoice and be glad our loved ones are safe in the arms of God!
The rock of salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ, is why we exist here at Moundsville Baptist Church. I want to encourage you to take careful note of the holiday schedule you’ll find in this newsletter. Begin to plan now to invite a lost family member, friend, neighbor, co-worker or just an acquaintance to church at this season of year. They will come if you invite them particularly to the Christmas Eve service, or the Sundays before or after Christmas. I promise I’ll clearly share the Gospel message and we’ll pray that your invited friend will come to know the Rock of Salvation, Jesus Christ…and that would be something to shout joyfully to the Lord with thanksgiving that because of your invitation, a precious soul trusted Christ!
At this wonderful time of year, don’t miss out on the blessing of giving thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ. I’m coming into His presence with thanksgiving, from my little corner of the world to yours…