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…
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