Thank You
“Thank you” to borrow a line from a movie of my childhood is a “wonderful phrase.” It doesn’t mean “no worries for the rest of your days” but it sure helps. It can be used sarcastically as is the case with much of the English language but today I mean it from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you for trusting us with your most prized possessions. Thank you for your time and effort. Many of you pray for us. Many of you donate your hard earned money to our cause for mental health from a Christian perspective. We hope that our efforts help you in return but thanks for giving us the opportunity. Thank you for reading this blog. May our relationship and community be a blessing to you for a long time to come.
As a child of the 80’s I remember watching television shows and movies that sought out the meaning of life. I remember one particular cartoon where a man climbed to the tallest mountain to find a holy man to tell him the purpose of life. As a minister I’ve heard many conversations about the “will of God” for a person's life. I’ve contemplated it myself and will continue to do so as any follower of Jesus Christ should, but God has given at least a portion of the answer. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit tells them (and us) what God’s will is in every circumstance: “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
The Hebrew writer picks up on this theme in Hebrews chapter 13. Verses five through six say “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” The Hebrew writer gives the remedy to temptation to make our life about money. The key to contentment is to remember the friend we have in Jesus Christ. When I have an attitude of ungratefulness I ask myself “When did Jesus become not enough for you?” It's a tough question to contemplate but a necessary one to reorder my priority list. The Hebrew writer then reminds us to be thankful for the ones who show us the way to God in verse seven “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”
To the Jews this would have reminded them of their daily prayers. They pray three times a day invoking the name of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). By doing so they remember the promises God made to them and then kept repeatedly throughout history. As Christians, we have a similar practice. By invoking the name of Jesus in prayer, we can come boldly before the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) and also be reminded to be grateful for what Jesus has done even as we share our heartaches and frustrations with the Almighty.
This week my daughter’s third-grade class is learning about the Old Testament judge Gideon. When the Israelites turned to idols they suffered for seven years before they cried out to the LORD. Through a prophet, God reminds them all that he had done in Egypt and how their disobedience led to their current situation. God wanted them to remember as he remembers. When you get a minute go to your favorite Bible website and search the phrase “God remembered”. When this phrase appears it is not that God forgot the situation and circumstance. The phrase is telling the reader that God is about to act. God wants us to remember “those in prison” (Hebrews 13:3) and “your leaders” (Hebrews 13:7) as an impetus to act as he would. -
We remember your investment. We don’t take your investments lightly and it moves us to action. Whatever your role in our community, understand that we are grateful for you. We ask that you continue to pour into us as we attempt to create good, wholesome Christian content. May God bless you with an extra measure of gratitude today.
Travis
“Yes, there is a ‘secret to happiness’—and it is gratitude. All happy people are grateful, and ungrateful people cannot be happy. We tend to think that it is being unhappy that leads people to complain, but it is truer to say that it is complaining that leads to people becoming unhappy. Become grateful and you will become a much happier person.”
~ Dennis Prager