| Good Morning Everyone, Our theme for this month: “Be thankful” Our Bible verse for today: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Thank God for His help and comfort.” Almost fourteen years ago, when my wife had a major stroke that almost killed her, we learned an important lesson about the ways in which God ministers to us in times of trouble. Once we learned that Linda would in fact survive her stroke but with major disabilities, our thoughts then turned to what the weeks, months, and years ahead were going to look like and how we would be able to handle all the many challenges we would be faced with. One of the best pieces of advice we received during that time was, “The primary way God brings His help to us in times of crisis is through other Christians. People will step-up and offer to help. Let them. Accept the help that is offered”. We quickly discovered the wisdom in that. But doing so isn’t easy. We Americans are fiercely independent – sometimes to our own disadvantage. We live in the land of John Wayne and Rambo. We pride ourselves on being strong, brave, capable, and self-reliant. After all, Rambo could live off the land and eat things that would make a Billy Goat puke. And so, we get thick-headed, stubborn, prideful. We don’t want to appear weak or in need of anyone’s help. But God doesn’t want us to be prideful, stubborn, and thick-headed. He doesn’t want us to eat things that would make a Billy Goat puke. Instead of being self-reliant He wants us to be God-reliant. He wants us to be humble and to rely on Him. And so, when life is hard and we are struggling and calling out to Him in our secret prayers, He will answer. He will help. But usually He will help in a not-so-secret, often somewhat public way. He will bring us the help we need, but it will usually come to us from the hands of other people. Then the question becomes, “Are you humble enough to let other people help you?” God will help, but He will probably do it through people. I encourage all of us to spend some time this morning thanking God for His peace, comfort, and help during the times in the past when life has been hard. Thank Him specifically for the people He used and for their willingness to be of service in that way. Then, trust Him for the future. God Bless, Pastor Jim |
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Amen. Thank You God for Your great faithfulness. You are awesome and we love You. Continue to shine forth in our lives as we stay fully committed to You. Bless and protect this blog and continue to draw readers to it to receive Your word. In Jesus name I ask. Amen.