| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Savor the time” Our Bible verse for today: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.” Philippians 4:4-5 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Stop grumbling and be grateful” This past Sunday, after the service ended and as people were leaving, one of our members stopped to comment on something I said in the sermon. The topic was “Loving God and Loving People” and it was based on Matthew 22:34-40 where we read about the two great commandments given to us by Jesus. My point was that rather than Christianity being a complicated religious system of dos and don’ts (similar to Old Testament Judaism), Jesus simplified it and reduced it down to a matter of the heart, “Love God and love people”. Once you have those two things right, everything else will take care of itself. (You can watch that sermon on our website at www.oakhillbaptist.net) The comment my friend at church made was that he agreed with my point about the practice of the Christian faith being a simple matter of the heart, and he added that in his own life he has found it helpful to focus on being grateful. He constantly reminds himself of all that he has to be grateful for, and that helps him to be positive rather than negative. That then has a positive impact on every other area of his life as well, including his interactions with other people. That’s what the Apostle Paul was teaching in Philippians 4:4-5 when he instructed us to “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Interestingly, when Paul wrote that he was an old sick man sitting in a Roman dungeon facing probable execution. Yet in the midst of such terrible circumstances, he wrote what is certainly the most joyful and upbeat book in the entire Bible (Philippians), and he encouraged us to find our joy in the Lord in the middle of our difficult circumstances too. Then in verse 5 Paul touched on what my friend from last Sunday referred to, “Let your graciousness be known to everyone.” You see, when your heart is right it will be evident in your demeanor and that then will impact every other part of your life, including your interactions with other people. Gratitude makes you gracious. What does all of that have to do with our theme of savoring your time? Everything! You cannot savor and enjoy and make the most of your time if you’re grousing and grumbling and being miserable. The condition of your heart will be evident in your demeanor, and it will color and impact every other part of your life. So, stop grumbling and be grateful. “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, Rejoice in the Lord!” And, “Let your graciousness be evident to everyone”. God Bless, Pastor Jim |
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