Giving Thanks

Psalm 65:2-4

2 You who answer prayer,

   to you all people will come.

3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,

   you forgave our transgressions.

4 Blessed are those you choose

   and bring near to live in your courts!

We are filled with the good things of your house,

   of your holy temple.

The realization struck me as I read this passage that the older we are in Christ the more we tend to forget to give thanks for what he has saved us from – “we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions”.

I tend to need a wake up call to the fact that God has chosen to win the lost – all of them.  The poor, marginalized, handicapped, the ‘less valuable’ of society – he has chosen to give each of these the same opportunity to live in his courts as he has given me. Quite frankly, I do not always choose to love or serve others as God would have me do.  I can tend to get so caught up in Christian living within the church’s four walls that I forget to serve the ones outside of them who God longs to have live in his courts.

A close friend asked me to make a stop with her to visit a family who just lost their mother at the age of 42.  The house was very run down, most family members were jobless; two of the children were young unwed mothers.  A sixty-six year old grandmother was now left to care for all of these and she has nothing but a government monthly check, no formal education, but she trusts in Christ to help her through this challenge.

In my flesh I wanted to look at the older children and tell them they needed to be more responsible, but instead I followed the lead of my friend who wrapped arms around those many would not choose to embrace. We let them grieve as we allowed ourselves to be 'Jesus with skin on'. 

“You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.” God the Father longs for all to come to him regardless of our opinion of them. Do we honor that fact in our words and deeds as we live life?  May we remember and be thankful for what he has saved us from and share with others the ‘good things’ he has blessed us with.

1.  How much of your time spent in ministry to others is outside of the church building?

2.  Do you daily ask God to place someone in your life that you can share Christ with whether in word or deed?

3.  Do you need to ask the Father to help you to love those who are deemed less important because of the way they choose to live?

4.  Is there something in your life God has blessed you with, whether material or not, that you can use to bless others in order to shower the love of Christ on them?

Thanks again to those of you who are helping us to reach out to others with the love of Christ in Southern Europe!

If you are able to help us reach our financial goal and leave for Southern Europe in September here please click here: http://worldmissions.ag.org/search.cfm?Display=Yes&churchdetail=AGFM001C