2017: A Year of Thankfulness There is an old English tale of a poverty-stricken woman who was found by a minister on Christmas Day eating a piece of bread and a small fish. The minister spoke to her of how miserable and poor her little meal was. But the old woman’s face lit up and she exclaimed, “Poor fare? Dear minister, don’t you see how the Lord has troubled Himself and scoured the land and sea to feed me this blessed Christmas Day?” Because she was thankful, this woman owned the earth, though she only had a piece of bread and a small herring fish for Christmas dinner.
This year let us dedicate ourselves to being thankful to God through Christ…in all things. Will you accept a “thankful challenge” in 2017?
- Will you memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18?
- Will you keep a “Thank List,” writing down two things you are thankful to God for each day?
- Will you humbly accept encouragement, exhortation, and admonishment from other brothers and sisters in Christ to be thankful during moments you are struggling to be thankful?
- And will you tune your heart to learn from Scripture and sound teaching what it means to be thankful?
Because we are commanded by God to be thankful, there are undiscovered blessings and unrealized spiritual power waiting for us, God’s thankful children in Christ. Let’s join our voices together in 2017 as a congregation, as a people of God living in the world in a local church family, and become known as “the thankful people on the corner.” Pastor Jeff