A Church with a Heart for our Community

October 7th Wednesday

Greetings in the name of the One who keeps pushing us forward, Jesus Christ – THE Crucified and Risen Saviour! What a delightful morning in the Kingdom…and what a significant week for so many people for a variety of reasons. I will be praying for you today, asking Father to reveal some of his plans and purposes for you.

How is your “Reverse Bucket List” coming along?…that is my name for this week’s list of things to be thankful for! According to my thinking, this should be day “3”. Incidentally, this activity was affirmed to me this morning when I was listening to my morning music and heard the words: “Count your blessings, name them one by one-Count your blessings see what God hath done-Count your blessings, name them one by one-And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done!”  I am looking forward to Sunday’s worship gathering so that I can ‘count blessings’ with the family.

The necessity of this activity was emphasized by a quote in my morning devotions: ‘One of the greatest dangers that can befall any man is that he should lapse into a state of self-pity, that he should look so long and so intently at his troubles that he becomes a martyr to this most debilitating of mental disorders, and whines his way through life, constantly seeking an audience which will listen to his tale of woe’ – Dr. W. E. Sangster. As I ponder this, my mind races through the numerous biblical command and directions and testimony that deal with the process of praising God and thanking God and developing a heart of praise and growing a vocabulary of positive words and protecting our minds/hearts. There is a beautiful and challenging song that was written by Stuart Townend called: “For this I have Jesus!.” and even thinking about that releases the words to many songs and choruses that we use to declare our confident hope in God through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let me give you a little ‘boost’ for your “Reverse Bucket List” – why not give thanks to God that when we cannot find the words to describe what is lurking within our heart and mind, that God has inspired men and women to be his minstrels! Maybe today you could thank God for one particular song that echoes through your memory again and again.

Be blessed!