I Am Thankful

What a busy, fun, stressful, etc. week we are in currently. Hopefully all of us will have some time off, good food, and time with loved ones as we celebrate this season of Thanksgiving. We all have so much to be thankful for and not just this time of year but all year. Gratitude can be tough. So often the reason for that is me. I hate to say that because it is easier to blame others or my circumstances for my lack of gratitude, but the reality is, it usually boils down to me. I have expectations that are not met, things are not going the way I want them to, or I am just spoiled. That can be a tough pill to swallow. When I read about Paul and Silas singing in prison, I know that I have room for improvement.

An area I need to improve on in my attitude of gratitude is vocalizing it or repaying it. How quick am I to criticize versus praise? Proverbs 27:5 says, “Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed.” That sounds crazy at first. Until you realize that concealed love does nothing for someone. We need to be praising others and be thankful to others even for what we might consider small, everyday, common things. We are so worried about others thanking us that sometimes we neglect thanking others. Try expressing thanks to others and see what happens.

I want to practice what I preach by finishing this article by again saying thank you for two years working together. I am thankful for the elders, deacons, and staff who have helped me so much. I am thankful for every member of the body here at Huntingdon who works to build this body up (Ephesians 4:16). I am thankful for those who show up to worship and participate, for those in and teaching Bible classes, for those who plan and carry out activities. I am thankful for those who cook, call, visit and pray. I am thankful for those who encourage the discouraged and evangelize the lost and so much more that you do. I am thankful for each one of you. If there has been any success in my time here, you are the reason. God bless you.

Celebrating Two

As I write this article on Monday, November 13th, I am reminded that it was two years ago that I preached my last sermon at the Lebanon church of Christ. Those folks had been a blessing in my family’s lives for over fifteen years. That next morning the movers came, and we set out on opening a new chapter in our story. I came into the office that Tuesday, the fifteenth, and was asked to be a part of the Thanksgiving service here. I also learned very quickly that folks in Huntingdon do not wear red.

Visiting a new church can be a nerve-wracking thing. Which door do I go in? Where do my kids go to class? Where is the bathroom? Watch for visitors, be hospitable to them, and help them. Becoming a part of a new congregation can be scary, also. The Bible compares the church to a body in 1 Corinthians chapter twelve. This is already a functioning body. Where do I fit in? What can I do? How can my talents help? As a new member, I want to look for opportunities to get involved and not see how little I can get away with. As the church, we want to look for opportunities to reach out to people. It is easy to fall into the rut of sitting in the same place, talking to the same people, and doing the same things week after week. Let me challenge the newcomers to find ways to get involved and the established crew to reach out to someone you do not know as well and build a relationship with them in Christ. Those are just some casual observations as we have about rubbed the new off me and my family. Some days it seems like we have been here forever, and some days I feel like I am still at square one.

The real purpose of writing this article is to say thank you for two years. I believe the Bible teaches us to be grateful and thankful not just this time of year but always. I count Huntingdon as one of my blessings. Here’s to a great third year!

Soldiers of Christ

Saturday is Veterans Day. We want to thank those who have paid a high price for our freedom. I think we are blessed to live in a country with so much freedom and the absence of war, and part of the reason that we do are the men and women who are and who have sacrificed so much for us to have these privileges. When I look around the world today, I am reminded of the blessing of peace that these soldiers help provide.

Soldiers have been around a long time. They are a symbol that most cultures understand. That may be why Bible writers use them. In 2 Timothy 2:3-4 Paul compares himself to a soldier and encourages us to be soldiers of the cross. The first thing he says is to “suffer hardship” as a soldier. When you think about all the sacrifices that soldiers make and all the hardships they endure, it is amazing. As Christians, we are not called to a life without difficulties, but when we try to live a life for God, hardship will come. We must anticipate, endure, and overcome them to be faithful to God, and with the help of Jesus, we can.

The next thing Paul encourages us to do as soldiers of the cross is to keep ourselves from being entangled by the affairs of everyday life. Soldiers on the front lines are probably not up to date on the latest celebrity gossip, what is going on in the House or Senate, or the number one song on the billboard charts this week. Why? So they can focus on the mission at hand. What a lesson for us to not be distracted by all the things around us and to be focused on the mission at hand!

Finally, Paul mentions pleasing the one who enlisted us as a soldier. There is a chain of authority in the military. You have a responsibility to take orders from a commanding officer and to carry those out to the best of your abilities. The same is true for us as soldiers of the cross. Our goal must be trying to please God. Soldiers of Christ, Arise!