Blog

It was 8 a.m. when the phone rang, a morning like any other, until God interrupted my thoughts with a call from a past prayer partner. When I answered the phone I immediately recognized the voice of a woman I have been praying for over many years. We were connected as prayer partners when she a high school student attending Mountain Christian Church.

She has since moved away, with lots of challenges, and struggles to find confidence in who she is in the Christ.

Her faith – whether she had any and what her destination is – was challenged by her parents.

That morning we talked a long time about faith.

I reminded her that the main issue is always who and what our faith is in. Is it yourself? Your ability to cope, to be in control, to fix things? Your family? Your mentor? Your pastor? Your intellect or knowledge? Or, the Rock, who is Christ? (1Corinthians 10:4)

The one who is the solid foundation on which to build our life (Matthew 7: 24-27). The one who has brought the Kingdom of God to earth, to dwell within His children (Matthew 17: 20-21, Colossians 1:17). The One who asks us to count the cost (Luke 14:25-35), deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23-27).

As we talked and prayed together she examined herself (2 Corinthians 13:5) and acknowledged that it is Jesus Christ, God’s Son in whom she is trusting and longing to be with. The Lord turned our hearts to thanksgiving.

So many things to praise Him for, and He gave us hope.

When I hung up, I thought to myself, “Wow, Lord!” Thank you for the encouragement and fellowship you give us when we join with you in prayer. (Matthew 18: 19-20). You are awesome!”  

How has God used your prayers to speak His Word and love into the lives of others?   

A deep breath of cool, crisp autumn air.

Thanks, Lord.

A breath of air is such a little thing, a very small detail of life indeed. Something I take for granted about 18,000 times a day, but couldn’t survive without!

Comparing a custom built home to a tract house in an episode of "This Old House", master craftsman Tommy Silva said, "The difference is in the details, it's a sure sign of craftsmanship." If you want to build a quality house you have to pay attention to the little things and get those right. That's true in our lives as well.

Jesus told a parable about little things in Matthew 25. A man entrusted some money to several of his servants and went away. The servants were expected to provide the master with a return on his investment. To those who were good stewards, the master said, "Well done... you've been faithful with a few things; now I will put you in charge of many things."

One of the principles we can draw from this is: take care of the little things and you'll be able to handle the big ones. It's not much of a stretch to apply this to thanksgiving. Are you grateful for each breath, do you recognize each gift as though it is from the Master Craftsman’s hand?

I find it hard to be truly thankful for the big things in life when I'm not genuinely grateful for the little things.

I also don't want to confuse politeness with giving thanks to God. Our culture dictates that we say 'please' and 'thank you' a lot, and sometimes we may even mean it! Too often it is an auto response, devoid of any real meaning.

Boy, I don't want to approach God that way, even on one of those little things.

So how do we keep a thankful perspective, especially during the holiday season?

It’s all too easy to focus solely on the 'big' things; or on the contrary, to concentrate completely on the details and get way down in the weeds.

Pray for balance this year, for the ability to see the forest AND appreciate that without the detail of each branch on every tree there would be no beautiful forest. 

Join me in expressing heartfelt gratitude to God across the spectrum of life; for each breath of that fragrant fall air, for a master craftsman who pays attention to each detail, to the wonderful incarnation of God coming to Earth to save a bunch of sinners like you and me.

Thanks, Lord!