Beyond thankful

I have been thinking of all the things that I am thankful for. There are the things that make the list each year: Salvation, Bible, family, job, etc….

But this year there is something new to be thankful for – my new church.

For 12 ½ years I went to the same church. It would be considered a mega-church, with over 10,000 members. In June of this year, after a series of remarkable confirmations from the Lord, I joined a much smaller church. It would be difficult for me to explain what a blessing this church has been to me. I’ve seen such love and compassion from this group of people who are committed to prayer and missions and making Jesus Christ known.

It has been quite an extraordinary change and I’m loving every minute of it.

So this year I am thankful for the body of Christ in a way that is much more personal than I have ever known. Thank you Jesus, for your people.

A great salvation

Several weeks ago in our Sunday night prayer meeting, one of the men opened the service with a passage of Scripture.  Quoting Hebrews 2:3 from memory, he said “How shall we escape so great a salvation.”  He immediately corrected himself, inserting the words “if we neglect”.   But it was too late.  I had already grabbed onto what he had originally said.  My heart seemed to almost burst with joy as I thought about a salvation so great that we couldn’t escape it.  Trapped by grace!  Oh, He has caught me in His snare of love!

Anyone who has ever wandered from the Lord for any period of time knows the truth of this – He is too wonderful to stay away from.  What a great salvation we have!  What a great Lord we serve!