Attitude of Gratitude

Posted on March 18, 2019 by America's Keswick in Freedom Fighters

And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. — 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

Did you ever notice how hard it is to say “thank you?” I think it is really cool to watch young families instructing their kids to understand the value of saying thank you.

Take a moment and think about the people in your life who had the greatest impact on yours. Have you ever gone back and said thanks?

I was saved as a young child at the Second Mennonite Church in Philadelphia. I remember the event as if it was yesterday. I can tell you exactly where my Dad and Pastor were standing, I can smell the back of the church – it was one of those musty smells. I know it was at the end of the evening service. I know it came about because of what my Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Hunter, shared in Sunday School.

I can’t tell you what day it was – but I know for sure for certain on that night, I asked Jesus Christ to be my Savior.

Fast forward to my early 30’s when I attended a Basic Youth Conflicts Seminar in Philadelphia. One of the messages was on giving thanks and being grateful and the assignment from the speaker was to write a note of thanks to someone in your life who had a huge impact on your life spiritually.

I wrote to my Pastor, Curtis Lehman, and thanked him for being the one who led me to Christ. I was not prepared for his response I received from him.

His letter expressed his appreciation for me writing to him and then he told me that in his twenty-five years of ministry no one had ever thanked him for his investment into their lives. While I was glad that I wrote the letter, I really grieved me that no one else had ever said thanks.

That was a hard lesson, but one that I am trying to correct in my life. I have purposed before God that I want to learn to faithful in saying thanks to those people in my life who have made a difference.

I want to encourage you to take the step of doing just that. Make a list of people who have impacted your life spiritually and then send them a note of thanks, make a visit, or pick up the phone and give them a call. My guess is that you will breathe encouragement into their life, and you will come away blessed.

And as an aside, Pastor Lehman’s input into my life may very well have been the first step into why I am in ministry today. This picture is when I was four at Second Mennonite Church. Little did I know that I would be in ministry all those years later.

Who’s on your list?

 

Relentlessly pursuing Christ,

Bill Welte, President/CEO
America’s Keswick

Written by Bill Welte: Written by Bill Welte, President/CEO of America’s Keswick: Bill has been married to his childhood sweetheart for 40+ years and has four married kids and 11 amazing grandkids. He loves music and is an avid reader.

The Daily Bible Reading: Job 32-33, 1 Cor. 11:1-16 | You can download our 2018 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Think About This: We should all be grateful for gifts, influence, and success; gratitude which is not attended with joy can scarcely be called gratitude at all. … He who would serve God must begin by praising God, for a grateful heart is the mainspring of obedience. Charles Haddon Spurgeon

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. – Psalm 97:10

 

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