"Enter to Worship-Depart to Serve"
Can you name at least one way God is at work in your life right now? It doesn’t have to be something complicated or humongous. It could be a simple kindness or a single word of encouragement. Whatever it is, take the time to give thanks to the Lord.
Find out more about acting on one thing God wants for you or that you want from God by reading November’s newsletter or keep up with things happening at Laurel Hill and in our community by checking the calendar for November.
I know you’ve witnessed this scene. A person is trying to prove he is no threat or danger and moves forward with hands down, palms exposed, nothing hidden or held back. Yes, his hands are empty. He is helpless if the One he approaches would take advantage of his surrender and his drawing near.
But, nevertheless, the person moves forward.
Then, the person realizes suddenly how beautiful the One he approaches is. Why hadn’t he come forward sooner? How could he have missed the glory, the beauty, or the splendor that now is so attractive?
It’s simple really. The person had never before dared to come this close.
This is the invitation of Psalm 100. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him and bless His name for the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures unto all generations.” (Psalm 100: 4-5)
Are you thankful? How do you show it? I am asking something more than are you in a good mood? The Hebrew word for thankful refers to the hand and what we stretch out to the Lord. Being thankful is us acting as a tenon in a mortise and tenon woodworking joint. The mortise and tenon woodworking joint has been used around the world for thousands of years—for good reason. It’s considered one of the strongest woodworking joints for attaching two pieces of wood at 90 degrees.
The mortise and tenon joint functions by inserting one end of a piece of wood into a hole in another piece of wood. It’s that simple. The smaller end of the wood is the “tenon,” and the wood with the hole in it is referred to as the “mortise.” Thus, being thankful is emphasizing God’s strength and not our own. Being thankful is “casting all our care upon the Lord because He cares for us.” (I Peter 5: 7)
I understand that sometimes we don’t feel like being thankful. We definitely feel like the ‘smaller’ piece in things and we are prone to get spiritually depressed and depreciate what the Lord can do in us. We’re the problem and we know it. Yet, it is this particular situation that God recognizes and knows about us and His work in us. God explained it to the Apostle Paul this way, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” Do you see it, yet? Being thankful means we acknowledge we are on the receiving end of grace or better yet, grace will receive us even when we feel small and out of joint.
(I apologize for going so long without posting to my blog. Me, being thankful going forward is stretching forth my hand to type something useful and helpful for the growth of our faith in Jesus and something that reminds us of the big picture of God’s grace under which we live. Happy Thanksgiving! Norman)
The churches of Route 5 and Varina community gather together for worship and thanksgiving on Wednesday, November 23rd at 7:00 PM at Antioch Baptist Church, 1384 New Market Rd, Richmond, VA 23231. We’re expecting our revival choir to be back together for this special service. The Rev. Norman Ramsey of Laurel Hill United Methodist Church will be preaching.
This Sunday, we celebrate the grace that God gives through many hands working together. John 4 tells us the harvest is plentiful and ready for harvest but requires laborers. That’s you and me! Many hands for the Lord to use to manifest the Son who sits at His Right Hand.
Thankfully, Laurel Hill is no stranger to this way of doing things and in the future will continue to walk in the grace of many hands.
The pictures here are from our ministry with HEARTH, providing Thanksgiving boxes to 15 families. Special thanks goes out to Susan Nowell and the Weekday School for their help.