A Word from Your Missionary, Steve Laughman
This past week I was reminded that Jesus died for our best days, just as much as He died for our worst day. If we are all honest with ourselves and each other for a moment, we would admit that we tend to have a pretty high opinion of our own righteousness. Then there are those days when we are hit right in the face with the fact that we are not even close to where we think we are. We could mope around and feel sorry for ourselves and our condition. We could compare ourselves to others in order to boost our morale and our self-inflated perception. Or we could simply rest in the fact that although we were desperately without hope, Jesus died for us in order to redeem us, to reconcile us to the Father, and to lavish His grace on us. There is tremendous freedom in the realization that any good we do cannot be credited to us, but to the one who empowers us to accomplish His will.
Left on my own, I will disappoint you. Praise God, I am not left on my own! As we celebrated the work God has accomplished through Centennial this past month, I have been overwhelmed with the truth that God allows us to be a part of what He is doing. He has given us a clear vision for the future and He will be faithful as we follow His lead. Will we make mistakes? Yes. Will we sometimes misinterpret His directions? Perhaps. Will we get ahead of His plans? Hopefully, not. But will we devote ourselves to following Jesus? Yes, we will, without reservation and without apology.
As Thanksgiving and Christmas approach believers have a great opportunity to share the truth of what Jesus has done for us. When we celebrate Thanksgiving, we are reminded that our thanks is not just a general appreciation for the things we have. Our thanks is directed at Someone – at the Creator and the Giver of all good things. Be creative about starting conversations about that with the people you encounter this season. Christmas brings with it songs of praise to our Lord and Savior on every radio station and through every sound system in every store. How easy it would be to engage people in conversation about the gift of salvation while “What Child is This?” is being played?
