“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
This is one of my favorite verses in one of my favorite passages of Scripture…and probably never more relevant than today! We are all learning a new vocabulary, aren’t we? COVID-19, Corona Virus, pandemic, social distancing, shelter-in-place, flattening the curve. All of it adds to our anxiety.
Paul tells us the answer to anxiety is presenting our requests to God in prayer and petition- seeking his salvation and protection and favor. But the Apostle qualifies those requests. He tells us these requests should be made “with thanksgiving.”
In other words, when we go to God in our stress, we should first stop and think about all those things for which we are thankful. I thought about listing some here, but it would literally take all day.
So, New Life Church (and anyone else who would like to join us), here’s what we’re going to do.
Starting Monday, April 6, we are going to begin “Seven Days of Thanksgiving.”
- Every
day next week I’d like for you to spend some time thinking about the things for which you’re grateful– and expressing those things to others. Talk to your family about them. Ask your kids. We’d love for you to share your short videos (30 seconds) by messaging us on Facebook or you can email me your video by hitting “reply.” Each day we will share a couple of them in our church Facebook Group! - Invite your friends and family to join us.
- Then, as a culmination to our week of gratefulness, I’m encouraging you to share a Thanksgiving Dinner with your family! Imagine, Easter and Thanksgiving together! You can go the whole nine yards with turkey and dressing…or just enjoy a turkey sandwich from a local take-out. But end the week celebrating God’s goodness! And what better time to be thankful than the day Jesus rose from the grave!
day next week I’d like for you to spend some time thinking about the things for which you’re grateful– and expressing those things to others. Talk to your family about them. Ask your kids. We’d love for you to share your short videos (30 seconds) by messaging us on Facebook or you can email me your video by hitting “reply.” Each day we will share a couple of them in our church Facebook Group!There’s way too much negativity out there. We can turn the tide! Invite all your FB friends to join us…let’s get this thing to go viral…and let’s turn this thing around.
I’m thankful for you!
Pastor Jim
