Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 2-242 (Devotional)

THANKING GOD AND THANKING OTHERS

by Peter Kennedy

“We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.” – 1 Thessalonians 1:2

During the heart of America’s Great Depression in the 1930’s, a group of men were conversing about the sad state of business affairs. Thanksgiving Day was approaching and it was difficult for anyone to think of something positive. William Stidger, a Methodist minister, began to think of the blessings he had received during his life. He remembered a special elementary school teacher who had gone out of her way to give him an appreciation for verse. It had been more than 50 years since Stidger had been in her class, but his appreciation for verse had endured since that time.

Stidger wrote to his former teacher a letter of appreciation and she replied: “My Dear Willie, I cannot tell you how much your note meant to me. I am in my eighties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely and, like the last leaf of autumn, lingering behind. You will be interested to know that I taught in school for fifty years and yours is the first note of appreciation I ever received. It came on a blue-cold morning, and it cheered me as nothing has in many years.”

Are you thanking God and thanking others for what they have meant in your life? Today in prayer, give thanks to the Lord, then thank someone who has been special in your life.

“Make a practice of thanking God for His goodness to you and thanking those, also, by whose hand the blessing came.” – William E. Sangster

God’s Word: “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?” – 1 Thessalonians 3:9

DEVOTIONS IN PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING

by Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2002, Devotional E-Mail

To subscribe direct, go to http://www.devotions.com