DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT - MONDAY: I APPRECIATE!

Boss to retiring employee: "This company can't afford a gold watch, Homer. But here's a phone number that gives the correct time." - Lichty.
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Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. - Col 3:16.

I was sitting in Church yesterday listening to my son-in-law, Malcolm, preach Part 2 of his wonderful sermon, ‘Leftover’s are important’ based on the baskets of fish and bread taken up after Jesus miraculously fed the five thousand in John Chapter 6, and I started to think of how appreciative I was of Malcolm and how blessed I was that he was my Assistant Pastor, married to my beautiful #3 daughter Jeannie, and father of my two wonderful granddaughters, Jordan Jean and Chelsea, whom I absolutely adore.

In turn I started to think of my beautiful wife of almost forty years (Yes! I said forty!), sitting by my side, who has been such a blessing to me as a wife, friend, and sister in the Lord, and the other half of my ministry, and how appreciative I was of her and the wonderful times we have had in our lives and especially since we became Christians.

This led me to think of my Christian Family surrounding me, and how appreciative I was of their love and acceptance of Jean and I as their Pastors, and who had recently enormously showered me with some fantastic gifts for my 61st birthday, and whom I am forever indebted to, for their faithfulness and support over the past 9 years.

Then I started thinking about Jesus who loves me, and for the past 25 years, has made me a part of His family, by dying for me on the cross, so that all my sin would be blotted out forever, and how appreciative I am of Him who rose again from the dead to give me a new life.

It was many years ago, when I was trying to get sober and I was working in a factory sweeping floors and burning rubbish. I had reached the lowest point of my life at that time. I had been a soldier in the British Parachute Regiment for four years and had served in the Australian Army in the Special Air Service Regiment for two years, when my drinking problems caused me to be discharged.

And here I was sweeping floors and burning cardboard boxes for a living. I was broken beyond my understanding, thinking of how I had come to Australia to start a new life with Jean and my two oldest daughters, and how miserably I had failed. Jean was at our home in Brisbane with my 3 daughters by now, and was pregnant with our fourth. I heard a voice in my head say… ‘You are a waste of space, what good are you to your family?, you can’t provide for them.’

I had heard this voice before; it wasn’t new, but this time it seemed stronger. That was it I decided, I am finished as a husband and father, I was only bringing disappointment and hardship to their lives, that night I would end my life.

As I was coming towards the end of the day, I was sweeping up some discarded metal shavings, and working out a plan in my head how to accomplish this end to my life, when a stronger voice came into my head, it was one of my teachers from primary school, Mr. MacDonald, who had told me as an eleven year old boy that, ‘I was destined for great things.’ This lifted me and I left the factory with all thoughts of suicide gone from my head, and rushing home to my wife and children, to tell them how much I loved and appreciated them!

I would love to tell you that everything changed miraculously and that we all lived happily ever after, but there would be another 6 years of pain, struggle and hardship before I was born again to a new life, but that day started me on that path! I know you will understand me better now, when I said at the beginning, how appreciative I was of my wife, family, Church and my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. I appreciate! I appreciate! I appreciate!

A group of elderly, cultured gentlemen met often to exchange wisdom and drink tea. Each host tried to find the finest and most costly varieties, to create exotic blends that would arouse the admiration of his guests. When the most venerable and respected of the group entertained, he served his tea with unprecedented ceremony, measuring the leaves from a golden box.

The assembled epicures praised this exquisite tea. The host smiled and said, "The tea you have found so delightful is the same tea our peasants drink. I hope it will be a reminder to all that the good things in life are not necessarily the rarest or the most costly." - Morris Mandel.

Loving Father, I thank you so much for my new life in you! I thank you for the hard times and the brokenness that I went through, because it has made me more appreciative of the people that you have surrounded me with, my wife, family, friends and Church. Most of all, I am appreciative of the Lord Jesus Christ in my life, help me by the power of the Holy Spirit to be obedient to His Commands. In Jesus wonderful name I pray! Amen!