A Heart of Gratitude!
Dear Friends:
It is November which means that in a few days, USAmericans will gather with family and friends and celebrate the Thanksgiving Day holiday. For many, it will be filled with family, fellowship, food, and football. It is a wonderful holiday because there is no pressure to bring gifts but only to bring food and count our blessings.
This Thanksgiving, I will give thanks to the Lord for something that we often overlook. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for our souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
As believers, we know that when we obey all of Christ’s commands and live by the rules of the Kingdom of Heaven and not the rules of this earth, then we will find rest. Rest provides peace, hope, and energy. Living according to Jesus’ principles is “easy” and “light” because we are engaging Him in truth and authenticity. The result is that we will live the life that we were created to live. That does not mean that negotiating life in the context of this world is easy. But when we focus our mind’s attention and our heart’s affection on Jesus then we will find true rest for our souls. We give thanks to the Lord for teaching us how to live according to the Kingdom of Heaven while we inhabit this earth.
Problems complicate our lives significantly when we throw off the yoke of Jesus and live according to the principles of this world. In Jeremiah 5, God shared how His children neglected him for this very reason. Yet, He noted that the poor and foolish “did not know the way of the Lord.” So, the Lord examined the teachings of their leaders. Jeremiah 5:5b provided this indictment, “But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds.”
Like the leaders mentioned in Jeremiah 5, people today threw off the “yoke” and “bonds” of God’s guidelines and lived only to satisfy themselves. The result was disastrous. Living in the “freedom” of self-made rules brings personal destruction and spiritual bondage. So, they diligently searched the Internet for answers to their life struggles. What they were seeking was help, hope, and rescue. But we know that the Answer is Jesus. We give thanks to the Lord that we can meet people at their point of need, share the love of Christ, allow the Holy Spirit to move, and see their lives transformed.
It is with your help that we are closing in on the 60 million Gospel Presentations milestone. So, as you gather with family and enjoy fellowship, food, and football, give thanks to the Lord that He has not forgotten anyone but desires for everyone to be reconciled back into the Family of God.
Your faithful prayer and financial support of Network211 empowers us to offer a relationship with Jesus Christ as the true means to authentic spiritual freedom. We give thanks to the Lord for your partnership!
May the Lord abundantly bless you and your family as you celebrate Thanksgiving Day with a heart of gratitude!
Blessings,
Mark
Dr. Mark Flattery
Network211 President
