Be Thankful

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This pass weekend I had the opportunity to preach at the young adults dinner at my church about being thankful. I thought it would be fitting to share it with you on this week’s blog, as we quickly approach the holiday season!

In today’s world it is so easy for most people to NOT be thankful! Thankful means to be aware and appreciative of a “benefit”. When we’re thankful to God that’s the key thing to remember; continuously be aware and appreciative of all the benefits!

What benefits, you may ask? Well, Psalms 68:19 says: “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation. Selah.” Yeah…..”Selah; pause and ponder that for awhile! Ponder the fact that God in all of his faithfulness “DAILY” loads us with benefits! Question, are you aware of the benefits? Are you appreciative? Well, if your answer is yes, then you have all things necessary to be thankful.

In Psalms 103:2, the Psalmist declared: “Bless the Lord, and forget not all His benefits” The problem today is we freely receive the benefits but then get use to the “load” of benefits to the point that we tend to forget about the one who off loaded. Subsequently, we start to focus on what we want and complain about what we don’t have instead of being thankful for all. Woe unto us if we forget the benefits that God loads us with daily; breath in our bodies, a heart in our body that started beating years ago and didn’t fail to show up for work, food to eat, shelter, (just to name a few).

Instead of forgetting the benefits, we need to have the attitude of the psalmist that penned Psalms 116:12: “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” This is what you call a “grateful heart”. Grateful means to SHOW an appreciation of kindness.

Now, you may ask what can I do to show the Lord that I’m thankful? You can start by living your life as a consistent “thank you” unto the Lord in doing the following:
1. Pray without ceasing and your “Lord give me” list
2. Stay in the word of God and share it
3. Everything you do, do it unto the Lord with thanksgiving
4. Freely share your life’s testimony with others! Always remember, the Lord brings us through so others can come out!
5. As He daily loads you up with benefits, you daily load Him with praise, worship and thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving! I’ll blog you next week! God bless you all richly!

Just Do it!

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This morning as a group of us prepare to work the grounds of Hurricane Sandy’s ruins at 30 firefighter homes that were damaged in Long Island New York, I feel this word is what the Lord wants me to share with you.

“Whatever He tells you to do, Do it” is one of the most profound words from Jesus’s mother Mary. Now and more than ever that word is very relevant. There are too many people today doing what they want to do rather than hearing what God is saying and doing what He say. Deaf ears and blinded eyes seem to be the way of life today, but the good news is the same Lord that spoke to those guys at the wedding is the same Lord that speaks to us now.

It’s not by chance that the first recorded miracle that Jesus performed was readied by people willing to do what He says. Today its the same! Miracles happen when you do what He says! Therefore, open your ears as well as your heart and whatever He tells you to do……just do it!!!

Hello world!

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Hi All! My name is Michael Southwell, known to many as “Pastor Mike”, known to my family as “Mikey”, known to my wife as “babe”, and know to my two sons as “The Boss” LOL! But most importantly, known to God as a child of His! I am what you will call a “first time blogger”. At least once a week, I will be blogging inspirational words of hope, love, motivation and peace, but at times I may share my thoughts on tough topics and taboo sectors of life that are left unspoken or tip toed around. Either way, I will give you whatever the Lord put on my heart to share with you! Are you ready? Let’s go!!! LOOK OUT FOR THE FIRST OFFICIAL BLOG MESSAGE ON 11/12/12!