PASTORAL LETTER TWENTY
GRATITUDE
Dear Fellow Salvationists,
I greet you each one in the sacred Name of Jesus. His Name is without equal. Only under his Name can salvation for our souls be found. Let our hearts leap upward with gratitude.
As I write to you, London is going through a mid-summer heat-wave - or at least a heat-wave by London standards! We are grateful for every comfort in this sophisticated western city, yet we remain mindful that not every Salvationist has such things. I thank God for the Army world that shares more and more regularly, more and more effectively, as a global family. We remember constantly our Lord's teaching that we should carry one another's burdens. We are partners in a holy mission and must be watchful of each other's needs.
I hear many prayers in all kinds of places and settings. You also hear them where you are. I am moved by the prayers I hear being offered by my fellow Salvationists. God is helping us to be more and more a prayerful Army. At the heart of prayer is thanksgiving. We come before our Heavenly Father in a spirit of humble gratitude. Philippians 4:6 teaches us to come to God in prayer with a grateful heart. As we pray, we must offer thanks more than offering requests. The Holy Spirit helps us as we pray and in this way we can get the balance right.
'Thank you' is a phrase on every Salvationist's lips, many times each day. We affirm one another in this way and at the same time we honour the God we all adore and obey. When we know how to thank God, we will also know how to thank our fellow believers. Similar courtesy can and should be offered to the unbeliever so that others see the courtesy of Christ in us.
Luke's Gospel (in chapter 17) tells us about the ten lepers healed by Jesus. Only one healed leper went back to Jesus to express gratitude for his healing. One in ten! Only a tenth! Just 10%! It is difficult to understand why the other nine offered no gratitude. It costs very little to say 'thank you'. I am asking God to make us more and more a grateful Army, an Army that constantly gives thanks for every help and blessing.
You will know the Old Testament account of Hannah and her longing for a child (see 1 Samuel 1:9-28). She offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God for her son, Samuel. He became a great man of God.
In 1 Corinthians 15:57 the Apostle Paul declares gratitude to God for spiritual victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. We join Paul in that burst of thanksgiving. Try to read the words for yourself and perhaps say them aloud as you read. You can say 'me' instead of 'us' and in that way make the verse very personal. It is a verse that you could include in your prayers every day. What a great way to begin and end a prayer.
As I end this Pastoral Letter I offer deep gratitude to God for your faithfulness. I thank God foryou! You are my comrade, my sister or my brother in Christ. God bless and keep you in all things.
May you know the Lord's loving touch today.
I commend you to his matchless grace.
Sincerely in him,
Shaw Clifton
General
