“May gratitude to God permeate my entire life.”

November 5, 2025

Leadership Notes

     One of my undeniable truths of life is that there are two kinds of people in the world:

> Those whom others are happy wherever they go.

> Those whom others are happy whenever they go.

As devoted followers of Jesus Christ, Paul says we will live out of these character qualities:

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 

faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

-      Galatians 5:22-23

     Those are the kinds of people Jesus sends out in the world. We spread those kinds of things wherever we go. Amen? You can hardly go about your day, thinking about what God has done for you in Jesus Christ, and not spread happiness and joy. These beautiful fall days reinforce our blessings from God. All I know is, I can’t wake up to another day in God’s great, big, beautiful world and feel anything but thanksgiving.

     Here is a verse from a wonderful hymn:

Come, ye thankful people, come,

raise the song of harvest home;

all is safely gathered in,

ere the winter storms begin.

God our Maker doth provide

for our wants to be supplied;

come to God's own temple, come,

raise the song of harvest home.

We sing, because there is joy in our hearts. How are you going to live your life? As a thankful person? Leaving little droplets of joy and happiness wherever you go? Let Jesus be your guide.

     I love these verses from a Buck Owens song, “Where Would I Be Without Jesus”:

When my burdens get heavy

I just kneel down and pray

I ask God to work 'em out

Not mine, but his own way

Safe in his arms, what a relief

For without Jesus where would I be?

Where would I be without Jesus

Where would I spend eternity

Lost in the world full of sorrow

Without Jesus where would I be?

     In John 14:1-3, Jesus assures us:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in

me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so,

would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I

go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take

you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

Knowing this promise fills our days with happiness. God is good all the time…

     Here’s what we know. We have blessed assurance. As Sinclair Ferguson put it, “We rejoice not because we have done enough but because Christ has done enough.” We cannot be shaken. Not by negative things that happen to us. Not by our own wretchedness and sin. But every day, we start our day thanking God for our salvation. When your heart and mind are set on that trajectory of your life, joy and happiness are sure to be present. How can they not? How can you be anything but thankful every day you are alive? No matter what we experience or go through… regardless of what is happening in the world around us…we will rejoice and be glad, because Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. Come, ye thankful people, come!

     I close with an observation by philosophy professor and avowed atheist Thomas Nagel:

"I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that

some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are

religious believers. It isn't just that I don't believe in God and,

naturally, hope that I'm right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is

no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe

to be like that."

Funny guy. He goes on:

"There are elements which, if added to one's experience, make life

better; there are other elements which if added to one's

experience, make life worse. But what remains when these are

set aside is not merely neutral: it is emphatically positive…The

additional positive weight is supplied by experience itself, rather

than by any of its consequences."

     Interesting how he ends up in a positive place. We get there through knowing the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. We get there through the affirmation that our names have been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Come, ye thankful people, come!

     And now, your Moment of Spurgeon:

“A child of God should be a visible beatitude for joy and

happiness, and a living doxology for gratitude and adoration.”

Plus a bonus:

“May gratitude to God permeate my entire life.”

I thank God daily that the lovely people of Covenant Church are living out of both these realities!

     With Much Love and Affection,

                     Richard