by Justin Morton
The Bible tells us to give honor to whom honor is due (Romans 13:7). This past week as we celebrated Veterans Day, we expressed our gratitude to the servicemen and women who have served our country, even when doing so meant putting themselves in harm’s way. Here at Walter Hill, we have 22 veterans, who we honored with a dinner on Wednesday evening. Although the dinner was only a small token of our appreciation, we wanted each veteran to know how grateful we are for their years of service.
On Friday night we held our annual Gospel Singing. This is always a wonderful event, and this year was no exception. Singing is one of the many ways we can praise and glorify God. We see singing throughout the pages of the New Testament—Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26; Acts 16:25; Romans 15:9; 1 Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16-17; Hebrews 2:12; James 5:13; Revelation 15:3. Special thanks to Brian Bowman, who helped coordinate this year’s event, and to all of you who brought food, helped with setup and cleanup, and who lifted your voices in praise to God.
Both of these events remind us of the importance of gratitude. As we enter this season of thanksgiving, our hearts and minds naturally turn to the many blessings we enjoy. James reminds us that every good and perfect gift comes from our Father above (James 1:17). I don’t know about you, but I love the opportunity this season gives me to pause and reflect. It reminds me of just how much God has blessed me. We often spend a great deal of time counting our physical blessings, which are certainly things for which we should be thankful. Yet we should not neglect to consider the spiritual blessings that are ours because of Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3).
This year as you gather around delicious food and enjoy good company, I hope you will take time to pause and reflect on all the ways God has blessed you. Remember that every blessing is a reminder of His goodness and love. We have countless reasons to be thankful, but the greatest reason is that we serve a God whose “steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1). May those words always fill our hearts with gratitude and lead us to proclaim, “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Psalm 113:2-3).