Putting God Back in the Holidays | Dr. Bill Thrasher

we're going to focus on Christmas and New Year's. And, Gary, I know this is one of your favorite times of the year, but it can also be stressful on relationships.

got to put up with. And you know, he's going to be here and you've got to figure out, well, how are we going to, you know, treat him and let's be nice to him and we'll listen to his stories and all kind of things, all kind of things related to the holidays. So I'm glad that today we're going to discuss how to make the holidays Christian. I mean, you know. Yes. So this this will be a good discussion. I'm excited about it.

speaker for churches and retreats around the country. He's the author of a number of books, including Believing God for His Best A Journey to Victorious, Praying, and Living the Life God Has Planned that our featured resource today is written by Doctor Thrasher and his wife, Penny. It's titled Putting God Back in the holidays. You can find out more at Building relationships.us.

doing high end work. And he began to work in his church and be involved in evangelism. And since God's driving him to the mission field. So he was headed there and someone says, well, you know, he probably ought to get some training. And he says, where should I go? And he said, Moody Bible Institute. So he went to Moody Bible Institute and he said, I guess I'm supposed to apply. They said, have you ever taken the SATs?

I don't know what the S.A.T. is. So. But anyhow, he came in, and even when he was an undergraduate student, he began, he enrolled with. Then it was called a different name. Now it's called Crestar. But he began connecting with students there and in the churches in the 80s. He said, do you have people that are friends of the mission? And yeah, we do. And so he began just doing Muslim awareness seminars in the 80s. It wasn't quite we weren't quite as aware of that. And he's

been a faithful, faithful. So that's just one. I'm privileged to have students and even now have the sons and daughters of former students, and it is a great blessing. Sometimes they give me credit for more than I deserve, but truth matter, they were pretty amazing people when they came and God did a work in their life, and maybe I didn't mess them up. So. But it's a great joy to to have been a part of that.

And I'm grateful now in these, these years, my wife comes with me to school and she sits in the class and and that's a huge help to my students as she shows interest and love and encouragement and prayers. And so anyhow, that's a it's a good area we're in right now.

when they do. But as you said, what's really rewarding is when you see how God is using those students around the world.

just sense a special battle around the holidays. Part of it was because I would be going from being very busy and then sort of having a break and and so I remember when I sensed God calling me into teaching and ministry, and I remember keeping a list of what I wanted to do if God ever opened that door. And one of the things was prepare my students for the holidays for the last 45 years, this would be

the last class during the fall semester. I do talk about preparing yourself spiritually for the holidays, so I do that out of sensing my own need. And I've not only shared that with students, but also many, many other

people and whatever. And people come to the holidays from many different backgrounds, you know, from a strong Christian heritage to a heritage that's hostile or indifferent, or from a strong marriage to a difficult marriage, to never marry, to a new marriage and divorce and all of those things, and maybe a parent and a single parent, but so but whatever the situation is, you know, our faith is attacked. And I came to find out about your faith I

read today in Thessalonians. He says, lest the tempter having tempted you. First Thessalonians three five so you see, he attacks our faith. And I think, But God wants to strengthen our faith, that word be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. That same Greek word is used in Romans four that Abraham was strengthened to believe. So I want individuals just to be strengthened to believe God.

Christ left heaven to come to earth in this broken world that was fallen and rebellious against him, to enter into the world. And he wants to enter into your holidays. They may be the most joyous days of your life. You may have a great community of faith, or you may be the only person there that's crying out to God, but he wants to enter in and to communicate his comfort, his love, his encouragement, his hope, and to know that you're not alone. And so that's what I desire. I

desire that for whoever. Whatever your situation is, we want to believe God for that. Yeah, I've charted this. Why is there such a battle? I've got. I've noted five reasons there is such a battle. And I'm sure you could maybe alert to others as well. But part of it is you look at all the holidays. There is a spiritual significance of them, even though we've greatly secularized them in our culture. But but even when everybody doesn't want to say Merry Christmas. I want to say Happy holidays.

There is a focus on Christ during this particular time, and Satan hates Christ. And certainly you would expect him to attack people who truly represent him, even people whom all people whom Christ has created. And so it's no, statistically, there are more suicides and more depression and all that stuff. That's part of the battle. But also now maybe not everybody because, you know, Gary says it's the most joyous time for him. And I want it to be in

his become that for me. But, you know, I usually enter this time of year very tired and very depleted. I finished up a semester, I'm preparing for a new one. And I think you're always more vulnerable when you're tired and depleted. And I don't think my situation is that unusual. I think others have told me that at this time of year seems to just exalt an unattainable ideal. I remember we were doing some caregiving for my precious mother in law, who is with the Lord now, and it was.

I think it was it was right around Christmas Eve or close to it. And and she required 24 hour care. We covered those things and with some help from brother and sister in law and a few other people, and sometimes we hired a service called More Than Family. And this dear lady had done one shift, and I was talking to that lady before she was going to leave. And I said, you know, I told her what I was, you know, I said, well, that was my last day of my class for the semester. And I've talked about

preparing spiritually for the holidays. I said, holidays can be hard. She says, oh, can it be hard? She says, I was preparing supper years ago for my extended family, and I saw my husband's phone go off. And so I went in there. I wanted to get his call, and that's when I discovered an affair he'd been in for many years that ultimately ended our marriage. And she says, oh, it's a very hard time before she left, says, you're not leaving. You're having supper with us. And she spent

the evening with us. Now, even sometimes the painful memories, sometimes just unfulfilled Dreams, any kind of brokenness in our life, you know? For me, I think part of my struggle was this took me a while to realize this, that I entered the holidays with some very unconscious expectations. You know, my unconscious expectation was I deserve a break. I sort of resented some of the demands of the of the holiday.

I think other people have told me, you say, boy, I like this idea of putting God back in the holidays, but he or she said, I'm not in control of my holidays. I'd like to put God back in the holidays, but others have a different agenda or whatever. So, you know, being content with your role and being light in a dark place, even sometimes being around ones that maybe can't fully appreciate you or fully understand you, that's a challenge.

So those are some of the reasons that there is a battle in regard to this time of year.

in harmony. You can be joyful. That's why Jesus was said to be the most joyous person who ever lived. Hebrews one nine that was love, righteousness, and hated lawlessness. Therefore God has anointed you with the oil of joy above all your companions. So he came to restore us and unite us to him. Anytime we're focused on something outside of ourselves together that brings real unity, let us exalt his name together. So I'm praying it will be. I pray that God we will see an unprecedented harvest

of souls. I mean, I'm here because of the incredible revival that was happening in the 70s. I'm not sure we really fully realized it, but that was when I was in college and and there was just a stream of people going into the Lord's work. Campus ministries were. And that not that God has not worked since, but it was a very incredible time that God worked there. And so I'm praying for a great harvest of souls in this time. It's dark, it's challenging. You're all right.

We've gone through a difficult season, but we just cry to God for him to pour out His Spirit upon us and and do an unprecedented work here in our land.

to be vulnerable to some lies. I mean the the lie that can say, hey, if you're not paired off on a particular day of the year, maybe is something wrong with you? Are you as special as God really says you are? I think you can even be vulnerable to start a wrong relationship. I would keep a list of things that God esteemed in a woman scripturally, just

to keep my eyes on what God esteemed. As I waited on God for his timing, spending time with him and letting him affirm listening to him, and they say the greatest influence about what we think about ourselves is as what we our perception of what the most important person in our life thinks about us. So when God wants you, let him erect himself as the most important

input and listen to him. The devil is cruel. I think also as a single Christmas he came not to be served, but to serve and give his life a ransom to many. This is the principle of sowing and reaping was a big help to me in when I saw that, uh, I would just say, okay, when you feel like you need encouragement, you need so it give it. I would keep a people like a list of people that I could just give a call to that I think would appreciate a call or whatever, and it'll come back.

I mean, it's just like plant a crop of kindness and it'll it'll come back. Not in the way you think it will, but it'll it'll come back. Maybe not in the timing. You think it will, but it'll come back. So it is a challenge. Sometimes in the church things are are very family oriented and we praise God for that. I thank God for some key families that were a

tremendous help to me during my single years. I taught here almost nine years, eight and a half years single, and those were very, very precious time and my wife and I, we esteem singles. There was a time that we ran a family class at our church, and we did all our socials with the singles groups so they can be a great help to us and and we came to them. In fact, we still have some very, very close friends that are single that have never married.

did right. She welcomed Christ into her home. That's a strong word. Just used three other times it's used of Zacchaeus welcoming Christ into his home and Jason welcoming the Christians in his home in acts 17, and even Rahab welcoming the the messengers in her home. That passage was the origin of a tradition that God gave me the idea for. And we've instituted in our home to have a special meal at the beginning of the holidays, um,

usually at the beginning of December. Now we of course, our boys are grown now, so getting it scheduled is not as easy as it once was. But we have a special meal, have our finest China there, and we have an empty place setting for Jesus, and we welcome him to the holidays. And even my boys were very small, but we would just talk to Jesus as if he was at the table, because he is at the table and he's at every table, but in a special way.

Just talk to him about our plans and say, Lord, we want you to be in the midst of this. Is there anything you want us to change? And maybe are there ideas that we haven't thought about? But we talked to him and we dedicate those holidays to the Lord. Um, I remember the time that it was going to be the first Christmas that we didn't have. My wife's father,

my son's grandfather, my father in law with us. And I felt like there at that table, God gave us an idea that said, let's just let's address the elephant in the room. He's not going to be there. But let's talk about give our favorite grandfather memories or whatever. And that was a special time. So welcoming. Christ. See, Martha is rebuked not because she's serving. Somebody needs to serve.

You talked about all the things that need to be done during the Christmas holiday, but they're in verse 40. It says she was distracted with all her preparations. She was worried, and she was troubled and bothered about so many things. And I think that's the way the the devil works. He says in one Corinthians 11 three, it says, he leads us astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. So that's for what she's rebuked. Now,

why is she rebuked? I would want a person to realize, hey, God loves you in your most distracted moment, your most worried moment. You're there. Be hope for none of us or the most trouble moment. Why he does. He loves us so much. He hasn't sent us, us to live that way. You see in that verse 40, what it leads to, it leads to doubting his care. Lord, don't you care that my sister, she begins to criticize Mary?

She's left me to do all the serving alone. It makes you doubt and be critical, and also feel alone and abandoned. And the worst thing in verse 40, you begin to have a demanding spirit toward Christ. Notice how she talks to Jesus. Tell her to help me. Uh, Martha did right. She invited Jesus to her home, but she did not enjoy the visit. And I think a lot of people don't enjoy Jesus's birthday earlier years when

you know we would have our little Christmas. They would go over to my in-laws house and the other relatives were there. Whatever. We had to so rush to get there. We said, hey, this is not right. We want to enjoy both. So we put a different day on the calendar earlier. We're not going to answer calls. We're not going to just going to be off and just really relax and enjoy. And so that was a help. Even when we knew whom we were going to have to host or whatever, let's say let's let's be relaxed as

we host. But we needed to have our Christmas at a different day. So that's part of whatever, whatever you have to do to take that hurry. In the rush, Mary is commended not because she's lazy and not because she's not helping. It seemed to imply in the scripture that she had helped earlier, but she's a picture of abiding in the Lord, and she's attentive to him, devoted to him, sit at his feet, willing to do anything

he would ask her to do. But he says she chose the good part that will not be taken away from her. It leads to eternal fruit. You know, the thematic placement of this particular passage, it's not chronologically related to what's before and afterwards, but I think it's thematically related before it is the story of the Good Samaritan that that story of spontaneous compassion, that one of them and the other is the teaching on prayer. I think

that hurried spirit, we can't see anything. We're just in a survival mode. You can't see the spontaneous compassion, and it certainly destroys the spirit of prayer. So I think there's great fruit in listening to the Lord's rebuke. He loves us. He cares about us. And it's a work of God to be able to enjoy this holiday, especially, quite frankly, the one who is the host or the hostess. It's it's a it's a greater challenge to have that

relaxed attitude. I like the diligent, diligent Christian worker of the past, John Wesley. He said, although I'm always in haste, I'm never in a hurry. I never do more than I can do except with perfect calmness of spirit. I said, Lord, that's a that's a diligence that I didn't grow up with. I grew up with diligence because I had a diligent mother, but not that kind of diligence.

that year. And we'll write it down and I'll rehearse, tell them, tell them about what they've done in the last year. You know, that meant so much of my boys were growing up, and one member one year says, I want to give the gift to Jesus. I want to make a greater investment in my younger brother. Or I remember my wife saying, I want to put more music in our home or whatever. Well, that's been the highlight. Now I've expanded it to not only talk about the

gift you're giving Jesus, but also what gift. As you look back on this past year that Jesus has given you, are you especially grateful for even also expanded? What gift has Jesus given you that you see in the family members that are with you today and that you'd just like to verbalize, thanking them for the gift of God you see in their life. And then also, fourthly, they don't have to answer all of these, but the idea of what gift are you trusting God for for this

next year? So, you know, putting that in there, have the story there in the book about the white envelope that you've probably heard. It's a well known story. The but there was a, a family that she knew her husband hated Christmas. Not the true meaning of Christmas. But he hated the hurry, the rush, the running around to maybe get a gift just to get it. But it

didn't really need it. And so what she did, her son had gone to a had a wrestling match with an inner city school and and they didn't have enough money to even have the headgear, the wrestling headgear. And what she did, she went out to a sporting goods store and she bought that headgear, made a donation to that school, and she put a white envelope on the on the Christmas tree, and he opened it and she

informed him what she had done. And that was the he says his bright smile was the highlight of that year. And every year she would do that. And the kids, even though they would have toys, they couldn't wait for the white envelope. And one year when you know, he was no longer with him, it was, she said, it was so hard to get ready for Christmas. Oh my goodness, we missed him so much. And but then when they got to the cry and said, when they got to

the Christmas Day, there weren't one white envelope. There were several white envelopes. Everybody had put a white envelope in honor of their father so that that that.

in during these holiday times? And I believe if God gives an idea and God's in it, God will give the people a want to motivation to do it. And thank God for that idea about that mission project or whatever. That's that's extremely and it seemed like that's continued to go on. So we praise God for that.

causes us to seek him. You don't cast all your cares upon him. God entrust us with cares. So. Trusting God to enhance your relationship with him. And sometimes difficulties will be involved because some of his good gifts come in strange packages. Um, I said, it's not often in a prayer meeting that a person will pray, oh, God, would you give me the good gift of loneliness tonight? But if if loneliness causes you to seek the companionship of Christ, it's a good gift. Mhm.

but it says it's a causative stem. He causes us to lie down in green pastures, makes us lie down beside the still waters. In other words, I'm a sheep. And I used to think, well, boy, give me some time off. That's the way I looked at it. And just I can take care of that. Truth of the matter is, you can't. You could sleep till noon every day and not necessarily be rested and refreshed. If you have some unresolved things in your heart, it's God who what knows how to rest and refresh you. And I

think you see that in our precious Lord's life. He got up a great while before day. He was went to a lonely place and was praying there. And praying is not used primarily for intercessions for others, but for the outpouring of his own soul to find refreshment from his heavenly Father. So even Jesus, as the God man, did have emotional limitations and had to get refueled. So trust him to rest you and refresh you. And sometimes

he can do that in strange ways. There there are times that I'd say, boy, I just need to to get away. And I'm not able to get away because I have responsibilities. But God, sometimes right in the midst of it, he can do it and think about a single parent. Sometimes they never can get away, but somehow God knows how to rest him and refresh him also. I'd say ask God to show you how he wants you to be a vessel of love. Let God fill in the blank to to family, to friends or ones

in need and included. That would be the gift that he wants you to to give to Jesus that year. Another is to trust God to keep a measure of discipline in your life. All of these things have come out of times that I didn't have that you know? Now, there's nothing wrong with having leisure times, but but it's even asking God to somehow, in the words of Philippians, that prayer, approve the things that are excellent even in your leisure times, asking him for that spirit of self-control

and eating. Sometimes there's nothing wrong with feasting, nothing wrong with celebrations, but sometimes I'll walk around. The block is better than the third desert. So just just just keeping, you know, a measure of discipline in your life and things that maybe you would not trip people up, but maybe sometimes they they expose themselves and waste much time on media where at best and and defile themselves at worst,

keep a measure of discipline. And also I would say maybe, you know, things that have tripped you up, trust God to prepare you for any, any temptation that you know, tripped you up in the past have been making no provision for the flesh. Having people praying with you about that. Those are the five things that I trust God for myself, and I trust God for others as well.

in knowledge and discernment. That's the Scripture we have engraved in our wedding rings, and a part of the pain of that. Is it really. It's a suffering to be not be understood when you're around people who just do not, at this point don't have the capacity to fully understand and appreciate what drives you. Uh, you got to give that right up. And that's very painful. But say, Lord, I just want you. Would you give me your insight

and be prayerful about it? I had people pray in my in my class before we recorded this to in regard to the situation, they would be like, But God just help us to be free and be love and and to do everything I can. And so I think

prayerfully asking God for that. Sometimes you can think of of activities that could make everybody feel comfortable and can be bonding, but it's a prayerful thing and it's a painful thing, and it's a suffering when you want them to understand you, but they don't fully understand you.

Lord's day. But I remember when, okay, when January came around, I was in April. I heard that. So I'd put on my daytimer. Okay. When January comes around, I think I have a few days that I can be a little more available to the Lord. So this was over 40 years ago, and so I one thing I did, I decluttered some things and gave away things I wasn't using that helped a little bit. Then, as I was looking through some past journals, three things sort of began

to surface. And so the idea came to my mind, why don't you go into the year trusting God for these three things and being attentive to those as you, as you look to the Lord for that. That was nothing in Scripture says you have to do that. But that was a very special year. And so when the next year came around and nothing magic about three, but that's about as many as I can handle. So I said, Lord, what three things do you want me to trust you

for for this year? In the in the book, on page 24 to 26, I list some of those first of year requests that I've seen God be very faithful in. I remember the the very first year this obvious things hit me in that first Corinthians 13 1 to 3, talking about how if I speak with the tongue of men and angels don't have love, I'm just making those first three verses says that love is what absolutely essential to give meaning to anything I said, Lord. And then

I'm not sure I know what love is. But then I remember in first John four, we love because he first loved us. I said, okay, I'm putting those two things together. If love is the most essential thing that gives meaning to everything, and we love because he first loved us, I'm going to ask you, Lord, to overwhelm me with your love, that I can better love you

and love others. You know, as I laid that before the Lord, number one, I understood that only God can love me the way I really yearn to be loved and need to be loved. Only God can. What? Think about me day and night. How precious are your thoughts to me? Oh God, a vast is the sum of them. If I were to count them, they would outnumber the sands of the sea. And when I wake, I am still with you. You. It would be foolish to put that demand upon any other your most precious human relationship,

that you've got to think about me day and night. No, they're going to have a bad day sometime. They've got to sleep too. So that just that God loves you in a way no one else ever can or will. Even the depth of his love for me. Your passages that I had even memorized, you know, Romans five, you know, he set his love upon me when I was ungodly. One summer day I felt particularly ungodly, but my spirit was able to just drink up his love for an

ungodly man we I never had before. And then. Then every time I would see an exhortation that I was to love, I'd back away and say, okay, God, I know I'm supposed to do that. Like Proverbs 717 A friend loves at all times. Lord, I know you want me to be that kind of friend, but most of all, I'm just. How do you love? Lord, I thank you. You're that to me. You loved me at all times. Or he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends. But

who covers the transgression, seeks love. Proverbs 17 nine. In other words, if when you have a close relationship with somebody, you'll know things about them. If you could keep bringing up their failures, you could destroy that relationship. That's not loving. God doesn't do me that way. When I woke up, if he put every failure in my face I couldn't get. He doesn't do that because he's seeking to build a

relationship with me. A love relationship. So anyhow, he'll never ask me to do something to others that he doesn't abundantly do that to me. So I'm just saying that's one thing. But just believing God, he's a living God. What does he want you to trust you for? For that year is a is a tremendous help in regard to starting the new year.

there's the third stage. First. I can do it. Second, I can't do it. Third stage I can't do it. But I must do it. And I'm going to trust God to do it. That's how you do resolutions. I can't do it, but I must do it. And I'm going to trust God to do it. A professor I had a well-known professor in seminary. He said when he became a Christian, he was told to write these words in the front of his Bible. When I try, I fail.

When I trust he succeeds. And here he's talking to me 40 years later and he says, you know, it's taken me all this time to understand what those words mean. When I try, I fail. When I trust he succeeds. So trusting doesn't necessarily mean without effort, but it's in that spirit that we we discern what is it God wants us to trust him for, and we believe him for it.

is a blank sheet. Would you help me discern what is it you want me to trust you for from my life? See, it's not a matter of coming up with my dreams. It's laying hold of God's dreams for me. I like Philippians three, that I may lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. When God laid hold of us as believers, he had a plan and a purpose, things that he wanted to do in and for us and through us. And so

it's a matter of trusting God for that. He says, I, you know, don't give you very long to live down here. You know that Psalm 90 I took literally, you know, teach me the number of my days and I may acquire a heart of wisdom, 70, maybe 80, he says. I remember in my 20s, I started doing that. I multiplied 70 times, 365 and a fourth. I subtracted the years I lived at that time and every year since then. Now I'm 72 now, every day since then, I put one number less on my on a paper day timer.

I'm probably one of the five people in the world still use the paper at daytime now. Now I'm numbering up, you know, because I'm past 70 or whatever. But, you know, in that deadline, God has something he wants to do. And I take a couple of days a year at least to just say, Lord, I'm listening to you today. Would you just make any adjustment you want me to

make in my life? Any adjustment? I'm just listening to you today, and I'll write those down on a sheet of paper where I've written those down, and there's a page 32in the holiday book, some of those things, insights from those days or whatever. But God's a living God. Now that's in regard to a life goal and year by year. I have just some categories there on page 23 and 24 about spiritual goals or relational goals or

physical goals. Nothing says you have to make goals in all these years, but you can lay them before the Lord. Intellectual goals, financial, recreational, vocational, academic, outreach, whatever it may be, it's. But it's a matter of God. What do you want me to trust you for? And and believe him for that and being attentive to that. Now sometimes when you say, okay, maybe I've misread you, I need to adjust that and

that's okay. It's you and God. And I think when you quit dreaming or whatever, something something's something's wrong.

to me. He had that Greek word to telestai. It is finished. He had it engraved, and it was behind his desk that every client had to come in and see that funny Greek word. It is finished. Paid in full, paid in full. Sometimes you need a verse with the word all in it. Colossians 213 and 14 is one of those verses. You know, in Martyn Lloyd-Jones book on spiritual depression, one causes what this one thing I did, you know, regret they couldn't get over. I like Hebrews 1017.

I'll remember your sins no more. Micah 719 says, he takes our sins, and he puts them into the depth of the sea. Corrie ten boom, as you well know, used to puts up a sign saying no fishing. He takes our sin and puts them in the depth of the sea. So sometimes we may need somebody telling us what God says to us. We don't need another mediator between because we just need one mediator, and that's Jesus. But sometimes we need somebody telling us what Jesus would

say to us. I'll sprinkle clean water on you. It'll be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness, from all your idolatry. God can restore. He can restore. Now to a to a repentant heart. An unrepentant heart can abuse what I'm about to say. But to a repentant heart, a person needs to know God can work together for good. That which was not good. My sin is not good. But God is so big and so great and so wonderful, he can overrule that and work

it for good. Yeah, sometimes he doesn't wipe it out of your memory, and you sort of have to attach a new meaning to it. The dear lady that anointed Jesus and the Pharisees rebuked him. So if you, being a prophet, you ought to know what kind of woman that was. And he said, she who has forgiven much

loves much, and so is he reminded of that thing. Okay, Lord, would you just use that to well up in me, Lord, a greater love for you and a greater forgiveness, and even use me as an instrument that other people would be spared from this, this mistake. You know, sometimes what grieves me is when I know my sin has hurt somebody I love. When the father of faith, Abraham, when fear struck him and he lied to Abimelech in Genesis 20, I love there in verse 17 and 18. Well, God

did exactly what he said I'll do. I'll bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. So he closed the wombs of Abimelech and all of their household. And and they weren't able to bear children. And though when Abimelech said to he rebuked the the prophet, saying, you've lied to me. And then it says, Abraham prayed, and God healed Abimelech. And that's what I want a person to say. God is so big and so wonderful. He can even heal the hurts that we have caused.

So I worship him for that. You can't give God a perfect record, because none of us have but the eyes of the Lord look to and fro throughout the whole earth to find a heart that's completely his saying, God give you everything. Dear God, I want to look to you and you alone so God can restore. God can work and I praise God for that.

know exactly what attribute today. It was fateful and I go through those those attributes each month, each one of them twice. So I praise God for it. Also, I praise God for what he's done for me. I have a list of all that the blessings of God, but I summarize it in a succinct way. God, I praise you that I'm accepted by you. I'm secure in you. I'm significant in you. And I pray God somehow my life could ministry could overflow and that countless others would

be able to rest in those blessings too. Third, I ask him for just for a fresh filling of the spirit. Lord, I thank you. You know I'm not adequate, but Lord, would you take my life? And would you use it today to walk in the good works you have for me? And then, fourthly, I take my position in Christ. Above all principalities and powers. Just claiming the spiritual authority and the spiritual battle over my life and my family. Each

of my sons and their families and my ministries. And so those four four things praising God for who he is, for what he's done for me, the gifts he's given for the filling of the spirit and for the spiritual authority that he's given me in the warfare I have. Those things are a tremendous help to me. And my wife would say that, too. And so we thank God for that. And we thank God for you and Chris there, Gary. Very, very much.