Greetings Lake Tapps family,

In just one week from now we celebrate our annual Thanksgiving Holiday; and in just a little over a month from now we will be exchanging gifts with one another.  All this got me thinking about giving thanks.  I asked myself, “what do I have to be thankful for this year?”  And I answered myself, “Self, you have a great deal”.

The Bible says that we learn to love one another because God first loved us (1 Jn 4:16).  I think in the same way we learn to give gifts and be thankful because God first gave us gifts.  One year when I was pondering this subject (I seem to do this a lot), I decided to see what God had given me.  So, I opened up the concordance on my computer and plugged in every variation of gift, gave, given, etc. I could think of.  I was amazed when my printer spit out over 8 pages of scripture references.  As I studied the list, I was overwhelmed with what all that God has given us.

The first and best gift is that of His Son Jesus and what He did for us on the cross.  But Jesus is like a package that we see under the Christmas tree with our name on it.  It may look pretty and nice, but it’s not really mine until I take possession of it, open it and enjoy the benefits of the gift.  The gift of Jesus is the forgiveness of my sin which alienated me from God.  If I don’t take possession of that gift and make it mine by faith, then it does me no good.  However, if I take the gift and say thank you, then I’m forgiven and reconciled to God and made part of His family. That’s a pretty special gift!!

As I continued thinking about thankfulness, I focused on what we at LTCC can be thankful for during this season.  The Lord has led us to IPM and provided us with an interim pastor and we’ve begun the five-step process that will culminate in calling our new permanent pastor.  The transition team meets weekly to sort out where we’ve come from and where we are going.  One of the issues from the journey wall was the need for more Elders.  We can be thankful for the six men that have stepped forward and are now in training.  We can pray that through this process the call of God for their service will be made clear, both to them and to the church.

Another thing we can be thankful for is the many members who have stepped up to lead the various Bible studies now underway, as well as for those that are in those studies who are increasing their knowledge of the Word.  It’s an indication that we’re just not standing around waiting for the new pastor, but that we know from where our strength comes, and we are actively seeking the will of the Lord as it provides wisdom and guides us.  We also can thank the Lord for the new people that have begun to worship regularly with us, as well as for those who have committed to the bond of membership in the past couple of months.

I believe we can also be thankful for the challenges that we still face.  It’s during these “valley times” that we turn to the Lord and seek His steadfast leadership of His body (the church).  The pre-service prayer time each week is such a blessing as brothers and sisters in the Lord humble themselves and ask the Lord for His healing hand and guidance for our body.

So, there is much to thank the Lord for during this season.  We thank Him for His faithful supply of all our needs (Philippians 4:19).

Gary for the Elders and Council

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