By Mickey Mallory

Soon, the year 2023 will be in the annals of history. What will you remember about this year? I am sure you could probably think of a number of things that made this year special. How about the gifts you received this year? I am sure you could think of a few.

If you haven’t already, why not take some time to write down all the gifts you have received? Ask God to bring people/things to mind. You might be surprised to see how long your list will get.

One of the gifts on my list this year would be the gift of our pastors.

I have the privilege as ministerial director of the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) to serve them. While some call me pastor of the pastors, sometimes they pastor me by giving me words of encouragement and praying for me. I walk away from these experiences thinking to myself how blessed we are to have such a great team of pastors in our conference.

Not only am I grateful for our pastors, I am also grateful for the gift of the church members they serve. Whenever I visit a church, I am always greeted with kindness. I am treated so well that I have come to the conclusion that one of the reasons we have such great pastors in this conference is because they get to work with some great church members.

As I reflect on all the gifts, I have received this year, I am especially grateful for Heaven’s most precious gift, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Him, we would not have life, physically and spiritually.

In Him we live and move and have our being …
(Acts 17:28, ESV)

We truly have lots to be thankful for this December. May it be a month to remember how blessed we are. May all the gifts we have received (and will receive) lead us to worship the Giver, who loved us so much that He left heaven for us. From the cradle to the cross, He gave his life so that we may have life. And, someday, He will return as King so we can enjoy the gift of eternity in heaven.

Let us praise God for His glorious grace, for the free gift He gave us in His dear Son!
For by the blood of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven.
How great is the grace of God,
which He gave to us in such large measure!
(Eph. 1:6-8, GNT)

—Mickey Mallory is the RMC ministerial director. Photo by Unsplash.