Giving Thanks!
My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. It reminds me to stop and give thanks for the many blessings that I have received. It is also among the least commercialized national holydays.
Here are some of the blessings I have received and for which I give thanks.
• The greatest blessing that all of us have received is our savior Jesus Christ whose birth we celebrate this time of year.
• God has worked through you to sustain the ministry of Opening Blind Eyes (OBE). I thank both God and you for your continual prayers and generous support.
• The congregation of OBE has continued to grow even though about 20% of our congregation is either released or transferred to another prison yearly. Can you imagine what would happen to a church on the outside if it lost 20% of its congregation each year?
• OBE’s Bible Study has finished the book of Luke and Acts. We have begun to study the gospel of John.
• Inmates often tell me they are delighted with an opportunity to study the Bible rigorously in its original context.
• As an Old Testament scholar, I have learned so much about the New Testament (NT). I had a sudden glimpse of the obvious. I should interpret the NT in both the context of first century Palestinian Judaism (since Jesus was a first century Palestinian Jew) and first century Greco-Roman culture (since this was the audience of the books in the NT).
• I have seen God work in the lives of inmates I teach and counsel.
• Inmates pray for one another, for me, for our nation and for the world.
• The inmate God has raised up to lead music enjoys it and is thriving. We are working together to introduce new songs.
• Cathy’s knee replacement was successful. Please pray for her as she has the other replaced on Dec. 7th. We pray that God will protect her from infection.
God bless you,
Rip
PS. Please consider a gift to Opening Blind Eye’s during this holiday season.