"Thank-You For Giving To The Lord"

2 Kings 2:9 “And so it was, when they crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?” Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”

In 1809, the evening broadcast would have concentrated on Austria. Napoleon and his army would have caught the attention of the world as they swept across helpless countries. Internationally, his name quickly became a household name. During the time of his reckless invasions, babies were being born in Britain and America. But, who would have given a second thought to those babies when History was being made. Somebody should have! A veritable host of thinkers and statesmen drew their first breath in 1809.
William Gladstone took his first breath in Liverpool
Oliver Wendell Holmes cried out for the first time in Cambridge Massachusetts
Alfred Tennyson was brought into this world in Lincolnshire
Edgar Allen Poe began his short and devastating life
A physician named Darwin and his wife named their son Charles Darwin
In a rugged cabin in Kentucky Abraham Lincoln was born
Only History buffs would be able to name even one Austrian-campaign-but these are the lives that helped shape history. These are the lives that a lot of history is based upon. The impact of their lives is still seen today. Webster’s Dictionary defines “influence” as the “power to affect others” and the word “influential” as having or exerting great influence.” When I think about those definitions, automatically my mind races to a man who greatly impacted my life. His name may never go down in the history books but his love for others and more importantly the Lord will always be remembered by those he ministered to. He was a man who despite not having a lot of money gave as if he owned the bank, always had time to visit the sick and the needy, and although his schedule kept him as busy as an ant, he always found time to play football or street hockey (in his shirt and tie) with a bunch of snot nosed kids. If we were to summarize his life into two words, without a doubt they would be 1) Lord and 2) People. As I sit here at my desk writing this, the memories that we shared are racing back, the times that I got into trouble at school so my teacher would send me down to his office so we could play checkers, those times that recess ran a little longer then it was supposed to because we were too busy playing football to let school interfere, or those long hours of training me to become a Pastor. I will never be able to explain the impact that he had in my life, but to say the least, if in my life time I become half the Pastor he is then my ministry would have to be labeled a success. Whose life are you impacting? What steps are you taking so others can follow in your foot prints? Whose life are you touching so that in five, ten, twenty, fifty, years they will be able to look back and say, I am who I am today because, it was the impact of you. you might be a stay at home mothers who is watching your son or daughter who one day might win a noble prize, you might be a high school student who is going through the daily routines but are on the very edge of discovering your purpose in this life and the world is just waiting to see what you can do, you might be a senior citizen living in a lodge but through the stories you share bring hope to a lost generation…it’s never too late to start having an impact in someone’s life...and to finish my story, with a heart filled of gratitude, love, and respect, I say thank-you to Pastor Evan Craig for it is through your influence I am serving as a Pastor and loving every minute of it!