Thankful for Jesus

As we approach the week of Thanksgiving, I am reminded how Thanksgiving and generosity go hand in hand. At its heart, Thanksgiving is a time to come together, give thanks, and share the blessings we’ve received with others. It’s an opportunity to practice gratitude and to extend that gratitude through acts of generosity—whether it’s through giving to help those in need, volunteering, or simply being present and offering a kind word to those closest to us.

Thanksgiving may come and go, but the spirit of generosity doesn’t have to end with the holiday. In fact, Thanksgiving can inspire ongoing acts of kindness throughout the year. The needs do not disappear after the Thanksgiving holiday. On December 2, the Monday after Thanksgiving, Capital Compassion will have its doors open to serve the underserved. This is our calling and we love the broken people who are walking through our doors every day.

SEAN’S STORY

This past Wednesday, one of our unhoused friends needed to get to a temp job at the Convention Center downtown. There was not enough time for him to get there on public transit so I offered to give him a ride downtown. As he got out of the car, I felt prompted to give him twenty dollars for lunch. Later I learned that he stopped at a bank after work and reactivated his lapsed bank account with that twenty dollar bill. He was so proud of that decision. I was proud of him too. He made his way back to our office on public transit arriving at 6:00pm. As I drove him to a respite center that had just opened due to the bad weather, he told me how he had worked as an electrician. One of his first jobs was at Capital Christian Center when it was being built. He later worked on the crew building the High School campus at Capital. It was a full circle moment. Driving away from the respite center to head home, I had to choke back the tears that involuntarily welled up.

I arrived home that evening from a full day of responding to the needs of those placed in our path on a rainy wintery day. As I sat down for dinner in our warm house, Cathy said to me, “I wonder if Jesus is feeling cold and hungry tonight.” I was moved by the thought of how His presence abides in every human soul. How else can I interpret His statement, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).

“I wonder if Jesus is feeling cold and hungry tonight.”

NOVEMBER STATS

Opportunities are growing for us to make a difference in our community. In the month of November we served :

• 78 individuals week one
• 59 week two
• 90 week three
• A total of 227 touches in Jesus’ name in less than month.

When you contribute to Capital Compassion, you are touching Jesus personally. It is a team effort and every person matters on our team. Thank you for being a generous contributor to the cause of helping the broken of our world. Miracles are happening. Lives are being transformed. You are making a difference when you partner with us to wrap our arms around those in need.

Consider a generous gift of Thanksgiving. True transformation happens when our generosity extends well beyond the holiday, continuing to impact lives and communities every day of the year. Remember the words of Jesus, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Pastor Rick