I had truly planned on a November Thankful Blogfest. I was going to post everyday about something I was thankful for… and well, I haven’t even made the thankful fb post or tweet, so ummm nope, the November Thankful Blogfest is not gonna happen. Instead it shall be the November Thankful WhenIgetachancefest.

So today I am thankful for Pastors who prepare.

Sometimes you just don’t realize how blessed you are until you experience something outside of what you have been spoiled with.

I once saw a pastor of a very large church be invited to come and preach as a guest at another very large church… This pastor proudly took his place at the podium and laughingly announced to the congregation how his wife had asked him if he knew what he was going to “preach” on earlier in the week and he said, “No.” Then he laughed even more as he shared how in the car on the way there she asked again, and again he said, “No.”

I was shocked as I listened to the congregation laugh at this… I was appalled. How could a man know that he was going to stand accountable before God for the words that would come out of his mouth and into the ears and souls of the hundreds that sat before him and not be prepared? I knew at that moment that the Word of God would only be “referred to” in this “message” it would not be taught… and I was right.

I have a pet peeve with pastors that tell you to open up your Bibles to a certain passage and then they talk for an hour and never even read the passage of Scripture they asked you to turn to.

So today I am thankful for preparing pastors. I am thankful for men of God who stand behind a pulpit or before a group of gathered souls and have actually considered their eternity and the opportunity sacred and important enough to actually prepare and share the Word of God.

I am not saying this pastor above didn’t share a great story, a good life lesson, but great stories don’t lead one to salvation… the gospel does. Good life lessons don’t lead to repentance, the Scriptures do.

It’s the Word of God that is the double-edged sword that divides the soul and spirit.

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

I am thankful that I sit under a preparing pastor. He doesn’t throw a sermon together five minutes before he steps on the stage… he studies the Word and he teaches the Word. He says “would you open God’s precious and holy Word” and then, when you open it… he reads it and he teaches it. He knows that his own words do not have life… but God’s do.