Key Verse: 2 Samuel 2:5
So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, “You are blessed of the Lord, for you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him…”

To be “blessed” is to experience the favour of God and people. The men of Gilead blessed Israel by their act of respect to King Saul’s body. In return, David blessed Gilead by making the effort to thank them and to pray that in return the Lord would show kindness to them. There is no indication that David was looking for any favours from them. David was the kind of person who often took the time to care for others. It’s no wonder that David was so popular in Judah at this time, and eventually throughout all of the tribes of Israel, even in Saul’s tribe, Benjamin.
We may want to show someone our gratitude today. A letter, an e-mail, a phone call, or even a personal visit can bless a teacher, a pastor, an employer, an employee, an elected representative in some level of government, or the clerk at the grocery store. So many could be blessed when each one reading this blog makes the effort to say thanks as David did.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, thank You for the people You’ve placed in my life. Help me to always express my appreciation for them, never taking them for granted. Most of all, I’m determined to show my appreciation to You, Jesus, by thanking You for the ultimate favour to me: Your death, resurrection, and constant care. THANK YOU, JESUS! AMEN!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:
My heart is filled with gratitude to God and to all those who faithfully pray for me and who support ministry in Jesus’ Name all over the world. During 2010 and 2011, I had the privilege to travel to 180 cities, towns, and villages across Canada to say “Thank You” to as many people as I could find who had supported the Crossroads/100 Huntley Street ministry throughout the years. Norma-Jean and I, along with the ministry team, and particularly all who’ve given their lives to Christ for many years now, say “Thank you! Thank You! Thank You!” Thank You for the past, present and future. I’ve just remembered that I promised yesterday to tell another story from Uganda.

It was just before Christmas, 26 years ago, President Museveni of Uganda had just assumed office and was determined to reverse the curse of the Idi Amin years. God put it on my heart to ask our viewers to send in a small Christmas gift for the orphans of Uganda. Canada did not have diplomatic representation from Uganda, so I called the Ugandan ambassador in Washington D.C. and asked if I could use the address of his embassy to which people could send these gifts, telling him we would pick them up just before Christmas and send them to Uganda. He said, “Yes.” One week later, he called to say that so many gifts had arrived that he could hardly get into his embassy because of them. The American Air Force volunteered a C-130 cargo plane to take the gifts to Entebbe. President and Mrs. Museveni arranged for the gifts to be taken to the TV station where, on Christmas Day, for five hours live, they distributed the gifts to thousands of the children who had been orphaned by Idi Amin’s atrocities and by the scourge of AIDS. On live TV, the President blessed “those Canadians who brought Christmas back to Uganda.” He also thanked the Americans for their help in the transportation of the gifts.

Yours for blessing others!

David