By Greg Miller © 2017

Renaldo was a dedicated Christian who fully loved God.

All of Renaldo’s friends could easily see his level of commitment to the Lord Jesus. The business owner’s dedication was evident by the expressions of Thanksgiving he regularly shared.

On the Fourth of July, Renaldo purchased time on the local radio station for a short patriotic message. After reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag, Renaldo said, “I thank God for the United States of America. I thank the Lord for my sons, my daughter, and for my beautiful wife, Rhonda. I thank God for His blessings, because He is such an awesome God!”

Not only was Renaldo thankful in times of blessing, he expressed his appreciation to God during life’s challenging seasons. When Rhonda contracted cancer, he continued to offer praise to God. “My God still sits on heaven’s throne and is still an awesome God,” he told his friends.

When the Lord healed Rhonda, Renaldo said, “Lord, thank you for healing Rhonda. I praise you for your blessings.”

Renaldo’s favorite Scripture passage was Psalms 100:4-5, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

Renaldo’s friends were so impressed by his gratitude during hard times, they started calling him Job, after the Old Testament character with that name. Just as Renaldo’s friends noted his continued praise and thanksgiving to the Sovereign Lord, so did the forces of evil. Stan dispatched Reversal – one of his top generals – to generate additional problems in his life.

Reversal orchestrated several events in Renaldo’s life which resulted in financial losses. As was his custom, Renaldo continued to praise the Creator. As did his Old Testament counterpart – Job – Renaldo praised the Lord. “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away!” Renaldo declared. God limited the amount of damage Reversal was able to inflict on Renaldo, and God blessed Renaldo immensely.

After one Wednesday prayer service at the church, Renaldo paid tribute to Job. “Job was persecuted by the forces of evil, but with God’s help he prevailed,” Renaldo said. “I have also prevailed.”

Pastor Rudy, the church’s minister who had observed Renaldo’s trials and blessings over the years, answered, “Of course, you have overcome and prevailed, Renaldo,” said the pastor. “We are serving the same unfailing Sovereign Lord.”

The pastor added, “I think the secret to Renaldo’s successful life has been the realization that Thanksgiving is more than just a holiday to celebrate. Thanksgiving is a big reason God has blessed Renaldo so much. For him, true thanksgiving is a condition of the heart.”

To contact the writer of this column about speaking engagements, including Christian Comedy Fundraising Outreaches, Christian Creativity Seminars and/or puppet ministry, please email [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].

By Greg Miller  2018

 Greg is retired from the Elizabethton STAR Newspaper, after working there for almost 23 years. He now freelances for the paper. Contact email address is [email protected], also facebook.com/kidcool4jesus. Available for speaking engagements/other ministries. Jesus is Lord