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Key Bible Verse: I thank my God every time I remember you (Philippians 1:3). Bonus Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:9

One day in the early thirties, William Stidger and a fellow pastor sat in a restaurant talking about the worldwide depression—the suffering people, rich committing suicide, the jobless. The pastor said, "In two or three weeks I have to preach on Thanksgiving Day. What can I say?"

Stidger said it was like the Spirit of God answered that question: "Why not thank those people who've been a blessing in your life and affirm them during this terrible time?" He thought of an English teacher who had instilled in him a love of literature and verse, affecting all his writing and preaching. So he wrote to her.

In a matter of days he got a reply in the feeble scrawl of the aged. "My Dear Willy: I can't tell you how much your note meant to me. I am in my eighties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely, and like the last leaf of autumn lingering behind. You'll be interested to know that I taught in school for more than 50 years, and yours is the first note of appreciation I ever received. It came on a blue, cold morning, and it cheered me as nothing has done in many years."

—David A. Seamands, retired pastor/professor

• Who could use a note of thanks from you this week?

Thought to Apply: We grow up taking things for granted and saving our flowers for the dead.

—VANCE HAVNER (LATE PREACHER AND EVANGELIST)

Credits: Adapted from— Wednesday: Preaching Today (62)

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Prayer for the Week

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