Gratitude

I'm grateful to God for:

Safety in travel

The weather in Wales has been horrendous this weekend and I spent thirteen hours on the road from North to South, back to the North, and then across and back again to the West coast of Wales.

A loving family

One of God's greatest gifts. In my case I have the wonderful Mrs Downes and two daughters who missed me over the weekend. I praise Him for his kindness to me.

A day conference on the Trinity

What a privilege to be one of the speakers. The sight of 150 others on a wet and windy Saturday in Swansea eagerly listening to the doctrine of the Trinity being taught from Scripture and Church history was brilliant. The glory of the triune God is the fuel of worship.

Saints who persevere

In many cases this meant bumping into old students of mine now into their careers, serving God in their churches, and raising families. I can hardly put into words how grateful I am for their faith and love.

Generous giving

I'm involved in the organising of a small conference for new pastors that will kick off one week from today. I'm deeply grateful for the publishers and individuals who have given generously so that these pastors will have good books and audio resources for free. I won't quote the figures, but when we started adding them up it was quite humbling. All of which communicates the highest regard for the work of the ministry.