Deep Thanks
With Thanksgiving coming this week, it's the perfect time to remember the blessings of life.
We serve such an awesome God and He gives us so much.
One of my pastor's recent sermons was about deep thanks, and how a Christian living in the light of Christ's sacrifice could never be without cause for thanksgiving.
In a very real sense, our degree of thankfulness is a thermostat to how "in touch" we are with God's judgment, which necessarily entails sentencing. If we know the judgment (that we are guilty, in one way or another) and we know the sentence: eternal damnation--it makes us eternally grateful (yes, thankful) for Christ's sacrifice for us. We are spared the judgment, the sentence, the very wrath of God.
Instead of trying to say in this short piece what he put so well in a sermon, I give you a link to hear Rob Turner, a Senior Pastor at Apex Community ( "A Gathering of Churches") here.
Give the subject just a few minutes of deep thought--and you too, will find yourself in a spirit of deep thanks.
Warmest Blessings,
Linore
4 comments:
I thank God for you -- for this post. Thankfulness really is an indicator with contentment, I believe, as well. Am I content with life the way it is? Or am I wishing I had more time for myself, more money, more things, more of anything and everything? But then I look to the cross and see there Love -- the Love that was more than content to do His Father's will, my life is washed in the light of His sacrifice and His love for me! Thanks for the reminder!
Oh Linore,
What a lovely post and so poignant. A God-given reminder that 'where our treasure is that's where our heart will be also'. Is our treasure in God? I pray that I find my hope and treasure in Him and that it pours out of me daily with thanksgiving.
Sarah,
Thank you! And, it is so easy to fall into that "wishing for more" syndrome, isn't it? The WORLD is always telling us we need more, when the truth is we'll never have it until we decide we already do. And that's where thankfulness comes in, saving us from the "wanting more" monster of modern life.
And Pepper,
Thanks for your words of affirmation. I echo your prayer and I know that everyone who follows this blog feels the same.
I pray that we all make space this week for a special thanksgiving during our public Thanksgiving. We surely owe Him that and more!
I came across a quote recently that one of my college friends had from one of our theology professors: "As Christians we do not live to get what we lack, but to give away what God has already given us in inexhaustible measure." --Dr. Michael Eschelbach
I think it's especially fitting in this season of thanksgiving.
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