Giving thanks

Counting Blessings

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Colossians 3:15 NLT

As I look around the room I see most of my friends seated in wheelchairs, though a few of the more active senior saints are still making their way to our meeting with a walker. But in spite of all the reasons they have to complain, it is amazing how few of them do. Instead, I hear laughter, when I tell them to get their calculators out, because we are getting ready to count our blessings. There are days when we all need to think about things to be grateful for instead of those we like to gripe about. I am thankful for this simple song by Johnson Oatman, which reminds me to do exactly that! I do hope you will enjoy our little song session and that whatever life holds for you at this moment, that God will help you to count your blessings. Some of those blessings might be in the past, maybe some even today, but for the child of God, we all have some huge future blessings to thank Him for, beginning with His forgiveness of our sins and the home He has promised us in Heaven! (Next door to Jesus according to Dottie Rambo!)

IN – Everything Give Thanks

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV

The Apostle Paul, who wrote these words to the Thessalonians, was an expert on giving thanks in everything. When Paul and Silas had first arrived there, they were still healing from the beating they had received in Phillipi, not to mention spending the entire night hey had spent in the jail. In Thessalonica things were going a bit better for the first three weeks, but then some people began stirring up trouble there also and they ended up leaving town just ahead of an unruly mob. I imagine that when the church gathered to listen to Paul’s letter read publicly, many of these new Christians nodded their heads in agreement. “Oh yeah! We definitely know what Paul means by “giving thanks in everything.” They had witnessed Paul thanking God while still in some terrible situations. Paul thanked God when he arrived in Thessalonica and was gladly received, and he thanked God when he had to head on to the next town because of persecution. So, this morning I ask myself, “Am I being thankful while still in this situation, or am I waiting for everything to work out first”?

The beauty and the adventure of this Christian walk is not only about the victorious outcome, but in the rejoicing, praying and giving thanks to God, while all we can see is suffering, unanswered questions and problems we cannot solve. On this earth we will not see every issue resolved, every injustice made right, or every wound healed. Instead, on this side of Heaven there are tears, doubts and frustrations, but God gives us the choice of complaining about everything or giving thanks in the middle of the mess. The verse urges us to do this because it is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us. It is His will in Christ Jesus, who gave thanks for the bread on the night He was betrayed, and later prayed for His enemies to be forgiven, while He was on the Cross. God’s will in Christ Jesus is the same for us, right here, right now, in the middle of everything, we are to give Him thanks!

Thanksgiving

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
  Rejoice always and delight in your faith; be unceasing and persistent in prayer; in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Amp

My sister keeps a jar on her shelf filled with little slips of paper on which are written things for which she is grateful, then on Thanksgiving, she pours them out and reads them, as a reminder of the things that she can be thankful for. In today’s verse, the Apostle Paul, has a similar idea, but he goes one radical step beyond gratitude for blessings. Instead, Paul tells us that in every situation, no matter the circumstances, we are to rejoice, delight in our faith and give thanks. To be honest, I have not learned how can how to do that all the time, but I have picked up a few clues along the pathway as I have followed Jesus. God has shown me that the rejoicing, thankfulness and prayer Paul talks about isn’t about me: it is about Jesus. He reminds me that when Jesus suffered terribly on the cross for us, He endured it all, because pleasing His Father was His greatest joy. The joy that Jesus had, certainly had nothing to do with his situation. He was nailed to rough wooden beams, between two others, who were likewise dying in agony, just a few feet away. He heard the soldiers mocking him and saw them gambling for his last bits of clothing. Yet Jesus had the strength to forgive His enemies, see to the care of His mother and to give the promise of paradise to a thief. Jesus had joy, in spite of His situation, because He loved those around Him, till the very end. This Thanksgiving, whether we sit at a table, surrounded by our family, are alone at home, or even confined to a hospital bed, there is always someone we can love. There is always at least one person, who we can forgive, one who we can encourage or one who we can pray for.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! May God watch over you, keep you close to His heart and draw you closer to Himself this year in the precious Holy name of Jesus I ask His blessing. Amen!

Faith goes up the stairway that love has built and looks out the window that hope has opened. Charles Spurgeon