Thankful Living
Psalms 107:29-32 NKJV
He calms the storm, So that its waves are still.Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders.
Yesterday was the “official “ day to celebrate Thanksgiving.
I hope you had time to reflect on the Goodness of God.
I pray that you were willing to Thank Jesus for His Redemption.
Were you able to meditated on all of those promises! To rejoice in those promises. To have Hope in those promises.
To bring peace to your souls through those promises. To give Him thanks in advance because you know that He stays true to His Word!
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I encourage you to read the 2 prior posts.
In the Kingdom of God there is no “official” day for Thanksgiving.
It’s not like a religious practice that we must bow down at certain times of the day to remember to be thankful.
How could we be truly sincere in that case?
I don’t want to sound cliché, but…
Everyday is Thanksgiving!
No! I take that back!
Everything we do should show how thankful we are for Jesus!
A lifestyle of thankfulness!
So it must just become who we are! Especially as a representation of Jesus Christ!
Being Thankful is not coming to the dinner table in front of family and friends with an extraordinary meal and saying some lofty prayer!
It is not helping feed the less fortunate one day out of the year.
Thanksgiving has to become something far greater. Something deeper.
Let me just say this. There have been plenty of times that my prayers have been so long that the food needs to be reheated!
Lofty. Giant, soaring prayers to reach the
Throne of God for sure!
Surprisingly this is one of the only times of year that families will actually come and join hands in prayer.
So we better make it good!
I have been ridiculed and mocked for such prayers.
Sometimes the words reach the ears but not the hearts.
That’s OK.
So I chose to purpose to live a life of Thanksgiving and Thankfulness.
We must learn to live out our lives in a way that shows all those around us what it is like to live a life of Thanksgiving!
Be the example.
How do we do that!
We must first acknowledge from Whom the Blessings come from.
James 1:16-17 NKJV
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
We must look at good gifts differently.
We often look at the possession that we obtain as a marker of our success and our measure of Thanks.
The day after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, Black Friday!
Many people prepare more for this day than Eternity.
But I will tell you that there are people on the streets right now, with no home. Little food. Nothing more than the Hope of the Promises of God that will have and receive more than any Black Friday sale.
They will have peace.
There are things that the Lord bestows on us. Sometimes we don’t stop long enough to recognize them.
Proverbs 10:22 NKJV
The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.
When was it that the riches of Heaven
we’re tarnished by the riches of this World?
A lifestyle of Thanksgiving yearns for nothing more than the Hope of Heaven!
The Crown, The White Robe, the seat at the banquet table!
And the ability to fall at His Feet!
Will you be thankful then?
We don’t have to wait.
Good gifts are ready now!
So what are those good gifts and these blessings?
It’s His favor.
His wisdom.
His protection.
His abundance.
His ability.
His grace, joy, freedom.
His peace!
When we can live a life that reflects our thankfulness for the Goodness, Redemption and promises then all of these will rest upon you and whatever you put your hand to.
Live a life of Thanksgiving.
When we live our lives in humble service to Jesus and the Throne of Heaven something inside of us should change.
There should be a realization of the depravity of our sins.
Not just the depravity but the results from them by a Righteousness, Just God!
There has to be an understanding that Jesus Saved us from the Wrath!
Yes, the Wrath Of God!
Part of that Wrath is sending unrepentant sinners to a place that wasn’t prepared for no human souls, but is suitable to be in the same company of the others that have rebelled against the Lord!
He did it out of Love!
So that we could have peace with the Father through the Sacrificial Son!
Isaiah 53:4-5 NKJV
Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
For our peace.
Not the peace of this world.
Not for new shiny things.
Not for anything other than to have PEACE WITH THE FATHER!
Jesus not only takes away the sins of the world but the GRIEF!
He carries the SORROWS of the heart!
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him!
Upon HIM! The punishment I deserve rests on His Shoulders!
How can I not live a thankful life!
Then there is the healing in His wounds.
All for Peace.
Peace of mind.
I no longer have to worry about the pits of Hell.
Peace in Heart.
Because I now know and understand that my heart is knitted to His!
I no longer have to feel lonely and rejected.
He calms the storm, So that its waves are still.Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt Him
The waves of the storms of this life may never be calm.
They may always rage against you!
There might always be conflict between families.
You may never have the wealth you may desire in the world, you may not even have enough to be comfortable.
Your health may be failing.
But those that can live a lifestyle of thankfulness for what He has done already, that’s when that peace that surpasses all understanding kicks in!
We must learn to live our lives that shows the world that no matter the situation we
are facing that Jesus has conquered them all on the Cross!
Romans 5:8-11
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Romans 5:8-11 NKJV
How can we live our lives in a way that shows our gratitude to the One that died for us and to the ones that may not know Him yet?
Just as Jesus died for you,
Service.
We live a selfless life of service to the King of Glory!
We thank Him for the opportunity to serve Him.
We become bondservants.
A bondservant is someone that is in service without any wages.
Our wage has been paid!
Our debt is paid in full!
The Blood of Christ was enough.
It was a debt I could never pay on my own.
So I purpose myself to do the best to try and live my life in a way that gives Him Glory, Praise, Honor!
Doing it all and living it all in Thanksgiving!
Colossians 3:17 NKJV
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Today Purpose yourself to live and love as if the Lord saved you from something!
What you have been redeemed from by His mercy through His Promises are more than worthy to live a life of Thanksgiving!
Show the world why you’re thankful and to Who you are thankful!
Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders.
Lifestyle of thankfulness.
Pastor Ed
