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Give Thanks

In President Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863, he told us to set apart and observe “a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”  Though secular culture has made the day about food, family, and football, the holiday still retains the name.  But, does anyone ever ask, “To whom are we giving thanks?”

I.  Luke 17:11-14.  On the border between Galilee and Samaria, Jesus encounters an ethnically mixed group of lepers who had enough faith to call out to Him for healing (Mark 11:22-24).  Jesus tells them all–even those not part of the covenant–to go show themselves to the priests (Leviticus 13), and as testament to their faith, they all head towards Jerusalem while they still have the disease that makes them unclean and unable to mix with people.

II.  Luke 17:15-19.  All ten were healed, but only one turned back to thank Jesus–and that one was a foreigner to the covenant and Law.  From this we can see that God wants us to give thanks.  He doesn’t need our thanks, but He wants us to acknowledge His blessings to us in gratitude.  The healing happened before the Samaritan returned to give thanks and so wasn’t dependent on his action, but God approves of our ‘attitude of gratitude.’  Also, Jesus remarks that it was one who didn’t have the Law, sacrifices, temple, or priesthood who gave thanks when those who had the advantage of those things just continued on their way.  Alike under sin (Romans 3:9), we are all able to come to Christ through faith (Ephesians 2:12-15).

III.  Colossians 3:16.  God’s Word dwells in us richly when we sing with thankfulness in our hearts.  That’s the simple message of the song, “Give Thanks.”  Alike in sin, we are given God’s Son on the cross and at the tomb to overcome sin and give us life (John 3:16; Romans 7:24).  The result in us should be thankfulness in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18) as we recognize what God has done for us (Romans 8:31-32).  So, do you give thanks?

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One,

Give thanks because He’s given, Jesus Christ, His Son.

And now let the weak say, “I am strong,”  Let the poor say, “I am rich

because of what the Lord has done for us.”

Give thanks,

give thanks,

give thanks!

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Ask What I Shall Give You

Is it better to “grow up in the church” or to escape the world to seek truth on your own?  The first may not know the sharp edge of the world’s heartache, but often a personal faith is taken for granted and underdeveloped.  The second can create an abiding faith but a lifetime of overcoming sinful habits and baggage.  Inheriting the kingdom from his father, Solomon began well as someone who grew up in the church often does.  But, did he seek God or let his heart be led astray?

I.  1 Kings 3:3-28.  In the beginning of his reign, Solomon loved God and walked in the way of his father, King David, yet as he still worshipped at the high places, there’s a hint that his heart wasn’t fully after God’s heart like David’s was (Acts 13:22).  He asks for wisdom or discernment to govern God’s people, which pleased God, and he was granted many other blessings.  What can an abundance of God’s grace do in a heart, vulnerable to temptation and sin, that is not fully chasing God?

II.  2 Samuel 12:7-9.  When David had yielded to sin, the prophet Nathan tells him that God had given him much and would have given him much more, but David had repaid God’s grace by despising God’s Word.  This principle is carried out in the New Testament by Jesus (Matthew 25:29).  We must prove faithful in what we have been entrusted, so that God can use us in even bigger ways.  Sadly, Solomon did not do this, allowing his blessings, projects, and power (2 Chronicles 1:14-17) and the comfort found in sin (1 Kings 11:1-4) lead his heart astray.  Clearly, the wisdom he had to warn against such falling (Proverbs 5:1-9) wasn’t enough to safeguard his heart.

III.  Philippians 4:4-7.  If we seek God and His Kingdom first (Matthew 6:33) and ask for wisdom (James 1:5-8), we must still apply these things to our hearts to truly live for Christ and honor Him as holy (1 Peter 3:13-16).  How do we do this?  We must sell all that this world has to offer (Matthew 13:44) and press on to the goal despite obstacles (Philippians 3:12-16), holding on to what we have already obtained and adding to that in increasing measure (2 Peter 1:3-11).  Then God will guard our hearts.

What could Solomon have achieved if he hadn’t let his heart be led astray?  How could God use you if you used what you’ve already been entrusted with to seek Him and His Kingdom?

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Deserving Father

Our Father, you deserve
at all times to be praised
by happy voices raising
to the heaven of heavens.

Be glorified, O Son,
who gives eternal life,
through all the world of man,
to every distant isle.

What Spirit now abides
in hearts that hear your Word,
transforming earthly souls,
preparing them for you!

Among your joyful people,
we serve and speak and sing,
en route to enter your gates,
with praises on our tongues.

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Work Out Your Own Salvation

After the wedding is over, who does the work in the marriage relationship?  The answer is both … if the marriage is to be successful.  So it must be when we enter into a relationship with Christ.  The Bridegroom has conquered sin and death by the cross and the tomb, but believers meet Him at the altar by obeying the gospel.  In baptism the wedding is over, how now can the marriage work?

I.  Galatians 3:26-29.  When we enter that covenant, we become “heirs according to the promise.”  No longer separated by our sins from God, we become children of God, “provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:16-17).  Some of that suffering comes from choosing to walk according to Scripture instead of in the way of the religious world around us.  It’s a very narrow path to navigate (Matthew 7:13-14).  Stray a little too much towards ritual and our faith becomes a Checklist Christianity; a little too much towards relationship and it becomes Cultural Christianity.  Rather, true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

II.  Philippians 2:12-16.  For our part, we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.  And it is hard work indeed.  Maintaining any good relationship is.  We must not grumble or argue to not wreck our influence for the gospel of Christ.  There is a process of partaking in the divine nature and escaping the corruption of the world.  We must add various virtues one to another in increasing measure and practice them with diligence to not fall and find a rich welcome in the Kingdom of God (1 Peter 1:3-11). Only you can strengthen or destroy your own relationship in Christ.

III.  Hebrews 10:38-39.  For His part, God promises to work in you, to work and to will for His pleasure.  So, as you are working out your own salvation, He is molding and shaping you into His Son’s image.  So, faithful living requires many moment-to-moment decisions to walk as Christ did (1 John 2:6).  We can no longer live for ourselves but rather make it our aim to please Him (2 Corinthians 5:9).  As two become one in marriage, we are, as members of Christ’s bride, united with our Bridegroom in death and so also life (Galatians 2:20 and Romans 6:5).  Therefore, we do not shrink back but live by faith