This topic could fill an entire book and not even touch on every aspect adequately.
It is November - so the theme is thanksgiving.
First, I am really thankful for the Thanksgiving Day meal. Is any meal better than turkey, dressing (especially my wife’s), mashed potatoes and gravy, etc.?
The idea of being thankful has so many dimensions.
Are we grateful for only the big things in life or do we appreciate the daily- often taken for granted things? For example, every breath we take; the benefit of clean air and water; the beauty of a cloud filled sky? Psalms 9:1 “I praise You, Lord, with all my heart.”
How often do we express our gratefulness to God- hourly; weekly; annually?
In our Christian life, do we thank God that He:
Is responsible for everything we have- our talents; our intelligence; our roof over our head; our food on our table.
Is truth- we don’t have to wonder what the purpose is or the meaning of our existence. John 14:6 “I am the way; the truth; and the life.”
Has a character of love- not a spiteful god as written in Greek and Roman mythology. Psalms 118:1 “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever”
Showed and demonstrated His love through the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.”
Gives us joy and peace. Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.”
Has a forgiving character- endlessly- WOW! Especially that one! Mathew 18:21 Jesus answered “Forgive. I say 7 times 70.”
Has made 6000 promises in the Bible- all for our benefit. Some are:
Ask and you shall receive.
God has a plan for our benefit- to prosper/ not to harm.
Wisdom- which is really learning to see all of life from God’s perspective.
Answers prayer
Eternal place in heaven
He is in control
Has given us an amazing work- a endlessly beautiful and fine-tuned creation. Genesis 1:31 “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good”
Has given us His word- the Bible
We believe these promises found in the Bible through our faith with hope.
Faith is mentioned 246 times and hope185 in the Bible. Curiously, generosity is mentioned 2285 times.
I interpret this as we are to understand God’s unfathomable generosity, grace, and goodness which shows up to us in so many ways. We, then, are to show our appreciation and thankfulness by being generous to others. He prepares our hearts, so we are able to be generous and bless others.
Westbrook Community Church strongly believes this. As church members, we have all agreed to substantially support many worthwhile Christan based missions and causes. We are a church body whose expression of our thankfulness to God is toreach out, to give, and to bless to others. It is a church policy to give the first 10% of offerings received as a tithe to vetted Christian missions and work.
We thank God who has blessed us.
This month it is worthwhile to reflect how much and how often we express our sincere thankfulness to God for ____________ (you can fill in the blank.)
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