November 16, 2016
Hebrews 13:15 “By him (Jesus) therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
How long would it take you to come up with something to be thankful to God for? I would suggest the longer it takes you to think of something would indicate you may be a little rusty on giving God thanks. Every day is an opportunity to use our head, hearts, soul-spirit, and our hands to thank God for His goodness. Yes, I said use our hands to thank God, and I am not just suggesting a gesture of lifting our hands towards heaven, but engaging them in service to others.
Hebrews 13:16 “But to do good and to communicate (share with others) forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
Thankful people are vertical people. They are looking up with love and appreciation for not only God’s unspeakable gift of salvation, but for all of his benefits and help from day to day. Thankful people are also horizontal people. They are not blind to those around them who have spiritual, physical, and emotional needs. When God fills up one of His thankful kids, said kid becomes like one of those cornucopias spilling out God’s blessings to others.
Unthankful people have their faces turned downward and their spirits turned inward. They cannot accept where they are at and the circumstances they are in. They are fault-finders and depressed. They are more than willing to receive but they do not have the capacity to give. Life is miserable and they endure, trying to find happiness in everything that never can give them happiness. They are backslidden if they are a child of God. Or they are lost and have never met Him. If you are an unthankful Christian, God’s loving kindness is taking you to the spiritual woodshed because you need a spanking. If you don’t know God, I suggest you look at the cross and see the love of God shed for you by His Son Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:21 “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
According to the above verse, it is not enough to know about God. According to the Scriptures, we also need to show Him honor, acknowledge Him as God, recognize our desperate need of Him, and understand without Him we are but unsanctified dust gathering momentum for the grave and eternal separation from Him. When we fail to see God for who He is and what He has done for us, we become empty-headed thinkers. Life is futile without purpose. And we also become fools wandering in the darkness, running into all kinds of difficulties of our own making and of a world system bent on our destruction.
So, where are we at on our thank-o-meters? An honest measurement of our thankfulness is a good indicator of where we are at in our relationship with our God.
James 1:2-3 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials); knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
May God help us all to be thankful,
Pastor John Schofield
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