November 18, 2012 – Pastor Tim – “Giving Thanks Every Day” – Click to download
This is the time of year when we all gather together with family and/or friends to observe a special day of thanksgiving. Turkey dinners and football games will abound as old memories are rehashed and new memories are made. But most of all, this should be a day when we express our thanks to our Heavenly Father.
- It’s proper to give thanks to God for what Jesus Christ did for us.
Colossians 1:12-14 (NLT), “always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light. 13 For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”
- No one else could do what He did.
Matthew 11:3-6, and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
- No one else could save us.
Acts 4:10-12, “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
- Jesus made it possible for us to become children of God and joint-heirs with Him. Romans 8:16-18, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
- Jesus made it possible for us to be cleansed from all of our sins and unrighteousness, and He opened the way for us to have access into the very presence of God.
Hebrews 4:15-16, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
The salvation Jesus obtained for us also includes healing, protection, and prosperity—the good life. That’s what Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” That’s enough to be thankful for!!
Hallelujah! God made a way for us because He loved the world so much. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
And we can be thankful, because He is for us. He is leading, guiding, and protecting us, and with Him on our side, no one can stand against us! Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
I want to encourage you—don’t just relegate thanksgiving to one day a year—or make November the only month you count your blessings every day. We can and should give God thanksgiving in our daily worship. Worship is the “Thank You” that refuses to be silenced.
Psalm 106 1-2 (NLT), “Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2 Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can declare all His praise? Worship is a voluntary act of gratitude offered by the saved to the Savior, by the healed to the Healer, and by the delivered to the Deliverer.
Make it a lifestyle! Continually thank your great God for all He has done for you. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
gua marinello
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thedave
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