We can be grateful for many things, and we should be. We can be grateful to many people, and we should be. We can be grateful on many occasions, and we should be. But there is One who makes every good thing, every good person and every good occasion in our lives possible by His abundant and amazing grace. God sent Jesus to be perfect for us because we aren’t, absorb wrath for sin so we don’t, and secure the blessings for us that we can’t. Jesus paid our sin penalty and paid for our special privileges so that we might be forgiven, freed and favored. Today and every day, let us offer thanks for His giving.
The Sweetest Of All Thanksgiving
The sweetest of all thankfulness isn’t superficial; it goes deep. It goes past feeling happy that certain things are in our lives. It goes past naming those things so it is known that we appreciate them. It goes past even tracing their origin back to God and thanking the Giver for all of our blessings. There is a delightful, wonderful, beautiful experience when our gratitude is not merely directed toward God for His gifts, but toward God for Himself. The way to be best thankful for all that God has given us is to be most thankful for Him.
Blessed Are The Pure In Heart
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” – Matthew 5:8
Attraction. Affection. Admiration. Adoration. This is the progression of pleasure for those whose hearts have been purified by God through faith in Jesus, and who are pursuing God by faith with all of their hearts. What starts as interest in Him soon blossoms into love for Him which leads to enjoyment of Him and climaxes with worship to Him. We like how we feel in His presence … how we feel about Him, how we feel about ourselves, how we feel about our lives, how we feel about our futures. So, let us strive to remove those things that keep us from seeing and savoring God for Who He truly is. We will be truly satisfied when we do.
He Doesn’t Need…
He doesn’t need advice. He doesn’t need instructions. He doesn’t need guidance. God rules and reigns over every location and situation in the universe with absolute certainty. You will not find Him getting confused, getting caught off guard or getting into a place where He second guesses Himself. He always knows just what to do, just how to do it, and just when to do it in order to accomplish the goal of His purpose and the good of His people. This is the One we turn to and trust in! When we struggle to make sense of our lives, let us remember this: Even if we don’t know what it is, God always knows exactly what He’s doing.
He Didn’t Need…
He didn’t need a blueprint. He didn’t need inspiration. He didn’t need assistance. God created all of the universe without anyone’s ideas, input, ingenuity, innovation or imagination. He just designed it all and made it all out of nothing. When you consider the amazing diversity and creativity and majesty displayed in every corner of the created world that we can see, hear, smell, taste and feel, God’s handiwork is just absolutely stunning. He created angles and dimensions, shapes and textures, colors and flavors, scents and elements, and, well, everything known and unknown to us. Praise Him for He has done great things!
Guiltiness and Gladness
Christians should know two feelings better than anyone else in the universe: guiltiness and gladness. We must never lose sight of this: our sin is great. We must never lose hope in this: our Savior is greater. A right response to our unfolding transformation as we follow Jesus in faith is the ongoing rhythm of repenting of our sin and rejoicing in our salvation. We are guilty, yet acquitted. We are undeserving, yet rewarded. We are trapped, yet freed. May we know the humbling, exalting experience of knowing both our sinfulness and our Savior. Be glad in this: Our sin may begin our story, but the grace of God will have the final word.
Biblical Humility Is A Response To Grace
Biblical humility is a response to grace. It is an acknowledgement that God helped us over and over in the past and an awareness of our need for God to help us again and again in the future. When you are humble, you know that the good things about who you are and the good things you have done are because Jesus has freely and fully made it so. We work hard, but He empowers us. We make decisions, but He enlightens us. We take opportunities, but He equips us. We keep going, but He encourages us. Let us humble ourselves and exalt Him, for nothing good about our lives would be possible without Him.
Don’t Let Anything Keep You From Him
Hard times can cause people to harden their hearts against God, but good things in life can make us just as unfeeling toward Him. When things go wrong, we are tempted to blame God; when things go right, we are tempted to ignore God. Overcoming this sinful tendency to live as if God doesn’t care or as if God isn’t there will only happen when we regularly remind ourselves of just who He is and just how good He is. He helps us in hard times and gifts us with good things so that we will… Remember Him. Rejoice in Him. Return to Him. Remain with Him. Don’t let the seriousness of the bad or the shininess of the good keep you from Him.
Asking Rightly And Always Receiving
Many people feel like their prayer isn’t “working” so they barely or rarely pray at all. Prayer, as with all of life, should be about God being honored in us and us being happy in Him. This is why we are to pray for… The hallowing of His Name. The coming of His kingdom. The doing of His will. In other words, we ask God to help us and others: Praise Him. Pursue Him. Please Him. Prayer isn’t about filling up our kingdoms with what we think will make us happy; it is about being filled up by all He offers in His kingdom so we can actually be happy. When His desires become our desires, we will ask rightly and always receive.
Being With Jesus, Part 1
The incomparable and incalculable benefit of following Jesus is that we get to be with Jesus. We get the pleasure of His company and the contentedness of His presence. It’s not just life. It’s not just the best life. It’s not just the best life now. It’s not just the best life now and forever. It’s the best life now and forever with Jesus. We go with Jesus not just because it’s the smartest thing to do and the safest thing to do, but even more so, because it’s the satisfying thing to do. Giving up all the world’s substitutes for Him, in order to be with Him, is not a trade-off; it’s a trade-up. It’s an infinite upgrade to know and enjoy Jesus.
Wonderful Gifts From An Even More Wonderful God
It is right to enjoy the good gifts of God in the way that He designed them to be enjoyed because that’s why He gives them to us. The sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touches of the created world are supposed to be enjoyed because God made them to send and made us to receive … pleasure. But rather than enjoying them too little (ingratitude) or too much (idolatry), let us enjoy them as they were intended, as a catalyst for treasuring the Gift-Giver far beyond what He might give to us. The gifts that God sends us are wonderful; but they are nowhere near as wonderful as Him.
Do You Know What I Do?
Do you know what I do when I don’t know what to do? I pray. Do you know what I do when I need strength to do what I have been led to do? I pray. Do you know what I do when I experience difficult people or problems as I’m doing what I’m supposed to do? I pray. Do you know what I do when I grow weary doing the right things? I pray. Do you what I do when I get distracted by temptations to do wrong things? I pray. Do you know what I do when things don’t work out how I thought they would as I’m doing what I should? I pray. Do you know what I do when I have done what I was given to do? I pray. God’s answers to prayer include wisdom, strength, help, endurance, freedom, hope and thanksgiving. Prayer changes things; and it begins by changing us.
Benevolent King Jesus … He’s Way Bette …
Jesus is our Savior and our Lord. Jesus blesses us and commands us. Jesus wants us to be happy and holy. Jesus shows us compassion and correction. Jesus leads us to pleasant spaces and hard places. Jesus loves sinners and hates sin. Genuine, growing Christians take Jesus for Who He is and not Who others try to make Him out to be. Jesus is not a loving, gracious Friend and Enabler Who is there to help us live in whatever way we choose. He is the One Who gives us strength to do all the wonderful, beautiful, purposeful things He Himself has planned for us. Butler Jesus does not exist; Benevolent King Jesus does. And He’s way better.
Grace Always Wins In The End
God loves us, but He doesn’t approve of everything we think, say and do. God took our sin seriously enough to put His Son Jesus to death in our place; we should take our sin seriously by fighting against it instead of trivializing it, rationalizing it or fraternizing with it. Let us feel godly sorrow for our sin, but may that conviction give way to celebration of the forgiveness and freedom that is ours because of Jesus. Grace means there is pardon for our sin and power not to sin. We fight against it, we fail in the battle, we fall into mercy, we fight on, we finish. For those who are trusting in Jesus… Grace always wins in the end.
God Is Good (All The Time)
It’s easy, common and right to feel and say how good God is when the trouble was avoided, the trial has ended or the treasure is received. Oh, how good He is to us! But when we don’t get what we want, or when we get what we don’t want, God is still good, and God is still good to us. His goodness doesn’t disappear when hard things appear; it shines ever so brightly as He works for us to provide all the help we need to endure life’s disappointments, detours and disasters until we get to the other side to something better. Truly… God is good all the time. And all the time God is good.
Most Thankful
The sweetest of all thankfulness isn’t superficial; it goes deep. It goes past feeling happy that certain things are in our lives. It goes past naming those things so it is known that we appreciate them. It goes past even tracing their origin back to God and thanking the Giver for all of our blessings. There is a delightful, wonderful, beautiful experience when our gratitude is not merely directed toward God for His gifts, but toward God for Himself. The way to be best thankful for all that God has given us is to be most thankful for Him.
Not To Us, But To God Be The Glory
Christians should talk more about what God has done than about what we have done. Even when we speak of what we do, it should be as a platform to talk about the enabling power, provision and presence of God in our lives. We don’t have it all together. We won’t get it all together. We can’t keep it all together. None of us wear capes as if we are super Christians; we wear the righteousness of Jesus. None of us have magical powers that enable us to do things; we have the power of the Holy Spirit. None of us belong on the throne of worship; we belong to a Heavenly Father Who does. Not to us, but to God be the glory!
He Has Kept All Of His Promises To Me
Great is my faithfulness is not part of a proverb or hymn. Nobody would ever celebrate my ability to do what I should do or do what I say I will do. I’m both a promise-maker and a promise-breaker. A thousand times I have failed to follow-through on my intentions in keeping God’s expectations as I have followed Jesus. And a thousand times I have received in return… Grace. Mercy. Forgiveness. Encouragement. Renewal. Correction. Power. Motivation. Reassurance. Acceptance. Instruction. Hope. Love. I cannot say that I have kept all of my promises to God. But I can say that He has kept all of His promises to me.
It’s All About Jesus
It’s easy to be mistaken about this. It’s easy to assume this. It’s easy to believe this. It’s easy to want this. It’s easy to live like this. What is this? The idea that your life is about you. It’s not. It’s all about Jesus. Today is a good day to be reminded that you and I should… Exalt Jesus. Proclaim Jesus. Model Jesus. Know Jesus. Serve Jesus. Praise Jesus. Believe Jesus. Seek Jesus. Adore Jesus. Please Jesus. Magnify Jesus. Worship Jesus. Defend Jesus. Treasure Jesus. Follow Jesus. Trust Jesus. Enjoy Jesus. Obey Jesus. Love Jesus. As Christians, everything about our lives is because of Jesus and should be used for Jesus.
God Is Worthy
God is worthy to be praised for Who He is, what He has already done for us, and what we are trusting Him to do for us in Christ. Every good thing that we have in our lives past, present and future is a gift of His grace. Even the things we think we worked hard to gain for ourselves are made possible by Him, for every ability and opportunity are given to us from Him. Therefore, let us celebrate Him before others and commend Him to others for all that He does for us, and that He delights to do so. Today… Honor Him for His blessings. Honor Him by enjoying His blessings as He intends. Honor Him for being a Blesser.
