This weekend is Thanksgiving in Canada. Tomorrow, our family will eat together and be thankful for many things. Today’s reading reminds me of the most important blessings in my life, much more than the thirteen I will list . . .
God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! No one who has faith in God’s Son will be condemned. But everyone who doesn’t have faith in him has already been condemned for not having faith in God’s only Son. (John 3:16–18, CEV)
1. God’s love. I cannot imagine life in a universe created by a hateful God. Would any of us still be breathing? I’m thankful that my God loves the world, me included.
2. Jesus Christ. This is God’s greatest gift. In Christ I have all that I need.
3. Faith. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” This sentence construction indicates that not only is grace a gift, but so is faith. I’m thankful that God enables me to believe in Jesus.
4. Eternal life. It became mine when Christ came into my life. He brought His life with Him, and because He, the eternal one, lives in me, I will live forever!
5. Hope. The older I get the more aware I am of the end of life, but with Jesus there is no end. I will never really die — meaning nothing can separate me from God. I will step from this world to the next and spend eternity with Him.
6. No condemnation. This is a negative, so I’m thankful for its opposite — God’s acceptance. I don’t deserve it, but this isn’t about my merit, but about what Jesus did on the cross in my place. He removed my condemnation.
7. Salvation. I’m saved from the penalty of sin, am being saved from sin’s power, and one day will be saved from its presence. I’m thankful that God does not do things half way.
8. Condemnation for sinners. This may seem odd, but I could not worship a God who just looks the other way concerning evil. Those who refuse His forgiveness and will not repent must eventually pay for the things they have done. God is just, and I am thankful.
9. Church. I know . . . church gets a bad rap these days, but I’m thankful that the people of God have so much in common and that we can worship together, pray for one another, and share in the goodness of God together.
10. Family. Not all of them believe. Not all of them are even thankful for much, but they are God’s gifts to me and I am thankful for each of them.
11. Friends. Not all of them believe. Not all of them are even thankful for much, but they are God’s gifts to me and I am thankful for each of them as well.
12. Creativity. Made in His image, I’m thankful for creativity. While I cannot speak worlds into existence like He did, I can make a pie, or a quilt, or a garden. I’m thankful.
13. Color. A friend is color-blind; his world is gray. Even on gray days, I’m thankful for color: candy red, sunshine yellow, oranges - brick and pumpkin, blues by the thousands in Alberta skies, greens lush and pale, purples, plums and pinks. I run my fingers through paint chips like Scrooge with dollar bills, and am thankful that God gave me color.
Gratitude is a great gift too. Without it, I am whinny, grouchy, and constantly attending pity parties. Far better to eat turkey and pie, and joyfully give thanks for God’ blessings!
Happy Thanksgiving, Canada.
Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. We had our family dinner on Saturday because that worked better for some, but I woke up this morning thinking again about the importance of being thankful.
Thankfulness acknowledges that God is good, that He is the source of all goodness, and that He is generous toward me. It also helps me realize what life would be like apart from His grace and loving provision.
Romans 1:21-22 vividly describe what happens to people who reject the obvious concerning creation; it implies a Creator. These verses say, “. . . although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools. . . .”
I know God, not just that He is by seeing Him as Creator, but that He is my God and I have a personal relationship with Him through His Son. But I’m not much different from the pagans in some ways, because even though I know Him and love Him, I don’t always show it. If I am disobedient, resist and deny His sovereign care in my life, thankfulness is the first thing to go. When I am not thankful, I have also forgotten that I deserve His wrath, not His mercy. How foolish. Over and over He has been merciful to me and deserves my praise as well as my thankfulness.
Today’s devotional reading is from 2 Timothy 1. The focus is on verse 9, but Paul writes long sentences and verse 9 is a phrase from a longer thought. I can think of much to be thankful for just from this passage. It says:
. . . . Share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ. . . .
1. I thank God for others who share with me in the challenges of being a Christian. The fellowship in God’s family is a huge strength and support as we pray for and care for one another.
2. I’m thankful for the “suffering for the gospel” that Paul invites me to share with Him. Jesus said that those who hate Him would hate His followers also. The ridicule Christians get for being children of God are part of our certainty that others realize we are walking with Him. We don’t invite it, but we can be thankful that they notice we love Him.
3. I’m also thankful that anything I suffer is according to the power of God. No matter what happens to me, it must go through His filter. If He has a purpose for even the most negative stuff, He will let it happen and even use it for my good. I’ve great assurance that His wisdom is trustworthy.
4. I’m thankful that I am saved, saved from the penalty of sin, being saved from the power of sin, and one day saved from its presence. This is huge and so is my gratitude.
5. I’m thankful that God called me, that I was not drawn in by a church or a creed or even the faith of my parents. This is a personal call. He said to me, “Come, Elsie” and I came.
6. I’m also thankful that my salvation and relationship with God does not depend on what I do. If it did, neither would happen. I flub up all the time and could not possibly earn or deserve His magnificent grace. None of His goodness depends on my performance and I’m grateful, big time.
7. I’m thankful that my life is now part of His purpose. Even though I cannot always figure out what He is doing, there is a Master Plan and I am part of it. That is exciting, especially when He gives me little glimpses of why He asked me to be part of His family.
8. I’m thankful that my calling and His grace toward me was planned in Christ long before I was born, before the world was created, even before time. Wow, this is a huge thought; I was in the mind of God before He did anything else. Thank You!
9. I’m also thankful that He revealed Jesus to me. One day I woke up blind to who Jesus is, and went to bed that night knowing without a doubt that He is God in the flesh. The only way that happens is by the powerful eye-opening work of the Holy Spirit. For that I am most thankful.
10. Jesus was revealed to the world too, not just me. I’m part of a much bigger thing, one person in a host of many who know and love Jesus, and who are thankful for Him just as I am.
11. I’m thankful for personal things too, things not in this verse but in my life, like good health. Despite a few little things annoying me right now, my doctor jokes that I’m a “boring” patient.
12. I’m thankful for answered prayer and could write a book about how God has blessed me in that department.
13. I’m also thankful for joy. Being happy is a rare commodity in a greedy, unsatisfied and unthankful culture that looks for happiness in all the wrong places. God has taught me that my sense of well-being is not in things, prestige or achievement. It is in Him, and because I have Him, I have all that I need.
Thank You, Jesus.
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Nearly every day I walk for 30-60 minutes and pray. Sometimes I become conscious that I am doing all the talking, yakking away, reciting my prayer list. My heart may be in it, but prayer is conversation, not a monologue. God bids me to be still and listen.
What happens when I don’t talk? These thirteen things:
1) I stop, slow down inside. My mind stops whirling.
2) I look. I see things I never notice when my jaw is flapping, like flowers along the route and the incredible Alberta sky, sometimes a blue dome, sometimes with magnificent clouds, never boring.
3) I listen. I hear birds singing, leaves rustling. They produce calm in my heart. Sometimes I hear the Lord speaking, and His voice has the same effect, only it lasts longer.
4) I feel. I notice the breeze, the warmth of sunshine. I notice my emotions and they hear God’s command to be still. They stop whirling.
5) I taste. No, not from eating, but from imagining delicious things, like hot chocolate on a chilly, rainy day (like Sunday), and fresh raspberries, and spicy, middle-eastern couscous with raisins and cumin and cinnamon (last night’s supper).
6) I smell. The soft scent of roses, the stronger perfume of clover, the smell of grease and wood shavings that remind me of my father’s shop; how could I miss that?
7) I laugh. Remembering my silly dream last night, remembering a line from the Accidental Poet’s blog, remembering the power of God against the resistence of His enemies.
8) I think of plot lines. My fiction book may never be published, but writing it, even parts of it in my mind, stretches creativity in new directions.
9) I think of quilt patterns. The latest is a cloud of butterflies drifting across a leafy rain forest background.
10) I hear music. Not just those songs that stick in your head when you don’t want them (as in “It’s a Small World”) but “hymns and spiritual songs” that occupy my thoughts when God is in control of them.
11) I know how to pray. Instead of rattling off my list, He gives me thoughts and requests that I would not otherwise know about.
12) It affects others. When my children were small, I noticed that laryngitis in me made the whole house quieter. If I’m not talking, everyone is listening. Maybe they will hear the Voice of the Ages too?
13) It changes me. I am less apt to open-mouth-put-in-foot in future conversations with people, and I am more apt to hear God when it is very noisy. This makes the discipline of being silence most precious.
I am leaving this keyboard to go outside for a walk, and be still.
I don't know who started these "13 things" but today I'm thinking 13 things I am thankful for this Thursday.
1) Daily bread, the stuff from the Bible that feeds my spirit, but also the stuff in the kitchen that was baked yesterday and still smells as if it came from heaven.
2) A husband who is not afraid to share his weaknesses, and to tell people that "everyone is terminal, and everyone needs to be ready."
3) Tulips. They don't care about the weather; they still bloom and look beautiful even though it snowed just north of us yesterday.
4) Being made in God's image so that I too can create. Some of what I want to do loom as large and formidable challenges, but I doubt God thought that way when He spoke the universe into existence... so I'm also thankful for His incredible example.
5) Books and paper and words and word processors and all forms of communication.
6) Banana Cream Pie. My waist does not need it, but my tastebuds are so thankful.
7) My children who stand strong for justice and many other biblical principles, many times without even realizing that they are shining.
8) The ability to think, laugh, remember, and clean up my messy desk.
9) Friends, especially those whose minds dovetail with mine so when we talk, it is as if we fill in the "blank spots" for one another. Is that a soul-mate?
10) Telemarketers who just may eventually teach me to be polite when I prefer being annoyed. (Ugh, did I really just write that?)
11) Color. Every color. Combinations of color. Surprises of color. Cool colors. Warm colors. Kaleidoscopes. Rainbows. I picked Tuscany for my 'trip of choice' until I realized the only thing that attracts me is its color.
12) Penquins and zebras. Not a lot of color, but great design! Way to go, God!
13) The National Geographic channel in high density, my armchair travel.
