Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Pastor Herk continues: Jehovah-Sabaoth is interpreted as "The Lord of Hosts, our Protector." In 1 Corinthians 10:13 the Apostle Paul decclares, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Our Almighty Lord is insurance for assurance of endurance, come what may, guaranteed. Our heavenly Father has a purpose for every one of us and we can be thankful for the supernatural peace that guards our hearts and minds enabled through the finished work of Jesus Christ that reconciled, regenerated, restored, reconnected and transformed us with spiritual discernment and blessed assurance. Creator God’s purposes for our lives is always bigger than the problems that we face on this side of eternity. We shall overcome.
But, how can we be thankful when we have lost something? By not looking at what we have lost, but by looking at what we have left. We never lose the wonderful memories. There are two things that we can be thankful for, every single day. We can be thankful for God’s grace and love. By God’s mercy, He gives us grace, and we absolutely do not deserve it. But, He loves us and graciously gives us Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9aconfirms, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works.” Appropriately, grace is the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from Him. The favorable influence of God; divine influence or the influence of the Holy Spirit, in renewing the heart and restraining from sin. A state of reconciliation to God through the application of Christ's righteousness to the sinner unto eternal life. We do not deserve God’s grace or forgiveness. What we deserve is judgement for our many sins.
Without Christ, we were headed for Hell. John 3:36 explains, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” If it hadn’t been for God’s Plan of Salvation, sending His Son from Heaven to Earth to die on that Cross for the sins of repentant born-again Believers, we would destined for the Lake of Fire in eternal damnation. Because of what the Lord did for us out of love, giving us a Savior as an atonement for our sins and redeem us by His blood, we are going to Heaven as sanctified children of God and citizen of the Kingdom of God. We could never be “good enough” under our own power. Romans 3:10-12 tells us, As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
Ephesians 2:4-5 proclaims, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” That is something that we can be thankful for each and every day. Thank you God for Jesus Christ. That is the Gospel truth.
With thanksgiving in Christ, Brian
No comments:
Post a Comment