Joyful Thanksgiving

Psalm 96 calls us to “Sing to the Lord” (Ps.96:1a). Regardless of our present pains or disappointments, the Bible assumes that if we are recipients of his grace and mercy, we have a lot to sing about. And the focus should not only be historical (i.e. what God did for us in years past), but our attention should also be on God’s merciful involvement which is observed to be “new every morning” (Lam.3:23). That is why the psalmist calls us to sing to him “a new song” (Ps.96:1b). The “newness” in view is not the modernity of the melody (necessarily), but it clearly has to do with the recent awareness of God’s “marvelous deeds” and manifestations of his “glory” among his people and in our lives (Ps.96:3). We could consume all of our time and attention focusing on the difficulties of the Christian life, but the Bible says that would be a mistake. Because God “is great” and “most worthy of praise” (Ps.96:4), there are many good and awesome things of which we should take note, and then, in obedience to God’s word, we must turn our hearts and our voices to him in joyful song. Psalm 96 ends as we might expect, looking forward to the day when God makes everything right (Ps.96:13), but in the meantime we should never fail to find the “right” that he is doing right now and celebrate it with glad and sincere hearts.

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Pain and Thanksgiving

Pain hurts, and few of us would choose it if we had a choice. But often God chooses it for us, so we can experience his strong deliverance and learn to praise him more perfectly. Consider Psalm 102 (a psalm with a preface that reads “the prayer of an afflicted man”) where we discover that amid the psalmist’s pain he has learned to recognize God’s providential rescue. More than that, he is resolved to utilize God’s answer to his prayers as a springboard for liberal amounts of thanksgiving and celebration. He even directs it to be written down and memorialized so that others can join with him in worshipping God for his gracious relief. So when your stormy trial encounters those respites of peace and calm, let us follow this inspired example and share our incremental victories so that together many can rejoice in the deliverance that God is providing!

For more devotionals sermons and resources go to http://www.focalpointministries.org/ 

Thankfulness

Because we live in a world that isn’t great at saying “thank you,” we tend to think that gratitude is an extra-credit Christian virtue. Like our temptation to send a “thank you” note in response to someone’s “thank you” note, we might secretly believe that God should be grateful for our thanksgiving. The Bible, of course, reveals a different perspective. Jesus showed us that gratitude is the minimum expectation of those who are enriched by God’s gifts. When ten lepers are healed of their malady Christ doesn’t praise the one who returns to say “thank you,” he disappointedly asks, “where are the other nine?” (Lk.17:17). The Bible tells us that it is “fitting” and appropriate for his people to praise God (Ps147:1). Certainly we, of all people, should recognize the “gracious hand of God that is upon us” (Ezra 8:18). We should habitually respond with heartfelt thanksgiving, not just on special days and special occasions, but everyday and in every circumstance (1Th.5:18). May God enable us to always fulfill our fundamental duty to express our joyful thanksgiving to our gracious and generous Redeemer!

For more devotionals sermons and resources go to http://www.focalpointministries.org/

Future Good

Because mature Christians have learned that all good things in this life come from God’s generous hand, they are usually careful to give thanks to him whenever they experience them. And so we should (James 1:17; Ephesians 5:20). But the Bible also calls us to learn to give thanks for the good things we’ve yet to receive – the ones we will experience in the next life! Colossians 1:12 says you ought to be “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints.” The “inheritance” Paul has in mind is the unimaginable blessings and rewards that will be permanently lavished upon us when we enter into God’s presence (Ephesians 1:14; 1 Corinthians 2:9). This practice of thanking God ahead of time for the blessings we will receive in the next life has a way of producing a current surplus of endurance, patience and joy (Colossians 1:11-12). And that’s helpful, especially when the “good things” here and now are in short supply. Peter writes to a group of suffering and persecuted Christians about their extravagant “inheritance”, which is reserved in heaven for them (1 Peter 1:4). He then speaks of the transforming power of being thankful now for those future gifts, saying, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials” (1 Peter 1:6). So let us add to our spiritual disciplines the daily practice of expressing our thanks to God, not only for the good he supplies day by day, but also for the incomparable good he will bestow when we see him face to face.

For more sermons and devotionals on Future Good, please go to the Focal Point Ministries website at www.focalpointministries.org. 

Sharing Meals

God can accomplish a lot of good in the lives of his people when they take their meals together. Think of how often throughout the Bible a feast, a banquet, a breakfast, lunch or dinner serves as the setting for some profound lesson, as an opportunity to give thanks, as a celebration of an important work of God, or simply as the setting for his people to deepen and strengthen their camaraderie as a spiritual family. From the festivals of Israel to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, common meals persistently reappear in the pages of Scripture as God’s means of doing something important and advantageous for his children. Sharing meals was not only a routine part of the church’s formal gatherings in the first-century, but it was also their practice to informally eat together in each other’s homes with glad and generous hearts (Acts 2:46). Often the encouragement, comfort, joy, thanksgiving and mutual support we need as Christians in the twenty-first century is deficient because we neglect this simple yet effective means of connecting and relating. So before you plan your menu for the week, or decide what errands you’ll run on your lunch breaks, make a couple of calls or send a couple of emails to see if you can’t take a few of those meals with some fellow disciples of Christ. It may just be the context God uses to do something good and important in your life.

For more sermons and devotionals on God's Truth, please go to the Focal Point Ministries website at www.focalpointministries.org

Thanksgiving

Because we live in a world that isn’t great at saying “thank you,” we tend to think that gratitude is an extra-credit Christian virtue. Like our temptation to send a “thank you” note in response to someone’s “thank you” note, we might secretly believe that God should be grateful for our thanksgiving. The Bible, of course, reveals a different perspective. Jesus showed us that gratitude is the minimum expectation of those who are enriched by God’s gifts. When ten lepers are healed of their malady Christ doesn’t praise the one who returns to say “thank you,” he disappointedly asks, “Where are the other nine?” (Luke 17:17). The Bible tells us that it is “fitting” and appropriate for his people to praise God (Psalm 147:1). Certainly we, of all people, should recognize the “gracious hand of God that is upon us” (Ezra 8:18). We should habitually respond with heartfelt thanksgiving, not just on special days and special occasions, but everyday and in every circumstance (1 Thessalonians 5:18). May God enable us to always fulfill our fundamental duty to express our joyful thanksgiving to our gracious and generous Redeemer!

--Pastor Mike

Keeping Grace In View

We are prone to forget, especially as we compare our relative righteousness, that our salvation is all of grace. We must never fail to remember that everything about our lives – our spiritual efforts, our moral resumes and our celebrated accomplishments – are all exchanged for Christ’s. Our salvation is secured in the same way as the “jail cell convert” or “deathbed penitent”. All that we are and all that we have done are substituted for Christ. We must not forget to continually count everything a loss and count our good deeds as rubbish, in order that we may gain Christ and be found in him, not have a righteousness of our own (Philippians 3:8). Our acts of “righteousness” count for nothing; Christ is all that counts! Such a mindset will keep everything in perspective. We will have no room for pride or questioning God’s “fairness”. Keeping the grace of salvation in view will leave us in a place of humble worship and thanksgiving, right where we should be.