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Thankfulness - part 2 of 2Rom. 1:20-25 (KJV) “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” What happens when we stop being thankful? Romans tells us that we become vain in our imaginations, our foolish hearts are darkened, we become fools, and we think of God simply as a man. God therefore gives us up to uncleanness by our lusts that we may dishonour our own bodies. Perhaps we do not take thankfulness seriously. Are we as thankful as we are complaining? If we are thankful more often than we are used to, there are promises that will come into our lives. As soon as we are thankful, we enter into the presence of God. Second, we start to see our lives differently through God’s eyes. Next we defeat Satan’s efforts to control our interpretation of reality. We begin to link our lives to God’s promises. We start to see not only our situations but our own hearts through God’s eyes. And finally, our human relationships get healthier because they are shaped by faith. When we are thankful it’s much harder to be fearful of circumstances or people. It’s less likely that we will be devastated by criticism. It’s much harder to be cynical and sarcastic about life. It’s much harder to be proud. It’s much harder to be self-righteously angry. It’s much harder to be bitter and unforgiving. It’s just about impossible to be hopeless. It’s much harder to be demanding and fixated on our needs. It’s much harder to be greedy or envious. And it’s much less likely to be overwhelmed when we are wronged. Four things that we can be thankful for are Christ’s healing, His deliverance, His gift of grace, and the faith of fellow believers. Of Christ’s healing ministry, Luke 17:12-16 says “And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.” Christians also express thanks for Christ’s deliverance of the believer from sin. Rom. 6:17-18 says, “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” We are also thankful for God’s indescribable gift of grace in Christ 1 Cor. 15:57 says, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” And finally, we give thanks for the faith of fellow Christians. Rom. 1:8 says, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” Thankfulness promotes God’s loving purpose to draw us close to Him, make us more like Him, and to help us live out the life He has planned for us. Thank you Lord, for Your many, many blessings. -S. Chad Ross October Newsletter 2003 | Cleansing Ourselves | Things | 20/20 Faith Pastor's Journal October 2002 | Thankfulness part 2 of 2 | A People Plundered part 1 of 3 |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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