How good it is to say..
Thanks gobs Lord for everything, to sing His praises, to worship Him acceptably. There's never a day not to! This is always appropriate.
I'm convinced that you can do that 100% reverently and in your own way!
"..He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great He is! His power is absolute! His understanding is unlimited." Psalm 147:1-5
Personally, I thank God for the...
1.) inheritance,
2.) deliverance and
3.) transference..
..from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of light and real life in the Son! Thank you Lord for the Bible narrative of King David as well. Helpful!
"May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance (yes, inheritance from a very generous Father that doesn't change) that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness (complete not partial deliverance) and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son (full transference forever, not temporary).." Colossians 1:11b-13 nlt #emph.mine
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| Photo by Tim Eberly |
In a twisted, corrupt and very confused culture that's struggling just to get it.. in this culture that currently is having an identity crisis, it's time for men to simply man up, to give thanks to their Creator, and to be who He designed them to be. Let's all give thanks and be who God designed us to be!
Every day, let's give thanks to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit for His great love! The fruit of the Spirit is love--thank You. God is love--thank you for being who You are! So SO worthy!
"..wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way." Colossians 3:14b-17 msg
Did the pilgrims come to this land to obtain religious freedom, freedom of worship? No they already had it in Liden Holland. 1620 was an important year. They said they were coming to the Americas to evangelize the Indians (as missionaries for the Lord) yes, to help fulfill the great commission. In schools 1/5 of American students don't even know the country the pilgrims originally left from. Issues in education. Csn 11-04
Prayerfully muse on...
Ps 100:4 nkj - "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5For the Lord is good"
Rom 1:21 nkj - “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.”
Ps 107:22 mess - “Offer thanksgiving sacrifices, tell the world what he’s done—sing it out!”
Ps 116:17 mess - “I’m ready to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice and pray in the name of GOD.”
Ps 147:7 mess - "Sing to GOD a thanksgiving hymn, play music on your instruments to God”
Col. 2:7 mess - “let your living spill over into thanksgiving.”
Col 1:2-3 mess - “May everything good from God our Father be yours! 3Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can’t quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you!”
Eph 5:4 mess - "Thanksgiving is our dialect."
Jonah 2:8-9 mess - "Those who worship hollow gods, god-frauds, walk away from their only true love. But I’m worshiping you, GOD, calling out in thanksgiving!"
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| Photo by Joseph Gonzalez |
Did you know that our holiday celebration - Thanksgiving - actually has an Old Testament precedent? Yep, it sure does.
It certainly does. The Israelites way back in the day expressed their gratitude vertically. And they offered pure worship to the only God existing through a series of five different offerings:
1.) The burnt offering,
2.) The grain offering,
3.) The peace offering,
4.) The sin offering, and
5.) The trespass offering.
But the first three were totally voluntary; you did them only if you really wanted to. And so those three types of offerings were important to God; He called them "a sweet-smelling aroma to the Lord."
The meaning of the burnt offering was the full consecration of one's self or person to God, and the grain offering was all about the dedication level of one's service as unto God.
The peace offering is my very favorite of em all; it's the celebration of true salvation. Like our Thanksgiving holiday, the people gathered together to rejoice and share a meal with fellowship. They brought a portion of it as a sacrifice, and a portion of it went to the priest. The rest of it they took with them home, they cooked it up, and then had friends and family members over to their homes to thank the Lord for what He had done for them.
Am bracing. Feelin' concerned for a rending that often happens.. ouch. I feel it too. It's from a bonding together. Didn't ask for, or seek this -- didn't even want this. Tried to put it off multiple times.
There's indeed a nurture-aspect that is real and often needed. So many have hurts in our fallen sin-cursed world today. Sorry that Liney and I work jobs still. Some have a gift and constantly get out there and use it. They encourage and make people feel special. How many get much attention these days when they need some. With others it's from a political campaigning via sham-kindness to gain numbers of devotees. Perhaps they've seen and caused the change coming, and they want to come out on top as king of the hill so to speak.
Let's do this as Jesus leads for His glory! Personally, just want to be in the will of God don't you.. and I won't tell anyone where that is for them. Inquire of God for yourself please. My close friends have gotten some unwanted calls, it's hard for them.
Keep your eyes on Jesus -- cling to Him. Get in, or continue on in fellowship with Him, believer. He's the ultimate Solution for all, not any of us mere humans. Am grateful that Romans 8:28 is still in the Bible!
Really wish I had more fitting words to help them with.
"For the sake of each of us he laid down his life—worth no less than the universe. He demands of us in return our lives for the sake of each other." ~ Clement of Alexandria
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| Photo by Todd Diemer |
If you're currently out of fellowship with God, "'..rend your hearts and not your garments.' Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster." Joel 2:13 "Rip your hearts in sorrow and contrition and not your garments.” amp
Are our priorities in proper order? May I say this.. as simply and gingerly as I can.. you have to focus yourself away from yourself. Me too, away from the toxic 1 on 1 communication you've heard.. up to the living Word of God instead.
Christ is building his church, I pray He'll use me in that. Building a man-centered church is unsound and unwise. Building around felt-needs is utterly contrary to Scripture. Yes, and hyperfocusing on you, and on your problems, and on your dilemmas, and on your circumstances, and on your situations is simply counterproductive. And while it may intend to help you for a time, the unintended consequence becomes you are the one being worshiped.. and you shouldn’t be worshiped. This is a big problem in our society today. You are the center of attention.. constantly ..not Him who should be. You are the center of the focus. And then the unintended consequence is when you feel like you don’t have any particular needs, or they’re not doing a very good job of meeting those needs, you don’t need a church. If they fail to deliver what you think you need, you check out. You bolt on down the road.
So we need to get back to what the really important matters of the church are. As the hymn writer said, "You want to go to church to get lost in wonder, love and praise. You want to go to church to forget about yourself, to set yourself aside, and to lose yourself in the glory and wonder of God."
Let's forget about the constant bad emotions, let's forget about ourselves and concentrate on Jesus and worship Him! A God-centered preacher, a God-centered teacher and or a co-teacher focused on the Lord.. a God-centered worship is what you really want in a church. That's what we need! When you look for a local church and life group, that’s exactly what you want.
You want to see people consistently being brought before God in His word. You want those who are being brought into the very throne room of heaven to see His glory, and His majesty, and the wonder of who He is.. and His blazing righteousness, and His holiness.
Me, see it as a gift right now, really? No, me? As if! Can I quickly re-gift it away?
I didn't, we didn’t ask for it. Ouch.. hurting! God allowed it, therefore we can thank and praise God in it. Not for it per se, but in it and through it.
Rejoice in the Lord away! "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
In Him, and "in" it. Not for it. Dietrich Bonhoeffer saw and experienced suffering during the reign of Nazism in Germany. I was told by my dad that my great Uncle Chancler Kurt von Schleicher fought against it and suffered too (from the SS). Both died because of this horrendous evil.
Bonhoeffer was a saved pastor, and he loved the Scriptures. He prayed in faith but God allowed it there in Germany. He gratefully wrote letters and notes.
Bonhoeffer’s solution to the problem of pain and suffering was basically crafted during his solitary confinement ward at Berlin-Tegel Military Detention Center where Bonhoeffer was imprisoned for his participation in a failed plot to assassinate Hitler. Tegel was the place where he spent his last eighteen months and then he was sadly executed on April 9th 1945. So many needlessly died! So many wonderful Jewish people suffered and were killed as well. How do you feel when egotists oust you for no wrong you've done or taught? There are some in every era (only God can judge their heart and motives. We can evaluate their message.)
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12-18 esv
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoiced in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5 esv
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a man who loved the truth and knew how to suffer joyfully like his Savior. He’d learned. Yes, while staying in fellowship with Christ. He didn’t seek for suffering. He didn't cause himself pain, and didn’t pray for suffering. Why?, Well, because he was a normal human, not some religious person thinking he could gain brownie points with God for voluntary suffering.
The glory of God is my hope. I need that hope. I sing of that hope. I smile at that hope. I rejoice in that hope. But up to this point I have never counted it a joy when I have suffered for that hope. (James 1:2-4) I know that if I am a Christian I will suffer (John 15:20; 2 Timothy 3:12). But I always saw that suffering as a necessary evil and not a necessary joy. Yes, suffering is rooted in much evil. But if my savior was most glorified through suffering, then how can I call him my Savior if I reject the very suffering that He appointed to me to bring him more glory? Further, that suffering produce more hope than without out that suffering. And I need more hope.
Christian suffering isn’t minimized compared to the rest of the world. Christian suffering is purifying. The suffering that is senseless and degrading for the unbeliever (non-Christian) is hope-building and God glorifying for the Christian.
Oh, may I ever rejoice in the sufferings that I am called to endure for the name of Jesus Christ. Not so that I might be a silently-smiling-masochist. But so, that my great Savior, Jesus Christ, might be seen as more glorious to those who suffer without hope.[1]
I say do all things without gripey grumbling or disheartened disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a very crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life. Cling to the living Word of life, He’s been through suffering and came out victorious.
The God of the Bible according Bonhoeffer, is not deus ex machine, a being that mechanical appears to solve our insoluble problems. He is not a being that we evoke as an explanation of unexplainable due to our epistemic limitation. He is not a being that we call upon to offer us strength in our powerlessness and weakest moments. No. If God was such a being, then He is no longer needed in this world.
[1] The Secret of Suffering, Finkenwalde, March 1938, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
