Bible Reading: Ezra 1-2; John 19:23-42
“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:” – Colossians 1:12
Whether you realize it or not; there is so much to be thankful for. The gift of life should be one reason for continual giving of thanks. Just thinking about the gospel and what Jesus has done for you in His death, burial and resurrection is something you should be thankful for because the price you couldn’t pay is what He paid.
While it is alright to be thankful when you have had a promotion, a business deal or been delivered from a ‘serious’ tragedy, thanksgiving ought to go beyond these events. Thanksgiving should be a lifestyle because of the eternal things that you HAVE. When you are thankful for the spiritual things given to you by God, you provoke physical manifestations.
The truth is; there is nothing that compares to what God has done for you in Christ Jesus. He has ‘qualified’ you where others have written you off. Only grace can do that.
Colossians 1:13 says, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:.” Did you know that no amount of military power can stop the operations of the deadly arsenals of the kingdom of darkness yet you’ve been delivered from satan’s kingdom and dominion? It means the devil no longer has the right or power to exercise his will over your life again. He cannot run you over with his wicked maneuvers because you have been ‘delivered’ from his dominion. If you stay in God’s arena in faith, the devil’s work will only be seen and heard of but it will not come near you.
Colossians 1:14 says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” In Christ Jesus, you have redemption! You have been redeemed from sin’s curse because you are forgiven and no longer bound by fear. His unconditional love is the antidote to every form of fear and anxiety. Redemption means that all of your sins – past, present and future – have been forgiven. In Jesus Christ, you stand justified and acquitted before God in heaven’s courts. You are no longer condemned because you are in Christ Jesus. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” – Romans 8:1.
Live above guilt and condemnation today by thinking on these truths. it is impossible to be guilty and thankful at the same time. A ‘grace-full’ heart is always a ‘thank-full’ heart.
Prayer: Thank You Father for the things I can see and much more for the intangibles.
Pastor Alfred Samuel