True Thanksgiving

November 19 (Colossians 2:6-7)

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  (ESV)

There are many things for which we give thanks as we gather with family and friends on Thanksgiving Day, yet none is more worthy of our gratitude than the gift of life from God through Jesus Christ.  Are we grateful for the nation in which we live?  Yes, but our citizenship in heaven is more to be prized.  Are we grateful for material blessings?  Yes, but of greater value are the treasures that moth and rust cannot corrupt and that thieves cannot break in to steal.  Are we grateful for the relationships that form the fabric of our lives?  Yes, but no relationship is closer than the one we have with our heavenly Father through Christ Jesus, by whose blood we are His adopted brothers and sisters and co-heirs with Him in glory.

Friends, reflect on these blessings of immeasurable value when you are with others this week.  If they, like you, have become new creatures in Christ, they will join with you in thanksgiving for that which matters most.  If they do not know Jesus, it is an opportunity for you to testify to all He has done for you.  And would you not be deeply grateful if by this time next year they joined you in that same thanksgiving?

Lord, my deepest thanks go to You.  I could never list all the individual blessings of my life, both in this world and in the next, but I can acknowledge their source.  May the words of my mouth, the actions of my hands, and the thoughts of my heart be ever directed in thanks to You, my Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Copyright © 2017 by Steven R. Perkins

November 23 (John 1:3, Matthew 5:17, Revelation 21:6)

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  (ESV)

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  (ESV)

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  (ESV)

Is there even one issue facing the world, our government, your state, your place of business, your community, your family, or yourself that could not be answered or solved by Jesus Christ?  I am serious.  We sing our praise songs and then go right back to purely human reasoning to approach the issues of our day.  As I listen to plans and ideas and grand designs for handling this or that, I have to shake my head.  Much of what I hear is based on speculation of what people think will work, when the true solution stands available, yet ignored.

Jesus is it, folks.  As the verses above testify, He is the whole deal.  Approaching anything…from war and taxes to family challenges…without appealing to God and being guided by His Holy Spirit is ultimately a waste of time.

Thanksgiving is this week.  Families will gather, and talk will turn to politics and jobs and the issues in our lives.  When the armchair philosophies have all been exchanged, will those who follow Christ speak the truth?

Father, it is so tempting to follow the logic of others and to engage in conversations on purely human terms.  Help me to speak the simple truth in love.  Give me the words that You would have me say.  In the name of Him Who is the way, the truth, and the life, Jesus my Lord, amen.

Copyright © 2014 by Steven R. Perkins