Monday, November 20, 2017

Understanding The "Thanks" Part Of Thanksgiving - It's Not About Us



In Him we have…the forgiveness of sins… —Ephesians 1:7

{CHAMBERS} “Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive— He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm. Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.”

{ELGIN}  Have you ever heard or perhaps said these words? “The Man upstairs?”  When those words are said it reveals the absence of a relationship with the One being referred to – Jehovah God or Yahweh– or it reveals a lack of spiritual maturity or the presence of carnality in the one who is speaking.  It is important that we live in a constant awareness of who God is and who we are with respect to Him. (factoid) “The name Yahweh is best known from the famous “I AM” interaction with Moses. … The Jews became very concerned with not blaspheming the name of the Lord. So rather than saying the name Yahweh, they would say Elohim instead, which is the Hebrew word for god. However, this did not solve the problem of what to do when one came across the name Yahweh during the reading of the Scriptures. The Jews decided that when they came to the name “YHWH” they would say the Hebrew word adonay, which means “Lord.” To remind the reader to say “adonay,” and to maintain the presence of the word “YHWH,” they assigned the vowels of “adonay” into the consonants of “YHWH.” However, it was never intended that this form be read aloud. [Knowing The Bible]”

The point is that we must always be aware of who God is and the significance of who He is and what He has done for us.  (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)  “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”  Verse 4 is called “The Shema” … which has hyper significance in the faith life of the Jewish people.  As a Christian, you are not naturally a Jew.  Your DNA is set and that part of you will one day return to the dust from which it was formed.  But spiritually you have been grafted in … adopted into the family of God.  You have a new nature .. and should have a new devotion … wholly committed to God.  A living sacrifice … carrying your cross and following Jesus.  Jesus, who always does the will of the Father.  Consider your attitude toward the God who saved you through the sacrifice of His Son. Thanksgiving is upon us.  The point of Thanksgiving is not being thankful for the provision .. but being thankful for the Provider .. Jehovah Jireh .. and how do we show our gratitude?  Jesus said  “If you love Me, obey my commandments.”  (John 14:15)  And the greatest commandment is to love God – YHWH – with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. (Matthew 22:37)

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

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