“So What Should Thanksgiving Be About?”

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14, Romans 6:15-18

During the past 4 weeks, we have been considering those things that we should truly be thankful for – those that come out of the Lord’s benevolent nature and generous blessings. It isn’t that we aren’t to be thankful for those things of life - for family and friends, for jobs that provide us with both necessary resources and satisfaction in accomplishment, for a church family that encourages and supports us, for the beauty of God’s creation, and our list will go on. The point of this is that all of these precious gifts and blessings are from God, not from ourselves.

This evening, we consider the attitudes of two men who had come to temple to show the Lord Jehovah just how grateful they truly were.

Read Luke 18:9-14

Jesus had chosen two very different men for this parable. The Pharisee was the ultimate example of how a person of Israel was supposed to live, and the tax collector was the perfect example of what a God-fearing Jew should never become! And why the difference? The Pharisee was a man of the Law, while the tax collector was now a man of faith.

Let’s take a look at the prayers of these two men.

The Pharisee had come to temple to give his Lord thanks – but the gratitude was over who he was, not for what the Lord had done for him. The truth is that prayer should have very little of “I” in them, except for our requests that God would bring a change into our lives! Prayer should always be lifted up to the Lord, and not used to proclaim all that we had accomplished.

His prayer is eloquent, but it is offered more as bragging than it is praise. He tells God that he is very happy for the difference in his life over that of other men – specifically, over some of those recognized sinners of Israel.

He tells God that he fasts twice a week – an attempt to show just how righteous he truly is. The problem is that fasting was to be offered for specific purposes – it was to display a dependence on the Lord for a situation that you were unable to resolve on your own, not just as some routine religious measure. It was to be a sign of humility, not a sign of your own pride and goodness.

Fasting was also supposed to be anonymous, not as a public display. Isaiah 58:3-4 tells us that the Lord sees through our false humility, and calls us to task for our self-centeredness. And a few verses later, (v. 6-14) and through the end of the chapter, we read of what true fasting should be about – it’s about our commitment in reaching out to others. Jesus even took this to a whole new level – in Matthew 6:16-18 he tells us that we should appear to be in celebration, not in mourning, and he concludes with these words – “… and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

The Pharisee was only seeking the admiration of other people, not the reward of the Father. And no matter how much he wanted it to be different, God saw through his deception.

This man also tells the Lord that he tithes on all that he receives. Again, he is bragging, as this is not exactly what God wants from our lives. In Leviticus 27:32, the Lord calls specifically for a offering of every tenth sheep, with the intent being that the offering should be a tenth of whatever we produce or earn – whether sheep, or cattle, or grain, or finances. Other things, such as gifts or other wealth that we gain through no efforts of our own, are exempt. In Matthew 23:23-26, Jesus teaches about our attitude toward our offering to the Lord – that it isn’t just an obligation that has been placed on us, but rather we are to see our offering as an opportunity to reach out to others, and not just as some legalistic requirement.

But how about the tax collector – why does Jesus see his prayer as worthy? There is only one offering that he raises up, and that is a request for God’s mercy. He acknowledges his sinful condition to the extent that he humbles himself and declares himself as unworthy to even look up to the heavens!
His heart was broken over the realization of who and what he had become. His spirit was broken in his confession that he was no longer worthy to be seen as a member of Jehovah’s chosen people. He was humbled before God and admittedly a sinful man.

And Jesus pronounces him worthy of God’s blessing and love.

Read Romans 6:15-18

The point that Paul is making is that grace, like freedom, is never free. Even though it may not cost us anything on the surface, it does demand a price. Since time began, the issue of “free grace” has haunted humanity. And Paul nails the issue – that just because Jesus Christ has made the perfect sacrifice on our behalf, that doesn’t free us to live in whatever way we desire. And he compares this to the mandates of slavery. When we give our lives to Christ, that doesn’t free us in worldly ways – it frees us to reject the ways of earth, as well as our dependency on legalism for our salvation!

We have to understand, though, that the apostle doesn’t actually see a life in Christ as slavery – at least not in a human sense! Slavery to sin is nothing that even resembles freedom – it can only bring condemnation and death. But a life in Christ is about the freedom to live a new life in the here and now, as well as the promise of an incredible life with Jesus in eternity.

So the next time you consider those things you are thankful for, perhaps during dinner tomorrow, remember the divergent ways that the Pharisee and the tax collector were thankful – will our thanks be for all that we have accomplished, or will it be for all that we have failed in, and for all that our Lord can do for us?

Has the Lord done anything for you that is worthy of your praise? Let him know!

"Joy and Glory in the Lord"

Scripture John 15:9-14; Daniel 6:10-12

As we grow in our discipleship with Jesus, the reasons for our gratitude will continue to grow in ways we can’t even imagine. Our life is constantly being enriched, and by faith in Christ, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we become fruitful branches on that precious Vine of God. And the Fruit that comes from this relationship will produce a harvest of bounty. But the joy filled blessings don’t stop there!

The life of a faithful disciple creates a joy in the heart of our Almighty God! And not only is our faithful life a blessing to the Lord, but when others see the life we have within the Lord’s grace, it will almost always raise a sense of interest and amazement in their lives. And every time a new soul comes to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, heaven rejoices, again!

A life in Christ brings us one great glory after another, and as each of these blessings reign in mighty ways, glory is heightened in our God. How can a life like that not be a reason for continuous joy and thanksgiving??

Read John 15:9-14

We have been invited into the grace of Christ for several reasons. First, he has chosen us to receive his love. And this isn’t some new kind of love – it is the love that exists behind and beneath and around all that the Lord has done – first at creation, then at Calvary, finally at the Judgment, and in everything in between. This passion continues to flow endlessly to us through the power of the Holy Spirit and in his call to service, as we faithfully follow wherever we are led.

But once again, Godly love still never ends – it is positioned to flow continuously as we obey his will and way, and even then, it is given as we enable it to flow, without ceasing, to others who come into our lives. This Godly way is never intended to cause competitiveness over who God loves the most, or arguments over who obeys the Lord most closely, or disputes over who is showing the right kind of Christ-like love. We must always remember that this isn’t our love to show – it is the Lord’s, and we have nothing to say about it except “receive, and be blessed”!

And as that divine love grows within us, so does our joy. The Christian life will never be easy, but even in the most difficult of days, the joy of Christ can still thrive within us. This is the kind of joy that sees us through those trying times, that is what makes this life worthwhile, that makes a gloomy, depressed, fearful Christian a contradiction in terms. The joy of Christ reminds us that we aren’t just sinners, but that we are sinners redeemed by the grace and love of Jesus.

What a marvelous hope we have, what a marvelous hope we have to share, what a marvelous hope we have to share with the world! The love of Christ, the joy of Christ, the hope of Christ is given to us, not to be our blessing, but to become the blessing for others.
Hope and love and joy are not the normal feelings of slaves and servants. Once, we were slaves to the law, but now we have become so much more. By obedient faith in Christ, our slavery has been set aside, and now we have become friends of the Living God!

Friendship with God is not some shallow or half-hearted relationship. It is not a human type of friendship that can come and go, that diminishes though time and distance, that is blown here and there by the wild winds of life. Friendship with God is an unbreakable and unshakable partnership, one that can accomplish anything within the Lord’s will, one that establishes us as members of the family of God!

And in that closeness to the Lord, we accept the responsibility to share the good news of his life, his ways, and his promises. After all, he has shared his life and love with us, so how could we possibly keep it all to ourselves? We are to proclaim him in everything we do – in our jobs, in our families, in our social circles, in the organizations we belong to, when we are alone, and when we are buried in the activities that involve a myriad of others. As his close friends, we also feel the need to stay in touch with the Lord through prayer and obedience. This is exactly what Jesus did all the time, and probably several times every day. He stayed in touch with his Father for many reasons, but primarily, I think, to remain within his will.

We need to see this relationship as a privilege. It is to be cared for and cherished and nurtured and respected. It can never be self-serving or selfish, and it must never be seen as exclusionary! Ours is a blessing to be used to bless the people of earth.


In our second reading for today, we read of Daniel who had become a cherished advisor to the king. He was an exile in Babylon, a captive Jew, a servant of a foreign regime. But above all, Daniel was a faithful “friend” of God. And in Jeremiah 29:4-7, we read that the Lord told his people that they were to continue to live as though they weren’t exiled from their homeland. Build homes, get married, have children, and, surprisingly, they were to promote peace in the cities they lived in, and they were to continue pray to their great God Jehovah.

Daniel continued to be a faithful servant of God, even while he was a valued advisor to the secession of kings of Babylon. At the time of our passage, Babylon had been conquered by the Medo-Persian Empire, and Daniel had been named as one of three administrators in the entire kingdom. Darius ruled, but he had been tricked into issuing an edict that he, and he alone, was to be worshipped, with the penalty for disobedience being a one way trip to the den of lions. Daniel would serve him, would honor him, would be respectful toward him, but his worship was reserved for only one – his God.

Read Daniel 6:10-12

Daniel’s life was in jeopardy – he knew it, and he expected it, but it never caused him to change his daily conversations with his true Lord. His prayers continued three times a day without fail, and lion’s den or not, praise to the Lord had to be an integral part of this time of connecting with his Jehovah God.

And we all know the story – how Daniel was, indeed, thrown in with the lions, but how God shut the mouths of the beasts who would not even scratch or harm the faithful man all night long. When the morning came, the king rushed to the den, expecting to see only remains of his trusted friend. But much to his surprise, Daniel was very much alive, sharing the story of how his Lord had moved to save his life.

Daniel never doubted that his Lord was with him. We have no idea of whether the man expected to die or not – we only know that he had placed his life in the hands of the only one who could make a difference for him. For Daniel, it was all about trust.

Trust is possibly the greatest trait of a true friendship. Never doubting that the friendship means far more than you could ever know; never fearing that something else might come between the two of you; never hesitating to let your friend work through your situation in the best possible way, even when you didn’t quite understand how it would work.

Did Daniel love his Lord? Did Daniel find joy in his Lord? Did Daniel and Jehovah have the kind of relationship that you have always wanted with God?

So what’s stopping you? Follow the example of Daniel – give the Lord your trust, your confidence, your obedience, your hope, your love, and give him complete authority over every moment of your life – for that is when the insurmountable joy of heaven will enter into our life, and we will be blessed beyond measure!

Is anyone thankful yet for all that the Lord can and will do for you, if you will just put your whole trust in him? It’s a friendship unlike any other! Don’t miss out on it.

“Singing His Praises”

Scripture: Colossians 3:12-17

Today, we continue with another passage that reveals more reasons to give thanks to our Lord. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to take the direction that scripture lays out for us – we are told that our God is truly worthy of our thanks and praise! Hear these words from the Psalms:

Psalm 18:2-6
"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice"

For all that our God is, and all that he does, and all that he has given to us, he is so incredibly worthy that we can never praise him enough, but we still have to give him all the love and rejoicing that we possibly can.

Read Colossians 3:12-14

Paul offers a list of attributes that Christians are to exhibit, and it is significant that he opens this sentence with the words “as God’s chosen people”. These qualities are anything but typical of the people of earth! Leviticus 20:23-24 tells us that God’s people have been set aside – that we are not to live according to the ways and standards of the world. When we give our lives to the Lord, we surrender our allegiance and dependence on the ways we have always lived.

The second point that Paul is making is in the obvious nature of each of these attitudes. Each one is how we are to treat others – how we are to love them, and care for them, and show God’s love and grace to them. When we give our lives to Christ, we become those “holy and dearly loved” people, which is how we are even able to be the kind of person who the Lord needs us to be. And it is the Holy Spirit who will clothe us in the spirit of Christ – the life that prepares and conditions us to be that divine and loving messenger to the world.

We are to be “clothed” with compassion. The people of earth may have heard of the word “compassion”, but their understanding of what it is all about is quite a bit different than what God is actually intending us to be. It has nothing to do with how we demand that others acquiesce to our desires and ways. Rather, it is about what we can do and give to others. Remember Matthew 25:34-46? When we reach out to others in their need for food, or drink, or friendship, or care, it is as though we are reaching out to the Lord Himself.

When we are clothed in kindness, we see the goodness that we bring to others as something that is just as important to us as if it had become our own. In Luke 7:36-38, Jesus has his feet washed by the tears of a sinful woman, and dried with her hair. And in the love that she showed to Jesus, he forgave her sin. That is the kindness that we are also to show, the heart that comes from combining the goodness of earth with the compassion of Christ!

The next attribute – Humility – is how we are to show kindness. But what is humility? How does it change us? Think of it as how we will feel when we stand in the presence of God at the judgment – arrogance is gone, conceit has vanished, selfishness and self-centered ways are no more – all we have left to depend on is the Lord’s mercy. And that feeling is what we are to share with others.

Gentleness, our fourth Godly attribute, is marked by the person who is so God-controlled that we are able to strike the perfect balance between boldness in Christ and love for the sinner, between obeying God’s commands and truly loving those who don’t.

Patience, the next to the last, is very possibly the most difficult, as well as the most needed attitude for the human heart. Our District AA, Rosemary, has a poster on the wall of her office with a picture of a frustrated young woman on it, and a caption that reads “Lord, grant me patience, because if you give me strength, I’m going to need bail money too!” Have you ever had one of those days? Apparently Rosemary has! Patience is that quality that allows us to deal with the frustrations of this earthly life, while continuing to take each step of every day, regardless of where those steps take us, for the rest of our life.

Forgiveness may even beat out Patience for the title of Most Difficult. Retribution, not forgiveness, is the way of the world, but when we are clothed with Christ, forgiveness becomes the way we are to live. Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 18:23-35, about a servant who owed his master an extremely large amount of money. When he couldn’t pay, the master showed pity on him and cancelled the debt. But afterward, the servant demanded payment from another servant who owed him a much smaller amount, but he refused to cancel that debt. When the master heard this news, he retracted his forgiveness, and had the first servant thrown into debtors’ prison.
Matthew 6:14-15 – “If you forgive others when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

And wrap it all up in the power of love that can only come through faith in Jesus Christ.

Read Colossians 3:15-17

If I may paraphrase the beginning few words of this passage, hear this - “Let the peace of Christ, and the word of Christ, become the Judge for all that you do.” That is how compassion and kindness, humility and gentleness, patience and forgiveness will work within us to unify and benefit the world around us. When the peace and word of Christ begins to work within us, to fill our lives and make this existence worthwhile, it is then that the joy and gratitude that comes from our discipleship brings even more blessings to our life.

And how do we let the Lord know of our joy? Through the singing – both the verbal as well as the heartfelt kinds - that flow from our very soul. And Thanksgiving is one of the best times to let that singing be heard by others! A thankful heart must never be contained! And a thankful spirit belongs to the Lord, and he never holds back either. So follow the Lord’s example, and begin showing your thankfulness!

The Church has always been a singing Church. Music is one way that humanity expresses their emotions, and the fact that Christians have always sung their joys is marvelous, considering the struggles that the Church has gone through over the centuries. There were the persecutions and outright hatred of the faithful, beginning in the days of Jesus Christ and continuing for two or three centuries. Conflict with Islam has existed for well over a thousand years. We have even been our own worst enemies during those less than stellar times in our history, times such as the Inquisition and the Reformation. And yet, through it all, we have sung praises to our God and King!

The proof of a fulfilling faith - whether in those times of doing or in those times of speaking, in times of struggle or in times of celebration - can we and do we proclaim the joy we have in the gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
So how will we celebrate our thankfulness, beginning today, and extending through the rest of our life, and specifically on November 28th as we gather around our Thanksgiving tables with family and friends? Do it with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and above all, with the love and joy for all that our Almighty God has brought into our lives!

Can life possibly get any better than that?

“See the Glory”

Scripture: John 17:1-5, 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

Glory is one of those things that everyone, or at least many people, desire for their lives, but as soon as we begin to prepare our lives to live a glorious existence, we discover that it is illusive, at best. Glory isn’t something that we can obtain by our own efforts – it is something that is given to us when we live the life that God has prepared. (John 8:54-55)

For Jesus, glory would come through Calvary, a place that the world sees as condemnation and failure. And Christ’s Church will come to know divine glory through their love and allegiance to Jesus, while the world sees that as weakness. The Lord’s way will always be the only way, for God’s ways and standards have always been different than those of earth.

Read John 17:1-5

Glory never comes through disobedience. Even if the command was wrong and the defiant response is successful, the “success” will only be seen as marginally good, at best. So it appears that true glory can only come when the perfect and most difficult decision is combined with acceptant and obedient behavior. The problem is that humanity can’t always put this winning combination together! It is God who has the perfect plan and perfect way, while the human experience, including that of Jesus, can only live the obedient response.

And this is exactly what our Lord Jesus did. He knew the consequences of obedience, that it would require his greatest resolve, as well as his greatest endurance, if God’s glory was ever to immerge out of the world’s hatred.

And the ultimate outcome from God’s glory? Our passage tells us that the glory that rested on both the Son and the Father is the evidence of obedience on the part of Jesus, which, in turn, enables eternal life to all who are obedient to the commands of Jesus!
Verse 2 indicates that these faithful were “given” to the Son by the Father. This doesn’t mean that God chose those who would be saved, and rejected all the rest of humanity. That would discount the concept of “free will”, so the truth of the matter is that the Father endowed eternal life to the faithful followers of his Son. And the term “eternal” means more than just forever – it means that the faithful will also come to know the glory that has now been gained by the faithful life of Jesus.

There’s a lot at work here, but the central truth is that it all hinges on the obedience of Jesus in the mission that the Father had charged him with, as well as the obedience of all who have claimed the Master as Lord of their lives.

The perfect plan that was devised by the Father, and the perfect response that was carried out by the Son, were all put in place because our work, our deeds, can never be perfect. So faith in the perfection of Jesus, and his obedience at Calvary, has been substituted for that which we could never do. And through faith in Jesus, we can experience the same glory that now rests on Father and Son.

And that is a gift that all who love the Lord can live with!

Read 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

This passage compares the glory that was so evident on Moses’ face when he returned from Mount Sinai, to the glory that comes in the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The glory of God that existed in the cloud that embraced the mountain (Exodus 34:5) also settled upon Moses (Exodus 34:29-35). But the glory that is evident within the Holy Spirit is different. This glory is displayed through the gift of Christ and the works of the Spirit, not in a physical manifestation of God’s word on stone tablets, or a radiance in the face of a man. (1 Corinthians 1:21-23)

Paul writes that the glory of Sinai brought law and its subsequent requirement of death. Without the law, there was no relationship to sin, but with the giving of God’s law, sin was defined and established, and the penalty for sin would be death, or more specifically, the withdrawal of eternal life.

But the glory that came with the Holy Spirit was one that Paul described as righteousness. The ministry of the Spirit was one that followed, and reinforced, the teaching of Jesus Christ (John 14:25-27), which in and of itself was one that created a way to eternal life and away from condemnation and death.

The tablets of Mount Sinai were written words of law, while the power of the Spirit, the new covenant, is based in the change that comes to the lives of all who receive the Spirit’s grace. The law is external to our being, the Spirit works within us. The law is something that we have to receive and accept through our mind and will, while the Spirit itself works within our heart. The law requires us to interpret and make a decision to follow its intent, but the Spirit works by changing our very nature.

The authority of the law was based in a command by God that was impossible for humanity to follow perfectly. The power of the Spirit, though, was based in the life changing love of that same Almighty God.
The law brought with it negative consequences. The Spirit brought hope founded in a relationship with the Lord.
The law could only tell us what we must do, but it had no means of helping us to accomplish its requirements. The Spirit not only brings the truth of God to our lives, it also provides the power to follow.

The glory that was so evident on the face of Moses would soon fade. The glory of the Spirit, however, is eternal and will never surrender any of its glory and grace.

For over a thousand years, Israel depended on the old covenant that the law provided for them. They certainly understood the difficulty, or rather the impossibility, of adhering to the law, and they knew that failure to follow its dictates would bring the most severe response from their Jehovah God. But none of this seemed to matter to them – changing to the better way of Jesus Christ wasn’t something that they could accept, and they chose the way of worldly death over the way of heavenly life.

We all know the seven last words of the church – “We’ve never done it that way before!” It seems that first century Israel invented that saying, and we have simply perpetuated it!

The power of the new covenant has nothing to do with how perfectly we live our life. It is about how well we allow the Holy Spirit of God to bring about his righteous change in our otherwise hopeless lives.

The Lord has done it all. It’s his way, his grace, his sacrifice, his glory, his teaching, his gift – the only thing we have to do is to accept the Lord for who he is, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

As Thanksgiving approaches, we should all take time to reexamine those things that bring a sense of gratitude to our lives. Are they those externalities, like a good job, a successful life, the blessings of family and friends, financial security, a warm home, plenty to eat, and so on? Or is our focus on the internal blessings that only the Spirit of God can provide – faith in Jesus Christ and his teachings, a sense that the leading of the Spirit is taking us, here and now, to new opportunities with new people in new places, that the righteous way of God is a true and overwhelming joy every day of our life, that we discover peace and purpose in all that we learn about “the way, and the truth, and the life” of Jesus Christ (John 14:6), and that now, by faith, we have the promise of a life in eternity with our God?
Which makes you truly thankful?

Do we truly appreciate Jesus for the fulfilling and eternal life that he offers with his, and our, Father God, or do we look for satisfaction and assurance in the temporary and hollow life that earth represents? It’s an important difference that needs to be recognized, and an even more important choice that we have to make!
Which is your choice?

“The Mystery of Thanksgiving”

Scripture: Colossians 2:6-12, Colossians 4:2-6

Today, we begin a series that will take us through the month of November, and the theme will be “Thanksgiving”. For some folks, many of whom we know, this holiday has become simply a day to go hunting in the morning, eating turkey until we burst, and then settling down in front of the TV to watch football games for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, that isn’t even close to what the original purpose was.

Tradition tells us that the Pilgrims held a day of thanksgiving to celebrate their first year of living in the New World. It had been an extremely difficult year, to say the least, but they didn’t even hesitate to take a day to give thanks to their merciful God for bringing them through the past year’s struggle. It wouldn’t be until years later, in 1789, that President George Washington proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving, to give Almighty God the glory for the establishment of the new nation and for the future growth and discoveries of her people. And it wasn’t until 1863 that Abraham Lincoln established our yearly celebration of thankfulness.

It had always been about giving the Lord praise for all that the nation had received, but somehow, over the years, we have lost that focus. For most, the day has become little more than a day off from work, giving us time to do other things that we enjoy. The inclusion of feasting and friends is still with us, but where is our thankfulness for the bounty that comes to us from our Gracious Lord?

Read Colossians 2:6-8

Paul has been encouraging the church in Colosse to continue to love being united with each other, and to seek out the mystery of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus. He is the power behind the workings of faith; He is the source of all goodness and richness for this life; He is the hope for all that the life to come will mean for our lives. Jesus is the foundation that supports us when the trials of life become that proverbial “shifting sand”.

Paul had stood upon that shifting sand in his life before Jesus. The Law of Moses had been his foundation, but it never supported him very well. He saw the law as a divine absolute, when it was actually no more than human extensions beyond what God wanted the people to be. The rituals, the sacrifices, the demands, the exclusionary faith, the condemnation of all who did not, or would not, follow the same way that he did. And if you didn’t subscribe to the same ideals of life that he did, you were worthless and unworthy of any blessing from Jehovah.

He had been deceived into thinking that the only way into Jehovah’s pleasure was to live life perfectly - as if any person actually could. But then, without the Lord in your life, what else was there to do? Without the forgiveness that faith in Christ could bring, the only way left was continuous sacrifice. Without allowing the love of Christ into your heart, how could there possibly be any love for others, especially those who lived totally different lives than you did? Without a life with the Living God, what else was there but a life in human law?

Paul had left his hollow life behind, and now that he was living a Christ-centered love to the fullest, he wanted others to know his new found secret – that Jesus is nothing less than the answer to the mystery of life, and that He is worthy of our thanksgivings every moment of every day.

Read Colossians 2:9-12

Since he met Jesus on that road to Damascus, Paul had learned how to be thankful, instead of obligated, to his Almighty God. He had discovered that Jesus is the fulfillment of God – not for heaven’s sake, but for the sake of all people of earth. And he had discovered that when we surrender our life to Christ, His fullness will become our fullness. Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, is the perfect solution to the great divide that exists between human failure and Godly hope.

Paul also had come to the realization that Christ not only had the power and authority of heaven at His disposal, but that He was the ruler over all power and authority on earth! As much as we may think that we are in charge of our lives, that we have ultimate authority in our business and in government, that we are responsible for making decisions that improve our life and the world around us, the truth is that our authority rests solely in our ability to choose to do things in Christ’s way, or not!

Even though most folks refuse to accept the fact that their wisdom and understanding is flawed, and that God’s way is perfect, the truth is that we will be far better off if we just admit that our knowledge base is nothing compared to what the Lord can bring to bear for us. And by following the Lord’s way and call, our decisions will be right on track with His.

The apostle then begins to discuss the issue of circumcision. For Israel, this was a sign that a man was one of the “chosen” of God. But now, Paul sees baptism as the sign that a person is one with the Lord. Baptism by water has to be accomplished by human hands, but the power of baptism has nothing to do with the work of human flesh. The power and authority of baptism is conveyed through our receiving God’s gift of the Holy Spirit.

Circumcision in the Spirit means that we are no longer dependent on the ways of earth, that our allegiance has shifted from what we know and understand, to what God knows about us and in what he can now do through us. Baptism by water, whether by sprinkling, or pouring, or immersion, is significant through our being cleansed and released from the world’s ways, and risen into a new existence in Christ. Baptism is not something to take lightly or as routine – it is a sign that we have traded our dependence and reliance on worldly ways, and have, in return, chosen those of heaven. Anything less that that is a lie to Almighty God.

Read Colossians 4:2-6

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” And this is the point of Thanksgiving – that through prayer, we let our Triune God know just how much we value His presence in our lives. And this thankfulness can never be restricted to our own relationship with the Lord. It must be proclaimed to all who will listen.

Proclaim the mystery of just what faith in Jesus Christ has done for you. Proclaim it clearly so that everyone can hear and understand. Proclaim it through the way you live your life, proclaim it as often as you can, in every way you can, in every place you can. And the last verse of this passage is just as important as the first. Let others know the reason for your thankfulness, but do it in a way that is graceful, joyful, truthful, loving, and personal.

How grateful are we to the Lord for all that He has done for us, and what will we do for Him this Thanksgiving? There’s an old saying, that “we can never out give God”, but that doesn’t mean we should ever stop trying!

So what will you give to God this Thanksgiving? It’s your decision, so do it with joy.