Eternal Value Of Thankfulness

Early in our marriage while we eating a dinner Kathe had prepared I said, “Thanks for dinner, honey” She responded a little surprised so I followed up with, “You have taken the time to put it together and it tasted great so I think you deserve a thanks.”

One of the easiest ways to celebrate Thanksgiving is by sharing a simple “thank you” with someone who has served us. On the public platform our culture seems to do fine with this. It is normal for celebrities and politicians to express thanks while the cameras are rolling and crowds gathered. However, what are we like when our guard is down and have nothing to gain? In those moments how often do we express “thank you” to our parents, children, co-workers, friends or classmates?

Thankfulness is a character issue. It is about humility. When we say “thank you”, we lower our self and elevate another. And when we do that we are giving people a sense of dignity. We are honoring their act of service toward us no matter how insignificant or routine we may consider it to be.

Secondly, it is about awareness. In order to give a “thank you” it requires that we shift the focus from our own world to someone else’s. It is where we hit the pause button in our busyness for a moment and acknowledge what someone has done on our behalf. It is a simple act of courtesy that is polite and the mark of a true gentleman or lady.

The life altering affect of Jesus’ suffering, death, burial and rising again from the dead is dependent on our attitude toward thankfulness. It takes a sense of awareness to realize that Jesus did all this for you and the people of the world. Awareness is required to realize it was done because you are a sinner and need a savior. And after you are aware of this it takes humility to say “thank you” for all He did. And in that moment, life-change happens because you have lowered yourself and exalted Jesus in your heart. The Scripture says, “Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name” (1 Chronicles 16:8).

May God help us to be a thankful people that our souls might be altered forever. May parents, church leaders and employers model humility and awareness that Christ may be our hope for today.

Spells, Magic and The Supernatural

                                                  Image by Pexels from Pixabay 

"Many have travelled the path of paganism seeking rest for their soul through the supernatural only to find emptiness at each turn."

I was visiting with a young woman whom I had lost contact with for several years. As we caught up about her family, work and faith she said, “I’m a pagan.” It surprised me. I never had anyone tell me that before. After our conversation I asked myself, “What does it mean when she calls herself a pagan?”

According to the Pagan Federation it is “a follower of a polytheistic or pantheistic nature-worshipping religion.” In simple terms, it is someone who believes in many gods and goddesses and deification of nature. The religion has a number of distinctions like nature worship, rituals, spells, magic and exploring the supernatural.

In October, pagans celebrate one of their most sacred events – Samhain. When Americans are trick-or-treating on Halloween, pagans world-wide will be honoring their ancestors through various rituals believing the supernatural veil that divides this world and the next can be crossed.

Many experts say paganism has grown from a few thousand to upwards of 1,000,000 since 1990. Books, television shows, movies like Harry Potter, and the Internet have helped expand paganism among women and our youth.

The religion reveals a spiritual searching that has been common to the human race for centuries. Many have travelled the path of paganism seeking rest for their soul through the supernatural only to find emptiness at each turn.

Only Jesus can satisfy the longing of the soul. When He gave His life as a sacrifice on a cross then rose again from the dead a few days later, He ended the need for a man-made system of spiritual rituals.

Once a pagan jailer was in a desperate place when he pleaded, “. . . what must I do to be saved?” which was followed by a simple answer - “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:30-31). No longer do we need to bear the burden of trying to do or say the right thing to find rest for our soul. We just need simple faith combined with surrender wholly to Christ. We need to yield our allegiance to Him, who is Lord of all creation. If you do, His gift of rest for the soul and adjoining mission of service will be yours. 

A prayer for you - "Lord God, I pray you will bring people to turn from the worship of nature, various spirits and using spells and magic to fulfill their desires, and toward you. Let them see that rituals and others forms of spiritual practices, outside of you, will end only in their futility. May they call upon you and receive eternal life through Christ.  Amen."    

HOPE FOR TODAY - Religious Professors

A Florida teenager made national news giving experts a lot to talk about. Matthew Scheidt, 18, was arrested by authorities after an impersonation stunt. He wormed his way into being a Physician’s Assistant at a local hospital. He had an I.D. badge, had the right clothes and was even trusted by a doctor to do CPR on a patient. Matthew said and did all the right things so folks gave him a pass in spite of some inner suspicions.

In this column I’m talking about religious professors who are just like the fake P.A. They are religious people who say and do all the right things so well that genuine believers give them a pass despite having silent questions about the sincerity of their profession.

Jesus once said that many religious professors will stand before Him on their day of reckoning and plead for mercy saying, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” (Matthew 7:22). Yet they will be utterly shocked to hear Jesus say, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Mathew 7:23).

The saddest part is they believe they deserve heaven because of all the religious things they have done. By inference they look upon Jesus as heaven’s door man, where He is supposed to just open the door and let them in because they earned it.

In a way they are guilty of blasphemy to the highest degree. In essence they are saying, “Jesus did not need to come to suffer, die, and rise again for me. He did it for the other folks. You know, those who are not good enough.”

Jesus said “. . . unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). This is not something we do ourselves it is only something God can do. We must become a new person from the inside out. If we do, our sins are forgiven and we are redeemed, justified, and sanctified by God’s power.

Has all that happened to you? It does when you become born again, not by your efforts, but by the power of God. Turn from being religious and commit your whole life to Christ. Call upon God in a spirit of humility and become a new person. May Jesus be your hope for today.