He is Able to Save...and Destroy

There is one Lawgiver,
who is able to save and to destroy.
Who are you to judge another?
James 4:12, NKJV

God has made me no man's judge, nor is any man judge over me. Each of us answers to God, whether we have done good or bad, right or wrong, and God is our judge. Satan is our accuser, pointing his crooked finger while he rages vehemently against us, showing our faults, our flaws, and our failures to God. I'm sure he loves to enumerate my sins in heaven. "Look down there at what ol' Stafford's doing now, God! He really deserves to be fried to a crispy critter. He's transgressed your righteousness. He's trampled on the blood of Christ. He's taking advantage of your grace! Get Him God!" He would be right in his accusation, and God would be right in His judgment if He blotted me out because of my sin.

Except I have an Advocate with the Father who pleads my case, standing there at the right hand of judgment where He ever lives to make intercession for me, Jesus Christ the righteous, who was wounded for my transgressions, bruised for my iniquities, chastised for my peace, and by whose stripes I am healed. He bore all my sins in His body to the tree, the Cross of Calvary. He took the handwriting of transgression that was against me, the accusations of the devil, the condemnation of my sin, and nailed it to the cross, to be remembered no more. And when I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive me of sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness.

Bring the charges; God has justified. Go ahead and condemn me; Christ has died for me and risen from the dead! I may be a wretched man sometimes, bearing a body of death on my back that serves to corrupt me, but there is no condemnation for me if I am in Christ Jesus! He has set me free from the law that condemns, for He came to save!

Why then, is it so easy for me to point the finger at someone else and speak like the accuser of the brethren? Why is it such a simple thing for me to pass judgment on other servant's of God?

I'm not talking about proper church discipline, handled the way Christ intended for us to handle those issues. I'm not talking about rebuking false teachers and false prophets, or correcting those in sin. I'm not talking about standing up for truth and contending earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. Those are all things we have the responsibility to do, though we must be governed by love while we do it. What I'm talking about is much more sinister.

Who am I to point the finger at another servant of God and say, "I don't like the way you're doing things; you must be wrong!"

Who am I to look with plank-obscured vision and offer to assist another with the speck of dirt in their own eye?

Who am I to determine what God has said or not said to another who is seeking only to obey what they've received from God?

Who am I to set the standards for anyone else and demand that they live up to me?

I'll tell you who I am: NOBODY! I have no right to do those things, to say those things, to question another's service and devotion to the Lord. I have no authority to sit in judgment, or worse yet, condemnation over the life of another. I have no power, knowledge or responsibility to determine who will make into God's heaven and who will be consigned to a devil's hell. Those things lie within the purview of God and God alone.

It is God who makes the rules, and God who decides when the rules have been broken. It is God who calls rule breakers into question and determines their fate. It is God who judges, who condemns. It is also God who acquits. And there is only one measure He uses for judgment. All are guilty, all have transgressed and fallen far short of His excellence, all deserve condemnation and death. But the standard that God uses, the measure of God's judgment, is found between the nail prints in the hands of Jesus. That is the line, and it is a line of blood.

Justified through the blood, because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we stand pardoned for our sins. Without the blood, we condemn ourselves in our sin. The choice is ours; the judgment is God's. And He who is able to both save and to destroy will do what is just and right and fair.

He is Able to Resurrect

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac,
and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called,"
concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead,
from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
Hebrews 11:17-19, NKJV

I began this latest series of blogs with one about Abraham, and now toward the end we come to Abraham again. By faith, Abraham and Sarah earned their place in the hall of heroes catalogued in Hebrews 11, following God wherever He led, obeying God whatever He said. And in His own time, He gave them a son. Isaac, the child of laughter, brought such delight to the hearts of his parents. He grew and gave them joy. And then one day, God shows up again.

And God asked Abraham for a burnt offering, a sacrifice of worship. He asked Abraham for his son Isaac, the son and heir, the child of promise. He asked Abraham to give up the son he had waited for many many years. He asked Abraham to take that which was most precious to him and put it on the altar of sacrifice. And the most amazing part of this story is that Abraham actually did it. He took the wood, the fire, the knife, and his son up to the mountain to meet God, and there he prepared an altar and laid his only and beloved son on it. Raising the knife in the air, he prepared to plunge it into Isaac's heart or slice it across Isaac's throat.

Could you have done that? If God had asked, could you have given up your only begotten son? We shudder at the thought, yet we must realize that God has the right and authority to ask those things of us. In His sovereign power He can ask anything He wants of us, and be just in doing it. After all, He sent His only begotten son to die for the world, that the world through Him might be saved. God purchased our lives with His very own. He can ask anything He wants of us, and be absolutely right in doing so. And then the question becomes one of our obedience. Will we give to God whatever He asks?

And then we ask: How was Abraham able to do it? Where did Abraham find the strength to do what God required of him? There is only one thing it could have been: Faith.

You see, Abraham took God at His word. He fully believed and accepted the promises of God. God said, "I'm going to give you a son, and you shall name Him Isaac." And God fulfilled His promise. God said, "In Isaac all your seed shall be called." Then God said, "Now give Isaac to me." This wasn't a dedication; this was a sacrifice. "Give Isaac to me as a burnt offering." And Abraham was willing and ready to do it. Why? Because Abraham took God at His word, and if God's word promised Isaac, then even if now God required Isaac to die, He was also able to raise Isaac up from the dead in a glorious resurrection from the ashes of sacrifice. Genesis doesn't fully explain that part, but Hebrews does.

In Abraham's mind, he thought, "God told me I would be the father of many nations, and Isaac would be the source of my seed. If God now asks me to kill Isaac and offer him as a burnt offering, then God will also raise up dead Isaac and give Him life again, because God is not a man that He should lie!" Once again, Abraham believed God...and it was accounted to Him for righteousness sake.

Abraham did not have to kill Isaac and burn him to ashes. His heart was laid bare before the Lord, and the Lord recognized that Abraham would not waver in faith, and would give whatever was asked of Him. And in that moment, God provided a substituted, a ram to take Isaac's place. And after they worshiped God, they came back down the mountain together.

Did you know God is still able to give life to the dead, and call those things into existence that are not as though they are. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Will you bless the name of the Lord anyway? Will you offer Him thanks and praise and say, "Thy will be done? Will you sacrifice your own desires and dreams and answered prayers on the altar of God in an act of faith that only God Himself can reward? Will you say, "All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give"?

If you are willing, then also believe that what God has promised, that will he also do. What God has started He will complete in you. For God's words are faithful and true. They can be trusted. They can be depended upon. They can be acted upon. Because He is able to take what you thought was dead and make it live again!

He is Able to Save

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost
those who come to God through Him,
since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25, NKJV

I've never saved a life. I don't think I've ever even been in a position to do it. Lifeguards save drowning victims. EMTs save accident victims. Doctors and nurses save the sick and injured all the time. Soldiers save each others lives on the battle field. Policemen save lives. Firemen save lives. Unexpected heroes save lives everyday. But me...I've never saved a life. I'm not even trained to save lives. I suppose if I saw someone in danger from a bus or a train, I would try to pull them out of the way, but other than that...I can't do much more than pray.

But what about the salvation of a soul? The Proverbs of Solomon tell us that he who saves souls is wise. We know that Christ came to save sinners, to seek and to save all who are lost. He came to call people to repentance. He came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many, so that whosoever believes in Him would have everlasting life. Jesus paid for the salvation of souls with His own precious life, His body and His blood. He did everything He was assigned to do so that we could be saved. But then He entrusted the proclamation of that salvation to His followers, all of His followers for all time. That is our great commission. And this I have been trained to do.

I have been trained, as a Christian, to save souls. But still, it is not really I who saves. Only Christ can save. And He is more than able to do so.

He is able to save liars and thieves and blasphemers and adulterers. He is able to save idol worshipers and atheists, child molesters and rapists, drug addicts, alcoholics, abusers, and gangsters. He is able to save murderers, even serial killers. He is able to save the greedy, the lusty, the angry, the hateful, the bitter, the hurting, the lonely and sad. He is able to save little children and the aged, the mentally handicapped and the physically impaired. He is able to save the sane and the crazy, the happy and the depressed. He is able to save the living, and the dying. He can save us all.

But only if we come to God through Him. Jesus said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." Jesus declared that He was the only path to God, and the Bible continually says that it is only through His name and belief in Him as the son of God and a personal savior that we can be saved. Only through Him.

There is no other prophet who has ever claimed that, no other man in history who has ever declared, "I can save everybody if they just believe in me." What they have done is set up false religions of works, good deeds that outweigh bad deeds, self-sacrifice to the point of martyrdom to save your own life. And in some religions, if you're not good enough you can come back as something or someone else until your own goodness can ascend you into a higher plain of existence, or until you simply blink out of existence and become one with the universe. In some religions, your living relatives can say prayers and burn candles and pay your way into heaven. In some religions, there's no salvation offered at all, just urging to be better and to do better.

But Jesus said, "Come unto me." And not only will He save to to the uttermost those who come, He ever lives to pray and intercede for them. He is on your side! He died for you, and He won't give up on you. If you'll just come to God through Him. It's really that simple, and easy at that.

He is Able to Aid

For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted,
He is able to aid those who are tempted.
Hebrews 2:18, NKJV

So, there it is. Bright and colorful, delectable and juicy, wonderful to look at, even better to touch, taste and handle. I'm certain it would satisfy this intense hunger and craving, and no one's looking. Who will it hurt? And even though I know it's wrong, once it's over I can repent and then have a testimony about the goodness of God. If I experience this, I can identify more closely with those I want to reach. Doing this simply validates my humanity and the amazing grace of the Lord. Oh, why does it have to hang there on the branch, just within reach, so attractive and available? Why can't it be ugly? Why can't it be somewhere out of reach? Why can't it...

And then I take and eat.

Temptation is common to us all. Unfortunately, giving in to temptation is common to us all too. It was common to Jesus. The Bible tells us of three specific temptations at the beginning of His ministry, and one specific temptation at the end. At the first, the devil tempted Jesus with His own hunger and power, His identity and position, His faith and pride. Jesus resisted the devil with the word, and the devil had to flee. At the last, the devil tempted Jesus with His own life, His authority, His power, position, and pride all over again. "If you are the Son of God...Come down off that cross!"

But Jesus passed the test. He resisted temptation and died for the sins of all. He who knew no sin became sin for us. When speaking of Him as the great high priest, the author of Hebrews says that Jesus was tempted and tried in every way that we are, and yet without sin. Tempted and tried in every way, the same as me? Really? Do you ever wonder about that?

Was Jesus ever tempted to fry His enemies with fire from heaven? I know the disciples wanted to.

Was Jesus ever tempted to make a deal with Judas so they could split the profits of a miracle ministry?

Was Jesus ever tempted by the fragrance of Mary Magdalene's perfume?

Was Jesus ever tempted to go back to Nazareth and be a nail-pounder, get married, have a couple of kids, and live out his life in obscurity?

Was Jesus ever tempted to wash his hands of his hard-headed, stiff-necked, dull-minded disciples?

Was Jesus ever tempted to deny who He was so that He could escape the sorrow and suffering that awaited Him?

Was Jesus ever tempted to roar with divine authority and put the universe out of its misery?

Was Jesus ever tempted to tell God, "No"?

Even though none of that is recorded, nor any other specific temptations, the Bible says that He was tempted. He was tempted in every way the same as me. Tempted by lust, greed, pride, anger, hurt, rebellion. He was touched with my infirmities. He carried them in His body, bearing our griefs and our sorrows along with our sins to Calvary's cross. But He did not give in to them. He endured, He persevered, He triumphed over all temptation and thumbed His nose at the devil, making his enemies a public spectacle as He died that sinless and sacrificial death for my sake.

And because He was tempted, yet without sin, He is able to help me in the midst of my temptation, trial, and trouble. The Bible says there is no temptation that comes upon me except that which is common to mankind. It also says that God will not place upon me more than I can bear, but will always provide a way of escape. And Jesus will be my help in present time of need. Jesus will be my strong tower, my shelter, my shield, my refuge, and my guide. Jesus will stand by me and assist me out of the hole I've dug for myself, or the trap that was set for my feet, or the crisis I've created because I just couldn't keep away from that stupid apple.

But more importantly, He is able to help me avoid temptation altogether, or resist it when it comes up against me. He is able to aid me...if I'll just get out of His way and let Him do what He wants to do.

He is Able to Keep

For this reason I also suffer these things;
nevertheless, I am not ashamed,
for I know in whom I have believed and am persuaded
that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him
until the Day.
2 Timothy 1:12, NKJV

Ridicule. Riots. Accusations. Imprisonments. Whippings. Beatings. Assassination attempts. Stoning. Sickness. Shipwrecks. Snakebites. Innumerable perils and persecutions. Poverty. Exhaustion. Heat. Cold. Homelessness. Hunger. Death.

By the end of his 35 year ministry, Paul had suffered incredibly for the cause of Jesus Christ. And as he dictates the last letter of his life, he knows that he is living on limited time. At any moment they could come for him and lead him out the Appian Way to his beheading. Yet He knows why he has suffered. He has known since the very beginning all the things he would have to endure because of the call. Maybe it was a long awaited harvest of the seed he had sown while persecuting the church. Maybe anybody who had this kind of ministry would have faced such things. Maybe God knew Paul was the only one with intestinal fortitude enough to stick it out. But when Paul gave his life to Jesus, he did so with full knowledge of all the things that would happen to him as he followed the Lord. And it had come to this. A dark, dank prison cell. A lone companion. And a chopping block.

Yet Paul says he has nothing to be ashamed of. He knows in whom he believes.

What confidence! What hope! What faith! To have all your eggs in one basket, so to speak, and to know that they are all going to be preserved. There is no room for spreading our faith around in several belief systems, and no sense in putting our trust in our own selves. When I trust myself, I find fail too often to be trustworthy. I can't make it on my own. And when I spread my trust around, I find myself constantly torn and tossed about. But when I put my trust in Jesus, that's when I find the most peace.

Paul took everything--his fears, his hopes, his dreams, his desires, his infirmities and failures, his successes and triumphs, his livelihood and his life, his past, present and future--and put it all in the hands of the Master whom he served. From that point on, it didn't matter what he did or what got done to him. It didn't matter what happened to him or around him. He summed it up best while on board a sinking ship--This night an angel of the Lord stood by me and said do not be afraid! When God's got you in His hand, God is also going to keep you, and see you through to His appointed end.

And when we get there, we will find that God has also preserved everything we have committed to Him against that Day. The world around me may fall apart; in fact, quite literally to hear some predictions. Storm winds may blow; battles may rage. The fight may be long, the valley deep, the mountain steep, and the night dark. But I have taken hold of the hand of God, and He's not going to let go. He is leading, He is guiding, He is directing. I'm telling you, God is totally in control--whether you want Him to be or not. So we can either hold to God's unchanging hand, or try to do this without Him.

But I know in whom I have believed. He has proven Himself faithful time and time and time again. He has never let me down, He has never left me alone. Though I have often failed and been faithless, He remains faithful. His grace is sufficient. His word is enough. His love covers a multitude of sin. His mercies were new again this morning. And everything I have committed to Him is safe. My dreams, my desires, my goals, my needs, my weaknesses, my strengths, my triumphs and tragedies, my past, present and future--all these things are well kept in the Almighty hand of God, and I know He will continue to faithfully keep them until the Day.

He is Able to Subdue

For our citizenship is in heaven
from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform our lowly body
that it may be conformed to his glorious body,
according to the working
by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren,
my joy and crown,
so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.
Philippians 3:20-21, 4:1, NKJV

Jesus is in heaven, and I'm here on earth. One day, Jesus is coming back for me, and I'm going back to heaven with him. I will no longer be bound by the world or this flesh, no longer beset with temptation and trial, no longer living in the shadow of death. This mortal flesh will be cast off for immortality, this corruptible flesh cast off for incorruption. When Jesus comes back for me, I will truly and completely be changed forevermore.

Down here, I have been born again. Old things have passed away; all things have been made new. I'm a new creation. My old self, my old life, my old ways--these have died, and my life is hid with Christ in God. In Christ I am a new creature. In Christ, I have been put to death on the cross; crucified, and yet I live. Not really me, but Christ who lives in me, and this life that I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God. I am walking in faith, walking in the Spirit, walking in the liberty that salvation brings. I am walking in life, and that more abundantly.

But I am not perfect. If anybody knows that, I certainly do. And God knows. God knows when my mind wanders, when my heart strays, when I kick against the goads. God knows when I'm in His will, and when I'm trying to step out of it. And still He loves me. Still He strives with me. Still He reaches out to me, for God is not willing that I should perish, but that I should live in repentance and have eternal life. He is long-suffering, and thank Him that He is. I need alot of patience from Him sometimes.

His power is at work in me now, giving me strength to do what needs to be done. His Spirit is at work in me now, greater than anything that is in this world. His Word is at work in me now, alive and powerful and sharper than any sword, cutting away the things that don't belong, exposing the things that need to be excised and removing them from me. He renews my mind, He restores my soul. He is changing me one day at a time, drawing me closer to be conformed to His image and likeness. In this life I will never be complete, but the day is coming when this life will be over and done with. Either through death or the rapture, I shall escape this mortal coil and enter into life everlasting in the presence of my Lord. And then I shall be complete. Then I shall be perfect. Then I shall be whole.

Until then, I will put my faith, my hope, my confidence and trust in the One who works in me, who by His power and authority is able to bring all things under control. By His almighty hand, He will subdue all things to His will, and I know that my existence will be much simpler if I choose to submit myself to Him now, rather than having to do it later. So Lord, I give up. Again. I surrender myself to You, to Your will, to Your way for my heart and life today. Whatever You're doing, I know You'll do it well--far better than I myself could.

And there I will stand.

He is Able to Do More

Now to Him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works in us,
to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus
to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21, NKJV

This might very well be my favorite "He is able" Scripture. I know that God can do anything, or as Job says it, "My God can do everything". I have seen Him do alot of really cool stuff. I've seen healings and witnessed miracles and experienced His power and presence personally. I've received answers to my prayers, provisions for my needs. I even met a man who had been raised from the dead. I understand God's ability on an intellectual and experiential level. But what about the things I haven't seen or experienced? What about the things I'm still waiting on God for?

The Apostle Paul writes that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly more, immeasurably more, infinitely incalculably more that all that we ask or think put together. More than ALL we ask or think. I've asked God for alot; I'm still asking God for alot. And I have a vivid imagination. I can explain to Him how He ought to do it. But this verse says that as much as I can ask, as much as I can dream, God can still do more. So much much much more.

And He does it by the power that is already at work within us, the wonderful power of His Holy Spirit, which has already done an immeasurable work in me. The Holy Spirit has brought us to God, led us out of darkness into the Lord's marvelous light, out of bondage into freedom, out of sinfulness into sanctification. He has transformed us, changed us from the guttermost to the uttermost. He has done a mighty work in us. And it is through the Holy Spirit that God will do far above what He has already done. It is through the Spirit that God will blow our minds and our imaginations. It is through the Spirit that God will accomplish more than we thought was even possible.

Do you need something today? Is something no earthly power can supply? My God is able.

Do you have question no one can answer? My God is able.

Are you facing a difficulty beyond your wildest nightmares? My God is able.

Is there a mountain in your way? My God is able to move it. How about a river deep and wide? My God is able to cross it. Storms in your life? My God is able to still the winds and calm the seas. Dealing with deep-rooted problems? My God is able to pluck those trees up by the roots and cast them into the sea!

Are you looking an impossibility right in the eye? Those impossible situations are just opportunities for God to show up and show off for His glory. He loves to do that! Just ask Moses, or David, or Daniel, or Shadrach and his friends. Ask the heroes of faith. Ask the apostles. Ask Lazarus, whose situation couldn't have gotten any worse. He was dead and four days buried when Jesus showed up and said, "Roll back the stone!"

I know a God who is more than able, more than willing, more than ready to do good to them that love Him. He works all things out for His glory and the good of those who are called according to His purpose. He works all things according to the counsel of His own will, and none of His purposes are withheld from Him. I think a God who holds the entirety of existence in the palm of His hand is vastly more capable than I could possibly imagine to do what I need Him to do.

I just need to believe, and wait for Him to act. Because when He acts, He does all things well!

He is Able to Make All Grace Abound

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you,
that you, always having all sufficiency in all things,
may have an abundance for every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8, NKJV

 God is a giver. If we don't understand anything else about God, we need to get that. God is a giver. He gave us His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. He loves us, and knows how to give good gifts to His children. The Bible goes so far as to say that if He did not spare His only Son, what more will He withhold from us. Which is why the Bible tells us to ask Him for the things we need, and even the things that we want. In His will, in His time, He will give us every good and perfect gift.

God is a giver, and He modeled it very well for us throughout the entirety of Scripture. From the sacrifice that provided skins for Adam and Eve to the ark of safety that preserved humanity in eight souls; from Noah's rainbow to the ram caught in a thicket, prepared there to be a substitute for Isaac. God gave bread and meat and water and shelter and strength to Israel in the wilderness, and then He gave them the Promised Land. He gave the cities into their hands, and houses and crops and wells and riches. He gave them a king when they cried out for one. He gave them His word, His covenants, His promises. He gave them hope and a future. He gave them the Law first, and then the Gospel first. As I said before, He gave His Son Jesus Christ as the ultimate gift.

God is a giver, and He has demonstrated it multiple times in my own life. Not that I have ever truly been in need, as in destitute, starving, homeless or helpless, but there have been times when I needed something from God. I needed a new pair of glasses one time and couldn't afford them. That week, a refund came in the mail that I never even expected. One day I was praying the Lord's Prayer and asked for "daily bread"...not that I was without food, but I was just wondering if God was truly going to meet all my needs. When I walked out to the mailbox that morning, there was a ham and cheese sandwich laying in there...which I thanked God for and ate. No kidding! God has recently provided enough cashflow into my pocket to take the place of a second job...and if I need a third, He is also able to supply that. Over and over and over again, God has provided so many wonderful things in my life. Because He is a giver.

He also wants me to be a giver. This beautiful verse about making all grace--all gifts and favor--abound toward me falls in the middle of Paul's great treatise on New Testament giving. People want to point to the Old Testament and say that tithing was for the Law, and that now we are not bound by the law to give ten percent. I would agree. Now we are bound by a covenant with Christ to give God our all, everything that we have. So that if God tells us to sell everything we have and give it to the poor, we should do it. If we see our brother in need and have it in our hand to help, we have the responsibility to give. If we are nourished spiritually through the ministry of someone else, we should also share physical nourishment with them. Under the Law, you only had to give the tithe in various forms. Under grace, you may have to give it all away. So I always tell people...tithing is a good place to start.

You see, God wants His people to be generous. He wants His people to give. He wants His people to do good to others. And God, who is able to make all grace abound toward us, will give us everything we need to do everything He wants us to do, so that there is no lack anywhere, and we will have more than enough to do as He asks.

He is Able to Establish You

Now to Him who is able to establish you

according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ,

according to the revelation of the mystery...

according to the commandment of the everlasting God,

...to God, alone wise,

be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

Romans 16:25-27, NKJV

 The God who loved us enough to send His own Son to die in our place, to take all of our punishment in His own body and put to death the law that required it of us, who forgave us our sins and did everything necessary to save us forever, is also able to do so much more than that. He is able to establish us in strength, in wisdom, and in the power of His Holy Spirit. He is able to ground our feet solidly on Himself, anchor our hearts safely in Himself, and hold us securely to Himself. After all, He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it, and also faithful to fulfill all of His promises and His word.

But how does God establish us? What method does He use to make sure we stay standing where He stands us, that we remain where he places us? In these closing verses of Romans, Paul says God does the establishing via three vital instruments. First is the preached gospel. Second is the revelation of mystery. Third is the everlasting commandment.

Paul, especially in Romans, is all about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of salvation by grace through faith, the gospel of power and righteousness to them that believe. He says messengers must be sent to preach the gospel so that unbelievers can hear, and then believe, and then call upon the Name of the One who saves, the only Name given under heaven by which we can be saved, Jesus Christ the righteous. The gospel message, the good news about Jesus Christ is the only thing capable of changing people's hearts and lives forever. And it is through this good news, this gospel message, that we are first established by God.

But after the preaching of the gospel, there must be revelation knowledge, the unveiling of mystery to those who receive the gospel. He's not talking about secret wisdom sought by mystics, nor anything hidden from our sight. The gospel is plain to see, simple to comprehend, but it must be received in faith. It must be taken to heart in faith. And once we have believed, the Holy Spirit comes into our life to dwell. The Holy Spirit opens up the Word to us, enlightening our hearts through the prophetic Scriptures. He brings it to our remembrance, tells us what to say, shows us how to use it, and tells us about the things that are to come. He leads us and guides us in all truth.

And once we receive the truth and the Holy Spirit begins to give us understanding, we also have the everlasting commandments of God in which we will be established when we follow them. Jesus said, If you love me, keep my commandments. But Jesus wasn't talking about a codified set or rules and regulations. Repeatedly when asked about the importance or the priority of the commandments, Jesus would reply with two statements: Love God. Love everybody else. That is the everlasting commandment of God. Everything else falls into place beneath this all-encompassing love.

So how does God establish us? God establishes us with His truth. God establishes us with His Spirit. And God establishes us with His love.

To Him be glory forever and ever, through Christ Jesus. Amen!

He is Able to Make You Stand

Who are you to judge another's servant?
To his own master he stands or falls.
Indeed, he will be made to stand,
For God is able to make him stand.
Romans 14:4, NKJV

There are alot of things left up to the conscience of the believer. Paul talks about eating meat and observing special days, and informs his readers that the one who eats the meat in good conscience should not look down on the one who doesn't eat, and that the one who doesn't eat shouldn't despise the one who does. And whether we observe special days or not, we should do everything as unto the Lord. For the Lord is our master, and the one we should seek to please.

There are alot of choices the Lord gives me, alot of areas where He says, "You know my word, You have my Spirit, and You hear my voice. What are you going to do with them?" I'm not talking about sin, the obvious Thou Shalt Nots, or the commandments of the Lord. I'm talking about other things, the things that aren't of eternal consequence. I'm not going to start naming them; that's not the point. The point is, each Christian must make up their minds what they will allow and what they won't allow themselves to do in matters of conscience.

And then live by faith and grace, demonstrating devotion to God and love for others.

We spend too much time trying to get everyone around us to conform to our standard of "holiness" and "godliness". We draw a line that indicates where each person must measure up, and then we shake our heads and cluck our tongues in dismay when they don't. But this is exactly the thing Paul was talking about, and exactly what Jesus was talking about when he said, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." They weren't talking about upholding good, Biblical godly standards; they were talking about setting ourselves as the standard.

And the thing Paul wants us to understand is that the One who measures us is God. The One we must please is God. Each person must determine how they themselves are going to do that, and let everyone else do the same. And if a person stands or falls, he does so to God, not to me. We get so disappointed with people when they fail to live up to our expectations, but is God whom they are serving. We critique, and even criticize, the walks of others, when we really need to realize that God is the only one who can judge the sincerity and integrity of a person's heart.

If they stand, they stand for God and with Him, and by His grace. If they fall, they fall in His presence upon His grace. We could learn alot by remembering that we do the same, that we fall--or stand--by the boundless grace of the Divine. That He is our help, our support, our strength, our safety. He is our shelter, our defense, our healer, our shield, our source, our supply. He is our provider, our protector, our sustainer, our savior. And He alone is able to make us stand!

He is Able to Perform

Abraham did not waver

at the promise of God through unbelief,

but was strengthened in faith,

giving glory to God,

and being fully convinced

that what He had promised

He was also able to perform.

Romans 4:20-21, NKJV

 Have you ever received a promise from God, and then watched Him fulfill it? It's a wonderful feeling to hold in your hand the answer to your prayers, the satisfaction of your dreams and desires, the fulfillment of good things God told you He would give or do--and to know that God is the One who did it. He was the only one who could, and He came through for you.

It may have been at the last possible moment, but He came through. It may have not come in the way you imagined, or told God it should, but He came through. It may have been a long time coming, a seeming eternity in which you had to wait patiently and believe. It may have looked impossible, out of reach, like it was never going to happen, or that it never would. Maybe you thought God had forgotten you, or what He said. Maybe you thought God had changed His mind, or that you had messed up so badly that He decided you weren't worth the promise. Maybe you thought you heard wrong, that you misjudged God, that you had held on to a pipe dream or a vaporous mist that vanished with the dawn. Maybe you thought the day would never come.

Maybe you feel like that today.

Abraham received a promise from God when he was 75 years old. God told him, "You and your 65 year old wife have been married a while and have no children, but I promise you your descendants will number as the stars in the sky and the sand on the shore." Hooray! Just what Abraham wanted: a son to carry on his name and receive his inheritance. In fact, many sons. Maybe Abraham went right home and started doing his part to bring about the promise of God. But something wasn't working right, because it didn't happen. It didn't happen that year, it didn't even happen that decade. But Abraham did not waver in unbelief concerning the promise of God. He knew what he had heard.

So he kept believing, kept rejoicing, kept strengthening himself in faith, and kept acting on the promise. Maybe he built a nursery. Maybe they bought all the furniture. Maybe they had a trunk full of baby clothes. But still there was no baby.

They thought they'd help God out and give Abraham a substitute wife. But that didn't work out real well either (and those battles are still being fought in the Middle East today).

And then when it looked impossible, when time had passed and the bodies of these two old people weren't working like they had in their youth... Sarah's womb was dead, and Abraham's body lifeless. What had God said? And then God showed up. And lifelessness returned to life, deadness was resurrected, and these two old people received strength to conceive, and Sarah brought forth a son!

The thing we have to realize is that it was never up to Abraham and Sarah to fulfill God's promises. It was God's to do. And God who promised it proved Himself faithful again, because He who promised is also able to perform it!

If you are waiting on promises from God, just keep living by faith. Keep rejoicing. Keep reminding yourself and God what He has promised. Keep acting upon your faith. Because one of these days, God is going to say, "The time is now; it is done!" And you better be ready to receive it, because it is coming in full!

In God I Trust

In God

(I will praise His word),

In the LORD

(I will praise His word),

In God I have put my trust.

Psalm 56:10-11, NKJV

Who can you trust these days? Is there anywhere to put your confidence? Where is the fulfillment of your hope? In what do you place your faith?

Either there is a God, or there is not. Either His Word, the Bible, is truth, or it is not. Either what He does is always good and right and just, or it's not. Either what He says is faithful and true, or it is not. Either I believe those things, or I do not. The choice is mine.

I've seen the world. You can't trust the words coming out of many political mouths these days; people will say anything to get elected, and then go on promising while they do their own thing. Advertising promises you the world, only when you get it, it's a cheap plastic imitation that breaks. Songs of the day tickle our ears and tease our hearts with the prospect of cheap thrills and endless pleasure, without telling you the truth about heartbreak and consequences. Those whose words should be a constant encouragement are more like a barrage of criticism and condemnation.

Financial systems are failing; economic crisis looms. The earth is off its axis, and weather patterns are crazy. There's war and disease and famine and pestilence and disaster and tragedy and crisis and chaos. Nothing seems to be going right, and sometimes I think the ground is falling away beneath me.

So what do I do? I truly have no choice. I trust in the LORD. I put my trust in God a long time ago, and He has never disappointed me, never left me alone, never forsaken nor forgotten me. He has always been faithful to His word, and I praise His word. I praise His name. I praise His promises, and know that they are faithful and true.

People lie. People die. People change. People move. People fail.

But God never does. So I will put my faith, my confidence, my hope and my trust in the LORD, and I will continue on with Him until He fulfills what He promised, until He completes what He started, until He does what He said He was going to do! And until He does, I will praise the LORD!

Thankful, Day One-Oh-One

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!

Serve the LORD with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the LORD, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the LORD is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100, NKJV

When you've done something (almost) every day for four months, it's kind of hard to stop. I began to suspect early on that once I got started blogging the 100th Psalm for 100 days, it would not be an easy thing to walk away from, even in completion. It was with a great sense of fulfillment that I wrote the 100th blog last night, but I wanted to right another one, just one more perhaps, for Day 101.

And this time I'd like to issue a challenge, a clarion call to thanksgiving.

I spent the last 100 (really more like 130) days taking stock of my life through introspection and self-examination. I searched my heart every day, my mind, my memory, my emotions. Some days I liked what I found, other days not so much. But I combed my thoughts for objects of thanksgiving. What was I truly thankful for?

It's been interesting to go back through the blogs and finding recurring themes with each line, each truth contained in Psalm 100. Many times, days or even weeks apart, I wrote almost identical thoughts. I know I gave thanks for some things repeatedly. Like Mom, and God's grace. I have to confess that there were a whole lot of things I wanted to shout from the rooftops, so many things I wanted to thank God for publicly but have refrained out of a sense of modesty or propriety or privacy. There have been many days where I was bursting to tell you all the wonderful things God had done for me, but restrained myself due to the fact that not all things are for public consumption; at least not yet.

And there are lots more things in my life that elicit my gratitude. I believe I have discovered that there is no end of things to thank God for. And that thanks easily turns into praise, and praise in the heart and on the lips gets the attention of God, for He inhabits the praises of His people. He responds to our thanksgiving. He lives in our worship. And then He moves. He moves on our behalf, according to His will, plan and purpose, working all things together for our good and His glory, working all things according to the counsel of His will. For He can do everything, and none of His purposes are withheld from Him.

So here's my challenge: Who among you would consider Psalm 100 for the next 100 days, study it, write about it using its natural outline, and then journal 3 things you are thankful for? You don't even have to post it online; that's simply the way I do things. But how about for yourself? And then see how 100 days of thanks can change your life.

Today, I am thankful for the grace that only God can provide. No one else has the power, authority, or will to forgive my sins, heal my heart, and transform me into His own image and likeness. No one else provided atonement and payment for my sins; no one else took my place and my punishment. No one else loves me enough to do that, but God does!

I'm thankful for the love that only God can provide, the love that stirs in my heart for Him, and the love that I have for other people. I often joke that there are some people whom I don't like, but that I have always managed to love them anyway. Through the years, God has taught me to love unconditionally and self-sacrificially, and that's how I try to live out this love.

I'm thankful for the assurance that only God can provide. He is the one who holds tomorrow, who sees all things past, present and future and knows the beginning from the end. It is by faith that I put my trust, my confidence, and my hope in Him and His word, believing His promises and holding onto them.

Thankful, Day 100

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!

Serve the LORD with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the LORD, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.

We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the LORD is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100, NKJV

This is the end of my 100 Days of Thanks, as a blogging exercise. But the thanksgiving will go on!

Thank you Michael Fleming for suggesting it. It's been a tremendous blessing to me!

Thank you friends for following me on this journey. I hope it has been a blessing to you!

Thank you God for developing within me a heart of thanksgiving. You have blessed me through it, changing my perspective, my circumstances, and my life.

Thankful, Day Ninety-Nine

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!

Serve the LORD with gladness;

come before His presence with singing.

Know that the LORD, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the LORD is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100, NKJV

The One Hundredth Psalm. 100 Days of blogging. 127 days invested in this exercise of thanksgiving. In some ways it seems like a long time; in other ways it seems like only yesterday that I took up the challenge of giving thanks for 100 days. When I first started, I thought I would never have enough to blog about; now that it's almost over, I realize I have only just begun.

As I recall, December was a difficult month. I did do it every day, but many days I was simply going through the motions; this is what I had to do. I started this project, I was going to see it through to the end. But as the month went on, and the thanksgiving and praise began to flow from my heart, I noticed changes beginning to take place. The changes were in me. I have to confess, I was sad alot during that first month; those weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's are usually kind of hard for me, for reasons I won't go into here. Even surrounded by family and friends, I felt alone in the world. Forsaken. Forgotten. Trying to serve God faithfully with no sign of reward. Not that I do it for reward, you know. But still, it's nice to be patted on the head once in a while and told, "You're doing a good job, son. Here's a candy bar. Or five bucks. Way to go!" It wasn't happening. Nevertheless, I spent a month thanking God.

In January, it was as if the heavens opened and light flooded down into my life. Suddenly, the world was different, better somehow. Things that I had prayed for began to happen. Broken things got fixed. Lost things got restored. After months of grief, I recovered my joy. I knew that God had been listening all along, and working, and that everything was going to be okay! And the thanks continued.

February brought repeated joys and little victories. As I continued to give thanks, I could see God's hand working all around me. His voice was clear, His words sweet to my ear. This was life on the mountaintop, with only a few insignificant clouds. From here the view is great, and I can see the light of day shining on the path ahead.

But as I've said many times before, God didn't call us to camp out on the mountaintop where everything is great. We are on a journey, bound for heaven as we continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. That journey takes up one side of the mountain to the top, and down the other side of the mountain into the valley below. The climbing is hard, the descent is easier; both can be treacherous. Then there's the walk through the valley, sometimes in the shadow of death, where evil abounds and enemies beset on every hand. The climb out of the valley is strenuous, fraught with danger. It's hard work. It's when we wonder if we have the strength to make it out, but then we recall the last climb upward and we remember the goodness of God at the top. We know that God is still with us, so we press on. I guess that sums up my March. And some days thanking God took a little more effort.

Now the 100 days of thanks is almost over; and God is always good.

Thank you Lord for this journey, this process, this little trip up one side of the mountain and down the other. You have carried me from valley to valley, and I'm sure that another mountaintop awaits. Even if I can't see it yet for the canopy of leaves and the cloud cover, I know that it is there, for already I can feel the climb beneath my travel-trained feet.

Thank you Lord for the mountaintop experience, both the memory and the dream. Back there was good, but up ahead is even better. I'm looking forward to the climb, to scaling the lofty heights of whatever is next for me. The blessings you have granted are mere foretastes of what you have in store.

Thank you Lord for the valley, for it is here that I really learn to trust you. It is here that I learn to press on, to endure hardship, to walk by faith and not by sight. Up top I can see everything for miles and miles around; down here, I can see a few feet in front of me. Here is where I learn to depend upon you for guidance and for strength. Here is where I grow.

Thankful, Day Ninety-Eight

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!

Serve the LORD with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the LORD, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates wtih thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the LORD is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100, NKJV

People have such a foggy understanding of truth these days. They don't always tell it, and they don't always want to hear it. The saddest part of all is they don't always know what it is. Our culture has made truth so malleable, so changeable. We are told that truth is relative to who we are or where we are or what situation we are in. It's okay to lie, if you're sparing someone's feelings, or if you're protecting yourself or helping someone else out. And absolute truth...well, that's something that belongs in the dark and distant past when we weren't so enlightened. But now that we've discovered the divine spark within all of us, truth is what we make it. Truth is whatever we want to believe. And you better not be trying to tell me what truth is, because your truth may not necessarily be true for me.

It's those same people who believe in evolution and extra-terrestrial life. We've seen no proof for either one whatsoever, but people still want to accept them as truth.

When there is no truth, there is no supreme moral law. But people still want to point to things and say, "that's wrong." And it's wrong because "we can all agree that it's wrong." Like murder. And rape. And child abuse. Everyone will agree that those things are wrong. Everyone, that is, excpet the murderer, the rapist, and the abuser. Those people think their actions are just fine. So if truth is relative, how can we really say that anything is right or wrong?

Without truth, we can adopt any set of rules or practices that we want and call it right. It's how some can say that "all roads lead to God" or "everyone's going to heaven, no matter what we beleive." It's also how people can say, "there is no God. This life is all you get."

However, the TRUTH of the matter is this: there is a God, and you're not Him. He wants His creation to know Him, so He revealed Himself through His Word, which is absolute truth. He revealed Himself through His son Jesus Christ, who is the faithful and true witness. He is the same yesterday, today and forever; what He said yesterday still stands sure today. His truth never changes, and it pronounces judgment on all who add to or take away from it.

Now, you may not believe that. And you don't have to. You have the right, the freedom, and the liberty to believe and practice anything you want. Just be prepared to accept the consequences if you are wrong. Because the absolute truth says there are consequences for them who do not believe it.

God, I'm thankful for Your true and faithful Word in the Bible, inspired, written, and preserved for our benefit. Thank you for telling us what You want us to know, what You want us to believe, and how You want us to live. That way, I don't have to make up life as I go along.

God, I'm thankful for your true and faithful Word in the person of Jesus Christ, immortal, all-powerful, and on my side. Thank you for sending Your own self in human form, for sacrificing Your own flesh and blood on behalf of my transgressions, for defeating death, hell and the grave in the resurrection, and for the promise of His soon return. Even so, come Lord Jesus!

God, I'm thankful for Your true and faithful Word to me personally for my own life. You haven't added to Your Word, nor taken anything away, neither have You contradicted Yourself by speaking to me. You merely enlighten and grant wisdom and understanding; You guide and direct through all forms of communication with me; You open the eyes of my heart and mind to see Your truth for what it really is--always true and fully applicable to me today. And when You speak, You are always right.

Thank Your Lord for speaking--through your Word, through your Son, and through your Spirit directly to me. I need to hear from you.

Thankful, Day Ninety-Seven

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!

Serve the LORD with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the LORD, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the LORD is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100, NKJV

Since I talked about my Dad in the last blog, I thought I'd at least give you some insight into my own shady history. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior, repented of my sinful wickedness, and surrendered my life to God on September 24, 1978...at the tender age of 6. That's right, I "got saved", I was "born again", at six years old. I've recommitted my life to Him multiple times over, but that first time was thirty-three years ago this fall. I was changed that day, transformed from a sinner into a saint, brought out of darkness into marvelous light. God made my whole world different! And thank God He did! Because I was on my way to hell (in spite of what Rob Bell may think).

And you may think, "C'mon! You were six! How bad could you have been?" If you have to ask the question, you must not know many six year olds, and you've obviously forgotten what it was like to be one.

By the age of six, I knew how to steal, and lie, and lie about stealing. I stuck bubblegum in the neighbor kid's hair, and threw rocks at the boys down the street. I stuck nails in the tires of cars belonging to people I didn't like. I was stubborn and rebellious. I backtalked my Mama alot. I drowned our pet cat one time (and my Pentecostal mother prayed that cat back to life!). Do you get the picture that I wasn't a very nice little boy? Oh, lots of people thought I was an angel, but I'm pretty sure there were some demonic imps propping up my halo.

Suffice it to say (and I haven't even told everything I could) I was a wretched little boy and I needed Jesus in my life. I got saved at 6, and I quit lying and stealing and throwing rocks and sabotaging tires and drowning cats. And I did pretty good with myself for a few years, 'til I became a teenager and discovered a whole new world of rotten things I could do that had never entered my mind as a child. And afterward was adulthood, and more stupid choices and actions. And now I'm middle-aged...and guess what? There are still ugly things I find myself doing. Even though I know better and mostly don't want to do those things anymore, sometimes I choose to do what is wrong rather than what I know to be right.

So I'm thankful for God's mercy today. The Bible says the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning! He is full of compassion and abounding in mercy. His tender mercy continues to be made known unto me. And I'm so very thankful that He hasn't run out of mercy for me and fried me to a little greasy spot on the sidewalk. He is longsuffering, willing not that I should perish, but rather that I should come to repentance.

Thank you Lord for that initial act of mercy that saved me as a six year old child from myself, from sin and sickness and satan and hell. Thank you Lord for extending Your love and forgiveness to me thirty-three years ago. I don't know where'd I'd be without it, and it's no fun thinking about it.

Thank you Lord for your continued grants of mercy that are always available when I call on your name, especially after I have stumbled and fallen by making stupid choices. Thank you Lord for extending your love and forgiveness to me on a daily basis, if need be. I don't want to live a day outside of your grace and love and mercy.

Thank you Lord for your unending mercy that will continue to work in me until I have become like you. Thank you Lord for extending the kind of mercy that never ceases, that never ends, that is from everlasting to everlasting. Amen.

Thankful, Day Ninety-Six

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!

Serve the LORD with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the LORD, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the LORD is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100, NKJV

God is good all the time! Our circumstances may not be, we may not be. But God is definitely and always good. He is good to me, He is good for me, He is good inside me, He is good all around me. My God is good good good, and like the Psalmist, I say, "Taste and see that the Lord is good."

Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." He also said, "Eat my flesh, and drink my blood." He wasn't talking about cannibalism, but rather partaking in His goodness. He said, "I am the bread of life." Eat of him, and you'll never go hungry. He's also the water of life; drink of him, and you'll never be thirsty. Out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water!

There's this video clip from youtube that I love to post. I watch it often, and even show it at church from time to time. It's a little girl with the most serious look on her face shouting like a preacher, "God is faithful, and He's still good! My my my!" And it's true. If we learn early that the Lord is infinitely and personally good, then we can take anything, because no matter what comes our way, God is with us and He is good. He works all things together for good to them that love Him and are called according to His purpose. He is a good God who gives good gifts to His children, and every good and perfect gift are from Him.

Or like the preacher of old who said as they lashed him to the stake upon which he would burn: "Eighty-six years I've served Him, and He's never done me anything but good. I won't repent, and I won't recant!"

Thank you Lord for your goodness to me in blessing me with a godly mother, and a godly heritage. Thirty-five years ago (yesterday) you saved my wretch of a father and raised him out of darkness to walk in marvelous light. You saved my mother, and you saved me. They brought me up in the way I should go, and I will not depart from it.

Thank you Lord for your goodness to me in blessing me with those things that I have need of, and even those things I have want of. I can see your hand at work, and can't wait to see what happens next as I continue to seek you.

Thank you Lord for your goodness to me in blessing me with your love, in filling my heart with love, and turning it where you want it to go. I only thought I had known love before; but now I know it for real, and I rejoice in its goodness.

Thankful, Day Ninety-Five

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!

Serve the LORD with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the LORD, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the LORD is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100, NKJV

Have I thanked Him enough? Have I been thankful enough? 95 days of blogging, 119 days of this exercise in thanksgiving, and I feel like I am only scratching the surface of being thankful. To tell the truth, it's made me realize how thankless I had been before. I mean, I thanked God for the day (unspecifically), thanked God for the food (out of habit), thanked God for His blessings (in general), thanked God for His love and forgiveness (which I am often in need of), thanked God for...and then I was usually asleep. It's not that I was ungrateful; it's not really that I took His goodness for granted. It's just that I never really took the time to make myself aware of all His detailed and specific blessings, and to be specifically and repeatedly thankful.

I truly hope that my life will never be the same as a result of these 100 days of thanks. I'm truly thankful for all the things He has done for me, all the things He has given me, all the things He has forgiven and forgotten. I'm thankful for His promises and His provision, for His guidance and His direction, for His constant presence and blessed assurance. I'm thankful for His Word, for His voice, for His hand at work in my life. I'm thankful for His Son Jesus Christ, who took my place on the cross, who took my sin upon Himself, and died so that I might live. I'm thankful for the name given to Him which is above every name, the name through which my prayers are answered, at which demons tremble, every knee bows and every tongue confesses. I'm thankful for the Holy Ghost, who is God's presence in me, power and comfort and teaching and correction.

As a result of this exercise, my heart has been changed, my mind renewed, my hope restored. I have experienced healing from hurts and the restoration of things I thought lost for good. My faith in God, in His power and His promises, has been revived. I have seen Him work miracles, performing through His sovereignty in moments what my hand could not accomplish ever. I have witnessed His hand in changing circumstances and hearts, in providing for me in ways I could not have imagined, in doing what no other power could do. Is it really all because of my giving of thanks?

Perhaps this is why the Bible says:

Rejoice always.

Pray without ceasing.

In everything give thanks.

Be anxious for nothing,

but in everything, with prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace that passes all understanding

will guard your heart and mind.

Give thanks to the LORD,

Our God and King,

His love endures forever!

I'm thankful today for the lessons I have learned, for the things God has taught me through His servants, through His Word, and through His Spirit. Through them I have (hopefully) learned perseverance, which builds character, which produces hope that does not disappoint. I've made it safe thus far with God; by grace I'm gonna make it safe home.

I'm thankful today for the lessons I am learning, even though they are hard. The reasons for my testing and my trial are not always apparent to my weak and feeble eyes, but I just keep plugging along, because I know that God is doing something special. If I don't faint in the day of adversity, if I do not flag or fail, if I weary not in well-doing, if I don't lose heart. I have put my hand to the plow; I will not look back.

I'm thankful for the lessons I have yet to learn, which lie still ahead on the road to glory. I wish I already knew everything, having attained perfection and grace, having reached the heights of knowledge and wisdom and understanding. Unfortunately, I will attain such stature when I am dead, resurrected and glorified. Until then, I'm going to go on with Jesus, and I will go on to the end.