November 16, 2020

Thankful (Part 4): Thankful for Our Hope

Thankful

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:52-57).

In Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, he spent the entire fifteenth chapter discussing the resurrection. The resurrection is the reason why our hope as Christians is better than anything for which others may hope. No matter what happens in this life – even when we face difficult situations, including the eventual end in death – our hope remains as long as we continue to faithfully serve the Lord.Continue Reading

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November 9, 2020

Thankful (Part 3): Thankful for God’s Mercy

Thankful

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:12-16).

As Paul wrote to Timothy, he told of his own background as a persecutor of the church and how he considered himself as the “chief” of sinners (KJV). Yet he was able to be forgiven and become a part of the Lord’s work because of the mercy that was shown to him. He explained to Timothy that the Lord’s treatment of him is an example for all believers. As Paul received mercy, we also receive mercy from God. As Paul thanked the Lord for this, we are to be thankful for God’s mercy as well.Continue Reading

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November 4, 2020

How to Walk by Faith and Not by Sight

Man in Forest

“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

The statement above is found in Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth. We could say that this is the fundamental idea behind being a Christian. But what does it mean? How do we “walk by faith” and “not by sight”? To answer that question, we can look at the context.

In this context (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:9), Paul described six great contrasts. Examining these will show the meaning of our text above. Let us consider these here.Continue Reading

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November 2, 2020

Thankful (Part 2): Thankful for Our Blessings

Thankful

“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-5).

It is easy for us to focus on the troubles we face in life. We also tend to look at others who have more than us and wonder why we are not able to enjoy the riches or other benefits that they have. However, we usually only view this in one direction. There are certainly hardships and inequalities in life; but too often we tend to view ourselves in the role of the victim, forgetting how truly blessed we are. If we look at others who are “better off” than we are, there are many others who could look at us in the same way. We have much for which we should be thankful. In this article, we are going to focus on the temporal blessings of this life.Continue Reading

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October 26, 2020

Thankful (Part 1): Thankful for God’s Word

Thankful

“Seven times a day I praise You, because of Your righteous ordinances” (Psalm 119:164).

We have many different reasons to praise God and give thanks to Him. In the passage above, the psalmist mentioned God’s “righteous ordinances” as a reason to praise Him. He was referring to the word that God revealed to man (the entire psalm is dedicated to His word). Not only is this something for which we should be thankful, but it also reveals to us many other reasons for us to give thanks to God. So we will consider it in the first part of this series.Continue Reading

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October 21, 2020

Man Does Not Live by Bread Alone

Bread

The book of Deuteronomy contains many reminders for God’s people that were given to them before entering the promised land of Canaan. They were reminded of the law, of their wilderness wanderings, and of God’s care for them. In the passage below, they were reminded of some of the blessings the Lord had provided, including how God sent manna from heaven for them to eat.

“You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:2-3).

The Israelites needed food and God provided it. It may not have been what they would have preferred, but it was what they needed.

We continually face challenges in our lives – just as the Israelites faced after they left Egypt. During these times, we should consider some of the lessons from this passage.Continue Reading

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October 19, 2020

Thankful: Introduction

Thankful

Thanksgiving is one time during the year when our society focuses on thankfulness. Obviously, this should not be limited to one day a year; but the time surrounding this holiday provides all of us with a reminder of the need to be thankful.

There are many things for which we can be thankful. Over the next few weeks will will be highlighting some of them. Before we begin talking about these, we need to start by understanding what must be present in order for us to truly show thankfulness:Continue Reading

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