Dear members and friends of VP,
The month of November brings with it anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Both have in common a focus upon giving thanks to God for His many provisions to us, both physical and spiritual. We give thanks to God for all things He does even when we do not see all the things He does.
Giving “thanks” to God is the product of “remembering” God’s involvement in everything. We remember the things He has done to provide for us. We recognize the fragile nature of life and the difference God’s oversight can make in everything that happens. By remembering, we don’t allow God to go unnoticed. By remembering, we honor and respect Him. By remembering, we are more inclined to express gratitude.
There are many passages in the Old Testament that encourage us to remember. For instance, we are exhorted to remember that our physical “SUBMERGED” health and cognitive abilities come from God.
“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.” Deut. 8:18
In the New Testament we are encouraged to remember how Jesus Christ has established us as children of God and members of the family of God.
“Therefore remember that formerly you,… remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded… strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you …have been brought near by the blood of Christ … you a are fellow citizens with the saints, cheap nba jerseys and are of God’s household, … Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, cases is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” Eph. 2:11-22
We have many wonderful and positive things to remember once we become Christians. Ephesians 2 stresses some of these things. Remember who we were before we knew Jesus; “No hope” and “without God.” Remember who we are now “in Christ Jesus.” We have been “brought close” to God.
What does it mean to be brought close to God?
- “Fellow citizens” and members of “God’s household” means, as a matter of fact, that cheap mlb jerseys we are in God’s living presence at all times. It is not like we need to be granted access to Him or need someone to invite us into his presence. We possess, as a fundamental component of our new relationship with Him, full access whenever we choose to use it. We are family to Him. The author of Hebrews expresses this same truth,
”Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19-22
He states we “have confidence to enter the holy place” and then wholesale nfl jerseys encourages us to “draw near.” Do we draw near to God in the light of the privilege this is for us as sinful human beings? We did not earn the privilege. It was provided for us by the “blood of Jesus Christ.” We can do it whenever we pray and listen to His voice through learning about Jesus. We can do it freely with expressions of thanks to Jesus for establishing this cheap jerseys freedom.
- The “household” of which we are members is a building established upon Jesus Christ. It is “growing into a holy temple” and being built “into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
So while we have noted above that we are members of His family with full access to Him, it is also true that He is establishing us as a dwelling place for Him in the Spirit. He The wants us to be a home fitting for His Spirit. Jesus expresses this wonderfully,
”Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4) and “The glory which You have given Me I have The given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity.” (John 17:22-23)
The heart of God is to possess a position of prominence through His Spirit in the hearts of His children. He wants to dwell in us so that we will be intimately connected and prepared to do His will.
So then, we have freedom to enter His presence and He wants a prominent role in our heart. It is wonderful to be a child of God and to know how deep His love is for us. He sincerely and passionately wants fellowship with us.
It is good to say thanks at both Thanksgiving and at Christmas. But it is also good to consistently remember what God has done for us and in us, so that giving of thanks is a habit of life. “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, wholesale mlb jerseys that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” (Hebrews 13:15) By doing this continually we will give joy to our God in heaven. Let us prepare our minds for the things we celebrate the next two months so that we will be honoring of our God and Savior.
Pastor Kevyn