When I was a student in Bible College I had to preach in a chapel service before the student body and staff. I had studied well and was prayed up, but still was a nervous wreck. Public speaking was not what I wanted to do, but I had to accomplish this. When it was my turn to speak I went to the pulpit and dug in.
The words flowed out of my mouth with grace and wisdom. I was saying things that weren’t in my notes. I was amazing myself. When the service was all over and my partners had finished their words of encouragement, I walked down the back hallway alone toward my next class. There in that solitude I broke down and cried like a baby. God had used me and spoke through me. I had never experienced or expected that. An anointing had come upon me as I preached that brief message, and it was beyond my comprehension.
I learned an important lesson that day: God’s anointing is above and beyond my abilities. And God’s anointing covers all my weaknesses and doubts. That anointing has been there many times since then, and sometimes not. I’ve learned I need His anointing.
What has been your experience with an anointing?
John Newton once wrote, “I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am.”
That statement sounds like an honest us, right? We have a long way to go, but we’re not where we used to be. And what we are today is by the grace of God, because none of us deserve anything from God. And yet, we’re blessed.
We haven’t arrived at our ultimate destination, but we’re not stuck in our past, either.
“Joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:12).
The Apostle Paul here tells us why we should be thankful to God. Its because he has qualified you to share in all these blessings. There is nothing in you that makes you worthy to participate in the divine nature. It comes by the price he paid for you by giving His own Son to pay the price for your sin.
Because we deserve nothing but punishment, we should be eternally grateful for the grace and favor he sends our way. If you’ve accepted what Christ did for you, you are now qualified. Be thankful!
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name” (Psalm 100:4).
If you want to get a little closer to God, do so with thanksgiving. If you want something from your relationship with God, acknowledge what He has already provided in your life, and speak out thanks to Him.
Notice also, that the pronoun “His” or “Him”, referring to God, is used 4 times in this one short verse. Thanksgiving is about God’s work in your life. Take a minute and count your blessings before you just dig into that Thanksgiving Day meal. He deserves it from you.
“When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you” (Deuteronomy 8:10).
Here’s God’s intent for Thanksgiving Day. When the original Pilgrims had their first Thanksgiving meal, I think they were thanking God that they had survived and were still alive. With no back-up plan or support, they were at the mercy of God in this new wilderness. And they survived and had plenty at the end of that year.
They knew there would be many more tests and even more deaths, but they recognized a need to thank God for bringing them thus far. How about you? Are you thankful when you sit down to eat and are satisfied?
This is Thanksgiving week. People have been posting things they are thankful for all month on Facebook. If someone starts with the number 1 thing they are thankful for and ends with the 28th thing they’re thankful for, is number 28 lesser in value that number 1? Are we actually rating what we’re thankful for by this exercise? Just wondering.
Thankfulness is a crucial issue in your spiritual development because it reveals your heart for God. Do you see God as your source or see yourself there. A dog is never thankful because he can’t see God as his source. But we should be above the dogs. Think about what you’re thankful for today.
Jesus said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). Great evangelism message for the lost, right?
Actually, Jesus made this invitation to Christians. He was speaking to the Laodicean Church. He said this to the church that was lukewarm (Rev. 3:15). He said this to the church that had so much they didn’t need Him anymore (Rev. 3:17). This is an ongoing invitation to all believers in all generations. He doesn’t just want us saved, but He wants to fellowship with us. He wants to hang out with us.
He is knocking on the door of your heart right now. He’ll come into that room and fill you with peace, if you’ll invite Him.