Guiding Light!
Gratitude!
And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17
Jesus paid the price for our salvation, how are we showing our gratitude? How does God want us to show our gratitude? It is summed up in two instructions from Jesus' own words; "And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these." Mark 12:30-31
We have before us a compelling rule of life, a standard of morals, a guide to holiness, which we carry in our memories without the slightest difficulty, and which, if we have but the will to use it, will be found never to fail us on any occasion. And that compelling rule is "Love." If this is the greatest commandment given to us by God our Father through His son Christ Jesus then what should we do? We should love! Not when it is convenient to us or in a way we would like to love, but the Agape kind of love that God gives us. Unconditional love, without reservation, without thought of personal gain, without limitations, and without any personal motive but only the motive of God's love.
The only way one can give this kind of love is if one has been born again in Christ Jesus. You must be in Christ before you can do anything in Christ's name. Until your nature is renewed, until you have submitted yourselves unto the righteousness of Christ, until Christ is formed in you the hope of glory, you are not capable of walking after this high and sacred life. "You must be born again." The principle demanding your immediate attention is not the principle of the text but another; the words of Peter, in the Acts of the Apostles, are for you, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit"
"I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
Again in the above verse we have God's instructions of how to love and produce fruit. Obviously we cannot do this on our own, we must be in Christ and Christ in us for us to produce Kingdom fruit. When we abide in Him who made us, then we are showing our gratitude to our Father. Sometimes we can read words or hear words and really never think of their meanings or implications. Take the word "abide." Here is what the Webster's dictionary has to say about this: To conform to; comply with: abide by the rules:, To wait patiently for: “I will abide the coming of my lord”. In essence, to be obedient to what God has called us to do.
Lift up your heart in grateful songs and thanksgivings to God, but see to it that you do all this work of praise in the name of the Lord Jesus. Like the song so many of us sing in worship time, this should be our daily reminder of giving thanks to our Heavenly Father. "Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ His son."
Today and all of our days let us lift up our Heavenly Father, our gracious redeemer, and the Holy Spirit with a thankful heart of gratitude for all that they have done for us. Let us show our gratitude by living a life worthy of God's calling and by following His instructions and most of all by loving as we have been instructed in the Bible.
Heavenly Father, we come before you today with a humble heart lifting up our hands and voices in songs of thanksgiving and praise to you. Search our hearts today Father, remove any selfish thoughts or ways from our being, restore them with love and gratitude towards you and towards our fellow man. We thank you Father that you so graciously chose us even before time, that we should be a part of your Heavenly Kingdom. Give us the strength to be obedient to your instructions so that we may be worthy of your calling. We are available to you today Heavenly Father, mold us, use us, in anyway you desire. Thank you Father, we love you with all our being and so desire to please you. Praise your Holy Name...........in Jesus Christ name we pray..........amen
In Christ's Service,
Kenny Millhouse
kenny@guidinglightministry.com
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