Before I get to the subject of today’s writing, I want to say I found this image on Google.com and when I went to see where the image came from, I found a great read from Mark Myles here. I know it’s been awhile since writing, on here, but as I had the day off today, I couldn’t help but share my overwhelming sense of thankfulness for a God who loves me, a sinner.
Living & Active Word … Living & Active God
The other day, my friend Cal Thompson, referencing the subject of grace said, “We can’t give something that we haven’t fully accepted ourselves.” Last night the gravity of what I have to be thankful for hit me square between the eyes. I am not merely talking about being thankful for my dog, my truck, my job, food, a warm dry bed … materialistic needs and comforts (though I am indeed thankful for those things). I am thankful for SO much more.
Things that I am thankful for, in a new light today:
- Mercy, God’s great love, making us alive, alive with Christ, grace, salvation, raising me up, giving us a seat beside Christ, in heavenly places, this gift of God (Eph 2:4-8)
- God cares for our germane needs (Mat 6:25-34)
- Our freedom to approach God himself (Heb 4:6)
- Jesus (Php 2:6-8)
- Christ’s willingness to bear our penalties (Isa 53)
- Eternal life (Jhn 3:16)
- Living and active word of God (Heb 4:12-13) BTW, if God’s mere words are living and active … How much more is God living and active in our lives (or desires to be)?!
- God’s faithfulness (Jos 21:45)
- Not holding my sins against me (Col 2:13-14)
- Hope … Comfort … Preservation (Psa 119:49-50)
I think I could make the bold challenge that if anyone is ever going through a challenge in their life, they can find hope in God’s word. Here’s the challenge. Ask God, in your heart or aloud, for hope, open the Bible to any page, read the scriptures on that page, and you will hear God’s voice speaking to you. Good person or not, saved or not, sober or not … God will speak to you, just listen. If reading God’s word, that is active and alive like the verse above in Hebrews 4:12-13 says, how much more is God? If his mere words are relevant and active, if they are alive, how much more is he alive? How much more is he relevant and active today?! Contrary to every other religion and spiritual belief out there, God (Jehovah, God’s name in the Bible) is alive! He cares about us, our needs, and even those things that we think are too little for him. He longs to show himself relevant to you today! Yes I’ve been thankful for all of those things previously, and no, none of those things are new to my knowledge but seeing them in a list, a compilation … it pierced my heart. His word is active and alive. It was proven to me last night once again. The work that Christ did, so that he could spend his eternity with us … the #CrazyLove he has for us, is mind boggling and awesome.
I can never cease to be thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!!
Until later . . . Jonathan Watson
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