Post by Zac Loh on Jan 21, 2009 6:28:47 GMT -5
Dear Saints,
Psalm 100:4 tells us to enter God's gates with thanksgiving, and be thankful to Him.
The core truth of the Sabbath, is that, God stopped working so that we will be grateful as we admire Him for His works. Sabbath is like a still frame of God's creativeness.
Sabbath tells us to stop awhile to be thankful to our Creator, and appreciate Him for all that He has done for us.
Thankfulness
Matthew 26:26-27
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. (Matthew 26:26-27)
We should emulate Jesus, not so much of the outward appearance, but the essence of his heart.
The way Jesus gave thanks for the food is not how we normally do it. We do it like a ritual, but Jesus did it from a life of continual thankfulness towards God.
This one act was a sample, a reflection, of His entire life.
Let’s focus on Jesus for a minute. Let’s think what a life of thankfulness He had while He was on earth. Let’s have an attitude of thankfulness. Let’s have a thankful heart.
I am thankful that God is still working in my life. The most dreadful thing for me …is when God stops working …because as long as God is working …there is hope.
in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
It is difficult to thank God during hard times. What is there to thank God for? I remember an incident when I lost my money in the pocket. I was a teenager. And RM10 was a big deal. A few seconds after I realized that I had lost it, I praised God. A friend reacted in bewilderment, “what are you praising God for?” A few years later, I came to an understanding that I praised God because He was in control. We thank God because He is in control.
Thankfulness is giving our life back to God, not just gratitude with our words. The more thankful we are, the more we want to give to the Lord. We find the meaning of life, the reason for living, is in the giving of our life to God.
Unbelievers don’t understand this meaning. No matter how short the earthly existence can be, they still want to live for another day. They don’t really have the answer for eternity; they don’t want to think about it.
As for us, who have the answer for eternity, we are special, we are a chosen people. We are thankful.
Psalm 100:4 tells us to enter God's gates with thanksgiving, and be thankful to Him.
The core truth of the Sabbath, is that, God stopped working so that we will be grateful as we admire Him for His works. Sabbath is like a still frame of God's creativeness.
Sabbath tells us to stop awhile to be thankful to our Creator, and appreciate Him for all that He has done for us.
Thankfulness
Matthew 26:26-27
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. (Matthew 26:26-27)
We should emulate Jesus, not so much of the outward appearance, but the essence of his heart.
The way Jesus gave thanks for the food is not how we normally do it. We do it like a ritual, but Jesus did it from a life of continual thankfulness towards God.
This one act was a sample, a reflection, of His entire life.
Let’s focus on Jesus for a minute. Let’s think what a life of thankfulness He had while He was on earth. Let’s have an attitude of thankfulness. Let’s have a thankful heart.
I am thankful that God is still working in my life. The most dreadful thing for me …is when God stops working …because as long as God is working …there is hope.
in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
It is difficult to thank God during hard times. What is there to thank God for? I remember an incident when I lost my money in the pocket. I was a teenager. And RM10 was a big deal. A few seconds after I realized that I had lost it, I praised God. A friend reacted in bewilderment, “what are you praising God for?” A few years later, I came to an understanding that I praised God because He was in control. We thank God because He is in control.
Thankfulness is giving our life back to God, not just gratitude with our words. The more thankful we are, the more we want to give to the Lord. We find the meaning of life, the reason for living, is in the giving of our life to God.
Unbelievers don’t understand this meaning. No matter how short the earthly existence can be, they still want to live for another day. They don’t really have the answer for eternity; they don’t want to think about it.
As for us, who have the answer for eternity, we are special, we are a chosen people. We are thankful.