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I am writing from Texas and must say what a joy it has been to spend Thanksgiving with my family. This year of 2020 has been quite a difficult year, and I’m sure there are many who may well find giving thanks more problematic than in previous years. As I reflect back on the year, my anxieties and heartaches have very little to do with the pandemic. Sometimes we fail to get a proper perspective on what’s truly important.
Regardless of how 2020 has treated you, I trust that you were able to find much to praise the Lord in and for! Of recent I have had the opportunity to correct some misconceptions that some have regarding the giving of thanks to the Lord. A statement we often hear is, “We don’t thank God ‘for’ everything but we thank Him ‘in’ everything.” “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:18). The verse is correct, the statement is not. We are also to thank God “for” everything, whether good, bad or indifferent from the human point of view. “Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20). This is the principle of praise, and you have often heard me mention it.
If 2020 has been a difficult year for you, praise Him anyway! Praise Him for the bad as well as the good! This will take the problem off your plate and give it to God who is much better than you at handling it. As the old hymn writer Fanny J. Crosby said,
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest archangels in glory;
Strength and honor give to His holy Name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
In His arms He carries them all day long.
Refrain:
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died.
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong.
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever;
Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet, and Priest, and King!
Christ is coming! over the world victorious,
Pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong.
I hope this song expresses the joy of your heart in knowing that you are saved and sanctified in Christ! May God’s grace sustain you! May I say we can thank our Lord for the victory He gave through the Mayor last week, who I believe wisely decided to veto the anti-discrimination ordinance! Thank you for calling and emailing your commissioners and the mayor on this most important issue.
This coming Sunday, December 6, we will be in Daniel chapter 8 and consider another very important part of Daniel’s vision where the Angel Gabriel interprets it for him. [If you miss a sermon please remember that all of our sermons can be accessed by audio here: https://www.tbcmacon.com/sermons]
As always, I am looking forward to what God will do at Tabernacle this coming Sunday. Please be present with your Bibles in hand as we worship the Lord together!
Blessings, YFJS, Bro. Tom