Thanksgiving is Our Calling in Christ

Thanksgiving is the firstfruits of a heart that has been lavished with the grace of God in Christ. At one time, we were alienated from God and hostile toward him in our minds (Colossians 1:21). For some of us, this hostility was obvious and visibly intense, while for others of us it was subtle and well-concealed. But whatever the outward appearance, we were in rebellion against God and doing things he considers to be evil and profoundly offensive to his glory.

But thanks be to God, because he is rich in mercy and abounding in grace, he made a way for our sins to be forgiven and our hostile hearts to be transformed. Indeed, Christ Jesus “has now reconciled [us to God] in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present [us] holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Colossians 1:22). And even as God the Father accepted the all-sufficient sacrifice of his Son and forgave us of our sin and its consequences, so he has been pleased to grant us the fullness of his Son so that we constantly and eternally live under this reality: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

As we grow in our understanding and experience of what God has done, is doing, and will do for us in Christ, the rightful and instinctual response of our hearts is to give thanks to him who has done such great things for us. As Paul writes, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6-7). In other words, Paul is exhorting us to grow up into the fullness of Christ, knowing that as we do, we will abound in thanksgiving to God.

To abound is to bear so much fruit that we cannot contain it all, so that it overflows to the glory of God and the good of those around us. One of the reasons God calls us to abound in this way is because thanksgiving exalts his name, it keeps our eyes fixed on him, it fills us with the joy of Christ, and gives us the passion to minister the gospel to others in word and deed.

So, Beloved, let us hear and embrace the call of our heavenly Father, and abound in thanksgiving. Let the measure of God’s grace toward us be the measure of our thanks toward him!

Comments

The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit. Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vending m

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF. However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive. I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church. In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority. Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installment of elders as non-negotiable

Does the Doctrine Divide? by Patience Griswold

“Oh, I try not to talk about doctrine. It’s so divisive.” This is a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed, as well as implied, on many occasions, and one that raises the question, does doctrine divide? In answering this question, we must keep in mind a very important truth and that is that everyone holds to some sort of doctrine . “Doctrine” is defined as “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.” Regardless of whether or not someone publicly holds to a statement of beliefs from a particular church, every Christian, by definition, holds to a particular set of beliefs. As Carl Trueman observes in his book The Creedal Imperative , [W]hile Christianity cannot be reduced to doctrine, to mere teaching, it cannot be meaningfully separated from it, either. Even the most basic claims, such as “Jesus is Lord,” carry clear doctrinal content that needs to be explicated in a world where, as we have noted before, every heretic has his text and n

Glory of Christ Fellowship

Search This Blog